VOA常速英语2020--纪念二战结束75周年（在线收听）

Next, an editorial reflecting Amrican ideals and institutions. September 2 marks the official end of the Second World War in the Pacific, and therefore the end of the global conflict. On that day 75 years ago, formal documents of Japan’s unconditional surrender were signed by representatives of the United States and Japan aboard the ship USS Missouri, as it lay anchored in Tokyo Bay. With Germany’s surrender on May 8, World War II had come to an end in Europe. Nonetheless, fighting raged on in the Pacific, and the war would not be over until Japan laid down its arms. On July 26, ten days after the United States successfully tested the atomic bomb, Allied leaders issued the Potsdam Declaration, a document which outlined the terms of surrender for the Empire of Japan. If Japan refused the offer, it would “suffer prompt and utter destruction.” Japan declined the ultimatum. It therefore became necessary to defeat Japan on the battlefield, clearly a formidable task.

以下是一篇反映美国理想和制度的社论。9月2日标志着第二次世界大战在太平洋地区的正式结束，也标志着这场全球性冲突的终结。75年前的9月2日，美国和日本代表签署了日本无条件投降的正式文件，就在停泊在东京湾的美国“密苏里”号战舰上。伴随德国在1945年5月8日投降，二战的欧洲战场至此结束。但太平洋地区的战争仍在继续，只要日本不投降，战争就不会结束。1945年7月26日，就在美国成功试验原子弹的十天后，同盟国领导人发布了《波茨坦宣言》，该文件明确了日本帝国投降的条件。如果日本拒绝投降，将“立即遭受彻底的摧毁”。日本拒绝接受这一最后通牒。因此同盟国必定要在战场上击败日本，这显然是一项艰巨的任务。

For over three years, the United States and its allies in the Pacific clashed with Japan in some of the largest naval battles in history. Fierce battles across the Pacific Islands, which more often than not resulted in mass suicides by defeated Japanese soldiers and civilians alike, convinced the United States command that an invasion of Japan would result in enormous loss of life on both sides. It was therefore decided that the war must be ended swiftly and decisively. After dropping leaflets warning of imminent air attacks and urging civilian populations to evacuate, the United States dropped two atomic bombs on two Japanese cities, three days apart. Finally, Japanese leadership became convinced that the war was unwinnable, and on August 14, Japan’s Emperor Hirohito announced that Japan would surrender. “Today the guns are silent,” General Douglas MacArthur, who accepted Japan’s surrender on behalf of the Allies, said after the ceremony aboard the USS Missouri. “A great tragedy has ended. A great victory has been won. The skies no longer rain with death--the seas bear only commerce--men everywhere walk upright in the sunlight. The entire world lies quietly at peace. The holy mission has been completed…" “To the Pacific basin has come the vista of a new emancipated world. Today, freedom is on the offensive, democracy is on the march. Today, in Asia as well as in Europe, unshackled peoples are tasting the full sweetness of liberty, the relief from fear.” On September 2, 1945, the Second World War had truly, finally ended and a new era began. That was an editorial reflecting Amrican ideals and institutions.

三年多来，美国及其盟国在太平洋上与日本爆发了几场史上最大规模的海战。交战双方在太平洋的岛屿上爆发了激烈的争斗，经常导致战败的日本士兵和平民集体自杀，这让美国司令部相信，入侵日本将会造成双方人员的巨大伤亡。因此同盟国领导人决定必须迅速果断地结束这场战争。美国先空投传单，警告即将发动空袭，并敦促日本平民撤离，然后在相隔三天的时间里向日本两座城市投放了两颗原子弹。最终，日本领导人相信已经无法赢得这场战争，8月14日，昭和天皇宣布日本投降。代表盟国接受日本投降的道格拉斯·麦克阿瑟将军在“密苏里”号战列舰上举行的受降仪式结束后表示，“今天，枪炮沉默了”。“一场大悲剧结束了。一个伟大的胜利赢得了。天空不再降临死亡，海洋只用于贸易交往，人们在阳光下可以到处行走。全世界一片安宁和平，神圣的使命已经完成。“太平洋盆地迎来了一个新的解放世界的景象。今天，自由开始发起进攻，民主开始阔步前行。今天，亚洲和欧洲的人们今天挣脱了锁链，开始享受自由的甜美，他们从恐惧中解脱了出来。1945年9月2日，第二次世界大战终于真正结束，世界开始进入新的时代。这是一篇反映美国理想和制度的社论。