VOA慢速英语20061116b

THE MAKING OF A NATION - Fighting World War Two: Powerful Germany Begins to Face DefeatsBy David Jarmul

Broadcast: Thursday, November 16, 2006

THE MAKING OF A NATION -- a program in Special English by the Voice of America.

(MUSIC)

In December nineteen forty-one, the United States was at war.

It declared war against Japan after Japanese planes destroyed American air and naval¹ forces in Hawaii. And a few days later, Germany and Italy declared war against the United States.

President Franklin Roosevelt quickly decided² that America could not fight major campaigns in the Pacific and in Europe at the same time. He and his advisors³ decided to fight first against the Germans and Italians. Then, when victory in Europe seemed sure, the United States could turn to fight the Japanese in Asia.

VOICE TWO:

This left the Japanese free to extend their power throughout Asia and the western Pacific. Soon after the attack at Hawaii, Japanese forces invaded Hong Kong, Malaya, and the Philippines. American land and air forces in the Philippines were destroyed or captured. And Manila fell to Japanese troops. In February, nineteen forty-two, Japan's forces won a great victory against the British in Singapore.

Japanese forces marched into Burma. They attacked Ceylon and captured the Andaman Islands in the Bay of Bengal. The Japanese military forces seemed too strong to stop.

VOICE ONE:

President Roosevelt sent some forces to the Pacific. And he began to re-build the American naval forces destroyed at Pearl Harbor. But he sent most of America's military strength to Europe. The United States rushed troops and war equipment to help Britain survive against Hitler's Germany.


Artist's image of an Allied⁴ invasion craft headed for the beach at Sicily

American military leaders wanted to fight Germany quickly by launching an attack across the English Channel. But British Prime Minister Winston Churchill opposed this.

He and others feared such an invasion might fail. So, British and American forces attacked Italian and German occupation troops in North Africa. They defeated them, then crossed the Mediterranean⁵ Sea to attack enemy forces in Sicily. Within weeks, they pushed the Germans out of Sicily to the Italian mainland. The Allied invasion of Italy followed.

VOICE TWO:

Hitler could not strengthen his forces in North Africa and Italy, because Germany also was fighting hard in the Soviet⁶ Union.

Hitler's decision early in the war to attack the Soviet Union was a serious mistake. It divided his men and materials. His plan was to defeat Soviet forces quickly with one strong attack. But he failed. And his failure cost him valuable troops and supplies that might have helped him win the battles for North Africa and Italy.

Germany's attack on the Soviet Union began with great success.

In the middle of nineteen forty-one, a German force of more than three million men invaded the Soviet Union. It captured the Ukraine, took control of Kiev, and marched deep into Russia.

VOICE ONE:

The situation changed the following year. Soviet forces under Marshal Zhukov won a terrible, fierce battle for the city of Stalingrad [Volgograd]. A great many German soldiers died from cold and hunger during the bitter winter months that followed.

Zhukov's forces attacked the German troops and pushed back the invaders⁷. Other Soviet troops forced Nazi⁸ soldiers away from the city of Leningrad [St. Petersburg].

By the middle of nineteen forty-four, Nazi forces throughout the Soviet Union were retreating. And Soviet forces were preparing to push them over the border and invade Germany themselves.

VOICE TWO:

The fighting by land forces was terrible. Huge numbers of soldiers and civilians¹⁰ were killed. Fighting also was fierce on the seas. The two sides had been fighting on the oceans from the first day of the war, when a German submarine sank a British ship.

The main goal of the German navy during the war was to prevent the United States from sending ships to Britain with war materials, food, and troops. At first, the Germans were very successful. Some people in Britain were hungry in nineteen forty-one, because so few food-carrying ships could cross the ocean.

German submarines were the greatest danger to ships crossing the Atlantic. They could hide below the surface and attack without warning.

The submarine problem did not improve until new technology was developed in nineteen forty-three. Allied scientists improved sonar and radar¹¹ systems that helped find submarines on the surface and underwater. More of the enemy submarines were found and destroyed. The Allies slowly gained control of the Atlantic.

VOICE ONE:

Surface warships¹² of the two sides fought a number of traditional naval battles. But airplanes had a more important part than in the past. British planes and ships destroyed a powerful German battleship, the Bismarck.

The most famous air battle of the war in Europe took place over the English Channel. Luftwaffe pilots from Germany tried to destroy the smaller British air force. But they failed to do so, mainly because of the skill of the British fliers. The British victory in the air helped prevent a German invasion of Britain.

VOICE TWO:

In May, nineteen forty-two, the British air force made an attack on Germany with one thousand bomber¹³ planes. It was just the first of many such attacks by United States and British planes.

The planes bombed German military and industrial centers. They also bombed civilian⁹ targets in an effort to teach the German people the price of Germany's aggression¹⁴. The German cities of cologne, Dresden, and Hamburg suffered terrible damage. The allied bombing attacks continued until the war's end in nineteen-forty-five.

VOICE ONE:

Hitler's victories in the early months of the war had caused fear in the hearts of people throughout the world.

Hitler and his allies had won battle after battle. They had captured western Europe, except for Britain, and had invaded the Soviet Union. They had seized North Africa. And their submarines controlled the Atlantic Ocean.

