(单词翻译:单击)
听力文本
In recent weeks, we told the story of how the United States Constitution was written. In seventeen eighty-seven, a group of delegates gathered for a convention in Philadelphia. Their plan was to rewrite the Articles of Confederation. Those articles created a weak union of the thirteen states. Instead of rewriting the articles, however, they spent that summer writing a completely new plan of government. On September seventeenth, after four months of often bitter debate, the delegates finally signed the new document. Now, they had to get at least nine of the thirteen states to approve it. Today, Kay Gallant and Harry Monroe tell the story of ratifying the Constitution. Delegates to the Philadelphia convention had met in secret. They wanted to be able to debate proposals, and change their minds, without worrying about public reaction. Now, they were free to speak openly. Each had a copy of the new Constitution. Newspapers also got copies. They printed every word. Public reaction was great indeed. Arguments 'for' and 'against' were the same as those voiced by delegates to the convention: The Constitution would save the United States! The Constitution would create a dictator!
The leaders who supported the new Constitution understood quickly that to win ratification, they must speak out. So, just a few weeks after the document was signed, they began writing statements supporting the proposed Constitution. Their statements appeared first in newspapers in New York. They were called the Federalist Papers. They were printed under the name of 'Publius'. But they were really written by three men: Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay. Years later, historians said the Federalist Papers were the greatest explanation of the Constitution ever written. But in seventeen eighty-seven, they had little effect on public opinion. The debate over the Constitution divided Americans into two groups. Those who supported it were known as Federalists. Those who opposed it were known as anti-Federalists. The anti-Federalists were not anti-American. They were important leaders who loved their country. They were governors, heroes of the Revolutionary War, and even a future president. Yet they distrusted the idea of a strong central government.
Give too much power to the president, the Congress and the courts, they said, and citizens would no longer be free. They would lose the liberties gained in the war for independence from Britain. One anti-Federalist was Patrick Henry of Virginia. James Madison called him the most dangerous enemy of the Constitution. Patrick Henry and other anti-Federalists tried to create distrust and fear about the new plan of government. Farmers against city people. North against South. Small states against big states. An anti-Federalist newspaper in Philadelphia carried this commentary: "Citizens! You are lucky to live in Pennsylvania, where we have the best government in the world. Do not let this government be destroyed by the new Constitution. Do not let a few men -- men with great names -- seize control of your lives." One Federalist noted that it was easier to frighten the people than to teach them. There were both Federalists and anti-Federalists in the Continental Congress. The Congress had few powers. But it was the only central government the thirteen states had at that time. It met in New York City.
The convention in Philadelphia had sent the Continental Congress a copy of the new Constitution. Within eight days, the Congress agreed that each state should organize a convention to discuss ratification. One by one, the states held their conventions. Delaware was the first state to ratify, early in December, seventeen eighty-seven. All the delegates voted to approve it. Pennsylvania was the next to ratify, also in December. New Jersey ratified the Constitution in December, followed by Georgia and Connecticut in January. That made five states. The Federalists needed just four more to win ratification. Massachusetts voted in early February. Delegates to the state convention wanted the Constitution amended to include guarantees to protect citizens' rights. They agreed to ratify if these guarantees were added later. Maryland ratified the Constitution at the end of April. There, a number of delegates included a letter of protest with their vote. They said if the proposed plan of government were not amended, the liberty and happiness of the people would be threatened.
South Carolina became the eighth state to ratify, at the end of May. Just one more state and the new Constitution would become the law of the land. All eyes turned to Virginia. In this letter to Alexander Hamilton, George Washington thanks Hamilton for sending a copy of the Federalist Papers written by "Publius" Virginia was the biggest of the thirteen states. At that time, its western border stretched all the way to the Mississippi River. One-fifth of all the people in America lived in Virginia. The men who attended the ratifying convention were among the most famous names in the nation: James Madison, Patrick Henry, George Mason, James Monroe, Edmund Randolph and John Marshall. Thomas Jefferson was still in Paris, serving as America's representative to France. But others kept him informed of everything that happened at home. Jefferson wrote back that he liked most of the Constitution. But, he said, I do not like the fact that it does not contain a declaration of the rights of citizens. The most famous Virginian, George Washington, stayed at his farm, Mount Vernon.
