VOA常速英语:70th Anniversary of Pearl Harbor Approaches

Source: VOA    2011-12-06  English BBS   Favorite  
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On Dec. 7, 1941, the Imperial Japanese Navy staged a surprise attack on the U.S. naval base at Pearl Harbor. Five U.S. battleships sank or were severely damaged, several hundred warplanes were destroyed and more than 2,400 people died.  In an historic speech, President Franklin D. Roosevelt called it "a date which will live in infamy."

As the United States prepares to mark the 70th anniversary of Pearl Harbor, two new books revisit the the most devastating foreign attack on U.S. soil until the Sept. 11 terror attacks in 2001.  

Days that changed America

Historian Craig Shirley was born more than a decade after the end of World War II, but the war was ever-present during his childhood.

“I grew up in a family, a culture, where the point of reference for everybody in conversation was, before the war, during the war, and after the war." Shirley recalls. "Everybody in my family had been involved directly in the war, whether civilian or military.”

Thomas Nelson

“December 1941, 31 Days that Changed America and Saved the World,” by Craig Shirley, explores the days surrounding the Pearl Harbor attack and the US entry into World War II.

President Roosevelt had resisted joining the war in Europe. He had been re-elected to a third term. The nation was gradually climbing out of the Great Depression.  

“Franklin Roosevelt made public speeches saying to American mothers, 'I’m not going to send your boys to fight a European war,'" Shirley says.

But all that changed when Japan attacked Pearl Harbor. In his book, "December 1941: 31 Days That Changed America and Saved the World," Shirley dedicates each chapter to a day, starting on Dec. 1.

On Dec. 8,  President Roosevelt addressed a joint session of Congress with his famous speech.

(Yesterday, December 7th, 1941 -- a date which will live in infamy -- the United States of America was suddenly and deliberately attacked by naval and air forces of the Empire of Japan.)

“Everything stopped at about one o’clock in the afternoon," Shirley says. "Everybody gathered around their radios, in their homes, in their libraries, in their churches. There were radio repair stores all over America that had radios out in front of their stores. They would have them on for passersby to listen to. The stock market stopped. Everybody stopped to listen to the president of the U.S.”

Forty minutes later, Congress declared war against Japan. On Dec. 11, Germany declared war on the U.S. and America joined the battle.    

Going to war, Shirley says, changed America.

“Women built airplanes, tanks and learned how to become firefighters," he says. The nation’s capital changed overnight.

Yale University Press

In “December 1941: Twelve Days that Began a World War," historian Evan Mawdsley explores how Pearl Harbor marked a turning point in the direction of the entire century. “Tens of thousands of civilians and military personnel come into the city," Shirley explains. "New buildings sprang up every place. All the federal buildings have machine guns on top of them. There are navy and marine armed guards stationed at the entrance to every federal building in Washington, the Capitol, the White House, the State Department.”

America as a global power

While Shirley focuses mostly on what happened in the United States, another book, “December 1941: Twelve Days that Began a World War," offers an international perspective.

“The 12 days are really pivotal in terms of the war as a whole and in the 20th century as well," says author Evan Mawdsley, a history professor at the University of Glasgow. “In fact, the Japanese attacked the British before they attacked Pearl Harbor by about half an hour, when they attacked Malaya. The reason why they attacked Pearl Harbor is because they wanted to make sure that the American navy couldn’t intervene in their invasion of Malaya.”

According to Mawdsley, the world after Dec. 7 became fundamentally different from the world just one day before.  

“America as a global power, the real beginning of that, I think, does date back to the shock of Pearl Harbor," he explains. "Up till that time, the whole fate of the world was determined by the European powers. And from the first days of December, all of a sudden, the way it operates has become global. You could argue, I think, that the globalization almost dates back to this period of time.”
词汇讲解：

1. stage vt.举行
例句：The union staged a one-day strike.
工会筹划举行一天的罢工。

2. anniversary n. 周年纪念，周年纪念日
例句：Today is my parents' 30th wedding anniversary.
今天是我父母结婚30周年纪念日。

3. devastating adj. 毁灭性的
例句：It is the most devastating storm in 20 years.
这是20年来破坏性最大的风暴。

4. recall v. 回忆起, 回想
例句：The scene recalled her childhood.
这一情景使她想起了童年。

5. resist vt. 抵抗,反抗;抗拒
例句：The nation was unable to resist the invasion.
该国无力抵抗侵略。

6. gather v. (使)聚集; 集合；推断; 了解
例句：The teacher gathered all the pupils in the auditorium.
老师把全体同学集合在礼堂内。

7. personnel n. (总称)人员; 员工；全体人员；职员
例句：The personnel are not happy to change these rules.
全体工作人员对改变这些规定很不高兴。

8. intervene vi. 出面; 介入
例句：The bank has been intervening in foreign exchange markets.
银行一直干预外汇市场。

9. invasion n. 武装入侵, 侵略, 侵犯, 侵入, 闯入
例句：The invasion of tourists brought life to the summer resort.
大批游客涌入, 使这个避暑胜地热闹起来。

10. determine vt. 决定
例句：She determined to go that very afternoon.
她决定就在那天下午走。

短语讲解：

1. “I grew up in a family, a culture, where the point of reference for everybody in conversation was, before the war, during the war, and after the war.”Shirley recalls.

grow up长大, 成熟
例句：Tom wants to be a coach when he grows up.
汤姆长大后想当教练。

2. Everybody in my family had been involved directly in the war, whether civilian or military.

involve in使参与〔陷入, 牵扯到〕
例句：Don't involve yourself in unnecessary dispute.
不要把自己卷入无谓的争论中。

3. In his book, "December 1941: 31 Days That Changed America and Saved the World," Shirley dedicates each chapter to a day, starting on Dec. 1.

dedicate to写(某作品)以献给某人
例句：He dedicated his novel to his teacher.
他把他的小说献给了他的老师。

4. New buildings sprang up every place.

spring up突然开始; 突然产生; 快速增加〔增长〕
例句：New towns are springing up to house the increasing population.
新的城镇正迅速建起, 以容纳不断增长的人口。

5. While Shirley focuses mostly on what happened in the United States, another book, “December 1941: Twelve Days that Began a World War," offers an international perspective.

focus on集中于
例句：Many firms are focusing on increasing their markets overseas.
许多商行都专注于扩大国外市场。

6. “The 12 days are really pivotal in terms of the war as a whole and in the 20th century as well," says author Evan Mawdsley, a history professor at the University of Glasgow.

in terms of 就…而言, 从…方面说来
例句：He referred to your work in terms of high praise.
他对你的工作大加赞扬。

7. “America as a global power, the real beginning of that, I think, does date back to the shock of Pearl Harbor," he explains.

date back to 追溯到…; 从…开始
例句：The history of the town dates back to the Middle Ages.
这个城镇的历史可回溯到中世纪。