Reports-on-Britain-Under-the-Bombs.docx

Reports on Britain Under the BombsNight after night, in the hot summer and early fall of 1940, a deep, steady voice came over the Atlantic Ocean from England to America, telling of Englands battle for survival under the waves of German bombers. This strong and steady voice, an American voice with a slight accent of North Carolina, belonged to Edward R. Murrow, head of the European staff of the Columbia Broadcasting System.This is London, said Murrow, while the bombs fell and flames spread on the streets of the city. His voice had a tone of sorrow for the suffering of that ancient city, and a tone of confidence, too a feeling of belief that London would be there, no matter what it had to endure. It could not be destroyed.The heavy raids began in the middle of August, and Nazi bombs started to fall along Englands Channel Coast. The German bombers cast dark shadows over the white cliffs of Dover, and Englands Home Guard prepared to fight on the beaches, on the cliffs, and in the hills, until the last Englishman died or the invaders were driven off.Air Marshal Goerings bomber pilots were sure of their ultimate triumph over England. Hitler and Goering believed that when London became a burned city like Warsaw and Rotterdam, England would surrender.But the English were more fortunate than the Poles in Warsaw and the Dutch in Rotterdam. They had the English Channel as a barrier against the Nazi ground forces, and they had the Royal Air Force (RAF) to battle the Nazis in the sky.The hardships of London really started in the first week of September, when Hitler was at last convinced that the English did not intend to give in. On September 7, 1940, nearly four hundred German bombers hammered the city with bombs in broad daylight. Marshal Goering boasted, This is the historic hour when our air force for the first time delivered its bombs right into the enemys heart.Fires burned, houses fell, gas pipes burst, and dark smoke rose from the streets. Men, women, and children felt the effect of the bombs. Radar sirens wailed, ambulances rushed from one place of agony to another, and fire fighters faced the flames hour after hour.It seemed impossible for any city to take so much punishment and continue to endure. It seemed impossible for people of the city to do their daily jobs, to work and eat and sleep and carry on the business of life, with the crash of bombs all around them and planes spitting fire in the skies above.But the city endured. Trains brought commuters in from the suburbs. Buses bumped along the streets. The fires were brought under control. Bottles of dairy milk arrived in door ways, and women took them in, as though the war were a thousand miles away. Newspapers appeared and people bought them, hurrying to work and reading reports of the battle raging over London.And Edward R. Murrow went on the air, saying in his deep, steady voice, This is London. He spoke as though nothing could ever keep him from saying those words. He did not speak them with any attempt to sound heroic. He simply voiced the quiet truth of the citys existence.Murrow knew that Britains fate depended upon the resolution of the people in the shops and streets, the men in the pubs, the housewives, those watching for fire on the roofs, the people who had a thousand difficult and painful things to do.Much depended upon the handful of pilots who rose day after day and night after night to meet the flocks of Nazi bombers. The pilots in the RAF reached the limits of exhaustion and then went beyond those limits, still fighting.But the people of London were also in the front lines, and they did not have the satisfaction of being able to fight back. They couldnt reach up and smash the enemy planes. They had to dig quickly in cellars to rescue their friends who had been buried underneath the wreckage. They had to put out endless fires. They had to stand firm and take whatever the enemy threw at them.In a broadcast on October 1, 1940, Murrow declared: Mark it down that these people are both brave and patient, that all are equal under the bomb, that this is a war of speed and organization, and that whichever political system best provides for the defense and decency of the little man will win.Murrows projection of eventual victory for the ordinary people proved to be accurate. The Nazi powers were finally defeated by the Allied nations.Words: 769NEW WORDSbombn. C a weapon that explodes and is used to kill or hurt people or to damage buildings 炸彈，爆炸裝置vt. attack sb./sth. with bombs; drop bombs on 轟炸，投彈bombern. C an aircraft that drops bombs or a person who uses bombs 轟炸機(jī)，投彈手，投擲炸彈者survivaln. 