(单词翻译:单击)
听力文本
Last week, we told how the convention discussed the difficult issue of slavery. Slavery affected the decision on how to count the population for purposes of representation in Congress. It also affected the powers proposed for the Congress. The convention accepted several political compromises on the issue. One compromise was the 'three-fifths' rule. The population would be counted every ten years to decide how many representatives each state would have. The delegates agreed that every five Negro slaves would be counted as three persons. Another compromise permitted states to import slaves until the year eighteen-oh-eight. After that, no new slaves could be brought into the country. Many of the delegates in Philadelphia did not like these compromises. But they knew the compromises kept the southern states from leaving the convention. Without them, as one delegate said, no union could be formed.
After all the debates, bitter arguments, and compromises, the delegates were nearing the end of their work. Four months had passed since the convention began. The weather had been hot. Emotions had been hot, too. But that was expected...for the men in Philadelphia were deciding the future of their country. Early in September, the convention appointed five men to a Committee of Style. It was their job to write the document containing all the convention's decisions. William Samuel Johnson of Connecticut was chairman of the committee. The other members were Alexander Hamilton of New York, Gouverneur Morris of Pennsylvania, Rufus King of Massachusetts, and James Madison of Virginia. Of these five men, Gouverneur Morris was known for the beauty of his language. So Judge Johnson asked him to write the Constitution. The convention approved twenty-three parts, or articles, for the Constitution.Gouverneur Morris re-wrote them in a more simple form, so there were just seven. Article One describes the powers of the Congress. It explains how to count the population for purposes of representation. And it says who can become senators or representatives, and how long they can serve. Article Two describes the powers of the president. It explains who can be president. And it tells how he is to be elected. Article Three describes the powers of the federal judiciary. The first three articles provide a system of 'checks and balances'. The purpose is to prevent any of the three branches of government -- legislative, executive, and judicial -- from becoming too powerful. Article Four explains the rights and duties of the states under the new central government. Article Five provides a system for amending the Constitution. Article Six declares the Constitution to be the highest law of the land. And Article Seven simply says the Constitution will be established when nine states approve it.
The next step was to sign the document. On September seventeenth, the delegates gathered for the last time. One might think all their business finally was done. But Nathaniel Gorham of Massachusetts rose to speak. "If it is not too late," he said, "I would like to make a change. We have agreed that one congressman will represent every forty thousand persons. I think that number should be thirty thousand. Gorham's proposal could have caused a bitter argument. Then, suddenly, George Washington stood up. The delegates were surprised, because he had said little all summer. "Now," Washington said, "I must speak out in support of the proposed change. It will guarantee a greater voice in the government for the people of the nation." General Washington's influence was strong. Every delegate agreed to accept the change. Finally, it was time to sign the Constitution. It also was the last chance to speak against it.
Many delegates did not like all parts of the Constitution. They stated their objections. Yet, they declared, for the good of the nation, they would sign. Several, however, refused to put their name on the Constitution. Edmund Randolph of Virginia said he could not sign the document because he believed it would not be approved. Elbridge Gerry of Massachusetts did believe the Constitution would be approved. And that, he said, would lead to civil war. So he would not sign. George Mason of Virginia also refused to sign, but he did not say why. He wrote his thoughts, instead. His chief reason for not signing: the Constitution did not directly guarantee the rights of citizens. The country would hear this argument again later. Many people agreed with Mason. The results were the first ten amendments to the Constitution. Those amendments became known as the Bill of Rights. Randolph, Gerry, and Mason were the only delegates in Philadelphia who did not sign the Constitution.Four other delegates who opposed went home before the signing. They were Luther Martin and John Mercer of Maryland. And Robert Yates and John Lansing of New York. Nine men who supported the Constitution also went home early and did not sign. Oliver Ellsworth of Connecticut. Caleb Strong of Massachusetts. William Houstoun and William Pierce of Georgia. Alexander Martin and William Davie of North Carolina. William Houston of New Jersey. George Wythe and James McClurg of Virginia. Few of the delegates in Philadelphia could be sure that enough states would approve the Constitution to make it the law of the land. And few could know then that Americans of the future would honor them as fathers of the nation. But, as several said later, they wrote the best Constitution they could.
Without it, the young nation would break apart. The United States of America would disappear before it had a chance to succeed. As the last delegates moved to the table to sign the Constitution, Benjamin Franklin looked at a painting behind the president's chair. He spoke softly to the men around him. Franklin noted that it is difficult to paint a morning sun that appears different from an evening sun. "During the past four months of this convention," he said, "I have often looked at that painting. And I was never able to know if the picture showed a morning sun or an evening sun. But now, at last, I know. I am happy to say it is a morning sun, the beginning of a new day."重点解析
1.agreed with同意
At first he insisted on the accuracy of his account, however, he agreed with what I said.
一开始他坚持他的说法准确,可他还是同意了我的论点 。
2.was known for是出名的
I was known for being thorough and accurate in my work.
我在工作中耐心和准确广为人知 。
3.for sure确实;毫无疑问地
All of those advantages, for sure.
所有的那些优势,的确 。
4.In order to为了
Jack and Helen had dropped behind in order to be alone.
为了单独呆在一起,杰克和海伦故意让别人走在前面 。
5.different from与…不同,不同于
Now it is different from the past.