All during the month of June, however, riders brought him messages from the convention and carried messages back. For three weeks, the Virginia delegates argued about the Constitution. By the end of June, they were ready to vote. Patrick Henry, the outspoken anti-Federalist, asked to make a last statement. "If this convention approves the Constitution," Henry said, "I will feel that I fought for good reasons...and lost the fight. If this happens, I will wait and hope. I will hope that the spirit of the American Revolution is not lost. I will hope that this new plan of government is changed to protect the safety, the liberty, and the happiness of the American people." Then the convention voted. Virginia approved the Constitution. However, like Massachusetts, it added that the document must include a declaration of rights for the nation's people. Federalists in Virginia were proud. They thought their state was the ninth to ratify, the one that made the Constitution the law of the land. But they soon learned that New Hampshire had ratified a few days earlier. Virginia was number ten.
That left three states: North Carolina, Rhode Island, and New York. In a way, New York was the most important of all. If New York refused to join the union under the Constitution, it would be almost impossible for a central government to rule the nation. The twelve other states would be divided in two, geographically separated by New York state. The Federalists were led by Alexander Hamilton. They used their right to filibuster -- to make many long speeches -- to delay the vote. They wanted to wait to hear what Virginia would do. Early in July, they got the news. But New York's anti-Federalists kept up the fight for three more weeks. It was not until the end of July that New York finally ratified the Constitution. The vote was extremely close: thirty to twenty-seven. Like Massachusetts and Virginia, New York demanded a declaration of rights. The long struggle to give the United States a strong central government was over. It took four months to write a new Constitution. It took ten months to ratify it. The Continental Congress declared that the Constitution would become effective the first Wednesday in March, seventeen eighty-nine. The last two states -- North Carolina and Rhode Island -- did not ratify it until many months after that date. Benjamin Rush of Pennsylvania, who had signed the Declaration of Independence, wrote down eight words when he heard that the Constitution had been ratified. "It is done," he said, "we have become a nation."
重点解析
1.Declaration of Independence 独立宣言
Russian workers have staged a number of strikes in protest at the republic's declaration of independence
俄罗斯工人已经举行了数次罢工，抗议该共和国宣布独立。
2.American Revolution 美国独立战争
