Unit 3 War and peace
The D-DAY LANDINGS (P26-27)
By spring 1944, the Second World War had been raging across the globe for about
five years.But along the south coast of England, something unusual was happening:
Allied troops 1._________(make) up mainly of British, Canadian and American
soldiers were gathering 2.___ large numbers. This marked one of the final
______(stage) of a top-secret operation 4._____ had been months, perhaps years,in
the planning.Code-named “Operation Overlord”, it was the largest 5._________(combine) sea, air and land operation in history, the aim being to free North-west Europe from German occupation. After 6._________(wait) for the perfect combination of weather, moon and tides, the date for the start of Operation Overlord 7.________(set) for 6 June.
An order 8._________(issue) by Supreme Allied Commander General
Eisenhower to the troops read:“Your task will not be9. ___ easy one. Your enemy is well trained, well 10.________(equip) and battle-hardened... But this is the year 1944... The tide has turned! The free men of the world are marching together to Victory! I have full confidence11. ____ your courage, 12._________(devote) to duty and skill in battle. We will accept nothing less than full Victory!”
With these words13.________(ring) in their ears, Allied soldiers prepared for
14.______ would become known as D-Day. 15._____ dawn on 6 June, thousands landed by parachute behind enemy lines in Northern France. Meanwhile, thousands more were journeying across the English Channel to Normandy, 16.________(protect) by fighter planes in the skies above them. Their objective was clear: to reach the Normandy beaches along about 80 kilometres of French coastline. But even in the depths of war, few could have been prepared 17._____ the violence and horror18. ______they would experience there.
The fiercest fighting was at Omaha Beach. The enemy were hiding, ready to
attack the Allied soldiers even19. ________ they reached land. Boats 20._______(hit)
and men drowned, while those 21.______ did make 22.____ to the beach faced heavy
machine gunfire. By mid-morning, hundreds lay dead in the water and amongst the
tanks on the beach. One soldier recalled how he barely made it with bombs
_________(fall) all around him: “I was the first one out. The seventh man was the
next one to get across the beach without24.__________(hit) . All the ones in between were hit. Two were killed; three were injured. That’s 25._____ lucky you had to be.”
But, despite the high cost in human life, the D-Day landings were____ success and were seen widely 26.____ the beginning of the end of the Second World War. By the end of August 1944, the Allies27. __________(reach) the River Seine, Paris
______________(liberate) and the Germans had been removed from North-west
France. The Allied forces then prepared to enter Germany, 29._______ they would meet up with the Soviet military moving in from the east.
Seventy years later, men 30.________ had fought on D-Day gathered on both sides of the English Channel, 31._______ people were coming together for memorial ceremonies. As part of this solemn and moving occasion, a former soldier read out 32.____ the crowd these lines from the poem For the Fallen, by Laurence Binyon:
They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old:
Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.
At the going down of the sun and in the morning,
We will remember them.
33.__________(survive) of the D-Day landings continue to meet 34.___________(remember) the fellow soldiers and friends 35______they lost that day. 36._________ each year they are fewer in number, their outstanding acts of courage mean 37.______ we will always remember them – as well as those 38.______ lost their lives on the beaches of northern France.
重点词汇:
rage /re d /n. 盛怒,狂怒;v. 发脾气,大怒
globe /ɡlo b/n. 地球,世界
global / ɡlo bl/adj. 全球的,全世界的
allied / la d/adj. 结盟的
troops /tru ps/n. [军]部队
make up / me k p/组成;补足;化妆;编造
gather / ɡ r/v. 聚集,召集
operation / ɑ p re ( )n/n. 运作,实施;操作;手术;(有组织的)活动;军事行动
free...from...免除
occupation / ɑ kju pe n/n. 工作,职业;(尤指军队的)占领,控制
tide /ta d/n. 潮汐;潮水;潮流,趋势
issue v. 发表,颁布;分发
task/t sk/n. (尤指困难的或必须定期做的)工作,任务
equip / kw p/v. 装备,配备
march /mɑ rt /v. 齐步走,行军;快步走
victory / v kt ri/n. 胜利,成功,获胜
confidence / kɑ nf d ns/n. 自信,信心
at dawn / t d n/拂晓;天一亮
parachute / p r u t/n. 降落伞
objective / b d ekt v/n. 目的,目标
depth /depθ/n. 深度,纵深
violence / va l ns/n. 暴力,暴行
horror / h r r/n. 震惊,恐惧
fiercest / f rs st/(尤指人或动物)凶猛的
drown /dra n/v. (声音)压过,盖过;沉浸于,淹没于;(使)淹死
recall /r k l/v. 记起,回想起;使想起,使想到
barely / berli/adv. 勉强才能;几乎不
liberate / l b re t/v. 解放,解救
remove...from...移除
meet up with /mi t p w /偶遇;碰面
military / m l teri/adj. 军事的,军队的
Fought /f t/v. 战斗;打架(fight 的过去分词)
memory / mem ri/n. 记忆力,记性
memorize / mem ra z/v. 记住,熟记
memorial/m m ri l/adj. 纪念的,追悼的;记忆的
ceremony / ser mo ni/n. 仪式,典礼;礼节,礼仪,客套
solemn / sɑ l m/adj. 表情严肃的,庄严的
occasion / ke n/n. (某事发生的)时刻,时候
occasionally / ke n li/adv. 偶然,偶尔
former / f rm r/adj. 旧时的;以前的
Survivor /s r va v r/n. (灾难性事故中的)幸存者,生还者
outstanding /a t st nd /adj. 杰出的,优秀的
make it 获得成功,成功到达
channel n.海峡;频道
参考答案:1.made 2.in 3.stages 4.that 5.combined 6.waiting 7.was set 8.issued 9.an 10.equipped 11.in 12.devotion 13.ringing 14.what 15.At 16.protected 17.for 18.that/\ 19.before 20.were hit 21.who 22.it 23.how 24.falling 25.being hit 26.a 27.as 28.had reached 29.was liberated 30.where 31.who 32.where 33.survivors 34.to remember 35.that /\36 Although37. that 38.who