VOA常速英语2018--美国人纪念一战结束100周年

Along the 700 kilometers of the former Western Front, ceremonies mark 100 years since the end of a conflict that traumatized and transformed the world. U.S. involvement came late but proved vital in boosting Allied¹ manpower and morale². On September 26th, 1918, the United States army launched the Argonne Offensive led by US General John Pershing, to this day the deadliest battle in US Army history.

绵延700公里的前西部前线上，正在举行100周年的仪式，以纪念一场战争的结束。这场战争的创痛改变了全世界。美国加入战争的时间较晚，但对于增进盟军的兵力以及提高盟军士气而言至关重要。1918年9月26日，美军在约翰·潘兴将军的领导下发动了阿尔贡战役。直到今天位置，这场战役也是美军历史上最惨烈的一次。

Essentially³, the first few days, the gains were relatively⁴ good. Not as much good as General Pershing wanted, but they were relatively good. But then, the Germans moved in more reinforcements. Gaulke conducts tours of the battlefields uncovering the scars and ruins of war that still litter the front lines. Like this, Germans narrowed age-old railroad station on the edge of Varennes-en-Argonne used to supply the vast network of trenches⁵ and artillery⁶ positions. The 47-day Argonne Offensive recaptured hundreds of square kilometers. As French and British divisions also advanced, Germany realized defeat was inevitable⁷ and signed the Armistice⁸ on November 11th, 1918. The guns fell silent.

总体来说，前几天战果颇丰。虽然没有达到潘兴将军的预期，但相对来说已经不错了。然而，接下来，德军增援了更多的部队。戴高乐的数次指挥让战场满目疮痍，只剩下让前线阵阵作痛的一片废墟。跟戴高乐那次相仿，德国将瓦雷纳边缘的铁路火车站缩窄，这些站点以前是用来给大型战壕和炮兵阵地网络提供物资的。为期47天的阿尔贡战役收复了数百平方公里的土地。另一边，英法部队也在挺进，所以德国意识到失败是不可避免的，就于1918年11月11日签订了停战协定。炮火声终于不再。

Varenne was among the first towns liberated⁹ in the Argonne Offensive captured by US troops. It is a place of pilgrimage for Americans visitors, including this group of re-enactors who have toured the battlefields to mark the centenary.

于瓦雷纳是阿尔贡战役中被美军解放的第一批城镇之一。这里是很多美国游客的朝圣之地，比如现在这群演员，他们来到这片曾经的战场参加百年纪念。对美国而言，二战的影响要远大于一战。

I had relatives who came over quite literally¹⁰ with the ideal of... you know... making the world safe for democracy. I mean, they came with very high ideals. Over 116,000 Americans were killed in the First World War. More than 14,000 are buried at the Meuse-Argonne Americans Cemetery¹¹. WWI was the first time that the United States had deployed¹² troops in these numbers to defend foreign soil. By the end of the war in 1918, there were some two million American soldiers on French soil.

我有一些亲戚来到这里是带着让世界安全民主的梦想的。我想说，他们的理想都很崇高。美国有11.6万多名战士在一战中阵亡。其中有1.4万多人被埋葬在了美国大举公墓。一战是美国第一次部署数量如此之大的军队来保卫境外领土。1918年一战接近尾声的时候，法国大概有200万名美国士兵。

Despite its sacrifices, America was ambivalent¹³ about any enduring role in European security after the war, says historian William Philpott. It took a number of years Europe didn’t settle down. There was more trouble between France and Germany, particularly over the question of reparations. And here it was American finance that started to play a part in international affairs.

虽然美国做出了巨大牺牲，但美国很犹豫是否要在战后也对欧洲安全长期负责，历史学家威廉·菲尔波特如是说道。过了很多年，欧洲才得以安定下来。法国和德国之间在赔付的问题上有很多争议。在这个节骨眼上，美国金融开始在国际事务上发挥重要作用。

World powers would once again go to war in 1939. American military power became decisive in European security. We see it being built up to defeat fascism, but we see it being maintained thereafter, because of the threat from the Eastern Bloc¹⁴. And although American power has changed its nature after the end of the Cold War, we still see that America has retained this capacity to project power globally and act as the world’s policeman. For America as a nation, that role is under threat, as rival powers seek to challenge the United States supremacy¹⁵. For America as a people, the centenary of the Armistice offers a chance to remember the fathers and sons who never came home from a war that some fear is being forgotten.