From 1759 to the outbreak of the American Revolution, Washington managed his lands around Mount Vernon and served in the Virginia House of Burgesses.
从1759年到美国独立战争爆发，华盛顿经营着自己弗吉尼亚的农场，并在弗吉尼亚市民会议任职。
3.divided into 划分为
They were further divided into two schools.
他们又分裂成两个学派。
4.Constitution 宪法；体质；章程；构造
Every citizen should uphold the Constitution.
每个公民都应当维护宪法。
5.wrote down 写下
If you haven’t already wrote down your skills and interests in the previous step, STOP and DO IT NOW.
如果你还没有写下来你的技能和兴趣 停止并现在开始做.
参考译文
最近几周，我们讲述了美国宪法是如何写成的。1787年，一群代表聚集在费城参加大会。他们计划改写《联邦条例》，该条例创建了一个虚弱的十三州联盟。然而，他们并没有将其改写，而是在那个夏天写了一份全新的政府计划。9月17日，经过四个月的激烈辩论，代表们终于签署了新文件。13个州中，现在他们必须得到至少有9个州的批准。今天，凯·格兰特和哈里·门罗为您讲述批准宪法的故事。出席费城大会的代表们曾秘密会面。他们希望能够就提案进行辩论，改变他们的想法，这样不用担心公众的反应。现在，他们可以自由地公开发言了，每个人都有一份新宪法。报纸也有。他们把《宪法》印出来了。公众的反应确实很好。“赞成”和“反对”的论点和大会代表的观点相同：宪法将拯救美国！宪法会创造一个独裁者！支持新宪法的领导人很快明白，要想获得批准，他们必须大声疾呼。因此，就在宪法签署几周后，他们开始撰写声明，支持拟议中的宪法。他们首先在纽约州的报纸上发表声明，这些声明被称为《联邦主义者文集》。《联邦主义者文集》以“普布利乌斯”的名义印刷，但实际是由三人撰写：亚历山大·汉密尔顿、詹姆斯·麦迪逊和约翰·杰伊。
多年后，历史学家表示，《联邦主义者文集》是有史以来对宪法最好的解释。但是在1787年，他们对公众舆论影响甚微。辩论分成两派。支持宪法的人被称为联邦主义者。反对宪法的人被称为反联邦主义者。反联邦主义者并非反美，他们是爱国的重要领导人。他们是州长、独立战争的英雄，甚至是未来的总统。然而，他们不信任强大的中央政府。他们说，给总统、国会和法院太多权力，公民将不再自由。公民将失去从英国独立战争中获得的自由。弗吉尼亚州的帕特里克·亨利是一名反联邦主义者。詹姆斯·麦迪逊称其为宪法最危险的敌人。帕特里克·亨利和其他反联邦主义者试图让人们对新的政府计划失去信任和恐惧。农民反对城市居民，北方反对南方，小州对抗大州。费城一家反联邦的报纸发表了这样的评论：“公民！你很幸运住在宾夕法尼亚，我们在那里有世界上最好的政府，不要让新宪法毁掉政府，不要让少数人——那些大名鼎鼎的人——控制你的生活。”一位联邦主义者指出，恐吓人民比教育人民容易。大陆会议中既有联邦主义者，也有反联邦主义者。国会几乎没有权力。但这是当时13个州唯一的中央政府，大陆会议在纽约市举行。
制宪大会向大陆会议递交了新《宪法》的副本。8天内，国会同意各州组织会议讨论批准新《宪法》。各州逐一举行了会议。特拉华州第一个批准该条约，早在1787年12月初，所有的代表都投票赞成。宾夕法尼亚州第二个批准，也是在12月。新泽西州在去年12月批准，乔治亚州和康涅狄格州紧随其后。这就有了五个州，还需要四个州的批准。马萨诸塞州在二月初进行了投票。参加州大会的代表们希望修改宪法，保护公民的权利。代表们同意，如果以后增加这些担保，他们将予以批准。马里兰州在4月底批准了宪法。一些代表在投票时附上抗议信。他们表示，如果拟议的政府计划得不到修改，人民的自由和幸福将受到威胁。南卡罗来纳在五月底成为第八个批准的州。再有一个州，新宪法就会成为美国的法律。所有的目光都转向弗吉尼亚。弗吉尼亚是十三个州中最大的一个。当时，弗吉尼亚的西部一直延伸到密西西比河。五分之一的美国人住在弗吉尼亚。
出席批准大会的人是全国最有名的人：詹姆斯·麦迪逊、帕特里克·亨利、乔治·梅森、詹姆斯·门罗、埃德蒙·伦道夫和约翰·马歇尔。托马斯·杰斐逊仍在巴黎，担任美国驻法国代表。但其他人却把家里发生的一切都告诉了他。杰弗逊回信说他喜欢宪法的大部分内容。但是，宪法没有包含公民权利的宣言，这点他不喜欢。最著名的弗吉尼亚州的乔治·华盛顿住在他的弗农山庄。然而，在整个6月份，通信人给华盛顿带来大会的消息，然后把消息带回去。维吉尼亚州代表就宪法进行了三个星期的辩论。到六月底，他们已准备好投票。直言不讳的反联邦主义者帕特里克?亨利要求发表最后一份声明。亨利表示：“如果大会通过了宪法，我就会觉得输掉这场战斗有了充分的理由。如果发生这种情况，我会等待并希望美国革命的精神没有丧失。我希望这个新的政府计划能够改变，以保护美国人民的安全、自由和幸福。”然后全国代表大会进行了投票。弗吉尼亚通过了宪法。然而，和马萨诸塞州一样，该机构称，该文件必须包含美国人民权利宣言的内容。弗吉尼亚州的联邦主义者对此感到自豪，他们认为他们是第九个批准的州，使宪法成为美国的法律。但是他们很快得知新罕布什尔州在几天前就批准了，弗吉尼亚排名第十。还剩下三个州：北卡罗来纳州、罗德岛州和纽约州。在某种程度上，纽约州的批准是最重要的。
如果纽约州拒绝将联邦写入宪法，那么中央政府几乎不可能统治这个国家。另外12个州将被分成两部分，地理上被纽约州隔开。联邦主义者由亚历山大·汉密尔顿领导，他们利用权利发表了很多长篇演说，以拖延投票。他们想等着听听弗吉尼亚会怎么做。七月初，他们得到了消息。但纽约州的反联邦主义者又继续斗争了三个多星期。直至7月底，纽约州才最终批准了宪法。投票结果非常接近：30票对27票。就像马萨诸塞州和弗吉尼亚州一样，纽约州也要求权利宣言的内容。争取为美国建立强大中央政府的长期斗争已经结束。撰写一部新宪法花了四个月的时间，耗时10个月才得到批准。大陆会议宣布宪法将于1789年3月的第一个星期三生效。最后两个州——北卡罗来纳州和罗得岛州——直到该日期过后数月才批准该法案。来自宾夕法尼亚州的本杰明拉什签署了《独立宣言》。当他听说《宪法》已获批准时，他写下了八个字。他说：“已经完成，美国成立。”
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