He's the only leader most Cubans have ever known. He's survived 638 assassination attempts， overthrown a dictatorial regime after a brutal guerrilla war， and was a major figure in the Cold War of the 1960's. And now， at the grand old age of 81， Fidel Alejandro Castro Ruz has officially decided to call it a day.

他是最為古巴人民所熟知的領(lǐng)導(dǎo)人；他曾遭到638次暗殺；他曾以殘酷的游擊戰(zhàn)推翻了獨裁政府；他是冷戰(zhàn)期間（20世紀(jì)60年代）最重要的人物?，F(xiàn)在，他年屆81，正式退休，他就是菲德爾#8226;卡斯特羅。

In an announcement on February 24th， Castro announced to the world that he would not be resuming his duties as President of the Cuban National Assembly. In doing so， he brings to an end an illustrious career which has made him the idol of many， and Public Enemy Number One for others.

2月24日，卡斯特羅向世界宣布他將辭去國務(wù)委員會主席一職。這為他的政治生涯畫上了完滿的句號，讓他成為了很多人的偶像，同時也讓他成為了其他人的頭號敵人。

Castro， born to a wealthy Cuban farming family on April 13th， 1926， first hit the headlines in 1953 when he led a rebellion against the de facto leader of Cuba， General Fulgencio Batista. Batista， who had seized power the year before， easily beat the rebels and threw Castro into prison， later releasing him due to public pressure.

1926年4月13日，卡斯特羅出生在一個富裕的古巴農(nóng)業(yè)家庭，1953年，他因發(fā)動對獨裁者巴蒂斯塔的武裝斗爭而成為新聞人物。但這個一年前掌權(quán)的獨裁者輕易就擊敗了卡斯特羅并把他投進(jìn)了監(jiān)獄，之后因迫于公眾壓力而將其釋放。

Castro then fled to Mexico to join his brother Raul， where he founded a new rebel group – the 26th of July Movement， named after the date on which Castro launched his last failed attempt at revolution. Along with Raul and his friend Ernesto \"Che\" Guevara， he recruited Cuban exiles and trained them in guerrilla warfare.

隨后，卡斯特羅流亡到墨西哥投奔弟弟勞爾，在那里他建立了一個新的反抗組織——“7.26運動”（7.26是以卡斯特羅最后一次革命失敗的日子命名的）游擊隊。和勞爾以及好朋友歐內(nèi)斯特#8226;格瓦拉一起，卡斯特羅召集了古巴流亡者并訓(xùn)練他們成為了游擊戰(zhàn)士。

In December 1956， Castro's forces invaded Cuba. The rebels suffered losses， but many were able to escape to the Sierra Maestra， a mountain range in southeast Cuba. From his base in the mountains Castro was able to direct his revolution and began launching a series of raids on military bases and barracks across the country. Over the next two years， he gained increasing support from the Cuban people and on January 1， 1959， Batista fled Cuba.

1956年12月，卡斯特羅的游擊隊襲入古巴。雖然傷亡慘重，但是很多游擊戰(zhàn)士還是逃到了古巴東南邊的馬埃斯特臘山區(qū)?？ㄋ固亓_以山區(qū)為基地指揮革命，戰(zhàn)果累累的他多次奇襲獨裁軍隊。在接下來的2年中，他不斷獲得古巴人民的支持，1959年1月1日，巴蒂斯塔從古巴逃亡。

Castro and his revolutionaries took control of the Cuban government， and began implementing a new socialist regime. Castro， who had built up a reputation as a nationalist and resented American \"meddling\" in Cuban affairs， seized control of US-controlled oilfields in Cuba， and nationalized them， using the proceeds to begin a series of reforms in Cuba's healthcare and educational sectors.

至此，卡斯特羅和他的革命黨控制了古巴政府并開始實行社會主義制度?？ㄋ固亓_因自身是民族主義者而聲名遠(yuǎn)揚，他憎恨美國干預(yù)古巴內(nèi)策，于是控制了美國在古巴的油田并將其國有化，而且還將油田的收益用于古巴的衛(wèi)生保健和教育。

However， President John F. Kennedy took exception to Castro's actions， and in turn the US decided to boycott Cuban sugar. In retaliation， Castro seized all US businesses in the name of nationalization， and kicked off the tit-for-tat war that would lead eventually to the Cuban Missile Crisis.

