VOA常速英语2020--纪念二战结束75周年

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 unconditional¹ 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, Allied² 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 ultimatum³. 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 naval⁴ battles in history. Fierce battles across the Pacific Islands, which more often than not resulted in mass suicides by defeated Japanese soldiers and civilians⁶ alike, convinced the United States command that an invasion of Japan would result in enormous loss of life on both sides. It was therefore decided⁷ that the war must be ended swiftly and decisively. After dropping leaflets warning of imminent⁸ air attacks and urging civilian⁵ populations to evacuate⁹, 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 vista¹⁰ of a new emancipated¹¹ 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。

1 unconditional   

adj.无条件的，无限制的，绝对的

参考例句：

• The victorious army demanded unconditional surrender.胜方要求敌人无条件投降。
• My love for all my children is unconditional.我对自己所有孩子的爱都是无条件的。

2 allied   

adj.协约国的；同盟国的

参考例句：

• Britain was allied with the United States many times in history.历史上英国曾多次与美国结盟。
• Allied forces sustained heavy losses in the first few weeks of the campaign.同盟国在最初几周内遭受了巨大的损失。

3 ultimatum   

n.最后通牒

参考例句：

• This time the proposal was couched as an ultimatum.这一次该提议是以最后通牒的形式提出来的。
• The cabinet met today to discuss how to respond to the ultimatum.内阁今天开会商量如何应对这道最后通牒。

4 naval   

adj.海军的，军舰的，船的

参考例句：

• He took part in a great naval battle.他参加了一次大海战。
• The harbour is an important naval base.该港是一个重要的海军基地。

5 civilian   

adj.平民的，民用的，民众的

参考例句：

• There is no reliable information about civilian casualties.关于平民的伤亡还没有确凿的信息。
• He resigned his commission to take up a civilian job.他辞去军职而从事平民工作。

6 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。

7 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

8 imminent   

adj.即将发生的，临近的，逼近的

参考例句：

• The black clounds show that a storm is imminent.乌云预示暴风雨即将来临。
• The country is in imminent danger.国难当头。

9 evacuate   

v.遣送；搬空；抽出；排泄；大(小)便

参考例句：

• We must evacuate those soldiers at once!我们必须立即撤出这些士兵！
• They were planning to evacuate the seventy American officials still in the country.他们正计划转移仍滞留在该国的70名美国官员。

10 vista   

n.远景，深景，展望，回想

参考例句：

• From my bedroom window I looked out on a crowded vista of hills and rooftops.我从卧室窗口望去，远处尽是连绵的山峦和屋顶。
• These uprisings come from desperation and a vista of a future without hope.发生这些暴动是因为人们被逼上了绝路，未来看不到一点儿希望。

11 emancipated   

adj.被解放的，不受约束的v.解放某人（尤指摆脱政治、法律或社会的束缚）( emancipate的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Slaves were not emancipated until 1863 in the United States. 美国奴隶直到1863年才获得自由。
• Women are still struggling to be fully emancipated. 妇女仍在为彻底解放而斗争。 来自《简明英汉词典》