环球英语 — 123：Days of Glory

　　Voice 1
I’m Marina Santee.
Voice 2
And I’m Liz Waid. Welcome to Spotlight¹. This programme uses a special English method of broadcasting. It is easier for people to understand, no matter where in the world they live.
Voice 1
Crowds of people gather. Some of them are rich and famous. Others hope that they will be rich and famous one day. They all have one thing in common - the film industry. Here in France, it is the Cannes Film Festival. This popular event happens every year in the town of Cannes, on the south coast. It is a great honour to win a prize at the Cannes Film Festival. Usually many people go and see the winning² film.
Voice 2
The judges also award prizes to actors at the festival. Normally³ the judges give the prize to one actor only. But in 2006, they awarded the prize to four men. These four men had acted in a film called “Days of Glory”.
The film tells the story of some North African soldiers. They joined the French army in 1943. This was during the Second World War. These soldiers had never been to France. But their African country, Algeria, was under French rule. It was a colony⁴ of France. The soldiers had heard that the French army needed new members. They felt it was their duty to fight. In some way they felt that they, too, were French.
Voice 1
Each soldier has his own struggle. The main person, or character, in the film is called Said. This character’s mother does not want him to go away. But Said does not listen. He is serious about fighting. No one can stop him.
Voice 2
Another character in the film is Messaoud. He falls in love with a French woman. He writes many letters to her. But the army officers change these letters. They read them first. Then they remove any writing they do not think the woman should see. Messaoud does not know that the officers are interfering⁵ in this way.
Voice 1
Abdelkader is the third character. He is a very good soldier. But he never has the chance to become an officer. He believes this is because he is not a ‘White’ French man. He becomes very angry and leaves the army.
Voice 2
Then there is the character of Yassir. He, too, has decided⁶ to fight in the French army. But he also feels that the army officers are unfair. They treat the colonial⁷ soldiers differently from the white soldiers. But he decides to stay and fight. And he shows great courage in battle.
Voice 1
The director⁸ of the film was Rashid Bouchareb. Mr. Bouchareb is French. But his family is from North Africa. He says that the colonial soldiers fought very hard for France in the Second World war. And he believes that France owes⁹ them for this! But France has simply forgotten about them. He said,
Voice 3
“It is my aim to open a forgotten chapter in the history of France.”
Voice 1
So why were these soldiers so important? What part did they play in the Second World War?
Voice 2
In 1940, German forces invaded¹⁰ the north of France. The Germans took only six weeks to capture¹¹ the capital city, Paris. But the Germans were not going to stop there. They planned to capture the rest of the country too. The French Prime¹² Minister was worried. The French government had been in Paris.
The Prime Minister said that the government should move. He suggested that they move to one of France’s colonies¹³ in Africa. However, some government members did not like this idea. They decided that it would be better to work with Germany. They voted for a new Prime Minister. He was called Henri-Philippe Petain. He believed it would be better for France to make peace with the enemy. So he signed a peace treaty¹⁴ with the Germans.
Voice 1
At that time the French Minister for War was Charles de Gaulle. He did not agree with the peace treaty. It left France without a real army to fight her enemies. So he decided to create an army. But he was not in France at the time. He was in London. So he asked French people outside of France to join his army. He called it, the “Free French” army. He also said,
Voice 4
“Remember this, France does not stand alone. Behind her stands a large number of colonies.”
Voice 1
After some time, the French colonies answered General de Gaulle’s request. About three hundred thousand [300,000] men joined the army. They came from twenty-three [23] colonies in West Africa, North Africa and Asia. This army fought the Germans in the south of France. They also fought in Italy.
Voice 2
The colonial soldiers fought the enemy with courage. Many of them died. But they were also fighting another battle. This battle was in their own army. It was a struggle against the attitudes of white French soldiers. The army officers did not treat the colonial soldiers in the same way as the white soldiers. The officers called them, “indigenes” - the French word for ‘natives’. The white French soldiers considered the indigenes to be on a lower¹⁵ social level than them. The indigenes could not become army officers. Sometimes they received less food than the white soldiers.
Voice 1
This unfair behaviour continued after the war. Normally, soldiers receive a pension¹⁶ when they leave the army. This pension is money from the French government. This helps ex-soldiers to survive. But the colonial soldiers received a smaller pension than the white French soldiers. The government was not willing¹⁷ to change the system. One former soldier from North Africa said:
Voice 3
“We helped win the war. But after it, no one thanked us. North Africans did not have the same pension rights as French soldiers. It is unjust¹⁸. They should have changed the law a long time ago.”
Voice 2
But now there is good news. In September 2006 the French government announced that the law would change. They have promised that former colonial soldiers will receive the same pension as former French soldiers. This will cost the government over five hundred million [$500,000,000] dollars a year. A government minister said:
Voice 4
“This is a lot of money, but I think it is worth it. We need to recognize what these soldiers did for France.”
Voice 1
But why did the government change its mind when it did? People have been demanding changes for years. Some think it is because of Rachid Bouchareb’s film, “Days of Glory”. The French President, Jacques Chirac, went to see the film. It affected¹⁹ him greatly. But maybe it is not important to know the reason. France now recognizes what these colonial soldiers did for the country. This is what matters. As Rachid Bouchareb says,
Voice 3
“I made this film to show we are part of France’s history. We belong to this country’s past.”
 

