Memorial Day is a national holiday observed in the United States on the last Monday in May .
阵亡将士纪念日是美国的全国性节日，定在5月的最后一个星期一。
This year , Memorial Day falls on May 27 .
今年的阵亡将士纪念日是5月27日。
It is a day when Americans honor the men and women who have died fighting in America's wars .
在这一天，美国人向在美国历次战争中牺牲的男女军人致敬。
For most Americans , it also marks the unofficial start of summer .
对大多数美国人来说，这一天也标志着夏天非正式的开始。
It is a popular weekend for vacationing .
这是人们度假的热门周末。
It is the most famous burial place in America .
这是美国最著名的墓地。
The tradition began on May 30th , 1868 , when flowers were placed on the graves of Union and Confederate soldiers in the cemetery .
这一传统始于1868年5月30日，当时人们在墓地里为北方联邦军和南方邦联军士兵的坟墓献上鲜花。
It was called Decoration Day back then .
当时它被称为“装饰日”。
Lines of simple white headstones mark the soldiers ' graves .
一排排朴素的白色墓碑标示着士兵们的坟墓。
But the 80-hectare cemetery also serves as a burial place for people of national and historical importance .
但这座占地80公顷的墓地也安葬着具有国家和历史意义的人物。
Two presidents are buried there : William Howard Taft and John F .
那里安葬着两位总统：威廉·霍华德·塔夫脱和约翰·F.
Other well-known people buried at the cemetery include world champion boxer Joe Louis , North Pole explorer Robert E .
安葬在这座墓地的其他知名人士包括世界拳王乔·路易斯、北极探险家罗伯特·E.
Peary and the seven astronauts who died in the Space Shuttle Challenger explosion .
皮里，以及在挑战者号航天飞机爆炸中遇难的七名宇航员。
Nearly 4,000 former slaves are also buried at Arlington National Cemetery .
阿灵顿国家公墓还安葬着近4000名曾经的奴隶。
One of them is James Parks .
其中一位是詹姆斯·帕克斯。
He dug the first graves in the cemetery .
他挖了这座墓地最早的一批坟墓。
The best-known memorial in the nation's capital , however , is the Vietnam Veterans Memorial , which opened in 1982 .
不过，首都最著名的纪念碑是1982年落成的越战老兵纪念碑。
In 1980 , a group of former soldiers announced a competition to design a memorial .
1980年，一群退伍军人宣布举办纪念碑设计比赛。
The winner was Maya Lin , a 21-year-old student at Yale University in New Haven , Connecticut .
获胜者是康涅狄格州纽黑文市耶鲁大学21岁的学生林璎。
Lin designed a memorial formed by two walls of black stone about 76 meters long .
林璎设计的纪念碑由两面长约76米的黑色石墙组成。
The walls meet to form a V .
两面墙相接，形成一个V字形。
Almost any time of day , you can see people looking for the name of a family member or friend who died in the war .
几乎一天中的任何时候，你都能看到人们在寻找战争中阵亡的亲友的名字。
Once they find the name , many rub a pencil on paper over the letters to copy it .
找到名字后，许多人会把纸放在字上，用铅笔拓下来。
Many people leave remembrances at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial .
许多人会在越战老兵纪念碑前留下纪念物品。
After the success of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial , Congress approved a memorial to the Korean War veterans , which opened in July of 1995 .
越战老兵纪念碑大获成功后，国会批准修建朝鲜战争老兵纪念碑，该纪念碑于1995年7月落成。
The Korean War lasted from 1950 to 1953 .
朝鲜战争从1950年持续到1953年。
The memorial honors those who died .
纪念碑纪念的是阵亡者。
It also honors those who survived .
它也向幸存者致敬。
One of the lesser-known memorials on the National Mall in Washington , D.C ., is often called "the temple ."
华盛顿特区国家广场上一座不太知名的纪念建筑常被称为“神殿”。
The round stone structure honors people from the District of Columbia who died in World War I .
这座圆形石砌建筑纪念的是在第一次世界大战中牺牲的哥伦比亚特区居民。
The war was fought from 1914 to 1918 .
这场战争从1914年打到1918年。
Between the Lincoln Memorial and the Washington Monument on the National Mall is the World War II Memorial .
国家广场上林肯纪念堂和华盛顿纪念碑之间，是第二次世界大战纪念碑。
The U.S . entered the war after Japan bombed the Navy base at Pearl Harbor , Hawaii , on December 7th , 1941 .
1941年12月7日，日本轰炸了夏威夷珍珠港的海军基地，美国随后参战。
Sixteen million men and women served in the American military between 1941 and 1945 .
1941年至1945年间，共有1600万男女在美国军队中服役。
The World War II Memorial is built of bronze and granite .
第二次世界大战纪念碑由青铜和花岗岩建成。
In the center , at ground level , is a round pool of water .
中央与地面齐平的地方，有一个圆形水池。
When the sun is just right , rainbows of color dance in the air .
阳光角度恰到好处时，彩虹般的色彩在空中舞动。
Fifty-six stone pillars rise around the pool .
水池周围矗立着56根石柱。
They represent each of the American states and territories , plus the District of Columbia , at the time of the war .
这些石柱代表战争时期美国的各个州和领地，外加哥伦比亚特区。
There are not yet memorials for soldiers who died in America's most recent wars – in Iraq and Afghanistan .
目前还没有为在美国最近的战争——伊拉克和阿富汗战争中牺牲的士兵建立纪念碑。
The soldiers are buried in Section 60 of Arlington Cemetery .
这些士兵安葬在阿灵顿公墓的第60区。
The section is often called “the saddest place in America .”
这一区常被称为“美国最悲伤的地方”。
And I'm Mario Ritter , Jr .
我是马里奥·里特。