VOA慢速英语2018 参观美国国家密码博物馆

A Visit to America’s National Cryptologic Museum

From VOA Learning English, this is EXPLORATIONS in Special English. I’m Jeri Watson.

这里是美国之音慢速英语探索发现频道。我是Jeri Watson。 

And I’m Jim Tedder 1. Today we visit a small museum in the American state of Maryland.It is called the National Cryptologic Museum.There you will find information that was once secret.

我是Jim Tedder。今天我们参观美国马里兰州的一个小型博物馆。该博物馆被称为国家密码博物馆。在那里你会发现以前的秘密信息。

The National Cryptologic Museum is on Fort George G. Meade, a military base near Washington, DC.It tells the story of cryptology and the men and women who have worked in this unusual profession.

国家密码博物馆位于华盛顿特区附近的一个军事基地-- Fort George G. Meade。它讲述了密码学，以及从事于这个不寻常职业的男人女人们。

The word cryptology comes from the Greek “kryptos logos.” It means “hidden word.”Cryptology is writing or communicating in ways designed to hide the meaning of your words.

“密码学”一词来自希腊语“kryptos logos”，它的意思是“隐藏的词语”。密码学是用隐藏词意的方法进行写作和通信。

The museum has many examples of equipment that was once used to make information secret.It also has equipment that was developed to read secret messages.The method of hiding exact meanings is called coding.People have used secret codes throughout history to protect important information.

该博物馆收藏了许多曾经被用来做信息加密设备的例子。也有被开发用来读取秘密信息的设备。隐藏精确词意的方法被称为编码。在历史上，人们使用密码来保护重要信息。

The National Cryptologic Museum celebrated 2 60 years of cryptologic excellence 3 in 2012.One event there marked the sixtieth anniversary of the National Security Agency.Two former NSA workers shared their memories of operating a code machine called Sigaba.

2012年，国家密码博物馆庆祝其60年来密码的卓越成就。一个事件标志着美国国家安全局成立六十周年。两个前国家安全局人员分享了其操作被称为Sigaba的密码机的回忆。

Many skills are needed to send and translate secret messages.The first and most important skill is knowing how to keep a secret.Helen Niebouar worked in Washington during World War Two and for the United States military in Japan after the war.

对于发送和翻译秘密消息来说许多技能是必要的。首先且最重要的技巧是知道如何保守秘密。Helen Niebouar二次世界大战期间在华盛顿工作，战后为驻日美军工作。

”The officers in charge of the code rooms would remind us constantly to keep our mouth shut.Don’t even mention one thing about where a message came from and certainly nothing it said.And they’d say, ‘Now when you have a top secret clearance 4 that is what it means, top secret.Keep your mouth shut.’ So we got reminded a lot.”

她说：“密码室的负责人员会不断提醒我们让我们闭嘴。甚至不能提到消息的来源，当然没有事情泄密。他们会说，‘当你现在有一个最高机密的时候。要闭上你的嘴。’因此，我们会被提醒很多次。”

The Sigaba machine made plain information a secret language to those who lacked the equipment to understand it.The one that Helen Niebouar operated was a complex device.The National Cryptologic Museum displays both early and modern tools that have been used in secret communications.

Sigaba机器可以将原始信息转换成密文，这里密文针对那些对设备不了解的人们。Helen Niebouar以前操作得是一个复杂的设备。国家密码博物馆展览那些早期和现代用于秘密通信的工具。

One display at the museum explains American attempts to read Japanese military information during World War Two.Japan’s Navy used special machines to change its written information into secret codes.This coded information was then sent by radio to navy ships and military bases.The information included secret military plans and orders.

陈列在博物馆的一个设备诠释了在二次世界大战期间，美国试图读取日本的军事信息。日本海军用特殊的机器把书面资料转化成密文。然后这些密文通过无线电发送到海军舰艇和军事基地。信息包含着秘密军事计划和命令。

The leaders of the Japanese Navy believed no one could read or understand the secret codes.They were wrong. Americans were working very hard to learn the Japanese code.The United States urgently needed to break the code to learn what Japan was planning.

日本海军领导人认为没有人可以读懂或理解这些密文。他们错了。美国人很努力地去学习日语密文。美国迫切需要破解这些密文以知道日军的计划。

In 1940, an American woman named Genevieve Grotjan found some information being repeated in Japanese coded messages.At the time, she was a civilian 5 working for the government in Washington, DC.Her discovery helped the United States understand secret Japanese diplomatic messages.

