VOA常速英语2018--5月3日：世界新闻自由日

On May 3rd, we observe World Press Freedom Day to raise awareness 1 of the importance of the unhindered flow of information to the public, and the critical role of media workers. It is a sobering reminder 2 that in too many countries around the globe, media workers, including journalists, editors, and publishers are harassed 3, attacked, detained, and even murdered for simply doing their work, and publications are censored 4, fined, suspended and shut down.

5月3日是世界新闻自由日。这一天的设立是为了让人们更加认识到信息不受阻碍地传递给公众的重要性，以及新闻工作者的关键作用。令人警醒的是，世界上有很多国家的新闻工作者，比如记者、编辑、出版商，都受到了骚扰、攻击、监禁甚至谋杀，这一切只是因为他们履行自己的本职工作。还有很多出版物要经过审查，受到罚款，遭勒令暂停营业甚至关门大吉。

It is no coincidence that the less democratic and more authoritarian 5 a country's government is, the harder it works to suppress the free flow of information. That's because a free and unhindered press is often the only institution that can effectively and consistently expose government deception 6 and corruption 7, and keep the public informed. Journalists keep the government and the powerbrokers honest. Indeed, a free and democratic society cannot exist without a free and independent press. A free press provides citizens with access to knowledge and information, thus safeguarding political systems based on the will of the people.

无一例外的是：一个国家的政府越是缺乏民主、越是独断专制，就越会努力压制消息的自由流动。这是因为通常情况下，只有自由的媒体才能有效持续地揭露政府的欺骗腐败，才能让公众知晓真相。记者的职责是让政府和政治掮客们说真话。确实如此，要想社会自由民主，就需要自由独立的媒体。自由媒体可以让市民了解信息，从而捍卫基于人民意愿的政治制度。

This year's theme, Keeping Power In Check, highlights the importance of creating and maintaining a legal environment that supports press freedom, and the role an independent judiciary plays in ensuring protections for press freedom and guaranteeing the prosecution 8 of crimes against journalists.

今年的主题是“控制权力”，这个主题强调了创建并维持合法环境的重要性，从而给新闻自由以支持；该主题也强调了司法独立的作用，它可以保护新闻自由，确保记者不受犯罪分子的迫害。

Indeed, if the press is to do its job--that is, facilitate the unhindered flow of information that keeps the citizenry informed--certain conditions must be met. These include: a legal environment that allows for open and pluralistic media; political will to support that sector 9; rule of law to protect it including laws safeguarding freedom of expression, online and offline; media professionals adhering to the highest ethical 10 and professional standards; and a news readership capable of holding them to these standards.

确实如此，如果媒体工作者要履行本质工作——也就是，促进信息的无阻碍流动，让公民不被蒙在鼓里——那么就要满足一定的条件，包括：允许开放多元化媒体存在的合法环境；支持新闻媒体的政治意愿；保护新闻自由的法治，比如保护线上线下言论自由的法律；媒体工作者遵守最高标准的职业道德；起到监督作用的新闻受众。

On World Press Freedom Day, we show our support for media in danger of being censored or shut down, and remember those journalists who lost their lives while exercising their profession. And we call on all countries to support press freedom – both offline and online - and to investigate and prosecute 11 all crimes against journalists.

在世界新闻自由日这一天，我们向那些冒着被审查甚至关闭的媒体机构致敬，同时铭记那些在因公殉职的记者们。我们呼吁所有国家支持新闻自由——无论线上还是线下——同时要调查检举迫害记者的犯罪分子。