VOA慢速英语2014 诺曼底登陆:70年前的今天

 

AS IT IS 2014-06-06 D-Day: 70 Years Ago Today 诺曼底登陆:70年前的今天

On June 6th, 1944, Allied¹ forces began landing along the coast of Normandy, in France.  The event is known as D-Day.  It was the beginning of a campaign by the United States and its allies to end the German occupation of Europe.  D-Day was a turning point in World War II. 

By the end of 1943, the German military had suffered defeats and was weakened.  But it was still powerful enough to control France, Belgium, and much of the rest of Western Europe.  

The time had come for the United States and its Allies to liberate² the continent.  The Supreme³ Allied Commander, American General Dwight Eisenhower, used radio to speak to the troops preparing to land on Normandy.

“Soldiers, sailors and airmen of the Allied Expeditionary Force: you are about to embark⁴ upon the great crusade, toward which we have striven these many months.  In company with our brave allies and brothers in arms on other fronts, you will bring about the destruction of the German war machine, the elimination⁵ of Nazi⁶ tyranny over the oppressed peoples of Europe, and security for ourselves in a free world.”

The German leader Adolf Hitler had known an invasion was coming.  But he did not know where the Allied force would strike.  Most Germans expected the Allies would attack at Calais, in northern France.  But they were wrong.  General Eisenhower planned to attack Normandy, across the English Channel.

Eisenhower had 150,000 men and 12,000 airplanes for the attack.  But most importantly, he had surprise on his side.  Even after the invasion began, General Erwin Rommel and other German military leaders could not believe that the Allies had really attacked at Normandy.  But attack they did.  On the night of June 5th, tens of thousands of Allied soldiers parachuted behind German lines.

Then, Allied planes began dropping bombs on German defenses.  And in the morning, thousands of ships approached the coastline, carrying men and supplies.

The battle quickly became fierce and bloody⁷.  American, British and other Allied forces moved on five beaches from their landing craft.  The Germans had strong defenses.  They were better-protected than the Allied troops on the open beaches.  But the Allies had more troops.

On all but one of those areas, German resistance was lighter⁸ than expected.  At Omaha Beach, two American divisions were slowed by the rising tide and heavy German gunfire.  It was the fiercest and bloodiest⁹ battle of D-Day.

Slowly, the Allied soldiers moved forward on one part of the Normandy coast, then another.  The Allies continued to build up their forces in France.  Within one week they had brought nearly 90,000 vehicles and 600,000 men into France.  And they pushed forward.

A total of 3,000 American soldiers died on Omaha Beach alone 70 years ago.  On the first day of the invasion, almost 10,000 Allied troops were killed or wounded.  

The Battle of Normandy continued through August, as Allied troops fought the Germans through France.  In less than four months, General Eisenhower and the Allied forces had regained¹⁰ almost all of France.  More than 400,000 Allied and German troops were wounded, killed or missing in action.

1 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。

2 liberate   

v.解放，使获得自由，释出，放出；vt.解放，使获自由

参考例句：

• They did their best to liberate slaves.他们尽最大能力去解放奴隶。
• This will liberate him from economic worry.这将消除他经济上的忧虑。

3 supreme   

adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的

参考例句：

• It was the supreme moment in his life.那是他一生中最重要的时刻。
• He handed up the indictment to the supreme court.他把起诉书送交最高法院。

4 embark   

vi.乘船，着手，从事，上飞机

参考例句：

• He is about to embark on a new business venture.他就要开始新的商业冒险活动。
• Many people embark for Europe at New York harbor.许多人在纽约港乘船去欧洲。

5 elimination   

n.排除，消除，消灭

参考例句：

• Their elimination from the competition was a great surprise.他们在比赛中遭到淘汰是个很大的意外。
• I was eliminated from the 400 metres in the semi-finals.我在400米半决赛中被淘汰。

6 Nazi   

n.纳粹分子，adj.纳粹党的，纳粹的

参考例句：

• They declare the Nazi regime overthrown and sue for peace.他们宣布纳粹政权已被推翻，并出面求和。
• Nazi closes those war criminals inside their concentration camp.纳粹把那些战犯关在他们的集中营里。

7 bloody   

adj.非常的的；流血的；残忍的；adv.很；vt.血染

参考例句：

• He got a bloody nose in the fight.他在打斗中被打得鼻子流血。
• He is a bloody fool.他是一个十足的笨蛋。

8 lighter   

n.打火机，点火器；驳船；v.用驳船运送；light的比较级

参考例句：

• The portrait was touched up so as to make it lighter.这张画经过润色，色调明朗了一些。
• The lighter works off the car battery.引燃器利用汽车蓄电池打火。

9 bloodiest   

adj.血污的( bloody的最高级 )；流血的；屠杀的；残忍的

参考例句：

• The Russians were going to suffer their bloodiest defeat of all before Berlin. 俄国人在柏林城下要遭到他们的最惨重的失败。 来自辞典例句
• It was perhaps the bloodiest hour in the history of warfare. 这也许是战争史上血腥味最浓的1个小时。 来自互联网

10 regained   

复得( regain的过去式和过去分词 )； 赢回； 重回； 复至某地

参考例句：

• The majority of the people in the world have regained their liberty. 世界上大多数人已重获自由。
• She hesitated briefly but quickly regained her poise. 她犹豫片刻，但很快恢复了镇静。