75年后 法国的HistoPad提供了D日的新视角

75 years later, French 'HistoPad' Offers New View of D-Day

The French and the Americans are working together again on a project marking a major event in World War II. This time, they are giving people the chance to travel back in time and experience the invasion of Normandy, France.

United States-led Allied¹ forces invaded northern France on June 6, 1944. The Normandy landings led to the end of Germany’s control of Western Europe.

Seventy-five years later, the event is being remembered at the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force in Ohio. Visitors now have the chance to virtually transport themselves back in time to D-Day.

To do this, they need an electronic tablet, called a HistoPad. Visitors make movements on the device to see current images of historic places with re-creations of them in the past. They can also press on images to see videos, pictures and maps from 1944.

The new way of learning about the Normandy landings is part of the museum’s D-Day observances.

Allied commanders called the invasion Operation Overlord. The U.S. military used the term D-Day to identify the start date for any important military operation.

On June 6, 1944, about 156,000 U.S., British and Canadian forces invaded five areas along 80 kilometers of France’s western coast. The troops were supported by thousands of ships, landing vehicles and airplanes. They also had help from French resistance fighters.

The Air Force museum, near Dayton, Ohio, is the first group in the United States to use the tablets. The French company Histovery developed the technology. Company officials have announced plans to expand the use of HistoPads to other parts of the U.S.

The tablets are among new technology increasingly in use at many museums and historic areas. They offer virtual and augmented² reality to help learning and understanding.

Bruno de Sa Moreira works for the French company. He noted³ that the Air Force museum D-Day exhibit was a natural place to start in the U.S. He told the Associated Press, “It’s a very exciting adventure. We are basically telling our joint⁴ history, when the American soldiers fought for the liberty of France. We have a common past and a common duty to remember.”

HistoPads were first demonstrated five years ago at a French castle built in the 1500s. More than a million visitors each year use the devices at 15 monuments and museums in France.

The Air Force museum has large collections of troop carriers, fighter planes, and even German airplanes and weapons used at the time.

In one area, visitors see a life-like model of a U.S. paratrooper ready for battle with weapons and explosives, a field radio and a backup parachute. When added together, the equipment weighs about 68 kilograms.

The HistoPad will show what a paratrooper might have seen on the dangerous airplane drop.

Museum supervisor⁵ Jeff Dufurd said that the tablet “makes it very real. It’s a device that allows us to connect our visitors with that moment in time and in doing so, it makes the artifacts from that time and that place even more powerful.”

Chuck Edmonson is the museum’s marketing⁶ director. He gave a few visitors a demonstration⁷ of the HistoPad on a recent morning. One of them was 67-year-old Deane Sager⁸ of Louisville, Kentucky. He was surprised by how real the images seemed. “Oh, my, that’s what you’d see,” he said.

The Air Force museum has more D-Day events planned on June 6.

I’m Jonathan Evans.

Words in This Story

adventure – n. an exciting or remarkable⁹ experience

augmented – adj. made greater, larger, or more complete

castle – n. a massive or imposing¹⁰ house

virtual(ly) – adj. being on or simulated on a computer or computer network; of, relating to, or existing within a virtual reality

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 Augmented   

adj.增音的 动词augment的过去式和过去分词形式

参考例句：

• 'scientists won't be replaced," he claims, "but they will be augmented." 他宣称：“科学家不会被取代；相反，他们会被拓展。” 来自英汉非文学 - 科学史
• The impact of the report was augmented by its timing. 由于发表的时间选得好，这篇报导的影响更大了。

3 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

4 joint   

adj.联合的，共同的；n.关节，接合处；v.连接，贴合

参考例句：

• I had a bad fall,which put my shoulder out of joint.我重重地摔了一跤，肩膀脫臼了。
• We wrote a letter in joint names.我们联名写了封信。

5 supervisor   

n.监督人，管理人，检查员，督学，主管，导师

参考例句：

• Between you and me I think that new supervisor is a twit.我们私下说，我认为新来的主管人是一个傻瓜。
• He said I was too flighty to be a good supervisor.他说我太轻浮不能成为一名好的管理员。

6 marketing   

n.行销，在市场的买卖，买东西

参考例句：

• They are developing marketing network.他们正在发展销售网络。
• He often goes marketing.他经常去市场做生意。

7 demonstration   

n.表明，示范，论证，示威

参考例句：

• His new book is a demonstration of his patriotism.他写的新书是他的爱国精神的证明。
• He gave a demonstration of the new technique then and there.他当场表演了这种新的操作方法。

8 sager   

adj.贤明的，貌似聪明的( sage的比较级 )

参考例句：

• Well, I want those yellow gators that Sager wore a few weeks ago. 好了，我想那些人认为是塞奇几个星期前穿的。 来自互联网

9 remarkable   

adj.显著的，异常的，非凡的，值得注意的

参考例句：

• She has made remarkable headway in her writing skills.她在写作技巧方面有了长足进步。
• These cars are remarkable for the quietness of their engines.这些汽车因发动机没有噪音而不同凡响。

10 imposing   

adj.使人难忘的，壮丽的，堂皇的，雄伟的

参考例句：

• The fortress is an imposing building.这座城堡是一座宏伟的建筑。
• He has lost his imposing appearance.他已失去堂堂仪表。