(单词翻译:单击)
听力文本
Welcome to the MAKING OF A NATION – Americanhistory in VOA Special English. The question of continuing the Bank of theUnited States became a serious political issue in the national election ofeighteen thirty-two. The head of the bank, Nicholas Biddle, had become verypowerful. Biddle refused to recognize that the government had the right tointerfere in any way with the bank's business. The bank was privately operatedbut could make loans with taxpayers' money. President Andrew Jackson understoodthe power of the Bank of the United States. He opposed giving the bank a newcharter. Jackson said the Bank of the United States was dangerous to theliberty of Americans. The bank, he said, could build up or pull down politicalparties through loans to politicians. The bank, he said, would always supportthose who supported the bank. He proposed to form a new national bank, as partof the Treasury Department. This week in our series, Stewart Spencer andMaurice Joyce continue the story of the Bank of the United States.
In the election year of eighteenthirty-two, the bank still had four years left to continue. Its charter wouldnot end until eighteen thirty-six. Jackson had been urging Congress to actearly, so that the bank could -- if its charter were rejected -- close itsbusiness slowly over several years. This would prevent serious economicproblems for the country. Many of Jackson's advisers believed he should saynothing about the bank until after the election. They feared he might lose thevotes of some supporters of the bank. Biddle felt that this might be the besttime to get a charter. Henry Clay, the presidential candidate of the NationalRepublicans, helped Biddle to make this decision. Senator Clay, however, wasnot thinking of the bank when he gave his advice. Clay needed an issue tocampaign on. Most of the people of the country approved of Jackson's programs.Clay could not get votes by opposing successful programs. But, he was sure thatthe issue of the bank could get him some votes. The campaign for a new charterwas led by the most powerful men in each house of Congress. In the Senate, thebank's supporters included Senator Clay and Daniel Webster. Former PresidentJohn Quincy Adams -- now a congressman -- led the bank's struggle in the house.The chief opponent to the bank was Senator Thomas Hart Benton of Missouri."I object to the renewal of the charter," he told the Senate, "becausethe bank is too great and powerful to be permitted in a government of free andequal laws. I also object because the bank makes the rich richer, and the poorpoorer."
Inthe House, Representative Augustin Clayton of Georgia proposed an investigationof the bank. In a speech written by Senator Benton, Clayton charged that thebank had violated its charter a number of times. The bank's supporters wereafraid to vote down the proposed investigation. It would be almost the samething as saying that the charges were true. The investigation was approved. Anda special committee was given six weeks to study the charges against the bank. Fourmembers of the seven-man committee were opponents of the bank. Three, includingJohn Quincy Adams, were friendly. As expected, opponents of the bank found thecharges to be true. And the bank's supporters found them all to be false. Themajority report told of easy loans made to congressmen and newspapermen. Itsaid a New York newspaper that had opposed the bank began supporting it afterreceiving a secret fifteen-thousand-dollar loan. The investigation did notreally change the votes of any of the congressmen. Many votes had been boughtby the bank. Attorney General RogerTaney told of one example of this. Taney opposed the bank. And he rode to workone morning with a congressman who also opposed it. The congressman asked Taneyfor help on a speech he planned to make against the bank. Taney was surprisedlater to find that this same congressman had voted to give the bank its newcharter. The congressman told Taney that the bank had made him a loan oftwenty-thousand dollars.
The Senate finally voted on the bank's newcharter. The vote was twenty-eight for and twenty against. The House votedthree weeks later. It approved the charter, one hundred seven to eighty-five. Thebill was sent to the White House. President Jackson called a cabinet meeting.Two cabinet members, McLane and Livingston, agreed that the bill should bevetoed. But they urged Jackson to reject the bank charter in such a way that acompromise might be worked out later. Attorney General Taney, however, believedthat the veto should be in the strongest possible language. He opposed anycompromise that would continue the bank beyond eighteen thirty-six. Jacksonagreed with Taney. He asked the attorney general and two White House advisersto help him write the veto message. They worked on the message for three days. OnJuly tenth, the veto was announced. And the message explaining it was sent toCongress. Jackson said he did not believe the bank's charter wasconstitutional. He said it was true that the Supreme Court had ruled thatCongress had the right to charter a national bank. But he said he did not agreewith the high court. And Jackson said the president -- in taking his oath ofoffice -- swears to support the Constitution as he understands it, not as it isunderstood by others. He said the president and the Congress had the same dutyas the court to decide if a bill was constitutional.
