口译与听力1501.doc

1501 Tourism Lesson One p129 p101As much for its character and history as for its favorable setting in the heartland of Europe, Geneva has achieved a world-wide reputation for peace-building,维持和平 peace-keeping 建立和平 peace-making 缔造和平 peace-buildingfirst as the home of the League of Nations, and since 1946, as the main center of United Nations activity.The contemporary symbol of Genevas international role is the Palace of Nation(Palais des Nations), which houses the United Nations Office at Geneva.Over 7,000 meetings a year make the Palace of Nations the busiest conference center in the world.Many of the United Nations activities in the economic, humanitarian and social fields take place here,as well as those dealing with disarmament and international efforts to protect mans heritage.The Palace is the hub of United Nations activity in the defense of human rights and in the fields of trade and development.It is the headquarters of the Economic Commission for Europe, the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development and the Office of Coordination of Emergency Assistance.It is the setting for the annual conferences of the International Labor Organization and the World Health Organization.Apart from its “resident population” of 2,000 international civil servants,the Palace of Nations welcomes about 25,000 delegates to its meeting each year.It is also the international press center of Geneva,where some 250 journalist father news to disseminate to the far corners of the world.The Palace of Nations was built between 1929 and 1936.377 architects submitted designs,And an international team of five was chosen for the task of planning the imposing edifice which dominates the right bank of Lac Leman.Travertine from Italy and limestone from the Valley of the Rhone and the Jura Mountains were used for the exterior of the building, and marble from France, Italy and Sweden for the interior, with many members of the League of Nations contributing to the decoration and furnishings.A central feature of the Palace of Nations is the Assembly Hallas large with its 2,000 seats as the interior of the Opera in Pariswhich is used for the largest conferences.The library, occupying an entire wing, houses one of the largest international collections of books, periodicals and archives in the world. It was founded in 1920 as the result of the generosity of John D.Rockefeller.The League of Nations museum, which forms part of the Library, has a fascinating collection of original treaties, documents and other reminders of the peacemaking efforts of the inter-war period.Apart from its many works of art, other features of the Palace of Nations are its Philatelic Museum, housing a complete collection of the stamps issued by the United Nations and its predecessors;the armillary sphere, presented by the American Woodrow Wilson Foundation;the monument to the conquest of space given by the former USSR and the Edwina Sandys sculpture “Family.”All these features are accessible to visitors to the Palace who come each year in their tens of thousands from many