(单词翻译:单击)
听力文本
Lyndon Baines Johnson became America's thirty-sixth president very suddenly. It happened on November twenty second, nineteen sixty three. On that day, President John Kennedy was murdered. Kennedy and Johnson -- his vice president -- were visiting Dallas, Texas. Kennedy was shot to death as his open car drove through the streets of the city. Within a few hours, Johnson was sworn in as president on a plane that would take him back to Washington. The new president said, "I will do my best. That is all I can do. I ask for your help, and God's."Before being elected vice president, Lyndon Johnson had served for many years in both the Senate and the House of Representatives. He liked making decisions. And he loved politics. He grew up in small towns in Texas. After completing high school, he traveled and worked for a while. He said he was afraid of more studying. But after a few years, he entered southwest Texas State Teachers College.
There he was a student leader and political activist. Johnson went to Washington as secretary to a congressman in nineteen thirty-one. Four years later, President Franklin Roosevelt named him to a leadership position in a national social program for young people. Two years after that, he decided to campaign for a seat in the House of Representatives. When World War Two began, Johnson was the first member of Congress to join the armed forces. He served in the House for twelve years. After the war, he campaigned for the Senate, where he also served for twelve years. As a senator, he became an expert in the operation of government. Lyndon Johnson would need all of this knowledge as president. On the day he was sworn in, American faced serious problems. Communist forces in Vietnam were fighting troops supported by the United States. There was a continuing possibility of nuclear war with the Soviet Union.
At home, there was racial conflict. Many Americans did not have jobs. And there was a threat of a major railroad strike. President Johnson began his White House days by working hard for legislation President Kennedy had proposed. Although he had voted against civil rights legislation when he served in the Senate, he now urged Congress to pass a civil rights bill. Congress did. The nineteen sixty-four Civil Rights Act was a law to help guarantee equal chances for jobs for all Americans. It also helped guarantee equal treatment for minorities in stores, eating places, and other businesses. When Johnson signed the bill, he said: "We believe that all men are created equal. Yet many are denied equal treatment. We believe that all men have certain unalienable rights. Yet many Americans do not enjoy those rights. We believe that all men are entitled to the blessings of liberty. Yet millions are being deprived of those blessings -- not because of their own failures -- but because of the color of their skin."The president said that such a situation could not continue in America. To treat people unfairly because of their race, he said, violated the Constitution, the idea of democracy, and the law he was about to sign.
Lyndon Johnson succeeded in getting Congress to pass more civil rights legislation in nineteen sixty-five and nineteen sixty-eight. The nineteen sixty-five bill said states could not prevent citizens from voting just because they did not do well on reading or other tests. The purpose of the law was to make sure all black Americans could vote. The civil rights law of nineteen sixty-eight dealt with housing. For many years, black Americans could not get the home they wanted in the place they wanted. Many times, property companies forced them to pay a lot for poor housing. The purpose of the bill was to guarantee free choice and fair treatment in the housing market. Political experts said president Johnson succeeded with Congress in a way that President Kennedy could never have equaled. Because Johnson was from the South, he could talk easily with Southern members of Congress. He was able to get them to agree that African Americans were treated unfairly. In addition, his own years in Congress had taught him how to get people to do what he wanted. President Johnson gave a name to his dream of a better America. He called it the "Great Society. " He spoke about it in a speech at the University of Michigan:"The Great Society rests on abundance and liberty for all.
It demands an end to poverty and racial injustice, to which we are totally committed in our time. But that is just the beginning. The great society is a place where every child can find knowledge to enrich his mind and to enlarge his talents. "The Great Society was both an idea and a goal. To reach that goal, Johnson created several government programs. One was the "war on poverty. " The war on poverty was a series of bills to help poor people. It was designed to create new jobs and build the economy. Congress did not approve a large amount of money for the war on poverty. But it did strongly support the president's early proposals. Support dropped, however, when Congress said the nation could not pay for both social programs at home and a war overseas. Vietnam was not the only place where Johnson used American troops to fight communism. He would send about twenty thousand soldiers to the Dominican Republic, too. He feared that a rebellion there would lead to a communist takeover of the country.
