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Veterans Day

时间:2005-06-03 16:00:00

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(单词翻译)


By Jerilyn Watson

Broadcast: November 10, 2003
(MUSIC)
VOICE ONE:
November eleventh is a day Americans honor men and women who have served in the United States armed forces. I'm Steve Ember.
VOICE TWO:
And I'm Faith Lapidus. Welcome to THIS IS AMERICA, from VOA Special English. This week -- a report about Veterans Day.
(MUSIC)
VOICE ONE:
The United States has nineteen-million war 1)veterans. But the term "veteran" is not just for soldiers who have served in wars. It describes anyone who has ever been in the military.
On November eleventh, communities across the United States hold ceremonies to observe Veterans Day. Parades take place on this holiday. Military bands play. The president and other public officials give speeches. And, soldiers fire guns into the air to remember those who died in service to their country.
There is a separate holiday to honor members of the armed services who were killed. The United States observes 2)Memorial Day in May.
VOICE TWO:
Congress wanted the nation to hear the stories of its older veterans. Many veterans have reached old age. Each day, more than one-thousand veterans die. So, in two-thousand, Congress created a program to keep these memories alive for future Americans. It is called the Veterans History Project.
The Library of Congress Folklife Center collects recorded stories and written histories from veterans. It also gathers memorable1 objects.
The Veterans History Project includes people who served in World Wars One and Two. It includes men and women who served in Korea, Vietnam and the Persian Gulf2 War in nineteen-ninety-one. People who served in civilian3 jobs in the military are also invited to take part.
(MUSIC)
VOICE ONE:
Many people called World War One "the war to end all wars.” It lasted from nineteen-fourteen to nineteen-eighteen.
The United States entered the fighting in nineteen-seventeen. In April it declared war against Germany. But the United States armed forces were small. So the government ordered every man between the ages of twenty-one and thirty-one to report for military duty.
VOICE TWO:
The men came from cities and farms. Some were rich. Others were poor. There were doctors, lawyers, businessmen, professional athletes and college students. Many were married.
More than nine-and-a-half million men reported for duty in June of nineteen-seventeen. The military chose about six-hundred-thousand to serve. They went through military training camps before going to France.
The following year, the government expanded the draft. Now it called on all men between the ages of eighteen and forty-five. More than thirteen-million reported for duty. The Army did not have enough bases to train all the new soldiers. So, it used many colleges and universities as military training centers.
VOICE ONE:
The Navy and Marine4 Corps5 had about eighty-two-thousand men when the United States entered World War One. A year later, there were almost three times that many sailors and Marines.
Many women joined the armed forces, too. Most got office jobs at military bases in the United States. Some, however, went to France as nurses in battlefield hospitals.
VOICE TWO:
A man named Alvin York was honored as one of the greatest American heroes of World War One. He came from a poor family in the state of Tennessee. He opposed all wars. He said his religious beliefs prevented him from killing6. But he was forced to join the Army. He was sent to fight the Germans who invaded France.
Alvin York shot many enemy soldiers. He was responsible for 3)capturing one-hundred-thirty-two German prisoners. The United States and France both honored Sergeant7 Alvin York for his bravery.
(MUSIC)
VOICE ONE:
World War One ended at the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month. Germany surrendered at eleven o'clock in the morning on November eleventh, nineteen-eighteen.
On that day, thousands of Americans were completing their military training in the United States. Others were either in France or on boats sailing to France.
American soldiers who had fought overseas wanted to return to the life they knew before. Almost overnight, the number of troops in the American armed services dropped to what it had been before the war.
VOICE TWO:
In nineteen-nineteen, President Woodrow Wilson signed a declaration of November eleventh as Armistice8 Day in the United States. It would be a day to honor the men and women who had served in the American armed forces during the war.
About two-million Americans served in Europe during the First World War. More than one-hundred-sixteen-thousand were killed. Two-hundred-thirty-five thousand others were wounded.
In nineteen-twenty-six, Congress made Armistice Day a national holiday. But new problems were on the way. Soon, everyone knew that World War One had not been the war to end all wars.
In all, more than four-million Americans served in the armed forces during the First World War. Four times that many would serve during the second.
VOICE ONE:
Most of the Americans who served in World War Two in Europe and the Pacific were eighteen or nineteen years old. They were the children of World War One veterans.
The United States entered the war in December nineteen-forty-one, after Japan attacked the Navy base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii.
During World War Two, Americans came to learn the names of men like Audie Murphy and Carl Klett.
VOICE TWO:
Audie Murphy was the son of farm laborers9 in Texas. He was a teen-ager when he joined the Army and went to fight in Europe. Over a period of three years, he earned thirty-three medals for bravery. These included the 4)Congressional Medal of Honor. He killed more than two-hundred-forty enemy soldiers and captured others.
After the war, Audie Murphy became famous as a Hollywood movie actor.
VOICE ONE:
Carl Klett was a flier from Chesterton, Indiana. He piloted supply planes. In nineteen-forty-four, he had made seventy-five flights over a dangerous mountain area in Burma. Seventy-five was the number of flights required for a pilot to be sent back to the United States.
But Lieutenant10 Klett heard that an Army hospital in the Burmese jungle needed medicine and equipment. He offered to make one more flight. His plane crashed, and he was killed.
VOICE TWO:
Germany surrendered in May nineteen-forty-five. That ended the war in Europe. Japan surrendered in August of that year.
Armistice Day in nineteen-forty-five was a very special day in the United States. Most of the men and women who had served in the war were home. So, instead of just honoring veterans of World War One, Americans also honored veterans of World War Two.
In nineteen-fifty-four, Congress decided11 to change the name of Armistice Day. The holiday became Veterans Day. By then almost six-million more Americans had served in another war -- the Korean War.
VOICE ONE:
Paulette Geer lives in Rockville, Maryland. She was a young Army nurse during the Korean War. She worked at Walter Reed Army Hospital in Washington, D-C. The hospital served as a main treatment center for wounded soldiers. She helped care for men with terrible injuries.
At one point, Paulette Geer was told of a plan for nurses to 5)parachute into Korea. An airplane would drop them behind enemy lines to establish a battlefield hospital. She and other nurses offered to take part. But that flight never took place. Mizz Geer says that is probably why she is alive today to tell about it.
VOICE TWO:
The Korean War ended in nineteen-fifty-three. In the years to follow, almost nine-million Americans served in the military during the Vietnam War. That was the last time the United States held a draft. Since nineteen-seventy-three, no one has been required to join the military.
Many Americans today grew up with stories of family members who fought in Vietnam, or Korea or the battlefields of World War Two. Future stories will tell about places like Iraq and Afghanistan. But this November eleventh, as the nation honors its veterans, many Americans are thinking about family members still at war far from home.
(MUSIC)
VOICE ONE:
Our program was written by Jerilyn Watson. Our producer was Caty Weaver12. I'm Steve Ember.
VOICE TWO:
And I'm Faith Lapidus. Join us again next week for another report about life in the United States on the VOA Special English program, THIS IS AMERICA.
注释:
1) veteran [5vetErEn] n.老兵,退伍军人
2) Memorial Day  (美)美国对阵亡战士的纪念日
3) capture [5kAptFE] vt.俘获, 捕获, 夺取
4) Congressional [kEn5^reFEnEl] adj.会议的, 大会的, 国会的
5) parachute [5pArEFu:t] n.降落伞


