VOA常速英语2019--美国退伍军人节（在线收听）

During the American Civil War, President Abraham Lincoln called on his countrymen in his famous Gettysburg Address to ensure that liberty "shall not perish from the earth." His words have inspired many over the years, including millions in our nation's armed services who fought to preserve not only America’s freedom, but that of other nations as well.

在美国内战期间，亚伯拉罕·林肯总统在他著名的葛底斯堡演说中号召他的同胞们确保自由“不会从地球上消失”。多年来，他的话激励了许多人，包括美国数百万军人，他们不仅为维护美国的自由而战，也为其他国家的自由而战。

Today, Veterans Day, America pauses to honor these men and women, and the values of duty and sacrifice they represent. Long after they leave uniform, they symbolize what it means to be a citizen of a free land.

今天是退伍军人节，美国举国上下都在缅怀他们，缅怀他们所代表的责任和牺牲的价值。在他们退役很久之后，他们象征着一个自由国度的公民的意义。

The holiday, observed every year on November 11, originated with the armistice that ended The First World War in 1918. The conflict, fought in Asia, Africa, scattered islands in the Pacific and the waters off South America, as well as on the battlefields of Europe, was seen as "the war to end all wars." But other wars followed, and in 1954 President Dwight Eisenhower expanded the holiday to honor all who have served in uniform both in war and peace.

每年的11月11日是这个节日，起源于1918年结束第一次世界大战的停战协定。这场冲突发生在亚洲、非洲、太平洋上分散的岛屿、南美洲海域，以及欧洲战场，被视为“结束所有战争的战争”。但随后发生了其他战争，1954年，艾森豪威尔总统扩大了这个节日的范围，以纪念所有在战争与和平时期服役的军人。

Our government continues this effort to this day, with program to help veterans leaving the military to find employment and ease their transition into civilian life.

我们的政府至今仍在继续这一努力，制定了帮助退伍军人找到工作并轻松过渡到平民生活的计划。

At its core, though, Veterans Day isn't about war. It commemorates no battlefield victory or defeat, it celebrates no advancement of political or territorial ambition. Rather, it's a day of remembrance, echoing similar holidays in Great Britain, Canada, South Africa and other nations that honor military veterans for their service and sacrifice.

然而，退伍军人节的核心并不是战争。它不纪念战场上的胜利或失败，不庆祝政治或领土野心的进步。相反，这是一个纪念日，与英国、加拿大、南非和其他国家纪念退伍军人的类似节日相呼应。