2007年VOA标准英语-US Marine Corps Recruits Train for War

By Deborah Block
Parris Island, South Carolina
30 May 2007
 

One of the training grounds for U.S. Marine¹ Corps² recruits is on Parris Island, in the southern U.S. state of South Carolina.  About 17,000 recruits each year complete the challenging training known as "boot camp."  Many of them say it is the hardest thing they have ever done.  VOA's Deborah Block spent time with some of them as they trained and graduated to become U.S. Marines.

Marine Corps boot camp firing range

Marine Corps boot camp is considered the toughest American military basic training.  Men and women from the ages of 17 to 29 spend three months doing intense physical exercise, military drills, hand to hand combat, marksmanship and water survival.

They must meet high physical fitness standards -- and learn how to survive in all kinds of elements. Parris Island tears down the recruits as individuals -- rebuilds them as a group. Eighteen-year-old Daniel Smith says each person is only allowed to call himself "this recruit." "I don't think anybody could ever actually ever prepare for the mental strain that's given at boot camp and the anxiety that you get."

The recruits train constantly and they only have one hour of free time each day.  Meals are short and in silence.  The recruits are encouraged to attend worship services and to write letters. But they can only make one phone call during  their training.

Twenty-two-year-old Geovanny Ordonez is originally from Honduras.  He says his family is supportive. "They're really proud of me.  They send me letters and packages. They tell me how proud they are of me for making this decision."

Here at what is known as "the pit" these recruits are ordered to hit the ground and do push-ups.  For some, it is punishment for doing something wrong during training. For others, a drill instructor³ simply ordered them to hit the ground, and they did not ask him why.

Eighteen-year-old Sorim Sam, who is from Cambodia, has lived in the United States for seven years.  At first it was hard for him to get used to the yelling. "In my country we're pretty soft on each other.  We really don't have to yell that much and we talk in a pretty low volume."

The recruits must pass a grueling 54-hour combat exercise known as "The Crucible⁴."  They have to navigate⁵ obstacle courses and hike a total of 67 kilometers.  They get little sleep or food.

Sergeant⁶ Kenneth Hayden says, in this exercise, it is tough crawling 150 meters with ammunition⁷ cans and carrying the wounded "A combat environment is very stressful and it takes a toll⁸ on your body.  So for them to be mentally and physically⁹ prepared to go into combat into future operations, they need to have this training."

Noparet Ratanakajana was born in the United States but his parents are from Laos and Thailand.  He says he wanted the challenge of boot camp.  "I actually thought it was going to be a lot easier, but it wasn't which I'm kind of glad because if it was as easy as I thought, it wouldn't have been a branch [of the military] I would have joined."

Today is graduation day and Matthew Gabriel is packing to go home for a short time before he begins infantry¹⁰ school.  He lived in this barrack with 64 other guys. He says there is only one thing he plans to do with this brush that each recruit gets to scrub floors. "Throw it as far away as possible."

During graduation ceremonies the recruits are called Marines for the first time.  About 10 percent of the men do not complete the training mostly because of injuries.  After fracturing both legs Caleb Dunn went through boot camp again and graduated. "This recruit, this Marine now, did have doubts but God was able to bring him through."

The new Marines know many of them will be going to Iraq or Afghanistan.  Third generation Marine Joseph Riley says he is prepared to go.  His mother did not want him to become a Marine and is afraid she will lose him. "I'd like to take him home with me.  That's what I'd like to do."

1 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。

2 corps   

n.(通信等兵种的)部队；(同类作的)一组

参考例句：

• The medical corps were cited for bravery in combat.医疗队由于在战场上的英勇表现而受嘉奖。
• 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。

3 instructor   

n.指导者，教员，教练

参考例句：

• The college jumped him from instructor to full professor.大学突然把他从讲师提升为正教授。
• The skiing instructor was a tall,sunburnt man.滑雪教练是一个高高个子晒得黑黑的男子。

4 crucible   

n.坩锅，严酷的考验

参考例句：

• The alliance had been forged in the crucible of war.这个联盟经受了战争的严峻考验。
• Put the required amount of metal into the crucible.把适量的金属放入坩埚。

5 navigate   

v.航行，飞行；导航，领航

参考例句：

• He was the first man to navigate the Atlantic by air.他是第一个飞越大西洋的人。
• Such boats can navigate on the Nile.这种船可以在尼罗河上航行。

6 sergeant   

n.警官，中士

参考例句：

• His elder brother is a sergeant.他哥哥是个警官。
• How many stripes are there on the sleeve of a sergeant?陆军中士的袖子上有多少条纹？

7 ammunition   

n.军火，弹药

参考例句：

• A few of the jeeps had run out of ammunition.几辆吉普车上的弹药已经用光了。
• They have expended all their ammunition.他们把弹药用光。

8 toll   

n.过路(桥)费；损失，伤亡人数；v.敲(钟)

参考例句：

• The hailstone took a heavy toll of the crops in our village last night.昨晚那场冰雹损坏了我们村的庄稼。
• The war took a heavy toll of human life.这次战争夺去了许多人的生命。

9 physically   

adj.物质上，体格上，身体上，按自然规律

参考例句：

• He was out of sorts physically,as well as disordered mentally.他浑身不舒服，心绪也很乱。
• Every time I think about it I feel physically sick.一想起那件事我就感到极恶心。

10 infantry   

n.[总称]步兵(部队)

参考例句：

• The infantry were equipped with flame throwers.步兵都装备有喷火器。
• We have less infantry than the enemy.我们的步兵比敌人少。