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　　In her annual Christmas message, Britain's Queen Elizabeth the Second has paid tribute to those serving in her country's armed forces.
英国女王伊丽莎白二世在一年一度的圣诞节讲话中赞扬在英国军队中服役的士兵。
The Queen, the symbolic¹ head of the British military, spoke² of the loss felt by many, in this, the deadliest year to date for British forces in Afghanistan.
伊丽莎白女王作为英国军队的象征性最高统帅，谈到在对英国驻阿富汗部队来说伤亡最惨重的这一年里，许多人都感同身受的损失。
"I am sure that we have all been affected³ by events in Afghanistan and saddened by the casualties suffered by our forces serving there," she said. "Our thoughts go out to their relatives and friends who have shown immense dignity in the face of great personal loss."
她说：“我相信我们所有的人都受到了发生在阿富汗的那些事件的影响，所有的人都为我们驻阿富汗部队所遭受的伤亡感到悲伤。我们惦念着这些军人的亲朋好友，面对巨大的个人损失，他们表现出了极强的尊严。”
Britain currently has just over 9,000 forces deployed⁴ in Afghanistan. The Queen also paid tribute to members of other Commonwealth⁵ states that have sent troops to the region.
英国目前在阿富汗部署着9千多名军人。伊丽莎白女王还对向阿富汗派兵的其他英联邦成员国表示了敬意。
"We can be proud of the positive contribution that our servicemen and women are making, in conjunction with our allies," she said. "Well over 13,000 soldiers from the United Kingdom and across the Commonwealth - Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and Singapore - are currently serving in Afghanistan. The debt of gratitude⁶ owed to these young men and women and to their predecessors⁷ is indeed profound."
她说：“我们对我们的男女军人与盟友一起所做的积极贡献感到自豪。目前，英国和加拿大、澳大利亚、新西兰以及新加坡等英联邦国家一共有1万3千多名军人驻扎在阿富汗。我们向这些年轻男女以及在他们之前派驻阿富汗的军人表达深切的感激之情。”
More than 100 British soldiers have died this year in Afghanistan. That is the most since the lengthy⁸ deployment⁹ began back in 2001. Since then, a total of 243 have been killed.
今年有100多名英国士兵在阿富汗死亡。这是自2001年英国向阿富汗派兵以来，伤亡人数最多的一年。自2001年以来，共有243人阵亡。
Polls here repeatedly show that average British citizens want to see the troops brought back home as soon as possible.
多次民意调查显示，英国公民普遍希望英国部队尽快回家。