新西兰英语 476 Nancy Wake

 　　Nancy Wake, born in New Zealand in 1912, died today in London aged¹ 98. She was famous for the work she did for the French Resistance² during the Second World War. She was a spy³ for the British and a fighter for freedom against the Nazis⁵ in France. She was very brave and clever. She saved the lives of thousands of Allied⁶ soldiers by helping⁷ them to escape from France. She destroyed the Nazi⁴ headquarters⁸ in Paris. The Germans called her “The White Mouse” because she was so clever at escaping. At the end of the war she was awarded medals from France, Britain, New Zealand and Australia.

　　Although she was born in New Zealand, she moved to Australia at the age of 10. In her 20s, she went to France where she married a French businessman in 1939. He was also active in the French Resistance. She did not know until the war ended that the Germans had caught and killed her husband.

　　Her story was made into a novel called “Charlotte Gray” and then into a movie in 2001. Cate Blanchett played the part of Nancy in the movie.

　　Vocabulary

　　?The French Resistance movement worked secretly to fight for freedom and to destroy the enemy.

　　?The Allied soldiers were from Britain, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, USA and others fighting against the Germans.

　　?awarded – given a prize or a medal

　　Questions

　　?Although she lived in many countries, she called herself a New Zealander and kept her New Zealand passport. Why?

　　?Why would a New Zealander or an Australian risk her life for the freedom of France?

1 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。

2 resistance   

n.抵抗力，反抗，反抗行动；阻力，电阻；反对；adj.抵抗的

参考例句：

• Very little resistance was put up by the enemy.敌人没怎么进行抵抗。
• An aircraft has to overcome the resistance of the air.飞机须克服空气的阻力。

3 spy   

n.间谍，侦探，侦察；vt.侦察，找出，发现；vi.做密探，侦查

参考例句：

• I'm sure my neighbours spy on me.我肯定邻居暗中监视我。
• The spy never told his family about his underground activities.那个间谍从来不把他的地下活动告诉他的家人。

4 Nazi   

n.纳粹分子，adj.纳粹党的，纳粹的

参考例句：

• They declare the Nazi regime overthrown and sue for peace.他们宣布纳粹政权已被推翻，并出面求和。
• Nazi closes those war criminals inside their concentration camp.纳粹把那些战犯关在他们的集中营里。

5 Nazis   

n.（德国的）纳粹党员( Nazi的名词复数 )；纳粹主义

参考例句：

• The Nazis worked them over with gun butts. 纳粹分子用枪托毒打他们。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The Nazis were responsible for the mass murder of Jews during World War Ⅱ. 纳粹必须为第二次世界大战中对犹太人的大屠杀负责。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 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。

7 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

8 headquarters   

n.司令部，指挥部；总部，总店

参考例句：

• Several great guns from the headquarters are coming to see us today.总部的几个大人物今天要来看我们。
• The bank has its headquarters in Pairs.这家银行的总行在巴黎。