在1940年，一美国女性Genevieve Grotjan发现在日本密文中一些消息总是重复。当时她是在华盛顿特区政府部门工作的平民。她的发现帮助美国理解了日本的外交密文。

After the United States understood the code, it was possible to study messages from the Japanese ambassador to Germany and to his supervisors 6 in Japan.

在美国理解代码之后，就可以研究日本大使向德国和日本监事所发送的密电。 

Understanding these messages helped the United States prepare for a possible war in the Pacific with Japan.Yet, the United States was surprised by the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii.The Japanese military did not send coded military information to the country’s diplomats 7. Military messages used different codes.

了解这些信息可以帮助美国为可能在日本与太平洋地区发生的战争做准备。然而日本偷袭夏威夷珍珠港，美国感到震惊。日本军方没有向驻美外交官发送密电。日本军方使用了不同的代码。

After the attack on Pearl Harbor, an American Naval 8 officer named Joseph Rochefort struggled to understand the Japanese navy code.He worked on the American base at Pearl Harbor.It was early in 1942. The American naval commander in the Pacific Ocean was Chester Nimitz.His forces were much smaller than the Japanese Naval forces.And the Japanese had been winning many victories.

珍珠港袭击事件发生后，美国的海军军官Joseph Rochefort努力去了解日本海军代码。他曾在美军珍珠港基地工作。1942年初。美国在太平洋地区的海军司令是Chester Nimitz。他的兵力远远低于日本海军部队。且日本已经赢得了许多胜利。

Joseph Rochefort had worked for several months to read the secret Japanese Naval code called JN-25.If he could understand enough of the code, he would be able to give Admiral Nimitz very valuable information.The admiral could use this information to plan for battle.By the early part of the year, Mr. Rochefort and the men who worked with him could read a little less than 20 percent of the Japanese JN-25 code.

Joseph Rochefort曾经工作数月去阅读日本海军的名为JN-25的密码。如果他能充分理解这个密码，他就能为Nimitz上将提供非常有价值的信息。上将就可以使用此信息来规划战斗。年初，Rochefort先生与其同事可以读懂的日本JN-25密码还不到20％。

From the beginning of 1942, the Japanese code discussed a place called “AF.”Joseph Rochefort felt the Japanese were planning an important battle aimed at “AF.” But where was “AF”?After several weeks, he and other naval experts told Admiral Nimitz that their best idea was that the “AF” in the Japanese code was the American-held island of Midway.Admiral Nimitz said he must have more information to prepare for such an attack.

从1942年初开始，日本密电中讨论了一个称为“AF”的地方。Joseph Rochefort认为日本人为袭击“AF”规划了的一个重要战役。但 “AF”在哪里？几个星期后，他和其他海军专家告诉Nimitz上将，他们认为日本密电中“AF”位置的最好的想法是美国的中途岛。Nimitz上将说，他必须拥有更多的信息，以对攻击做好防备。

The Navy experts decided 9 to trick Japan. They told the American military force on Midway to broadcast a false message.The message would say the island was having problems with its water-processing equipment.The message asked that fresh water be sent to the island immediately. This message was not sent in code.

海军专家们决定对日本设个骗局。他们让中途岛的美军军方传播一个虚假消息。消息说岛上的供水设备出现问题。该消息要求立即给该岛给予新鲜的水。此消息没有经加密发送。

Several days later, a Japanese radio broadcast in the JN-25 code said that “AF” had little water.

几天后，日本电台用JN-25密电广播说“AF”几乎没水了。 

Joseph Rochefort had the evidence he needed.“AF” was now known to be the island of Midway.He also told Admiral Nimitz the Japanese would attack Midway on June third.

Joseph Rochefort找到了他所需要的证据。知道了“AF”就是中途岛。他还告诉Nimitz上将日本将在六月三号攻击中途岛。

The admiral secretly moved his small force to an area near Midway and waited for the Japanese Navy.The battle that followed was a huge American victory.Experts now say the Battle of Midway was the beginning of the American victory in the Pacific.That victory was possible because Joseph Rochefort learned to read enough of the Japanese code to discover the meaning of the letters “AF.”

上将秘密地将他的小部队移到中途岛附近，等待着日本海军。随后的战斗中，美国取得了巨大的胜利。专家们如今评论中途岛战役是美国太平洋战争胜利的开始。那场战役之所以可能胜利是因为Joseph Rochefort阅读了足够多的日本密文，进而了解“AF”的含义。

One American code has never been broken. Perhaps it never will.It was used in the Pacific during World War Two.For many years the government would not discuss this secret code.Listen for a moment to this very unusual code.Then you may understand why the Japanese military forces were never able to understand any of it.

