【素材】M2文章Towntwinning(外研社)

1、 Town twinning Tow n twi nning is a con cept whereby tow ns or cities in geographically and politically disti net areas are paired with the goal of fosteri ng huma n con tact and cultural li nks. In Europe, such pairs of tow ns are known as twin tow ns, frie ndship tow ns or, in Germa n, part ner to

2、w ns Part nerst?dte); in North America and Australasia, the term sister cities is used for the same con cept; and brother citiesi( op -ongoa6pai)i0 tMeiterm in the former Soviet bloc. Twin tow ns ofte n (though by no means always) have similar demographic and other characteristics. Sometimes, eve n

3、larger areas en ter into twinning agreements, such as that between the provinces of Hainan in China and Jeju in South Korea. The con cept can be like ned to a scaled up versi on of a pe n pal scheme, in which the pals are whole tow ns or cities. In practice, the twi nning arra ngeme nts ofte n lead

4、to stude nt excha nge programs, as well as econo mic and cultural collaborati ons. Europe The earliest form of tow n twi nning in Europe was betwee n the Germa n city of Paderborn and the French city of Le Mans in 836, although this was not officially established as a moder n tow n twi nning arran g

5、eme nt un til 1967. The very first official town twinning arrangement in the world was established in 1930 betwee n the Germa n city of Wiesbade n and the Austria n city of Klage nfurt. The practice of tow n twi nning was developed in Europe after the Sec ond World War as a way to bring Europea n pe

6、ople into a closer un dersta nding of each other and to promote cross-border projects of mutual ben efit. An early example of tow n twinning dates back to 1947 when Bristol Council sent five leading citizens on a goodwill mission to Hanover. While still more popular as a concept in Europe than elsew

7、here, the idea has now spread to other continen ts, lead ing to some very in terest ing pairi ngs. Within Europe, town twinning is now supported by the European Union. The support scheme was established in 1989. In 2003 an annual budget of about 12 milli on euros was allocated to about 1,300 project

8、s. E.U. sister cities are a separate affiliation from the international sister cities associatio ns. North America The city of Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada was one of the first cities ever to enter into an international twinning arrangement when, in 1944, it twinned with the Ukrainian city of

9、 Odessa, which at the time was part of the Soviet Union. This was based on aiding the allied port city during World War II. However, Toledo, Ohio, and Toledo, Spai n bega n a sister city relati on ship thirtee n years earlier in 1931. The America n Sister Cities program was beg un in 1956 by Preside

10、 nt Dwight Eise nhower. It was orig in ally adm ini stered as part of the Nati onal League of Cities, but since 1967 it has bee n a separate orga ni zati on, Sister Cities Intern ati on al (SCI), which is a non profit citize n diplomacy n etwork creati ng and stre ngthe ning part nerships betwee n U

11、.S. and intern ati onal com mun ities in an effort to in crease global cooperati on at the muni cipal level, to promote cultural un dersta nding and to stimulate private bus in ess and econo mic developme nt. SCI leads the moveme nt for local com mun ity developme nt and volun teer action by motivat

12、 ing and empoweri ng private citize ns, muni cipal officials and bus in ess leaders to con duct Ion g-term programs of mutual ben efit. Informal usage Sometimes, people will use the phrase sister cities to mean cities that are n either very close together, nor from two differe nt cultures and offici

13、ally twinn ed, but rather two cities with similar cultures and/or historical background, as with Galveston, Texas and New Orlea ns, Louisia na, two cities that were historically major Souther nports on the Gulf coast. Ano ther example is Chariest on. South Caroli na and Bost on, Massachusetts (see the Charlest on article for a descripti