Lyndon Johnson served the last fourteen months of John Kennedy's term. In nineteen sixty-four, he campaigned for election to a full term of his own. His Democratic Party gave him the strongest support possible. It accepted his choice of Hubert Humphrey to be the party's candidate for vice president. Humphrey was a liberal senator from the state of Minnesota. Unlike the Democrats, the Republicans had a difficult time choosing their candidates for the election. Delegates to the party's national convention finally chose Barry Goldwater to be their candidate for president. Goldwater was a strongly conservative senator from the state of Arizona. The delegates chose William Miller, a congressman from New York State, to be their candidate for vice president. The nation voted in November, nineteen sixty-four. Lyndon Johnson won more than sixty percent of the popular votes. Strangely, however, he was not pleased. He had wanted the largest victory in American history. He had wanted proof that Americans were voting for him, and not for the shadow of John Kennedy. In his inaugural speech, Johnson talked of changes. He said his Great Society was never finished. It was always growing and improving.
To Johnson, this meant passing a health care plan for older Americans. It meant appointing blacks to important national positions. He succeeded in these goals -- and more -- during the next four years. Congress passed the Medicare bill to provide health care for older people. And Johnson appointed Thurgood Marshall to be the first black justice to the Supreme Court. As Johnson went back to work in the White House, however, a huge problem awaited him. Americans were fighting to stop the spread of communism in Southeast Asia. More and more were being killed. The war in Vietnam would become extremely unpopular among American citizens. It would destroy Johnson's chances of being remembered as a great president. That will be our story next week.
重点解析
1.In addition 另外，此外
In addition, you can elect to share your files with others.
另外，您可以决定与其他的用户共享 您的文件。
2.health care 卫生保健
No, not unless your health care provider advises it.
不要停止，除非卫生保健提供者建议停止。
3.Dominican Republic 多米尼加共和国
It started with a chunk of fossilized resin from the Dominican Republic.
这要从来自多米尼加共和国的一块树脂化石切片说起。
4.Inaugural speech 就职演说
Kennedy's 1961 inaugural speech. It will also feature a reading of President Abraham Lincoln's Gettysburg address of 1863.
随着奥巴马本周二就任美国总统，朝日出版社计划再出版一本续集，增录他的就职演说、前总统约翰F肯尼迪1961年的就职演说、以及前总统亚伯拉罕林肯1863年的葛底斯堡演讲。
