全新版大學英語綜合教程第四冊Unit1TextBWouldnaturebeonthesideoftheAlliedforcesastheypreparedtoinvademainlandEuropeorwoulditfavourtheGermans?Noonewascertain.大自然會站在秣馬厲兵準備進攻歐洲大陸的同盟國一方，還是會偏袒德國人？誰也說不準。TheNormandyLandings諾曼底登陸1.ThelargestandmostambitiousmilitaryexpeditioninhistorywastheinvasionofNormandyinnorthernFrancebyBritish,AmericanandCanadianforcesthattookplaceinthesummerof1944.Evennatureplayedarole.2.Ittookmorethanayearformilitaryplannerstoorchestrateeverymovementoftroops,artillery,shipsandaircraftandtoseteverythinginplaceforthemovethatwastoopenupasecondfrontinEurope.ThiswouldliberateFranceandwayforthefinalassaultonGermanyitself.歷史上最大最具野心的軍事遠征是1944年夏天英國、美國和加拿大軍隊在法國北部發動的諾曼底入侵。甚至自然也發揮了作用。軍事侵略家精心安排軍隊、大炮、船艦和飛機的每一步運作，將進軍的一切準備就緒去打開在歐洲的第二戰線，這種準備花了一年多的時間。這將解放法國并且為對德國的最后攻擊開路。3.Everythingwascontrolled;rightdowntotheplacementofmilitarydecoysacrosstheEnglishChanneltofooltheGermansintothinkingtheattackwouldcomefromBritain'sclosestpointtoFranceatPasdeCalaisratherthaninNormandyasplanned.4.Everythingwascontrolled,thatis,excepttheweather.一切盡在掌控之中。軍事誘餌的布置也準備好橫穿英吉利海峽以欺騙德國人，使他們誤以為攻擊會從英國距法國最近的那個位置即加萊海峽而不是按照計劃在諾曼底登陸。除了天氣，一切盡在掌握之中。5.D-day,thecodenamegiventothedayofinvasion,wasoriginallyscheduledfor5June1944.Thisdatehadbeenarrivedatbyconsideringtwofactors--moonlightandtide.Thehouroftheinvasionwouldneedtobenearsunrise,whentheseabornetroopswouldhavearisingtide.Thiswouldenablethemtolandclosetotheobstaclesthathadbeenplacedtohindertheirlandingwithoutcomingashoreontopofthem.Theparatroopersneededafullmoonforvisibility.Thedayswiththepropertide-moonlightformulaclosesttothetargetdatewere5,6and7June.(1)ThefifthwaschosenforD-Daytoallowasafetymarginincasetheattackneededtobepostponed.入侵日子的代號，登陸日，最初定在1944年5月1日。這一天在月光和潮汐這兩個因素的考慮中到來了。入侵的時間需要在日出左右，那時海上運輸的軍隊將會遇到上漲的潮汐。這將使他們接近已經設置好的用來阻礙他們登陸的障礙物而不用上岸。傘兵部隊需要一輪明月來提高能見度。擁有適當的潮汐、月光的方案的日子屬6月6、7日最接近預定日期。第五天被選作諾曼底登陸日，萬一進攻需要延期，這樣可以留有安全的余裕。6.Inadditiontomoonlightandfavourabletides,calmseaswereneededforthecrossing.(2)Butanunusuallystormytransitionfromspringtowardsummerthatyearheldourlittlehopethattherewouldbeasuitablebreakintheweather.ItalsomeantthepossibilitythatOperationOverlord,astheinvasionwascalled,mighthavetobepostponeduntillaterintheyearoreventhefollowingyear.除了月光和最合適的潮汐，平靜的海面對于橫渡也是十分需要的。但是那年從春季到夏季的不平常的猛烈過渡表明天氣上不會有一個合適的間隙，它也意味著這場被稱作霸王行動的入侵有可能不得不延期到年后或下一年。