纪念二战结束70周年

AS IT IS 2015-08-15 Remembering 70th Anniversary of End of World War II 纪念二战结束70周年

World War II ended 70 years ago this week. On August 15, 1945, Japan surrendered to allied¹ forces led by the United States. The war was, and remains², the deadliest military conflict in history.

The allies fought many costly³ battles against Japan. The bloodiest⁴ and most deadly was the Battle of Okinawa. U.S. officials said the battle was one reason they decided⁵ to use atomic weapons on Japan. They said the human cost of fighting was too high.

VOA recently visited the island of Okinawa to learn more about the effects of the war there.

The invasion of Okinawa was the last, the bloodiest, and one of the largest battles of World War II. More than 1,000 American ships and hundreds of thousands of troops were involved. The fighting lasted 82 days. Villages were destroyed and forests burned. Almost 200,000 people were killed.

A small museum on a U.S. Marine⁶ base in Okinawa shows pictures and historical objects from the battle. Mark Waycaster is the curator of the museum’s Battle of Okinawa area. He says Japanese General Mitsuru Ushijima’s plan was to hurt the morale⁷ and strength of the Americans. His goal was not to win.

“His intentions is to bleed the American forces so bad that the United States sues for peace.”

Many American and Japanese troops were killed or injured in Okinawa. Japanese forces fought fiercely. Some fought to the death, refusing to surrender even when they knew they could not win. This was one reason U.S. officials gave for their decision to drop atomic bombs on the city of Nagasaki and Hiroshima.

Today on Okinawa, many Japanese still remember the battle. The fighting caused the deaths of almost one-third of the civilians⁸ who lived on the island. Some Japanese military areas are preserved as memorials. 

The Himeyuri Peace Museum tells the story of about 200 Japanese schoolgirls. They were forced to work as medical aides for the Japanese military. Many died in the fighting. 

Shimabukuro Yoshiko was seriously injured during the fighting. She said Japanese officials warned the girls that the Americans would rape⁹ and then kill them. She says she was told American soldiers were devils. But she said an American soldier saved her life.

She says "I saw the soldier's face and he looked nice and said 'I’m going to help you.'"

Many people remember or learned about the deaths and damage resulting from the war. Many Okinawans are pacifists, and they gather often to speak against violence.

They are unhappy about the presence of American troops on Okinawa. And they oppose efforts by conservatives in Japan to strengthen the country’s military.

Words in This Story

curator – n. a keeper or caretaker for a museum collection

sue for peace – v. formal to officially ask for an end to fighting

preserve(d) – v. to keep safe from loss or harm

pacifist – n. someone who believes that war and violence are wrong and who refuses to take part in or support a war effort

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 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

3 costly   

adj.昂贵的，价值高的，豪华的

参考例句：

• It must be very costly to keep up a house like this.维修这么一幢房子一定很昂贵。
• This dictionary is very useful,only it is a bit costly.这本词典很有用，左不过贵了些。

4 bloodiest   

adj.血污的( bloody的最高级 )；流血的；屠杀的；残忍的

参考例句：

• The Russians were going to suffer their bloodiest defeat of all before Berlin. 俄国人在柏林城下要遭到他们的最惨重的失败。 来自辞典例句
• It was perhaps the bloodiest hour in the history of warfare. 这也许是战争史上血腥味最浓的1个小时。 来自互联网

5 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。

6 marine   

adj.海的；海生的；航海的；海事的；n.水兵

参考例句：

• Marine creatures are those which live in the sea. 海洋生物是生存在海里的生物。
• When the war broke out,he volunteered for the Marine Corps.战争爆发时，他自愿参加了海军陆战队。

7 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。

8 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。

9 rape   

n.抢夺，掠夺，强奸；vt.掠夺，抢夺，强奸

参考例句：

• The rape of the countryside had a profound ravage on them.对乡村的掠夺给他们造成严重创伤。
• He was brought to court and charged with rape.他被带到法庭并被指控犯有强奸罪。