英语听力精选进阶版 10730（在线收听）

Well it’s certainly been a dramatic night of election results. But it’s important not to forget that today is also the 70th anniversary of VE day. I vividly remember, as a little boy growing up in Liverpool in the late 1940s, my mother’s exciting descriptions of an amazing night at a local street party - of music, dancing, bright lights and laughter.

这是一个非同寻常的大选结果出炉之夜。但是我们不要忘记，这也是欧洲胜利日70周年纪念日。20世纪40年代末，我还是一个小男孩，在利物浦长大，我的母亲经常激动地描述那个夜晚街道上精彩的派对——音乐，舞蹈，明亮的灯光，开心的笑声。

When I was a bit older she gave me another side of the story – of being deeply troubled that night by very mixed emotions. Like everyone else she was thankful the German War was over – and wanted to celebrate that.

当我慢慢长大，她则向我讲述了故事的另一面——那天晚上不同的情感出现，让人难以承受。和其他人一样，她非常感激德国战争终于结束，也想要开心地庆祝。

But earlier in the war her husband, my father, the pilot of a Lancaster bomber, had been shot down and killed. And so on VE night, as the party became more exuberant, my mother found herself torn apart by her genuine joy at the victory and the aching sorrow of her personal loss.

但是战争初期，她的丈夫，我的父亲，一位兰开斯特轰炸机的飞行员，被击落并牺牲。所以，在欧洲胜利纪念日当晚，随着聚会的气氛渐入佳境，我的母亲一方面为胜利而感到真诚的开心，另一方面却被个人的遭遇而悲伤。

In the end, friends persuaded her that my father, and all who’d lost their lives on duty, or as civilians, would have wanted those they’d left behind to celebrate the defeat of Nazi evil.

最后，朋友们劝她，我的父亲，以及所有在战争中失去生命的军人或平民都会希望幸存的人庆祝纳粹恶魔的惨败。

Of course, my mother wasn’t alone in finding VE night a bitter-sweet experience. Tears of joy mingled with tears of sorrow for many people mourning loved ones, or worrying about those still fighting or imprisoned in the Far East.

当然，我的母亲并不是当晚唯一一个心情苦乐参半的人。开心的泪水和悲伤的泪水混杂在一起。许多人悼念逝去的亲人，或者担心仍然在远东作战或被囚禁的人。

The holding together of contrary emotions is classically expressed in St John’s gospel where the joy of Jesus’ Resurrection is already present within the sorrow of his Crucifixion.

在圣约翰的福音书中，完全相反的情感表现得非常经典，耶稣复活的喜悦和他在十字架上受刑的痛苦参杂在一起。

In our national life there are sometimes special moments when something touches collective consciousness so powerfully that people with contrasting outlooks and diverse backgrounds find themselves drawn together.

在国民生活中也有一些特别的时刻强烈触动集体意识，不同观点，不同背景的人们聚集在一起。

The two Minutes Silence at Remembrance is an example of national coherence, as it will be this afternoon when at the Cenotaph, and across the country, there’ll be a pause in political activity as people with sharply opposing views and strong emotions, who voted in different ways yesterday, stand together, united in sorrow and thanksgiving for the Fallen - whose sacrifice made possible our ability to vote freely in the election.

纪念仪式上两分钟的默哀是国民凝聚力的典范。今天下午，在阵亡将士纪念碑乃至全国各地，政治活动将暂停，人们将发表完全相反的观点和强烈的情感，他们昨天投下不同的选票，今天则站在一起，团结起来为牺牲的英雄表达悲伤和感激——正是他们的牺牲才让我们有了在选举中自由投票的权利。

This 70th anniversary finishes on Sunday, after the national service in Westminster Abbey, with a veterans’ reception hosted by the Royal British Legion. The climax will be a flypast of modern and historic aircraft. When I hear the roar of Merlin engines and the Lancaster comes into view, I know I’ll be holding together mixed emotions too.

这次的70周年纪念日将在周日结束，威斯敏斯特大教堂将举行活动，英国皇家军团将举办退伍老兵招待会。活动的高潮将是现代和过去的飞机进行空中分列。当我听到梅林发动机的咆哮声，看到兰开斯特映入眼帘，我知道我的心情也非常复杂。