What do literary greats Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and Robert Burns have in common? They both lived and wrote in Edinburgh, along with many other big names in the field of literature. This fact helped UNESCO (联合国教科文组织) award the city the title of world's first City of Literature on October 14. Edinburgh left a lasting impression on Arthur Conan Doyle (1859-1930). Although he was born there he went to school in England but returned home for medical school. After graduating he moved to London and began writing his Sherlock Holmes stories. His inspiration for the character came from one of his professors at university. Holmes' methods were so clever that they actually furthered the advance of the study of criminology (犯罪学). Robert Burns (1759-1796) is still regarded as Scotland's national poet, more than 200 years after his death. He is celebrated all over the world through translations of his work and the annual Burns Night supper on his birthday. One of his songs, "My Love is Like a Red Red Rose" ranks among the finest love songs ever written and "Auld Lang Syne" (友谊地久天长) is sung all around the world． As one of the first literate societies in Europe, the Scottish Parliament passed the world's first compulsory (义务) education law in 1496. By the 1790s, almost all Scots could read． Visitors to Scotland often observed that even the lowest members of society had copies of Burns' poems and other books. 小题1:Edinburgh was awarded the title of world's first City of Literature because _____.
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