世界各强国在1939年的时候再次爆发战争。美军对欧洲安全起到了决定性的作用。我们可以看到美军建设自身并击溃了法西斯，但我们也看到在法西斯被击溃之后美军依然严阵以待，这是因为东方阵营造成了威胁。此外，虽然美国的实力在一战后已经改变了本质，但与此同时，我们也看到依然有能力在全球范围内彰显实力并担任世界警察的角色。对于美国而言，世界警察的角色正在受到威胁，因为有一些大国意图挑战美国的地位。对于美国人民来说，一战停战100周年的纪念仪式也提供了一个机会，可以铭记自己战死沙场的父亲和儿子，而不会像一些人所担心的那样忘记这场战争。

1 allied   

adj.协约国的；同盟国的

参考例句：

• Britain was allied with the United States many times in history.历史上英国曾多次与美国结盟。
• Allied forces sustained heavy losses in the first few weeks of the campaign.同盟国在最初几周内遭受了巨大的损失。

2 morale   

n.道德准则，士气，斗志

参考例句：

• The morale of the enemy troops is sinking lower every day.敌军的士气日益低落。
• He tried to bolster up their morale.他尽力鼓舞他们的士气。

3 essentially   

adv.本质上，实质上，基本上

参考例句：

• Really great men are essentially modest.真正的伟人大都很谦虚。
• She is an essentially selfish person.她本质上是个自私自利的人。

4 relatively   

adv.比较...地，相对地

参考例句：

• The rabbit is a relatively recent introduction in Australia.兔子是相对较新引入澳大利亚的物种。
• The operation was relatively painless.手术相对来说不痛。

5 trenches   

深沟，地沟( trench的名词复数 )； 战壕

参考例句：

• life in the trenches 第一次世界大战期间的战壕生活
• The troops stormed the enemy's trenches and fanned out across the fields. 部队猛攻敌人的战壕，并在田野上呈扇形散开。

6 artillery   

n.(军)火炮，大炮；炮兵(部队)

参考例句：

• This is a heavy artillery piece.这是一门重炮。
• The artillery has more firepower than the infantry.炮兵火力比步兵大。

7 inevitable   

adj.不可避免的，必然发生的

参考例句：

• Mary was wearing her inevitable large hat.玛丽戴着她总是戴的那顶大帽子。
• The defeat had inevitable consequences for British policy.战败对英国政策不可避免地产生了影响。

8 armistice   

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 liberated   

a.无拘束的，放纵的

参考例句：

• The city was liberated by the advancing army. 军队向前挺进，解放了那座城市。
• The heat brings about a chemical reaction, and oxygen is liberated. 热量引起化学反应，释放出氧气。

10 literally   

adv.照字面意义，逐字地；确实

参考例句：

• He translated the passage literally.他逐字逐句地翻译这段文字。
• Sometimes she would not sit down till she was literally faint.有时候，她不走到真正要昏厥了，决不肯坐下来。

11 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。

12 deployed   

（尤指军事行动）使展开( deploy的过去式和过去分词 )； 施展； 部署； 有效地利用

参考例句：

• Tanks have been deployed all along the front line. 沿整个前线已部署了坦克。
• The artillery was deployed to bear on the fort. 火炮是对着那个碉堡部署的。

13 ambivalent   

adj.含糊不定的；(态度等)矛盾的

参考例句：

• She remained ambivalent about her marriage.她对于自己的婚事仍然拿不定主意。
• Although she professed fear of the Russians,she seemed to have ambivalent feelings toward Philby himself.虽然她承认害怕俄国人，然而她似乎对菲尔比本人有一种矛盾的感情。

14 bloc   

n.集团；联盟

参考例句：

• A solid bloc of union members support the decision.工会会员团结起来支持该决定。
• There have been growing tensions within the trading bloc.贸易同盟国的关系越来越紧张。

15 supremacy   

n.至上；至高权力

参考例句：

• No one could challenge her supremacy in gymnastics.她是最优秀的体操运动员，无人能胜过她。
• Theoretically,she holds supremacy as the head of the state.从理论上说，她作为国家的最高元首拥有至高无上的权力。