[by:www.51voa.com] [00:00.00]更多听力请访问51VOA.COM [00:00.20]President Barack Obama laid a wreath in the Japanese city of Hiroshima on Friday. [00:07.92]Obama is the first American president to visit Hiroshima while in office. [00:15.92]The United States dropped an atomic bomb on the city. [00:20.84]The bombing there and in the Japanese city of Nagasaki [00:26.04]brought a swift end to World War II. [00:31.48]Thousands at the ceremony watched [00:34.28]as the U.S. president stood next to Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe [00:40.48]at the Peace Memorial Park. [00:43.24]Obama then bowed briefly and placed the wreath at the arch memorial [00:49.92]built to remember the dead and injured. [00:54.44]"Death fell from the sky and the world was changed," Obama said. [01:01.72]The president then met briefly with two survivors who were at the ceremony. [01:08.04]He held the hand of 91-year-old Sunao Tsuboi [01:14.76]and hugged an emotional Shigeaki Mori. [01:19.88]Obama talked about the horrors of war [01:23.68]and the need to work toward a world without nuclear weapons. [01:29.88]"Technological progress without an equivalent progress in human institutions can doom us," he said. [01:38.96]Revolutions, or great leaps forward, in technology "requires a moral revolution as well." [01:50.20]"This tragedy must not be repeated again," said Abe in his speech at Hiroshima. [01:57.80]"We are determined to realize a world free of nuclear weapons," he said. [02:05.64]Some Americans objected to Obama's visit to Hiroshima. [02:11.52]They saw his visit as disrespectful to U.S. veterans who fought in the war. [02:18.88]For many older Americans, the visit is a painful reminder of conflict and lost lives. [02:27.92]In Japan, the national broadcaster -- NHK [02:33.52]-- found that 70 percent of Japanese wanted Obama to visit Hiroshima. [02:40.56]Only two percent of Japanese polled said they opposed the trip. [02:47.84]The United States dropped a powerful atomic bomb on Hiroshima [02:52.88]and a second atomic bomb on Nagasaki in August, 1945. [03:00.76]Japan was at war with the U.S., Britain, France, China and other nations [03:08.64]-- which formed a group called the Allies. [03:12.92]The Allies fought against Japan, Germany and Italy [03:18.88]-- which were known as the Axis powers. [03:23.32]The atomic bombs did two things: [03:26.29]First, they killed 140,000 people in Hiroshima and 70,000 in Nagasaki. [03:35.92]Many people died later of burns and the from the effects of radiation. [03:42.40]The bombs also destroyed both cities, [03:46.16]leaving few structures standing. [03:49.64]Secondly, the bombings brought an end to World War II. [03:55.56]They stopped Japan from its attempt to control East Asia. [04:01.26]Less than two weeks after the attacks, Japan announced its surrender. [04:08.84]Japan said it surrendered because of the power of "a new and most cruel bomb" [04:15.64]according to History.com. [04:19.88]Since then, Japan has rebuilt and become a modern, rich nation [04:26.92]with the help of the United States. [04:30.80]Chris Appy, a professor at the University of Massachusetts, [04:35.44]spoke to VOA before the president's visit. [04:39.52]"I was very pleased that he decided to go. [04:41.60]I think just showing up is (an) important symbolic act [04:46.56]that many Japanese have wanted for a long time." [04:50.04]But Appy said he was disappointed that Obama, in his words, [04:55.08]"appears not willing to apologize." [04:58.80]"After all, I think in our personal lives we consider it the height of maturity when (an) adult is, is willing to [05:05.96]take responsibility and accountability for actions [05:09.68]-- particularly actions that lead to the suffering of innocent victims." [05:14.48]Professor Appy said "apology and forgiveness are important in Japan." [05:20.60]American officials said before the trip that the president would not apologize. [05:29.84]"As a Japanese national, I want to give a sincere welcome to President Barack Obama. [05:37.24]I think we don't need his apology," wrote Kiyohisa Miki from Japan on VOAnews.com. [05:47.60]"As President Obama said, Japan and America got over past divides. [05:54.76]And now we are important friends for each other. [05:59.76]This is enough, right?" [06:02.52]I'm Christopher Jones-Cruise. [06:05.12]更多听力请访问51VOA.COM