Believe it or not, the term United Nations was actually coined by Franklin Roosevelt and Winston Churchill in a bathtub. Churchill was in Washington over the New Year's holiday 1941-42 and the two men were struggling with what to officially call their alliance. The term alliance was unacceptable in a formal document because, according to Churchill, it posed constitutional problems for Roosevelt--evidently a formal alliance would require Senate approval. Neither liked the alternative Associated Powers.
信不信由你,联合国一词实际上是由富兰克林·罗斯福和温斯顿·丘吉尔两人在浴缸中杜撰出来的。1941到1942年新年假日期间,丘吉尔正在华盛顿。他与罗斯福两人在为为他们的联盟起个官方的名字的事而争执着。"联盟"一词在正式文件中不可接受,因为,按照丘吉尔的说法,它给罗斯福提出了一个关于宪法的问题--显然,正式的联盟需要得到议会的批准。他们两人又都不喜欢"联合政权"这一名称。 英语作文网收集整理
On the morning of 1 January 1942, Churchill, who was staying in the White House, was taking a bath when Roosevelt knocked on the door, was wheeled into the bathroom, and proposed the term United Nations. Churchill instantly liked the term, recalling some lines from Byron's Childe Harold:
"Here, where the sword United Nations drew,
Our countrymen were warring on that day!
And this is much--and all--which will not pass away."
1942年1月1日的早晨,呆在白宫的丘吉尔正在洗澡,忽然罗斯福来敲门,他坐在轮椅上进入了浴室,建议采用"联合国"一词。丘吉尔立即喜欢上了这一名称,他想起了拜伦的诗歌《查尔德·哈罗德》中的几行诗句:
"在联合国剑拔弩张之地,
当我们的同胞浴血奋战之时。
这一切已经足够,
这一切将永不消逝!"
Later that day Roosevelt and Churchill, along with representatives of the Soviet Union and China signed the United Nations Pact, pledging to fight Germany, Italy, and Japan to the last and to make no separate peace. Eventually twenty-two other nations signed the agreement and the name was taken later on for the post-war international organization.
那一天的晚些时候,罗斯福、丘吉尔与苏联、中国的代表一道,签署了联合国公约,誓与法国、意大利和日本血战到底,缔造永不分裂的和平。最终,二十二个其他国家签署了这项协议。从此联合国就成了战后国际组织的名称。