VOA常速英语2019--作为诺曼底登陆仪式的一部分，九十七岁的老兵在诺曼底上空跳伞

97-Year-Old Veteran Parachutes Over Normandy as Part of D-Day Ceremonies

In the skies above Normandy Wednesday from a World War Two D-cote plane, 97 year old Tom Rice repeated the jump he made on the morning of D-Day.Beautiful job, beautiful flight, everything was perfect.

星期三，在诺曼底上空，九十七岁的汤姆·赖斯从一架二战时期的D-cote飞机上，重演了他在诺曼底登陆日早上所做的跳跃动作。很棒，漂亮的飞行，一切都很完美。

On June 6th 1944 Rice was a 22 year old staff sergeant¹ with a hundred and first Airborne Division.Over 13,000 paratroopers were dropped behind enemy lines. 75 years later Rice recalled the chaos² of that day.We were spread over so many miles. It took a week and a half to get together.More than 1300 current US servicemen and women are in Normandy to commemorate³ D-Day alongside close to 1,000 military personnel from Europe and Canada.

一九四四年六月六日，赖斯二十二岁，是第一空降师的上士。超过一万三千名伞兵被空投到敌后。七十五年后，赖斯回忆起那一天的混乱。我们分散了这么多英里。我们花了一周半的时间才聚在一起。一千三百多名美国现役军人和近一千名欧洲和加拿大军人在诺曼底纪念诺曼底登陆。

Bringing together at night the might of our allies and partners are what make us strong and I think that’s what carried the day for us in the victory 75 years ago.And and I would add it’s still preserved the peace that presence and that Alliance still preserves the peace to this day. The U.S. 4th Infantry⁴ Division landed 21,000 troops at Utah Beach on D-Day. William Miller⁵ was among them. And young people today don’t know I never about what really happened.

是我们强大的力量让我们的盟友和合作伙伴在夜间聚集在一起，我认为，这是我们在七十五年前获胜的原因。这种存在和联盟直到今天仍然保持着和平。美国第四步兵师在诺曼底登陆日将两万一千名士兵降落在犹他海滩。威廉·米勒就是其中之一。今天的年轻人不知道我真正经历过什么。

Current members of the 4th Infantry Division marched from Utah Beach to Sant Marie du Mont, the first village liberated⁶ by US troops. It’s just the respect that you get. Being American here in northern Franceis absolutely amazing, it’s not what I expected.The Stars and Stripes flag is everywhere.Sant Marie du Mont like villages across Normandy has been turned into a replica⁷ of wartime France.

第四步兵师的现任成员从犹他海滩游行到圣玛丽·杜蒙特，这是美军解放的第一个村庄。这只是你得到的尊重。作为一个美国人在法国北部绝对是了不起的。这不是我所期望的。星条旗到处都是。像圣玛丽·杜蒙特一样的诺曼底村庄已经变成了战时法国的翻版。

Enthusiasts⁸ have converged⁹ to show off their vintage dress and vehicles of every description.A former hospice in the village is a temporary home for several World War Two veterans who seem sometimes overwhelmed by the attention they receive from residents and tourists. I mean the greatest generation leaving us, so the opportunity to meet them and for our kids to understand, what is about is so important. Further east at Omaha Beach Wednesday, the 75th Ranger¹⁰ Regiment¹¹ recreated the famous Pointe Du Hoc when more than 500 Rangers¹² scaled the cliffs under intense fire to take on the German defenses.

狂热者们聚集在一起，炫耀他们的复古礼服和各式各样的汽车。村子里的一家前临终关怀院是几名二战老兵的临时住所，他们有时似乎被当地居民和游客的关注淹没了。我认为这是留给我们的最伟大的一代，所以有机会认识他们，让我们的孩子了解他们，很重要。周三，在奥马哈海滩以东，第七十五游骑兵团重现了著名的Pointe Du Hoc 攀爬，当时五百多名突击队员冒着猛烈的炮火爬上悬崖，向德军的防御工事发起进攻。

As the number of D-Day veterans dwindles¹³, soldiers and civilians¹⁴ here say they are determined¹⁵ to keep alive the memory of the horror and Sacrifice.Their forebears endured 75 years ago.

