VOA常速英语2018--美国计划组建太空部队（在线收听）

The first steps are being taken to establish a Space Force as the sixth branch of the American armed forces. The ultimate objective, said Vice President Mike Pence in a recent speech at the Pentagon, is to create a new branch of our military that is separate from, and equal to, the five other branches.

美国已采取初步措施，以建立一支太空部队，作为美国武装部队的第六分支。副总统迈克 彭斯(Mike Pence)最近在五角大楼发表讲话时表示，此举的最终目标是成立我国军队的新分支，这个分支独立于并等同于另外五个分支。

For many years, nations from Russia and China to North Korea and Iran have pursued weapons to jam, blind, and disable U.S. navigation and communications satellites via electronic attacks from the ground.

多年来，俄罗斯、中国、朝鲜、伊朗等国都在研制武器，目的是与美国竞争，蒙蔽美国的双眼，让美国的导航和通讯卫星无法工作，手段就是从地面进行电子攻击。

But recently, these adversaries have been working to bring new weapons of war into space itself. In 2007, China launched a missile that tracked and destroyed one of its own satellites — a demonstration of China's growing capability to militarize space.

但最近，这些敌对者在努力向太空内引进新型战争武器。2007年，中国发射了一枚导弹，该导弹可以跟踪并摧毁其自己的一颗卫星——这是中国在彰显自己实现太空军事化的能力日益增长。

Russia has been designing an airborne laser to disrupt our space-based systems. And it claims to be developing missiles that can be launched from an aircraft mid-flight to destroy American satellites.

俄罗斯一直在设计机载激光器，以扰乱我们在太空中的各个系统。而且俄罗斯号称正在研制一种导弹，这种导弹可以从正在飞行的飞机中发射而出，并摧毁美国的卫星。

Both China and Russia have been conducting highly sophisticated on-orbit activities that could enable them to maneuver their satellites.

中国和俄罗斯都在进行极为复杂的在轨活动，从而获得操控自己卫星的能力。

China and Russia are also aggressively working to incorporate anti-satellite attacks into their warfighting doctrines.

此外，中俄两国还在努力将反卫星攻击纳入战事领域。

As their actions make clear, our adversaries have transformed space into a warfighting domain already, declared Vice President Pence.

他们的行为已明确表明，我们的对手已然将太空变成了战场，副总统彭斯如是说道。

America will always seek peace in space as on the Earth. But history proves that peace only comes through strength. And in the realm of outer space, the United States Space Force will be that strength in the years ahead. Not all nations share our commitment to freedom, to private property, and the rule of law. So as we continue to carry American leadership in space, so also will we carry America's commitment to freedom into this new frontier. As in other domains, the United States will continue to work with allies and partners in space to enhance the safety, security, and sustainability of outer space for all countries.

美国将永远寻求太空的和平，正如美国追求地球和平一样。但历史证明，和平是靠强大才能得到的。在外太空里，美国的太空部队将在未来数年中成为这样一股力量。并不是所有国家都像我们一样致力于实现自由、确保私有财产和法治。所以我们会继续保持美国在太空的领先地位，我们也将继续致力于太空这片新疆土的自由。正如在其他领域一样，美国将继续与其在太空的盟友和伙伴合作，为所有国家加强太空的安全和可持续性。