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1 memorable K2XyQ     
adj.值得回忆的,难忘的,特别的,显著的
参考例句:
  • This was indeed the most memorable day of my life.这的确是我一生中最值得怀念的日子。
  • The veteran soldier has fought many memorable battles.这个老兵参加过许多难忘的战斗。
2 gulf 1e0xp     
n.海湾;深渊,鸿沟;分歧,隔阂
参考例句:
  • The gulf between the two leaders cannot be bridged.两位领导人之间的鸿沟难以跨越。
  • There is a gulf between the two cities.这两座城市间有个海湾。
3 civilian uqbzl     
adj.平民的,民用的,民众的
参考例句:
  • There is no reliable information about civilian casualties.关于平民的伤亡还没有确凿的信息。
  • He resigned his commission to take up a civilian job.他辞去军职而从事平民工作。
4 marine 77Izo     
adj.海的;海生的;航海的;海事的;n.水兵
参考例句:
  • Marine creatures are those which live in the sea. 海洋生物是生存在海里的生物。
  • When the war broke out,he volunteered for the Marine Corps.战争爆发时,他自愿参加了海军陆战队。
5 corps pzzxv     
n.(通信等兵种的)部队;(同类作的)一组
参考例句:
  • The medical corps were cited for bravery in combat.医疗队由于在战场上的英勇表现而受嘉奖。
  • When the war broke out,he volunteered for the Marine Corps.战争爆发时,他自愿参加了海军陆战队。
6 killing kpBziQ     
n.巨额利润;突然赚大钱,发大财
参考例句:
  • Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
  • Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。
7 sergeant REQzz     
n.警官,中士
参考例句:
  • His elder brother is a sergeant.他哥哥是个警官。
  • How many stripes are there on the sleeve of a sergeant?陆军中士的袖子上有多少条纹?
8 armistice ivoz9     
n.休战,停战协定
参考例句:
  • The two nations signed an armistice.两国签署了停火协议。
  • The Italian armistice is nothing but a clumsy trap.意大利的停战不过是一个笨拙的陷阱。
9 laborers c8c6422086151d6c0ae2a95777108e3c     
n.体力劳动者,工人( laborer的名词复数 );(熟练工人的)辅助工
参考例句:
  • Laborers were trained to handle 50-ton compactors and giant cranes. 工人们接受操作五十吨压土机和巨型起重机的训练。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
  • Wage-labour rests exclusively on competition between the laborers. 雇佣劳动完全是建立在工人的自相竞争之上的。 来自英汉非文学 - 共产党宣言
10 lieutenant X3GyG     
n.陆军中尉,海军上尉;代理官员,副职官员
参考例句:
  • He was promoted to be a lieutenant in the army.他被提升为陆军中尉。
  • He prevailed on the lieutenant to send in a short note.他说动那个副官,递上了一张简短的便条进去。
11 decided lvqzZd     
adj.决定了的,坚决的;明显的,明确的
参考例句:
  • This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
  • There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。
12 weaver LgWwd     
n.织布工;编织者
参考例句:
  • She was a fast weaver and the cloth was very good.她织布织得很快,而且布的质量很好。
  • The eager weaver did not notice my confusion.热心的纺织工人没有注意到我的狼狈相。

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