Jackson also spoke of the way the bankmoved money from West to East. He said the bank was owned by a small group ofrich men, mostly in the East. Some of the owners, he said, were foreigners.Much of the bank's business was done in the West. The money paid by westernersfor loans went into the pockets of the eastern bankers. Jackson said this waswrong. Then the president spoke of his firm belief in the rights of the commonman. "It is to be regretted," he said, "that the rich andpowerful bend the acts of the government to their own purposes. Differencesamong men will always exist under every just government." Equality ofability, or education, or of wealth cannot be produced by human institutions.Every man has the equal right of protection under the laws. But when these lawsare used to make the rich richer, and the powerful more powerful, then the morehumble members of our society have a right to complain of injustice." Jackson said he could not understand how thepresent owners of the bank could have any claim of special treatment from thegovernment.
Hesaid the government should shower its favors -- as heaven does its rain -- onthe high and low alike, on the rich and the poor equally. Henry Clay had madethe bank bill the chief issue of the eighteen thirty-two presidential electioncampaign. Andrew Jackson chose the words of his veto message for the samepurpose -- to win votes in the coming election. His veto of the bank bill costhim the votes of men of money. But it brought him the votes of the common man:the farmer, the laborer, and industrial worker. After his first two years aspresident, Andrew Jackson was not sure he wished to serve a second term.Jackson was not sure his health would permit him to complete a full eight yearsin the White House. But he wished to be a candidate again in eighteenthirty-two to give the people a chance to show they approved of his programs. Jacksondecided that he would campaign again for president. But if he won, he wouldresign after the first or second year, and leave the job to his vice president.
重点解析
1.refuse to 拒绝；不肯
I refuse to act that way when my kids fight.
我的孩子们打起架来时，我不会那样做。
2.build up 建立；增进
The regime built up the largest army in Africa.
该政权逐渐建立起一支非洲规模最大的军队。
3.object to 反对某事；不赞成
Working people everywhere object to paying taxes.
各地的工薪族都反对缴税。
4.work out 制定；解决
