VOA常速英语:70th Anniversary of the Marshall Plan(翻译)

June marks the 70th anniversary of the European Recovery Program, better known as the Marshall Plan.It was one of the most successful U.S. foreign policy initiatives of the 20th century, praised by Winston Churchill as “the most unselfish act by any great power in history”.
今年6月是欧洲复兴计划或称“马歇尔计划”推出70周年。这是二十世纪美国最成功的外交政策倡议之一，被温斯顿·丘吉尔称赞为“历史上最无私的行为”。
In the late 1940s, recovery from the devastation of the Second World War proved to be extraordinarily difficult for the economically devastated countries of Europe. Two years after the war ended, Europe still had a long way to go just to catch up to pre-war agricultural and industrial output.Unemployment was high and food shortages persisted, further slowing down the recovery.
在二十世纪四十年代后期，第二次世界大战对欧洲国家造成了巨大的经济破坏，经济复苏十分困难。战争结束两年后，要赶上战前农业和工业生产水平，欧洲还有很长的路要走。失业率居高不下，粮食持续短缺，这些都进一步放缓了复苏的脚步。
In an effort to stabilize Europe and restore its industrial and agricultural production, the United States initiated the Marshall Plan, named after then-Secretary of State George Marshall.Between April 1948 and December 1951, the United States poured 13 billion dollars in direct investment into 17 Western European countries,including former foes Germany and Italy. In today’s money, that’s around130 billion dollars. East European countries were also offered aid but had to decline it on orders of the Soviet Union.
为了稳定欧洲的经济状况，恢复其工业和农业生产，美国发起了马歇尔计划，该计划是以当时的国务卿乔治·马歇尔命名的。1948年4月至1951年12月间，美国向17个西欧国家直接投资了130亿美元，其中包括此前的敌对国家德国和意大利。这笔资金相当于今天的近1300亿美元。东欧国家也得到了美国的援助，但不得不按照苏联的命令而退出。
The investment jump-started Western Europe’s heavy-industry base, provided jobs for millions of people, stabilized the economic and political systems and raised the Gross National Product of the Marshall Plan countries by 15 to 25 percent.By 1951, it was clear that the initiative had met its objective of “restoring the confidence of the European people in the economic future of their own countries and of Europe as a whole”, and Western Europe was well on the way to a bright future.
这笔投资让西欧重工业基地兴起，为数百万人提供了就业机会，稳定了经济和政治体系，将马歇尔计划参与国家的国民生产总值提高了百分之十五至百分之二十五。到1951年，这一倡议实现了其目标：“恢复欧洲人民对自己国家和整个欧洲的经济前景的信心”，西欧正在迈向光明的未来。
“The Marshall Plan not only helped Europe recover and spurred rapid economic growth; it laid the foundation for the long-term peace and prosperity that both the United States and Europe have enjoyed for nearly three-quarters of a century,”said Secretary of State Rex Tillerson.
“马歇尔计划不仅有助于欧洲的经济恢复，还刺激了经济快速增长;这为美国和欧洲近四分之三世纪的长期和平与繁荣奠定了基础，”国务卿蒂勒森如是说。
“Perhaps more importantly, the Marshall Plan laid the foundation for the transatlantic bond and partnership that has helped Europe remain whole, free, at peace, and prosperous. Today, as we face new threats to our security, unity, and prosperity, the Marshall Plan reminds us of what is possible when the United States and Europe work together.”
“更重要的是，马歇尔计划为跨大西洋的纽带和伙伴关系打下了基础，帮助欧洲保持了完整、自由、和平与繁荣。今天，当我们的安全、团结和繁荣面临新的威胁时，马歇尔计划提醒我们，美国和欧洲只要团结起来，一切皆有可能。”