现在和过去不同了 。
参考译文
上周,我们讲述了大会是如何讨论奴隶制这一棘手问题的 。受奴隶制的影响,统计人口以便确定国会代表人数迟迟决定不下来 。奴隶制影响了国会提议的权力 。大会在这一问题上接受了几个政治妥协 。一个折衷方案是"五分之三"规则,人口每十年统计一次,以确定各州代表人数 。代表们同意每五个黑奴算三个人 。另一项妥协允许各州进口奴隶的期限为1808年 。在那之后,没有新的奴隶被带到美国 。费城的许多代表不喜欢这些妥协 。但他们知道,这些妥协阻止了南方各州退出大会 。正如一位代表所说,没有这些妥协,就不可能成立工会 。经过辩论、激烈的争论和妥协,代表们的工作接近尾声 。大会召开已有四个月 。天气一直很热 。代表们的情绪也很激动 。但这是意料之中的……因为费城的人们正在决定他们国家的未来 。9月初,大会任命了5名男子成立委员会 。他们的工作是编写会上的所有文件 。康涅狄格州的威廉·塞缪尔·约翰逊是该委员会的主席 。其他成员包括纽约的亚历山大·汉密尔顿、宾夕法尼亚的高维尼尔·莫里斯、马萨诸塞的鲁弗斯·金和弗吉尼亚的詹姆斯·麦迪逊 。在这五个人当中,古韦努尔·莫里斯以其文笔优美著称 。所以约翰逊法官要求他来起草宪法
简单的几个字解决了委员会的问题,谁会怀疑他们会在争取宪法通过的过程中招致愤怒的争论?因为他们明确表示,中央政府的权力不是来自于国家,而是直接来自于公民 。大会批准了《宪法》二十三个部分或条款 。古弗尼尔·莫里斯用更简单的形式对其进行了重写,所以只有7个部分或条款 。第一条描述了国会的权力,解释了统计代表权人数的问题 。它还规定了参议员或众议员的任职资格,以及任期 。第二条描述了总统的权力,解释了总统的任职资格,以及选举方式 。第三条描述了联邦司法机构的权力 。前三条描述了"制衡"体系 。其目的是防止政府的三个分支--立法、行政和司法--权力过于强大 。第四条解释了国家在新一届中央政府领导下的权利和义务 。第五条规定了宪法修改制度,第六条宣布宪法为国家的最高法律 。宪法第7条只是说,宪法将在9个州批准后制定 。除了这七条以外,《宪法》还载有序言 。大会编写了自己的序言,开头是这样写的:"我们是新罕布什尔马萨诸塞州的代表,签名如下" 。它列出了所有13个州的名字 。委员会认为把每个州都列出来这个想法不好 。毕竟,罗德岛州从未派代表去费城 。没有人确切知道是否每个州都会通过宪法 。因此,古韦努尔·莫里斯写道:"我们美利坚合众国的人民……" 。序言的其余部分说明了为什么要写宪法:为了组织一个更完善的联邦,树立正义,保障国内的安宁,建立共同的国防,增进全民福利和确保我们自己及我们后代得享自由带来的幸福,下一步是在文件上签字 。9月17日,代表们最后一次聚集在一起 。人们可能会认为一切都结束了 。但马萨诸塞州的纳撒尼尔·戈汉姆站起来发言 。说:"如果还不算太晚,我想做些改变 。"我们已经就每四万人将有一名代表达成共识,我想应该是每三万人将有一名代表 。戈尔汉姆的提议可能会引起激烈的争论,突然,乔治·华盛顿站了起来 。代表们都很惊讶,因为他整个夏天几乎一言没发 。华盛顿说,"现在,我必须大声疾呼,支持这一提议,它将保证国民在政府中拥有更大的话语权 。"华盛顿将军的影响力很大,每个代表都接受这一提议 。最后,是时候签署宪法了,这也是反对宪法的最后机会 。许多代表不喜欢宪法,他们表达了反对意见 。然而,他们宣称,为了国家的利益,他们会签字 。然而,有几个人拒绝在宪法上签字 。弗吉尼亚州的埃德蒙·伦道夫表示,他不能签署这份文件,因为他认为这份文件不会得到批准
来自北卡罗来纳州的亚历山大·马丁和威廉·戴维,新泽西州的威廉·休斯顿,维吉尼亚州的乔治·威斯和詹姆斯·麦克卢格,也早早回家,没有签字 。马萨诸塞州的埃尔布里奇·格里认为,这部宪法会通过 。他说,这将导致内战,所以他不会签字 。弗吉尼亚州的乔治梅森也拒绝签字,但他没有说明原因,而是写下了自己的想法 。主要原因是宪法没有直接保障公民的权利 。这一问题之后会再次进行讨论 。许多人同意梅森的看法 。结果达成了宪法的前十项修正案,这些修正案后来被称为《权利法案》 。伦道夫、格里和梅森是费城唯一没有签署宪法的代表 。其他四名反对代表,马里兰州的路德·马丁和约翰·默瑟还有来自纽约的罗伯特·叶茨和约翰·兰辛,在签署协议前回国 。9名支持宪法的人,来自康涅狄格州的奥利弗·艾尔斯沃斯,马萨诸塞州的迦勒·斯特朗,乔治亚州的威廉·豪斯顿和威廉·皮尔斯 。 。费城代表中,几乎没有人能确定有足够多的州会批准宪法,使之成为美国的法律 。那时,很少有人知道,未来的美国人会把他们尊为国父 。但是,正如一些人后来说的,他们尽其所能写出了最好的宪法 。没有它,这个成立不久的国家就会分裂 。美利坚合众国还没有成功就会覆灭 。当最后一批代表走到桌前签署宪法时,本杰明·富兰克林看着总统椅子后面的一幅画 。对周围的人轻声说话 。富兰克林注意到,早晨的太阳和傍晚的太阳很难看出有什么不一样 。他说:"在这次大会的过去四个月里,我经常看那幅画 。我永远也不知道照片上是早晨的太阳还是晚上的太阳 。但现在,我终于知道了,我很高兴地说,这是早晨的太阳,是新一天的开始 。"译文为可可英语翻译,未经授权请勿转载!