The fall of the Berlin Wall 25 years ago, heralding the end to the Cold War between East and West, showed the world "dreams can come true" and should inspire people trapped in tyranny everywhere, Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Sunday.
25年前，宣告東西方冷戰結束的柏林圍牆倒塌，向世人顯示「美夢可以成真」，也鼓舞了受困於專制的各地人民，德國總理梅克爾週日說。
Festivities to mark the anniversary have drawn more than 100,000 Berliners and tourists to the centre of the once-divided city. Many wandered along a 15-km former "death strip" where the Wall once stood, and 7,000 illuminated helium balloons were perched 3.6 metres high on poles - matching the height of the barrier built in 1961 by Communist East Germany.
相關週年紀念活動吸引逾10萬名柏林人與觀光客來到這座曾分裂的城市中心，許多人沿著15公里長圍牆遺址前的「死亡帶」漫步，同時，7000顆發光的氦氣球安置在3.6公尺高的長桿上，與共黨東德於1961年打造的這座藩籬等高。
"The fall of the Berlin Wall showed us that dreams can come true - and that nothing has to stay the way it is, no matter how high the hurdles might seem to be," said Merkel, a young scientist in Communist East Berlin when she got her first taste of freedom on Nov. 9, 1989.
「柏林圍牆的倒塌，向我們展示美夢可以成真，沒有事情是永遠不變的，不管障礙看起來有多高，」梅克爾說，當1989年11月9日她首次嘗到自由滋味時，是共產東柏林的一介年輕科學家。
But even the date Nov. 9 bears historical burdens, as Merkel noted. It was also the day in 1938 of the anti-Jewish pogrom "Kristallnacht", or "Night of Broken Glass", when Nazis carried out attacks on synagogues and Jewish shops across Germany.
然而，正如梅克爾提到的，11月9日這個日子承載歷史重擔。1938年的這一天，也是反猶太計畫的「碎玻璃之夜」，當時納粹在德國各地攻擊猶太會堂與商店。
"It was a date of shame and disgrace," said Merkel, referring to "Kristallnacht". "So on this 25th anniversary of the Wall’s fall, I feel not only the joy of Nov. 9, 1989 but also the responsibility of German history." (Reuters)
「這是羞愧與恥辱的日子，」梅克爾說，意指「碎玻璃之夜」。「所以在圍牆倒塌25週年的這一天，我不僅為1989年11月9日歡喜，同時也感受到德國的歷史責任。」（路透）
新聞辭典
epic：形容詞，史詩的、壯麗的、極大規模的。例如：an epic snowstorm（特大暴風雪。）
herald：動詞，宣告、預示。例句：Returning swallows herald spring.（歸來的燕子預告春天來臨。）
disgrace：名詞，丟臉、恥辱。例句：Such cruelty is a disgrace to humanity.（這種殘忍是人性之恥。）
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