5.Civil Rights Act 民权法案
Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 bars employment discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin.
1964年《民权法案》第七章禁止基于种族、肤色、宗教、性别或原国籍在雇用过程中进行歧视的做法。
6.blessings 祝福
But these are some blessings we all share.
但有些是我们共同要祝福的。
参考译文
林登·贝恩斯·约翰逊突然成为美国第36任总统。事情发生在1963年11月22日，那天，约翰·肯尼迪总统遇刺。肯尼迪和副总统约翰逊正在访问德克萨斯州的达拉斯。当敞篷车驶过城市的街道时，肯尼迪遭遇枪杀。几个小时之内，约翰逊在飞机上宣誓就职总统，这架飞机将把他送回华盛顿。新总统说：“我会尽力而为，这就是我能做的，我祈求你们以及上帝的帮助。”在当选副总统之前，林登·约翰逊曾在参议院和众议院任职多年。他喜欢做决定，喜欢政治，在得克萨斯州的小镇上长大。高中毕业后，他四处旅行，工作了一段时间，他说他害怕继续学习。但几年后，约翰逊进入了西南德克萨斯州立师范大学。在学校，他是学生领袖和政治活跃分子。1931年，约翰逊前往华盛顿担任国会议员的秘书。四年后，富兰克林·罗斯福总统任命约翰逊为全国青少年社会计划的领导人。两年后，他决定竞选众议院席位。第二次世界大战开始时，约翰逊是首位加入武装部队的国会议员。他在众议院任职十二年。战后，他竞选参议员，并任职了12年。担任参议员期间，他成为政府运作方面的能手。身为总统，林登·约翰逊需要所有这些知识加身。
林登·约翰逊宣誓就职的那一天，美国面临着严峻的形势。越南的共产党军队正在与美国支持的军队作战。与苏联发生核战争的可能性仍然存在，国内的种族冲突依然没有消失。许多人没有工作，并且存在着铁路大罢工的威胁。约翰逊总统在白宫首先从肯尼迪总统提出的立法着手。尽管他在参议院任职时曾投票反对民权法案，但他现在敦促国会通过一项民权法案，国会通过了。1964年颁布的《民权法案》旨在确保所有美国人都得到平等的就业机会。它还有助于确保少数族裔在商店、餐馆和其他企业中受到平等待遇。约翰逊签署该法案时说道： “我们相信人人生而平等，然而，许多人受到不平等待遇。我们认为所有人都有某些不可剥夺的权利。然而，许多美国人并不享有这些权利。我们相信，所有人都有权享受自由的恩惠。然而，数百万人被剥夺了这些恩惠——不是因为自己失败，而是因为肤色。总统说，这种情况在美国不可能持续下去。他说，因为种族而受到的不公正对待违反了宪法和民主理念，违反了他正要签署的法律。
1965年和1968年，林登·约翰逊成功让国会通过了更多的民权法案。1965年的法案称，各州无法仅仅因为公民在阅读或其他考试中表现不佳而阻止其投票。该法案的目的是确保所有美国黑人都有投票权。1968年的民权法涉及住房问题。多年来，美国黑人无法在心仪之地得到安稳的家。许多时候，房地产公司强迫他们为不良房屋支付大量费用。该法案的目的是保证住房市场的自由选择和公平待遇。政治专家表示，约翰逊总统与国会的合作取得了肯尼迪总统无法匹敌的成功。因为约翰逊来自南方，所以在与南方的国会议员交谈时得心应手。约翰逊能够让国会议员相信非洲裔美国人受到不公正待遇。此外，国会的任职教会了他如何让人们做他想做的事。约翰逊总统为他的梦想——让美国更加美好起了一个名字，他称之为“伟大的社会”，约翰逊在密歇根大学的一次演讲中谈到了这一点：“伟大的社会基于所有人实现富足和自由，它要求结束贫困和种族不公，这是我们这个时代我们完全要做的。但这仅仅是个开始。在这个伟大的社会里，每个孩子都可以获取知识以丰富头脑，增长才干。”“伟大社会”既是理念，也是目标。
为了达到这个目标，约翰逊设立了几个政府项目，其一是“向贫困宣战。”向贫困宣战是一系列帮助穷人的法案，目的是创造新的就业机会和建设经济。国会没有批准用于向贫困宣战的大笔资金。但国会大力支持总统的早期提议。然而，当国会表示，美国无法为国内的社会项目和海外战争提供资金时，约翰逊的支持率有所下降。越南并不是约翰逊动用美国军队打击共产主义的唯一地方。他还将派遣2万名左右士兵前往多米尼加共和国。他担心那里的叛乱会导致共产党接管国家。林登·约翰逊在约翰·肯尼迪任期的最后14个月任职。1964年，他为自己的任期竞选。民主党给了他最大的支持。民主党接受了约翰逊选择休伯特·汉弗莱作为副总统候选人的决定。汉弗莱是明尼苏达州的自由派参议员。与民主党人不同的是，共和党人在为选举挑选候选人时遇到了困难。民主党全国代表大会的代表们最终选择了巴里·戈德华特作为他们的总统候选人。戈德华特是亚利桑那州的非常保守的参议员。代表们选择了来自纽约州的国会议员威廉·米勒作为他们的副总统候选人。1964年11月，全国进行选举投票。
林登·约翰逊赢得了超过60%的民众选票。然而奇怪的是，他并不开心，他希望赢得美国历史上最大的胜利。他曾想要证明美国人投票给他，而不是投给约翰·肯尼迪的影子。约翰逊在就职演说中谈到了变化。他说他的“伟大社会”永远不会结束，它在不断成长和进步。于约翰逊而言，这意味着为美国老年人提供医疗保健计划。意味着任命黑人担任重要职务。在接下来的四年里，他成功实现了这些目标，甚至更多。国会通过了医疗保险法案，为老年人提供医疗保健。约翰逊任命瑟古德·马歇尔为最高法院首位黑人法官。然而，当约翰逊回到白宫工作时，一个重大问题等待着他。美国人正在努力阻止共产主义在东南亚的蔓延。越来越多的人被杀害，越南战争及其不得人心，这将毁掉约翰逊作为伟大总统而被人们铭记的机会。我们下周为您讲述。
译文为可可英语翻译，未经授权请勿转载！