1 spotlight   

n.公众注意的中心，聚光灯，探照灯，视听，注意，醒目

参考例句：

• This week the spotlight is on the world of fashion.本周引人瞩目的是时装界。
• The spotlight followed her round the stage.聚光灯的光圈随着她在舞台上转。

2 winning   

adj.获胜的，胜利的；吸引人的，有说服力的

参考例句：

• Team A has no chance of winning.A队没有获胜的可能。
• They have great hopes of winning.他们获胜的希望极大。

3 normally   

adv.正常地，通常地

参考例句：

• I normally do all my shopping on Saturdays.我通常在星期六买东西。
• My pulse beats normally.我脉搏正常。

4 colony   

n.殖民地；(同类人的)聚居地

参考例句：

• There lived a colony of bees on the tree.树上生活着一群蜜蜂。
• They live in an artists'colony.他们住在艺术家聚居区。

5 interfering   

adj. 妨碍的 动词interfere的现在分词

参考例句：

• He's an interfering old busybody! 他老爱管闲事！
• I wish my mother would stop interfering and let me make my own decisions. 我希望我母亲不再干预，让我自己拿主意。

6 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。

7 colonial   

adj.殖民地的，关于殖民的；n.殖民地，居民

参考例句：

• The natives were unwilling to be bent by colonial power.土著居民不愿受殖民势力的摆布。
• The people of Africa have successfully fought against colonial rule.非洲人民成功地反抗了殖民统治。

8 director   

n.主管，导演；主任；理事；董事；处长

参考例句：

• The director has taken the visitors off to his office.经理把客人带到他办公室去了。
• The new director is easy to get along with.新来的主任很好处。

9 owes   

v.亏欠，负债，感恩；感激( owe的第三人称单数 )；应把…归功于；欠…债；（对位高权重者）忠诚

参考例句：

• He owes a lot of money to Mr. Smith. 他欠史密斯先生许多钱。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The city's success owes much to its geographic position. 这座城市的成功很大程度上归功于它的地理位置。 来自《简明英汉词典》

10 invaded   

v.侵入，侵略( invade的过去式和过去分词 )；涌入；侵袭；侵犯

参考例句：

• Troops invaded on August 9th that year. 军队是在那年的8月9日入侵的。
• The diseased tissue can be easily invaded by these microorganisms. 有病的组织容易被微生物侵袭。 来自《简明英汉词典》

11 capture   

vt.捕获，俘获；占领，夺得；n.抓住，捕获

参考例句：

• The company is out to capture the European market.这家公司希望占据欧洲市场。
• With the capture of the escaped tiger,everyone felt relieved.逃出来的老虎被捕获后，大家都松了一口气。

12 prime   

adj.首要的，主要的；最好的，第一流的

参考例句：

• The prime minister spoke of the general insecurity in the country.总理谈到了全国普遍存在的不安全。
• He met with the Prime Minister of Japan for an hour.他和日本首相会见了一个小时。

13 colonies   

n.殖民地( colony的名词复数 )；（侨民等）聚居区；（动植物的）群体；（来自同一地方，职业或兴趣相同的）聚居人群

参考例句：

• They amassed huge wealth by plundering the colonies. 他们通过掠夺殖民地聚敛了大笔的财富。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• But throughout the colonies, people relied primarily on small farms and self-sufficiency. 但就整个殖民地来说，人们主要依靠小型农场，过着自给自足的生活。 来自英汉非文学 - 政府文件

14 treaty   

n.条约；协议，协定

参考例句：

• Hungary has indicated its readiness to sign the treaty.匈牙利已表示愿意签订该条约。
• I believe this treaty will pave the way to peace in Europe. 我相信这个条约将为欧洲的和平铺平道路。

15 lower   

adj.较低的；地位较低的，低等的；低年级的；下游的；vt.放下，降下，放低；减低

参考例句：

• Society is divided into upper,middle and lower classes.社会分为上层、中层和下层阶级。
• This price is his minimum;he refuses to lower it any further.这个价格是他开的最低价，他拒绝再作任何降价。

16 pension   

n.退休金，年金，抚恤金；v.发给退休金

参考例句：

• The country provided a pension to the old person.国家给老人们提供养老金。
• She went to the company to draw her pension.她去公司领退休金。

17 willing   

adj.愿意的，自愿的，乐意的，心甘情愿的

参考例句：

• We never lack food and clothing if we're willing to work.如果我们愿意工作,就不会缺吃少穿。
• He's quite willing to pay the price I ask.他很愿意照我的要价付钱。

18 unjust   

adj.非正义的；不公正的，不公平的，不该受的

参考例句：

• The unjust peace agreement set the scene for another war.这项不公平的和约为另一场战争埋下了祸根。
• It was unjust of them not to hear my side.他们不听我这方面的意见，这不公正。

19 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。