1. U state of continuing to live or exist; surviving 幸存，殘存2. C a person, thing, custom, belief, etc. that has survived from an earlier time 殘存的人（物、風(fēng)俗、信仰）flamen. C, U burning gas (from sth. on fire) which usually produces a yellow light 火焰，火舌sorrown. 1. U feeling of sadness caused by loss, disappointment, regret, or grief 悲傷，悲哀，悔恨2. C a particular cause of sorrow 悲傷的原因，不幸ancienta. 1. of or from a long time ago; having lasted for a very long time 古代的，古舊的2. very old 老的endurev. bear (pain, suffering, etc.) calmly for a long time 經(jīng)受，忍受，容忍raidn. 1. C a sudden surprise attack by armed forces 突襲，襲擊2. C a sudden surprise attack in order to steal or do harm （為偷襲或傷害別人而進(jìn)行的）突襲，搶劫vt. make a raid on 突襲，襲擊channeln. 1. C a part of river or other body of water which allows ships to travel along; a passage for water or other fluids to flow along 航道，海峽；溝渠2. C (the shows broadcast on) a particular television station 電視頻道3. C a way of giving, directing or communicating sth. 途徑，渠道castvt. 1. put, cause or direct (a look, thought, feeling or opinion) 投射（目光），將（思想、感情）加于2. throw with force 投，擲，拋n. 1. C all the actors in a play, etc. （戲劇等的）全體演員2. C an act of throwing 投，擲，拋cliffn. C a high area of rock with a very steep side, often on a coast 懸崖，（尤指海邊的）峭壁invadev. 1. enter (a country or territory) with armed forces in order to attack, damage or occupy it 侵略，侵犯2. enter (a place or situation in which you are not wanted or not expected to be) 闖入，侵?jǐn)_invadern. C a person or thing that invades 侵略者，侵犯者，入侵者marshaln. 1. C an officer of high rank 高級軍官，元帥2. C a chief officer of a police or fire-fighting force in some parts of the United States （美）警察局長，消防隊長surrenderv. 1. give up or give in to the power (esp. of an enemy), as a sign of defeat 投降，自首；屈服（于）2. give sth. to sb. else because you have been forced to do so or because it is necessary to do so 交出，放棄royala. (in the service) of a king or queen 王室的，皇家的hammerv. hit or beat repeatedly 敲打，錘擊n. C 錘子，榔頭daylightn. U (the period when there is) natural light from the sun 陽光，日光historica. famous or important in history 歷史上有名的或重要的radarn. U system which uses radio waves to find the position of objects which cannot otherwise be seen; equipment used for this 雷達(dá)；雷達(dá)裝置sirenn. C a device for making a loud warning noise 汽笛，警報器wailv. make a long, high cry, usu. because of pain or sadness; make a sound similar to that of a person wailing 嚎啕；發(fā)出尖叫聲agonyn. U, C (a state or feeling of) unbearable physical or mental pain or suffering 極大的痛苦crashn. C (usu. sing.) (loud noise made by a) violent fall, blow or break 墜落（聲），打擊或破裂（所發(fā)的響聲）v. 1. make a sudden loud noise 發(fā)出巨響2. (cause to) have an accident, esp. one which damages a vehicle （使）猛撞，（使）撞毀spitv. send (liquid or sth. else) out from the mouth 吐（痰）；吐（口水等）n. U 口水，唾液commutevi. travel regularly a long distance between ones work and ones home, esp. by train 因上班而經(jīng)常來往于兩地，通勤n. C the trip made in commuting 通勤來往，上下班路程commutern. C a person who commutes 往返于兩地的人suburbn. C an area on the edge of a large town or city where people who work in the town or city often live 近郊bumpv. 1. travel, usu. in a vehicle, in an uncomfortable way because the surface one is moving over is rough 顛簸而行2. hit (sth.) with force, esp. accidentally 碰撞n. C a blow, knock or hit 碰撞dairyn. C a place on a farm where milk and cream are kept and cheese and butter are made; a shop which supplies milk and milk products 牛奶場，乳品店heroica. having the qualities of a hero; very brave 英雄的，英勇的resolutionn. 1. U the quality of being firm 堅決，堅定，決心2. U solution 解決，解答pubn. C a public house, a building where alcohol may be bought and drunk 小酒店，酒吧handfuln. 1. U a small number (of people or things) 少數(shù)，少量2. C an amount of sth. that can be held in one hand 一把flockn. C a group of sheep, goats or birds, or a group of people 一群（綿羊、山羊、鳥或人）vi. gather, move, come or go together in great numbers 群集，成群結(jié)隊而行exhaustvt. 1. make (a person or an animal) very tired 使疲憊不堪2. use (sth.) up completely 用盡，耗盡exhaustionn. U total loss of strength 筋疲力盡，疲憊smashv. 1. (cause sth. to) be broken violently into pieces 打碎，打破，粉碎2. hit (sb./sth.) very hard 猛撞，猛擊n. 1. C an act or sound of smashing 撞擊（聲），猛撞（聲）2. C a very successful song, play or film, etc. 極為成功的歌曲、戲劇或電影等cellarn. C a room under the ground floor of a building, usu. used to keep items to be used later 地窖，地下室rescuevt. save or bring away sb./sth. from danger 救出，解救n. C, U rescuing or being rescued 營救，解救underneathprep. under or below 在下面，在底下，向下面ad. under or below 在下面，在底下，向下面wreckvt. destroy or ruin (sth.) 破壞或毀滅，使遇難，使失事n. C a vehicle or ship that has been destroyed or badly damaged 受到嚴(yán)重破壞的車輛或船，殘骸wreckagen. U r