7.Withthearrivalof5June,theweatherwassobadthatGeneralEisenhower,supremecommanderoftheinvasionforces,wasforcedtopostponetheinvasionbyoneday.Whenhemetwithhisstafftoreviewtheiroptions,theywerefacedwiththegrimrealitythat6JunedidnotlookmuchbetterthantheoriginalD-Day.Themeteorologicalreportgaveathinrayofhopethatalullinthestormwouldallowenoughtimetolaunchtheinvasion.Consultationswentonlateintothenightonwhethertopressahead.Opinionsweredivided.Finally,Eisenhowermadehisdecision."Iamquitepositivewemustgivetheorder,"hesaid."Idon'tlikeit,butthereitis.Idon'tseehowwecandoanythingelse."Withinhours,anarmadaof3,000landingcraft,2,500otherships,and500navalvesselsbegantoleaveEnglishports.6月5日到了，天氣太糟糕了，入侵軍隊的最高指揮官艾森·豪威爾將軍被迫延遲一天入侵。當他和他的將士回顧他們的選擇時，他們面臨了殘酷的現實。6月6日看起來并沒有比最初的登陸日好多少。氣象預報表明在這場暴風雨中暫停以求得足夠的時間來發動入侵幾乎沒什么希望。關于是否繼續進行入侵的磋商持續到很晚，意見發生了分歧。最后，艾森豪威爾做出了決定?！拔液艽_定我們必須下達命令，”他說，“我不喜歡，但是情況就是這樣。我不知道我們還能怎么做。”幾個小時內，由3000艘登陸艇、2500艘其他船只和500艘艦艇組成的無敵艦隊開始撤出英國港口。8.Meanwhile,criticalerrorsbytheGermansideallowedthemtobetakencompletelybysurprise.Duetothebadweather,theGermannavycancelleditsusualpatroloftheEnglishChannel.Also,apracticedrillscheduledforJune6wascalledoff.TheGarmanmeteorologicalserviceswereunawareofthebreakintheweather.Ontheeveoftheattack,manyofthetopGermanleaderswereabsentfromtheircommands.Rommel,thegeneralinchargeofthecoastaldefenses,wasinGermanyvisitinghiswifeonherbirthday,andseveralofficersweresomedistanceawayinRennesorontheirwaythereforawar-gameexercise.同時，德方的關鍵性失誤令他們大吃一驚，由于天氣糟糕，德國海軍取消了它在英吉利海峽的正常巡邏。并且，定于6月6日的訓練取消了。德國氣象局沒有意識到惡劣天氣的間斷，在攻擊的前一晚，許多德國的高級領導人擅離職守，隆美爾，負責海岸防御的將軍，在德國慶祝他妻子的生日，一些官員在遙遠的雷思或者在趕到那里參加戰爭游戲演戲的路上。9.TheassaultonNormandybeganat12:15a.m.,whenthepathfindersfortheAmericanairborneunitslefttheirplanesandparachutedtoearth.Fiveminuteslater,ontheothersideoftheinvasionarea,theBritishpathfindersmadetheirjump.Thepathfinderswerespeciallytrainedtofindandmarkthedropzones.Themainairborneassaultwastocommencewithinthehour.當美國空降部隊的探路者離開他們的飛機，跳傘降落時，在諾曼底的攻擊在上午12點15分開始了。5分鐘后，在入侵地區的另一方，英國探路者也完成了跳傘。這些探路者經過特殊的訓練去找到并標記轟擊區。主要的空降襲擊在幾個小時內就要開始了。10.Theairborneattackbecameconfusedbecauseofstiffwindsandtheevasiveflyingofthetransportplaneswhentheyencounteredanti-aircraftfire.Asaresult,theparatrooperswerescatteredoverawideareaandmostmissedtheirdropzones,somebyasmuchas20miles.Othercomplicationswerecausedbytheterrain,andtheworstterrainwasontheCotentinPeninsula.TheGermanshadlacedtheopenfieldswithanti-personnelandgliderstakesandfloodedthelowareas.ThefloodingcausedthemosttroublefortheAmericansofthe101stand82ndAirbornedivisions,withmanyofthetroopsdrowned,ladendownbytheirheavyequipment.由于強烈的風，加上運輸機遭遇防空工事炮火時所作的規避飛行，空中襲擊一片混亂。結果傘兵的降落點散落在一個廣闊的范圍，大多數都沒有命中降落點，有些偏離了達20英里遠。其他的困難由地形導致，且最不利的地形是在科唐坦搬到。德軍在開闊地帶綁定了殺傷性的滑翔機發射臺，并且這種武裝充斥了低海拔地帶。這種裝備給美國空軍101師和82師造成了最大的阻礙，許多士兵溺水身亡，在繁重裝備的重壓之下。11.Theairborneunitsweretosecuretheflanksoftheamphibiousassault.Thatmeantcapturingbridges,crossroadsandcoastalbatteries.Afteraccomplishingthosetasks,theparatroopershadtowithstandanyGermancounterattacks.