VOA常速英语2018--2018年5月28日:阵亡将士纪念日（在线收听）

On the last Monday in May, Americans honor those who have fallen in defense of the country and of its ideals. It is a solemn day, this Observance on which we gather to remember those who have made the ultimate sacrifice for us, and to pay them homage.

The occasion, originally called Decoration Day, began in Illinois in May 1868, when General John A. Logan of the Grand Army of the Republic, a local organization of civil war veterans, proclaimed the Day as a time for the nation to decorate the graves of the Union war dead with flowers. The purpose of the remembrance, he said, was to cherish tenderly the memory of our heroic dead, who made their breasts a barricade between our country and its foes. The practice spread throughout the country, and in 1966, the name was changed to Memorial Day and at the same time, it became a federal holiday.

And so on every Memorial Day, small flags and bouquets of colorful flowers spring up on headstones and memorial plaques in cemeteries all over the country, decorating the graves of military heroes. Every one of these decorations represents a member of the military who died protecting his or her country and what it stands for. They died defending a way of life, and values they believed in, and the honor they earned by their sacrifice abides with them forever.

It is often said that as long as we are remembered, we remain alive. Thus, on Memorial Day, we recognize the valiant efforts of the hundreds of thousands of men and women who put the country and what it stands for, before themselves.

They remain with us in spirit, and every Memorial Day, we honor and dignify their offering. On every Memorial Day, a grateful nation remembers its heroes, and recognizes that lives and blood lost in defense of its freedoms are never given in vain.

5月的最后一个星期一，美国人会纪念那些为捍卫祖国及其理想而捐躯的人。这是庄严的一天。这一天，我们会聚集在一起，纪念那些为我们做出终极牺牲的人，并向他们致敬。

这一天也称阵亡将士纪念日，1868年5月始于伊利诺斯州。当时，当地内战联邦退伍军人协会的约翰 洛根(John A. Logan)宣布，这一天，美国人要为在战争中死去的英魂之墓献上花朵。约翰表示，这个纪念日的目的是轻轻地寄托我们对英雄的缅怀之情。这些英雄用自己的胸膛为祖国挡住了敌人的炮火。这个纪念日随后广为流传，等到1966年的时候，它就更名为阵亡将士纪念日，同时也成了一个联邦节日。

于是，每一年阵亡将士纪念日的这一天，全国各地墓园里的墓碑和纪念碑上都布满了小旗子和鲜艳的花束，装点着烈士们的墓地。每一个受到装点的墓地都代表着一位烈士，他/她们为国捐躯，为自己代表的信仰捐躯。他们为了捍卫一种他们坚信的生活方式和价值观而死，他们通过自我牺牲而赢得的荣誉将与他们永远同在。

人们常说，只要一个人还留在他人心中，他/她就没有逝去。因此，在阵亡将士纪念日这一天，我们认可无数英勇的烈士，他们将国家利益和信仰摆在第一位。

他们的精神与我们同在，所以每一年的阵亡将士纪念日，我们都要为他们的付出赋予荣耀。每一年的阵亡将士纪念日，一个知恩的国家都会铭记他们的英雄，并认识到为捍卫自由而牺牲的生命和洒出的热血是会发挥作用的。