有一个美国密码从来没有被破解。也许它永远都不会被破解。在二次世界大战期间，它被用在太平洋战场。多年来，政府不再讨论这个密码。听一听这个非常不寻常的密码。然后，你会知道为什么日本军队从来没能理解其中的信息。

The code is in the voice of a Native American.The man you just heard is singing a simple song in the Navajo language.Very few people outside the Navajo nation are able to speak any of their very difficult language.

该代码是用在美国本土人的声音说出的。您刚才听到的是名男子用纳瓦霍语唱得一首简单的歌。纳瓦霍民族区域外很少有人会说这么难的语言。

At the beginning of World War Two, the United States Marine 10 Corps 11 asked members of the Navajo tribe to train as Code Talkers.

在二次世界大战的开始，美国海军陆战队要求将纳瓦霍部落的成员培养成密电通讯员。 

The Cryptologic Museum says the Marine Corps Code Talkers could take a sentence in English and change it into their language in about 20 seconds.A code machine needed about 30 minutes to do the same work.

密码学博物馆表示，海军陆战队密电通讯员能在大约20秒内将英语转换为纳瓦霍语。密码机做同样的工作则需要30分钟左右。

The Navajo Code Talkers took part in every battle the Marines entered in the Pacific during World War Two.The Japanese were very skilled at breaking codes.But they were never able to understand any of what they called “The Marine Code.”

二次世界大战期间，纳瓦霍密电员参加了海军陆战队在太平洋的每一场战争。日本人非常善于破解密码。但他们永远无法理解他们所谓的“海洋密码”。

Eight members of the Choctaw tribe were the first code talkers.They worked in teams during World War One using their native language that was unknown in Europe.A Choctaw would translate a message in English into his native language and send it by radio.Another Choctaw would receive the message and change it back to English.

Choctaw部落的八个成员是第一批密电员。他们组队曾在第一次世界大战期间使用欧洲人并不知道的母语。一个Choctaw人会把信息翻译成他的母语，并通过无线电发送出去。另一个Choctaw人将收到此消息，并翻译成英文。

The Cryptologic Museum has many pieces of mechanical and electric equipment used to change words into code.It also has almost as many examples of machines used to try to change code back into useful words.

国家密码博物馆有许多用于将词语转换成密码的机械和电子设备。也有几乎数量相同的用于将密文转换可使用的词汇的机器。

Perhaps the most famous is a World War Two German code machine called the Enigma 12.The word “enigma” means a puzzle or a problem that is difficult to solve.

也许最有名的是二战中被称为Enigma的德国密码机。enigma一词是指一个谜或难以解决的问题。 

The German military used the Enigma machine to communicate orders and plans.The United States, Britain, and the government of Poland cooperated in learning to read information sent by the Enigma.It took thousands of people and cost millions of dollars to read the Enigma information.However, the time, effort and money resulted in a quicker end to the war against Nazi 13 Germany.

德国军方使用Enigma机器传达命令和计划。美国，英国和波兰政府合作学习阅读Enigma机器所发送的信息。这动用了数千人力，耗资数百万美元为读懂Enigma机器的密文。然而，所投入的时间，精力和金钱导致纳粹德国更快结束了战争。

The National Cryptologic Museum belongs to the National Security Agency.One of the agency’s many jobs is cryptography for the United States government.The work of the NSA is not open to the public.However, the museum tells the stories of the men and women who worked for the NSA long after their work is no longer secret.

国家密码博物馆从属于国家安全局。该机构的许多工作之一是为美国政府提供加密技术。美国国家安全局的工作并是不向公众开放。然而，博物馆所讲述的在国家安全局工作后退休多年的男人和女人们的故事已经不再是秘密了。

Each part of the museum shows the value of this secret, difficult and demanding work.Visitors say it is very interesting and fun to see equipment and read documents that were once very important and very, very secret.

博物馆的每一部分都显示了这个秘密，困难和苛刻的工作的价值。游客们表示，参观设备和读那些曾经很重要很机密的文件非常有趣和充满乐趣的。

This program was written by Paul Thompson and Onka Dekker. I’m Jim Tedder.

这个节目是由Paul Thompson和Onka Dekker创作的。我是Jim Tedder。 

And I’m Jeri Watson. Join us again next week for EXPLORATIONS in Special English on the Voice of America.

我是Jeri Watson。欢迎下周继续收听美国之音慢速英语探索发现频道。