滇缅公路(Burma Road)(3)

　　妇女在缅甸的孟拱河谷割稻，构成了一幅平和的画面。这和1944年中美军队穿越此处，前往密支那和日军浴血奋战的情景形成强烈的对比。日军在遭到长达十周的包围后，终于在此战役中败北。这场战事夺去了2000多条生命，其中有972名中国人。尽管中国方面沿路损失惨重，可美军的亚洲指挥官史迪威将军还是抨击蒋介石，指责他没有采取更积极的态度抵抗日军。如我们现在所知，这是因为蒋在对抗日本人时，还要分心担忧毛泽东领导下的共产党军队。

　　beneath fluttering red banners chinese students practice for a memorial ceremony at the battlefield of songshan, or pine tree mountain. in the summer of 1944 the allies battled thousands of japanese who had commandeered the mountain's strategic heights. chinese troops pressed their assault for nearly three months before they took control of the summit. by then some 1,300 japanese and more than 7,600 chinese lay dead.

　　在飘逸的红旗下，中国的学生正在松山的这处战场遗址排练纪念仪式。在1944年的夏天，日军控制了这座山的制高点，盟军则对其发起进攻。中国军队持续进行了三个月的苦战，才攻克下峰顶。而那时，已经有约1300名日军和超过7600名国军丧身此间。

　　compared with most citizens of impoverished myanmar, a woman cradling her newborn in shingbwiyang is doing well thanks to the recent discovery of gold nearby. her home may be made of tarpaulin, but her husband's jewelry business is flourishing, bringing in such luxuries as a tv set, a vcr, and a motorcycle. the country's economy has long been hampered by a series of repressive and often brutal military regimes that have ruled the nation since 1962. with valuable timber and mineral resources such as petroleum, tin, copper, and gemstones, myanmar could be described as the poorest rich country in the world.

　　与大部分贫困的缅甸人民相比，这个新背洋(shingbwiyang)的抱着婴儿的女子过得相当不错，这多亏了附近最近发现的金矿。她家虽然还是用放水布搭起来的，但她丈夫的珠宝生意却日益兴隆，给家里带进了电视机、录像机和摩托车等奢侈品。因为1962年以来在缅甸掌权的残暴而专制的军人政府，这个国家的经济长期一直都未能起色。缅甸拥有贵重的木材，还有如石油、锡、铜和宝石等矿藏资源，可以称得上是世界上最富饶的穷国。