新西兰英语 678 El Alamein

 　　Twenty-two New Zealand war veterans², aged³ between 88 and 96, are in Egypt to remember the battle fought 70 years ago at El Alamein. Yesterday they attended a service at the cemetery⁴ where more than 1,100 NZ soldiers are buried.

　　The Second Battle of El Alamein started on October 23rd 1942 and lasted 13 days until November 4th. This battle was the first victory for the Allies⁵ during the Second World War. It was the turning point of the war. Before that the Germans and Italians were winning but after that, the Allies began to win the battles. The Allies were Britain and Commonwealth⁶ countries (including NZ) and USA.

　　German and Italian war veterans also attended services at their war memorials because their countries lost many soldiers. They had 100,000 soldiers at the beginning of this battle but half were wounded, killed or taken prisoner. The Allies had 195,000 soldiers at the beginning. 13,250 were killed. In total – all soldiers and Air Force from all countries – 44,102 were killed at that battle.

　　The NZ war veterans travelled to Egypt with the Minister of Defence and a number of Defence staff in an Air Force plane. The journey took several days because they stopped on the way to make this an easier trip. The veterans all had care givers with them because of their age.

　　They leave Egypt tomorrow for their return trip.

　　Vocabulary

　　?battle – one fight during a war

　　?veteran¹ – an old soldier, someone who fought in a war in the past

　　?service – religious service

　　?cemetery – place where dead people are buried

　　?turning point – a change from one direction to another e.g. from losing to winning

　　?War memorial – a statue or a building to remember those who died during a war

　　?Defence – protect their country e.g. army, navy⁷, air force

　　Discussion⁸

　　Imagine what veterans from both sides of the war might say to each, if they could speak the same language.

1 veteran   

n.老兵；经验丰富的人，老手

参考例句：

• My grandfather is a veteran of the Second World War.我祖父是二战时的老兵。
• We often asked the veteran workers for advice.我们常常向老工人求教。

2 veterans   

经验丰富的人，老兵( veteran的名词复数 )； 退伍军人

参考例句：

• Some veterans of the two world wars gathered to celebrate their victory. 一些经历了两次世界大战的退伍军人欢聚庆祝胜利。
• Seasoned veterans were picked to storm the difficult enemy position. 有经验的老兵被挑选出来去突袭难攻的敌军阵地。

3 aged   

adj.年老的，陈年的

参考例句：

• He had put on weight and aged a little.他胖了，也老点了。
• He is aged,but his memory is still good.他已年老，然而记忆力还好。

4 cemetery   

n.坟墓，墓地，坟场

参考例句：

• He was buried in the cemetery.他被葬在公墓。
• His remains were interred in the cemetery.他的遗体葬在墓地。

5 allies   

联盟国，同盟者； 同盟国，同盟者( ally的名词复数 )； 支持者； 盟军

参考例句：

• The allies would fear that they were pawns in a superpower condominium. 这个联盟担心他们会成为超级大国共管的牺牲品。
• A number of the United States' allies had urged him not to take a hasty decision. 美国的一些盟友已力劝他不要急于作决定。

6 commonwealth   

n.共和国，联邦，共同体

参考例句：

• He is the chairman of the commonwealth of artists.他是艺术家协会的主席。
• Most of the members of the Commonwealth are nonwhite.英联邦的许多成员国不是白人国家。

7 navy   

n.海军，海军人员，海军军力，藏青色

参考例句：

• My brother is in the navy.我兄弟在海军服役。
• He has transferred from the army to the navy.他从陆军转到海军。

8 discussion   

n.讨论，谈论；论述

参考例句：

• It is certain he will come to the discussion.他肯定会来参加讨论。
• After months of discussion,a peace agreement is gradually taking shape.经过几个月的商讨，和平协议渐渐有了眉目。