新西兰英语 23 ANZAC Day (April 25th)

　　This is ANZAC day, a day that New Zealanders and Australians remember all those soldiers who died in wars in the last century.
ANZAC means Australia New Zealand Army Corps¹ and it was the name the Australian and New Zealand soldiers gave to their group who fought together in Turkey in 1915. They landed at Gallipoli at dawn on 25th of April, hoping to win the battle easily against Turkey. In fact, it was a disaster. The battle continued for 8 months, resulting in a large number of deaths on both sides.
Since that time, people in Australia and New Zealand have remembered that day. It is now a public holiday. At dawn, people go to a church service to remember those who died during war. There is usually a march of old soldiers after that. There are speeches and a trumpet² player plays “The Last Post”, the tune³ which is usually played at a soldier’s funeral. After that, soldiers usually go to the RSA (the Returned Services Association) where they meet old friends.
A week or two before ANZAC day, volunteers sell red poppies made of paper and people wear these on their clothes. These poppies are a symbol of the real poppies that grew in cemeteries⁴ around the graves⁵ of soldiers. They are a reminder⁶ of those who died during war. The money from the sale of poppies is for the families of soldiers who were wounded in recent wars. New Zealand sent soldiers to South Korea in the 1950s and to Vietnam in the 1970s.
Although 1915 was a long time ago, ANZAC day has become more important to young New Zealanders and Australians, and numbers attending services have increased. Young people who are visiting Turkey on holiday want to see Gallipoli. ANZAC day services are held in Gallipoli each year and also in many other countries such as Britain, the USA and some Pacific Islands. It is not clear why young people are so interested in ANZAC day. It may be because they are interested in history or have pride in their country or want to honour their ancestors or because they hope for peace in the future.

1 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。

2 trumpet   

n.喇叭，喇叭声；v.吹喇叭，吹嘘

参考例句：

• He plays the violin, but I play the trumpet.他拉提琴，我吹喇叭。
• The trumpet sounded for battle.战斗的号角吹响了。

3 tune   

n.调子；和谐，协调；v.调音，调节，调整

参考例句：

• He'd written a tune,and played it to us on the piano.他写了一段曲子，并在钢琴上弹给我们听。
• The boy beat out a tune on a tin can.那男孩在易拉罐上敲出一首曲子。

4 cemeteries   

n.（非教堂的）墓地，公墓( cemetery的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• It's morbid to dwell on cemeteries and such like. 不厌其烦地谈论墓地以及诸如此类的事是一种病态。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• In other districts the proximity of cemeteries seemed to aggravate the disease. 在其它地区里，邻近墓地的地方，时疫大概都要严重些。 来自辞典例句

5 graves   

n.（法国）格拉芙葡萄酒；坟墓( grave的名词复数 )；死亡；钝重音符；沉音符v.坟墓( grave的第三人称单数 )；死亡；钝重音符；沉音符

参考例句：

• He went to visit the graves of his forefathers. 他去拜谒他祖先的墓地。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• They were eating themselves into their graves. 他们吃喝过度，在自找死路。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 reminder   

n.提醒物，纪念品；暗示，提示

参考例句：

• I have had another reminder from the library.我又收到图书馆的催还单。
• It always took a final reminder to get her to pay her share of the rent.总是得发给她一份最后催缴通知，她才付应该交的房租。