Lower-level officials will meet next week to work out a plan for the next meeting between Netanyahu and Abbas, Mitchell said.
低级别官员将在下星期会面，为内塔尼亚胡和阿巴斯间的下一次会议制定出一个计划，米切尔说。
参考译文
欢迎收听VOA慢速英语之建国史话节目。在1832年的全国选举中，美国银行是否应该继续经营下去成为一个严重的政治议题。银行行长尼古拉斯·比德尔变得极富权势，比德尔不认为政府有权以任何方式干涉银行业务。这家银行属私人经营，但可以用纳税人的钱贷款。总统安德鲁·杰克逊了解美国银行的权力，他反对给银行授予新的经营许可。杰克逊表示，美国银行是对美国人民自由的威胁，银行可以通过向政客发放贷款来建立或推翻政党。美国银行将始终支持那些支持银行的人。他提议成立一家新的国家银行，作为财政部的一部分。在本周的系列节目中，斯图尔特·斯宾塞和莫里斯·乔伊斯将继续讲述美国银行的故事。
在1832年的选举年，美国银行的经营许可权还剩四年时间，将于1836年终止。杰克逊一直敦促国会尽早采取行动，如果经营许可权被否决，银行可在数年内慢慢结束其业务，这将防止国家出现严重的经济问题。总统杰克逊的许多顾问认为，在总统大选之前，他不应该对美国银行发表任何评论。他们担心他可能会失去那些支持银行的人的选票。比德尔觉得这可能是获得经营许可的最佳时机。国家共和党总统候选人亨利·克莱帮助比德尔做出这一决定，但参议员克莱给出建议时考虑的并不是银行。克莱需要在竞选中有的放矢。大多数国民都赞成杰克逊的各项方案，克莱无法通过反对成功的方案获得选票。但是，他确信美国银行的问题能为他带来一些选票。争取新的经营许可一事由国会两院最有权势的人领导。在参议院，美国银行的支持者包括参议员克莱和丹尼尔·韦伯斯特。前总统、现任国会议员约翰·昆西·亚当斯，领导着银行在众议院抗争。银行的主要反对者是密苏里州参议员托马斯·哈特·本顿。他对参议院说：“我反对继续授予经营许可，因为美国银行太强大了，这在一个主张自由平等的政府中是不允许出现的。我表示反对还因为银行加剧了贫富差异。”
在众议院，格鲁吉亚的代表奥古斯丁·克莱顿提议对美国银行进行调查。参议员本顿在一次演讲种提及，克莱顿指责该银行多次违反其经营许可。美国银行的支持者不敢投票否决这项拟议的调查，这样做的话几乎就是承认指控是真的。调查获得批准，一个特别委员会将用六周时间来研究对银行的各项指控。委员会由七人组成，其中四名成员是美国银行的反对者，包括约翰·昆西·亚当斯在内的三位都很友好。不出所料，银行的反对者发现这些指控是真实的，而银行的支持者则发现指控都是假的。大多数报告都提到银行对国会议员和新闻从业者提供宽松的贷款制。报告称，一家反对该行的纽约报纸在收到一笔秘密的1.5万美元贷款后开始支持该行。此项调查并未真正改变议员的投票，银行收买了许多选票。司法部长罗杰·塔尼举了一个例子。塔尼反对美国银行，一天早上，他和另一位同样反对该银行的国会议员坐车去上班，这位国会议员请求塔尼为他计划针对银行发表的演讲提供帮助。但后来塔尼惊奇地发现，这位国会议员竟然投票赞同给美国银行授予新的经营许可。国会议员告诉塔尼，银行给他发放了两万美元的贷款。
参议院最终投票通过了银行新的经营许可，投票结果是28票赞成，20票反对。三周后众议院投票批准，107票赞成，85票反对。该法案被送交白宫，杰克逊总统召开内阁会议。两名内阁成员麦克莱恩和利文斯顿同意该法案应予以否决。但他们劝诫杰克逊否决银行经营许可时，应表示之后会制定折衷方案。然而，司法部长塔尼认为，应该用最强有力的语言表示否决，他反对制定任何准许银行持续经营到1836年以后的折衷方案。杰克逊同意塔尼的看法，他请求总司法部长和两名白宫顾问帮他书写否决意见书，他们花三天时间书写完毕。7月10日，否决意见公之于众，解释意见书被送到国会。杰克逊表示，他不认为美国银行的经营许可符合宪法规定。最高法院的确已经裁定，国会有权成立全国性银行，但他不同意高等法院的裁决。杰克逊说，总统在宣誓就职时，发誓要以他理解的方式支持宪法，而不是以别人理解的方式支持。决定一项法案是否符合宪法时，总统和国会肩负着与法院相同的职责。
杰克逊还谈到银行从西部向东部转移资金。他说，美国银行由一小群富人所有，这些人大部分在东部地区。还有一些所有者是外国人。银行的大部分业务是在西部完成的，西部地区的人为贷款支付的钱财落入东部银行家的口袋，这种做法是错误的。接着，总统谈到他对普通公民权利的坚定信念。杰克逊说道：“令人遗憾的是，富人和有权势的人让政府行为屈从于他们的个人目的。在每一个公正的政府管理之下，人与人之间总会存在差异。人类制度无法形成能力、教育或财富方面的平等，法律赋予每个人平等的保护权。但是，当这些法律被用来使富人更富有，有权势的人更强大时，我们社会中更卑微的成员有权控诉不公。”杰克逊还表示，他不明白目前银行的所有者如何能从政府那得到特殊待遇。
政府应该像上天赐予雨水一样，把它的恩惠施与所有人，不论贫富。亨利·克莱把银行法案作为1832年总统竞选的首要议题，安德鲁·杰克逊选择否决意见书的措辞时也出于同样的目的，即在马上到来的选举中赢得选票。他否决银行法案使他失去了富人的选票，但为他赢得了农民、劳动者和工人等普通公民的选票。安德鲁·杰克逊担任总统两年后，并不确定自己是否希望连任，他不知道自己的健康状况是否能让他在白宫度过整整八年的时光。但他希望在1832年再次成为总统候选人，让人民有机会表明他们赞同他的各项方案。杰克逊决定再次参加总统竞选，如果获胜，他会在第一年或第二年后辞职，然后把工作转交给副总统。
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