但是，肯尼迪總統(tǒng)反對卡斯特羅的這一舉措，于是美國決定聯(lián)合抵制古巴蔗糖。以牙還牙，卡斯特羅以國有化的名義沒收美國所有的商業(yè)公司并開始和美國針鋒相對，這直接導(dǎo)致了古巴導(dǎo)彈危機。

In 1961， President Kennedy decided that the time had come to invade Cuba. In years previous， the CIA had trained a force of Cuban exiles and anti-Castro demonstrators (many of whom had fled after Batista's regime was defeated) and on April 15th， 1961， this makeshift army attempted to invade Cuba by landing in the Bay of Pigs， on the south-western shore of the island.

1961年，肯尼迪總統(tǒng)認(rèn)為入侵古巴的時間到了。此前，美國中央情報局訓(xùn)練了一批古巴流亡者和反卡斯特羅示威者（他們大多是在巴蒂斯塔倒臺后流亡海外的）。1961年4月15日，這支臨時拼湊的武裝分子試圖在古巴西南海岸的豬灣登陸進(jìn)而入侵古巴。

Needless to say， the invasion was a disaster. Despite support from the US Air Force， the invasion forces met heavy resistance. Eventually， the invasion force was forced into swampland， and was rounded up by the Cuban military. Of the CIA's force of 1，500， 115 were killed and nearly 1，200 captured. As a result of the invasion attempt， Castro began to fear another， larger attack from American forces， so he asked his long-time ally， Russia， for help.

不用說，這次入侵是場災(zāi)難。盡管有美國空軍的支持，入侵的武裝分子還是遭到了堅決抵抗。最終，他們被逼進(jìn)沼澤地并被古巴軍隊包圍。1500名武裝分子中有115人戰(zhàn)死，約有1200人被俘。經(jīng)過那次的戰(zhàn)爭，卡斯特羅開始擔(dān)憂美國會對古巴進(jìn)行更大規(guī)模的襲擊，于是他向盟友蘇聯(lián)求助。

A few months later， Nikita Kruschev's Soviet Union stationed nuclear missiles on Cuban soil， beginning a face-off between the US and the Russians that would last for two weeks. During this period， the whole world waited with baited breath， and nuclear war seemed mere moments away.

幾個月后，赫魯曉夫在古巴部署導(dǎo)彈，開始和美國連續(xù)對峙兩周。期間，全世界都屏住了呼吸等待著，核戰(zhàn)爭似乎一觸即發(fā)。

During the crisis， Castro realized he had been nothing more than a pawn， and when it was resolved， Cuba began to break away from its association with Russia. Relations with the US also continued to worsen， and the CIA made several attempts on the Cuban leader's life， trying everything from a mafia-style shooting to blowing him up with an explosive cigar.

在這場危機中，卡斯特羅意識到自己只是個棋子，核危機解除后，古巴開始和蘇聯(lián)保持距離，和美國的關(guān)系也更加惡化。同時，美國中央情報局多次試圖暗殺這名古巴領(lǐng)導(dǎo)人，手段無奇不有：狙擊手打冷槍還有雪茄炸彈。

In the 35 years since the Cuban Missile Crisis， Castro has remained in power， outlasting seven American presidents. He has worked to improve education， housing， and health for all Cubans but has suffered from a troubled economy. Cuba's struggle for independence and prosperity continues today… but Fidel Castro has finally begun his well-earned retirement， and will be content to watch Cuba's development from the sidelines. History will remember Fidel Castro as the man who dared to defy the might of the United States， who took on the most powerful country in the world… and won.

在古巴導(dǎo)彈危機解除35年后，卡斯特羅一直掌權(quán)，而美國則換了7位總統(tǒng)。他一直努力為古巴人民改善教育、住房和健康問題，但是經(jīng)濟卻一直不景氣。古巴還在為獨立和繁榮而戰(zhàn)……但是菲德爾#8226;卡斯特羅最終還是退休了，他一定會很樂意看到古巴的發(fā)展。歷史將記住這個敢于對抗美國強權(quán)的人，他曾和美國這個最強大的國家對抗過，并且取得了勝利。