VOA常速英语:Veteran's Day(翻译)

During the American Civil War, President Abraham Lincoln called on his countrymen in his famous Gettysburg Address to ensure that liberty “shall not perish from the earth.”
美国内战期间，总统亚伯拉罕·林肯在他著名的葛底斯堡演说中呼吁他的同胞们要确保自由“不会在地球上毁灭。”

His words have inspired many over the years, including millions in our nation’s armed forces who fought to preserve not only America’s freedom, but that of other nations as well.
多少年来，他的演讲一直激励着人们，包括数百万美国士兵，他们为保卫美国人民和其他国家人民的自由而战。

Today, Veteran’s Day, America pauses to honor these men and women, and the values of duty and sacrifice they represent. Long after they leave uniform, they symbolize what it means to be a citizen of a free land.
今天是老兵节，美国停下脚步纪念这些男女士兵，以及他们所代表的履职观和作出的牺牲。在他们退伍后很长时间仍为我们示范了自由土地的公民应有的样子。

The holiday, observed every year on November 11, originated with the armistice that ended The First World War in 1918. The conflict, fought in Asia, Africa, scattered islands in the Pacific and the waters off South America, as well as on the battlefields of Europe, was seen as “the war to end all wars.”But other wars followed,and in 1954 President Dwight Eisenhower expanded the holiday to honor all who have served in uniform both in war and peace.
每年11月11日是老兵节，这一节日源于结束1918年第一次世界大战的停战协定。这场战争发生在亚洲、非洲、太平洋上散落的岛屿、南美沿岸海域，以及欧洲战场，被看做是“终止一切战争的战争。”但其他战争随之而来，1954年总统德怀特·艾森豪威尔将节日纪念的范围扩大，包含了所有在战争与和平期间的士兵。

Our government continues this effort to this day, with programs to help veterans leaving the military to find employment and ease their transition into civilian life. “Honoring the sacred trust with America’s veterans means doing all we can to help them find work when they come home so they never feel as if the American Dream they fought to defend is out of reach for them or their families,”President Barack Obama said.
我们的政府迄今为止仍在继续努力，实施各种项目帮助离开战场的老兵找到工作并使他们更好地转变生活方式、过平民的生活。“向美国老兵致以我们崇高的敬意意味着我们要竭尽所能帮助他们在回家后找到工作，使他们永远不会感到为之战斗而捍卫的美国梦对于他们和家人来说遥不可及，”总统巴拉克·奥巴马说。

At its core, though, Veterans Day isn’t about war. It commemorates no battlefield victory or defeat, it celebrates no advancement of political or territorial ambition. Rather, it’s a day of remembrance, echoing similar holidays in Great Britain, Canada, South Africa and other nations that honor military veterans for their service and sacrifice.
尽管如此，老兵节的核心不是关于战争。它纪念的不是战场上的胜利或失败，不是政治野心或领土野心的扩张。它是一个回忆日，它呼应了在英国、加拿大、南非和其他国家相似的节日，这些节日也是为纪念老兵奉献和牺牲的精神而设立的。