空降兵各部隊需要保證此次海陸空突襲的側翼。這意味著占領橋梁，十字路口和沿海炮臺。在完成以上任務之后，傘兵部隊就需要抵抗德軍的任何反攻。12.Astheairborneunitsstruggledtoachievetheirgoals,thegreatfleetmadeitswayacrossthechanneltoitsappointmentwithdestiny.Leadingthatgrandarmadaweretheminesweepers.Behindthemfollowedavastarrayofnavalvesselsofeveryconceivabletype.Neverbeforehadsuchafleetbeenassembled.Includingthelandingcraftcarriedonboard,thecombinedAlliedinvasionarmadanumberedupto6,000ships.Approximately150,000menweretocrosstheEnglishChannelandlandatassaultbeachescode-named"Utah,""Omaha,""Gold,""Juno"and"Sword."正在空軍部隊奮力完成任務的同時，龐大的聯軍艦隊正穿越海峽，奔赴命運之約。巨大戰船隊伍由掃雷艦領航。接著是一個由你能想到的任何種類的戰船所組成的巨大的海上編隊。這次集合前無古人。包括甲板上被運載的登陸艦在內，聯合艦隊共有6000艘戰船在編。大約150000名戰士將穿越英吉利海峽，在指定的海灘登陸。它們的代號分別是：猶他，奧馬哈，戈德，朱諾，利劍。13.ThefirstareasofFrenchsoilwrestedfromGermancontrolwereagroupofsmallislandslocatedthreemilesoffUtahBeach.Alliedcommanderswereconcernedthattheseislandscouldbeusedassitesforheavyguns.ThemenoftheU.S.4thand24thCavalrysquadronsweredesignatedtotaketheislandspriortothemaininvasion.Theassaultteamsfoundonlylandmines.TheGermanshadlefttheislandsunoccupied.游離于德國人控制之外的法國的第一塊土地是一系列小島，正好位于猶他海灘附近三英里處。聯軍司令官確信這些小島將被（德國人）用作重武器的存放地。美國第4及第24機械中隊被指派在總攻發起前拿下這些島嶼。突擊部隊發現這里只有地雷。德軍并沒有占領這些島嶼。14.Forthemajorityoftheassaulttroops,however,thewarhadnotbegunyet.Afterspendingaslongas48hoursaboardthevarioustransportshipsasaresultofthedelay,manyofthemenweremiserablyseasickandinpoorshapeforthechallengeahead.然而，對于此次突襲的大多數士兵來說，戰斗遠未開始。由于戰時的延誤，大多數士兵在各種戰艦上生活了48小時之久，他們嚴重的暈船，面對即將到來的挑戰狀態不佳。15.Thenavalbombardmentbeganaround5:45a.m.Theairattackfollowed.Thenavalandairbombardmentsweredesignedtodestroythebeachgunsandobstacles,pindowntheenemyandprovideshelterforthegroundtroopsontheopenbeachesbymakingcraters.Both,however,largelyfailedintheirobjectives.Weatherconditionshadimproved,buttheywerenotperfect.Becauseofpoorvisibilitycausedbylowcloudcover,itwasdecidedthatthebomberswoulddelaythereleaseofbombs30secondstoavoidhittingtheassaultingtroops.Asaresult,thebombsfellinlandandmissedtheirtargets.Althoughthenavalbombardmentwasmoreaccurate,itwasnotmuchmoreeffectiveagainstthehardenedGermangunemplacements.海軍轟炸在清晨5:45開始了。然后是空襲。海上和空中襲擊的初衷是徹底摧毀沙灘上的兵力和障礙物，壓制敵人，并通過炸出彈坑為陸軍提供掩體。然而，這兩個目標都沒有達到。天氣狀況有了好轉，但是并不完美。由于低垂的大霧造成的極低的能見度，炮兵部被命令延遲30秒發射，以防誤傷突擊士兵。結果，炸彈降落在了內陸，未擊中目標。盡管，海軍部隊的轟炸更加精確，由于德軍已加強武裝，因而還是顯得作用不大。16.Theweatheralsowaspartiallyresponsibleforcausingsomeoftheassaultcrafttomisstheirassignedlandingareas.Additionally,manyofthelandingcraftandamphibioustanksfounderedintheroughsea.IntheOmahaarea,mostofthecraftcarryingartilleryandtanksintendedtosupporttheincomingt