Germany continued to seem strong during the first months after the United States entered the war in Europe. But the situation began to change. German strength and control were greatest in November nineteen forty-two. After then, the mighty¹⁵ German military machine began to slow down.

VOICE TWO:

Germany and its allies suffered serious losses in the first six months of nineteen forty-three.

German losses were extremely heavy in the Soviet Union. One hundred sixty thousand German troops died at Stalingrad [Volgograd], and more than one hundred ten thousand others surrendered.

Two hundred fifty thousand German and Italian troops were captured in North Africa. Many more thousands were killed or captured in Sicily and Italy. German submarines were being destroyed in the North Atlantic, allowing more allied troops and supplies to reach Britain.

VOICE ONE:

By the end of nineteen forty-three, Hitler and his armies no longer seemed so strong. But German forces continued to occupy France, Belgium, and much of the rest of western Europe. Now, the time had come for the Allies to invade German-held Europe from Britain.

Allied forces planned the greatest military invasion in history to break the German control of Europe and win the war. That invasion, the famous D-Day battle of Normandy, will be our story next week.

(MUSIC)

VOICE TWO:

You have been listening to THE MAKING OF A NATION -- a program in Special English. Your narrators were Harry¹⁶ Monroe and Jack¹⁷ Weitzel. THE MAKING OF A NATION is written by David Jarmul.

1 naval   

adj.海军的，军舰的，船的

参考例句：

• He took part in a great naval battle.他参加了一次大海战。
• The harbour is an important naval base.该港是一个重要的海军基地。

2 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

3 advisors   

n.顾问，劝告者( advisor的名词复数 )；（指导大学新生学科问题等的）指导教授

参考例句：

• The governors felt that they were being strung along by their advisors. 地方长官感到他们一直在受顾问们的愚弄。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• We will consult together with advisors about her education. 我们将一起和专家商议她的教育事宜。 来自互联网

4 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。

5 Mediterranean   

adj.地中海的；地中海沿岸的

参考例句：

• The houses are Mediterranean in character.这些房子都属地中海风格。
• Gibraltar is the key to the Mediterranean.直布罗陀是地中海的要冲。

6 Soviet   

adj.苏联的，苏维埃的；n.苏维埃

参考例句：

• Zhukov was a marshal of the former Soviet Union.朱可夫是前苏联的一位元帅。
• Germany began to attack the Soviet Union in 1941.德国在1941年开始进攻苏联。

7 invaders   

入侵者，侵略者，侵入物( invader的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• They prepared to repel the invaders. 他们准备赶走侵略军。
• The family has traced its ancestry to the Norman invaders. 这个家族将自己的世系追溯到诺曼征服者。

8 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。

9 civilian   

adj.平民的，民用的，民众的

参考例句：

• There is no reliable information about civilian casualties.关于平民的伤亡还没有确凿的信息。
• He resigned his commission to take up a civilian job.他辞去军职而从事平民工作。

10 civilians   

平民，百姓( civilian的名词复数 )； 老百姓

参考例句：

• the bloody massacre of innocent civilians 对无辜平民的血腥屠杀
• At least 300 civilians are unaccounted for after the bombing raids. 遭轰炸袭击之后，至少有300名平民下落不明。

11 radar   

n.雷达，无线电探测器

参考例句：

• They are following the flight of an aircraft by radar.他们正在用雷达追踪一架飞机的飞行。
• Enemy ships were detected on the radar.敌舰的影像已显现在雷达上。

12 warships   

军舰，战舰( warship的名词复数 )； 舰只

参考例句：

• The enemy warships were disengaged from the battle after suffering heavy casualties. 在遭受惨重伤亡后，敌舰退出了海战。
• The government fitted out warships and sailors for them. 政府给他们配备了战舰和水手。

13 bomber   

n.轰炸机，投弹手，投掷炸弹者

参考例句：

• He flew a bomber during the war.他在战时驾驶轰炸机。
• Detectives hunting the London bombers will be keen to interview him.追查伦敦爆炸案凶犯的侦探们急于对他进行讯问。

14 aggression   

n.进攻，侵略，侵犯，侵害

参考例句：

• So long as we are firmly united, we need fear no aggression.只要我们紧密地团结，就不必惧怕外来侵略。
• Her view is that aggression is part of human nature.她认为攻击性是人类本性的一部份。

15 mighty   

adj.强有力的；巨大的

参考例句：

• A mighty force was about to break loose.一股巨大的力量即将迸发而出。
• The mighty iceberg came into view.巨大的冰山出现在眼前。

16 harry   

vt.掠夺，蹂躏，使苦恼

参考例句：

• Today,people feel more hurried and harried.今天，人们感到更加忙碌和苦恼。
• Obama harried business by Healthcare Reform plan.奥巴马用医改掠夺了商界。

17 jack   

n.插座，千斤顶，男人；v.抬起，提醒，扛举；n.（Jake）杰克

参考例句：

• I am looking for the headphone jack.我正在找寻头戴式耳机插孔。
• He lifted the car with a jack to change the flat tyre.他用千斤顶把车顶起来换下瘪轮胎。