随着诺曼底登陆老兵人数的减少，这里的士兵和平民表示，他们决心让这场恐怖和牺牲的记忆永存。他们的先辈七十五年前就经历了这种痛苦。

1 sergeant   

n.警官，中士

参考例句：

• His elder brother is a sergeant.他哥哥是个警官。
• How many stripes are there on the sleeve of a sergeant?陆军中士的袖子上有多少条纹？

2 chaos   

n.混乱，无秩序

参考例句：

• After the failure of electricity supply the city was in chaos.停电后，城市一片混乱。
• The typhoon left chaos behind it.台风后一片混乱。

3 commemorate   

vt.纪念，庆祝

参考例句：

• This building was built to commemorate the Fire of London.这栋大楼是为纪念“伦敦大火”而兴建的。
• We commemorate the founding of our nation with a public holiday.我们放假一日以庆祝国庆。

4 infantry   

n.[总称]步兵(部队)

参考例句：

• The infantry were equipped with flame throwers.步兵都装备有喷火器。
• We have less infantry than the enemy.我们的步兵比敌人少。

5 miller   

n.磨坊主

参考例句：

• Every miller draws water to his own mill.磨坊主都往自己磨里注水。
• The skilful miller killed millions of lions with his ski.技术娴熟的磨坊主用雪橇杀死了上百万头狮子。

6 liberated   

a.无拘束的，放纵的

参考例句：

• The city was liberated by the advancing army. 军队向前挺进，解放了那座城市。
• The heat brings about a chemical reaction, and oxygen is liberated. 热量引起化学反应，释放出氧气。

7 replica   

n.复制品

参考例句：

• The original conservatory has been rebuilt in replica.温室已按原样重建。
• The young artist made a replica of the famous painting.这位年轻的画家临摹了这幅著名的作品。

8 enthusiasts   

n.热心人，热衷者( enthusiast的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• A group of enthusiasts have undertaken the reconstruction of a steam locomotive. 一群火车迷已担负起重造蒸汽机车的任务。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Now a group of enthusiasts are going to have the plane restored. 一群热心人计划修复这架飞机。 来自新概念英语第二册

9 converged   

v.（线条、运动的物体等）会于一点( converge的过去式 )；（趋于）相似或相同；人或车辆汇集；聚集

参考例句：

• Thousands of supporters converged on London for the rally. 成千上万的支持者从四面八方汇聚伦敦举行集会。
• People converged on the political meeting from all parts of the city. 人们从城市的四面八方涌向这次政治集会。 来自《简明英汉词典》

10 ranger   

n.国家公园管理员，护林员；骑兵巡逻队员

参考例句：

• He was the head ranger of the national park.他曾是国家公园的首席看守员。
• He loved working as a ranger.他喜欢做护林人。

11 regiment   

n.团，多数，管理；v.组织，编成团，统制

参考例句：

• As he hated army life,he decide to desert his regiment.因为他嫌恶军队生活，所以他决心背弃自己所在的那个团。
• They reformed a division into a regiment.他们将一个师整编成为一个团。

12 rangers   

护林者( ranger的名词复数 )； 突击队员

参考例句：

• Do you know where the Rangers Stadium is? 你知道Rangers体育场在哪吗？ 来自超越目标英语 第3册
• Now I'm a Rangers' fan, so I like to be near the stadium. 现在我是Rangers的爱好者，所以我想离体育场近一点。 来自超越目标英语 第3册

13 dwindles   

v.逐渐变少或变小( dwindle的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• Her husband grows rich in crime, her significance dwindles. 她的丈夫罪恶累累，她的形象也受到损害。 来自辞典例句
• The voice died away and ceased, as an insect's tiny trumpet dwindles swiftly into silence. 这声音逐渐消失，就象昆虫的小喇叭嘎然而止。 来自辞典例句

14 civilians   

平民，百姓( civilian的名词复数 )； 老百姓

参考例句：

• the bloody massacre of innocent civilians 对无辜平民的血腥屠杀
• At least 300 civilians are unaccounted for after the bombing raids. 遭轰炸袭击之后，至少有300名平民下落不明。

15 determined   

adj.坚定的；有决心的

参考例句：

• I have determined on going to Tibet after graduation.我已决定毕业后去西藏。
• He determined to view the rooms behind the office.他决定查看一下办公室后面的房间。