VOA常速英语2018--美国人纪念一战结束100周年（在线收听）

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 Allied manpower and morale. 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。

Essentially, the first few days, the gains were relatively 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 trenches and artillery positions. The 47-day Argonne Offensive recaptured hundreds of square kilometers. As French and British divisions also advanced, Germany realized defeat was inevitable and signed the Armistice 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 liberated 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 literally 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 Cemetery. WWI was the first time that the United States had deployed 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 ambivalent 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 Bloc. 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 supremacy. 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。