How a Terrible Battle helped to Change Europe
Ninety years ago on a sunny morning in Northern France, something happened that changed Britain and Europe for ever. At half past seven on the morning of July 1, 1916, whistles blew and thousands of British soldiers left their positions to attack their German enemies. By the end of the day, 20,000 of them were dead, and another 30,000 wounded or missing. The Battle of the Somme, __1__ it is called, lasted for six months1, When it ended, 125,000 British soldiers were dead. They had gained five kilometers of ground.
This was one of a series of great battles during the WWI. The attack on the Somme was staged to relieve __2__ on the French, who were engaged in a great battle of their own at a place called Verdun. By the time the battle ended, over a million French and German troops had been killed.
About 17 million people were killed in WWI. There have been wars with greater numbers of dead. But there has never been one __3__ most of the dead were concentrated in such a small area. On the Somme battlefield, two men died for every metre of space,Local farmers working in the land still __4__ the bodies of those who died in that battle. The dead of all nations were buried in a series of giant graveyards along the line of the border __5__ France and Belgium. Relatives and descendants of those who died still visit these graveyards today. What the French call the “tourism of death” __6__ an important contribution to the local economy.
It took a second great conflict before Europe was to turn __7__ war itself. Twenty-eight years after the Somme battle, a liberating army of British. American and Canadian troops took back __8__ from another German invasion. More than 500,000 people were killed. New __9__ were built.
Two great conflicts across two generations helped to change the European mind about war. Germany, once the most warlike country in Europe, is now probably more in __10__ of peace than any other. One major cause of war in Europe was rivalry between France and Germany．The European Union was specifically formed to end that __11__．
According to US commentator William Pfaff, “Europeans are interested in a slow development of civilized and to1erant international relations，__12__ on problems while avoiding catastrophes along me way．They have themselves only recently __13__ from the catastrophes of the WWI and WWII，when tens of millions of people were destroyed． They don’t want __14__．”
The last British veteran of the somme battle died in 2005，aged 108．And the WWI is passing out of memory and into history2．But for anyone who wants to understand how Europeans __15__，it is still important to know a little about the terrible events of July 1，1916．
词汇：
descendant n．子孙 graveyard n．墓地．
注释：
1．The battle of the Somme，as it is called，lasted for six months．索姆河战役，大家都这么叫，进行了六个月．
2．And the WWI is passing out of memory and into history．第一次世界大战正在从我们的记忆中消失，远离我们而去。
练习
1． A)since B)because C)as D)for
2． A)oppression B)anxiety C)pressure D)resistance
3． A)which B)where C)why D)that
4． A)find B)look for C)seek D)look at
5． A)among B)on C)in D)between
6． A)makes B)brings C)gives D)adds
7． A)into B)to C)in D)against
8． A)America B)Britain． C)Canada D)France
9． A)monuments B) graveyards C)tablets D)gravestones
10． A)hatred B)suspicion C)favor D)fear
11． A)war B)rivalry C)battle D)revenge
12． A)compromising B)confronting C) attacking D)fighting
13． A)restored B)recovered C)rebuilt D)relaxed
14． A)much B)many C)more D)less
15． A)believe B)consider C)know D)think
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