(单词翻译:单击)
听力文本
People in America, a program in Special English by the Voice of America. Every week at this time, we tell the story of a man or a woman who played an important part in the history of the United States. Today, Larry West and Warren Scheer complete the story of Chief Joseph of the Nez Perce Indians.
In eighteen seventy-seven, the American government decided to move the Nez Perce Indians from their land in the northwestern part of the country. The government had set up a reservation for them in Idaho. Chief Joseph did not want to leave the land. It was holy ground. It contained the bones of his father and mother.
But, like his father in earlier times, Chief Joseph knew it would be hopeless to stay and defend the land. There were too few Indians to win a war against the white men.
And so in June of eighteen seventy-seven, the Nez Perce left their home in the Wallowa Valley. They left quickly. They were able to take only a small part of what they owned, and just a few cattle and Appaloosa horses.
When the Indians reached the Snake River, the water was very deep and ran very fast with melted snow from the mountains. Chief Joseph and his people made boats from sticks and dried animal skins to cross the river. While the Indians were busy, a group of white men came and stole some of the cattle waiting at the edge of the river.
The other chiefs demanded that Joseph call a meeting. Two of the chiefs, White Bird and Toohoolhoolzote, spoke for War.
But Joseph said, "It is better to live at peace than to begin a war and lie dead."
Some of the young men in White Bird's group were very angry. That night, they rode into the countryside and killed eleven white persons.
During all his years as chief, Joseph had tried to keep the peace. Now he saw there was no hope. Although he and his young men had taken no part in the killings, he knew that the white men would blame all of the Indians. Chief Joseph said, "I would have given my own life if I could have undone the killing of the white men."
Many Nez Perce fled. Chief Joseph remained, because his wife was about to have a baby. After she gave birth, he and his brother and their families joined the others in White Bird Canyon to the south.
Joseph wanted to lead the people to safety in the flat lands of Montana. But the United States army quickly sent horse soldiers to follow them.
The troops rode all night. They were extremely tired when they reached White Bird Canyon. An Indian -- carrying a white flag -- walked forward to meet them. A soldier shot him.
With that shot, war between the Nez Perce and the United States began.
The young Nez Perce men were skilled with their guns. They knew the land. And they were calm in battle. The army officers did not know the land. And they were not wise. When the soldiers attacked, they fired on Indian women and children.
The two sides fought hard. The soldiers could not defeat the Indians.
Joseph, White Bird and Toohoolhoolzote led their people across the mountains to join another Nez Perce group led by Chief Looking Glass. Together, the Nez Perce forces then numbered more than two-hundred-fifty warriors.
The chiefs met. They knew they could not return home. They decided to lead their people to Canada. And so they headed north, always keeping their horses in front of them. The chiefs believed the soldiers would not follow them again.
The chiefs did not know, however, that army officials in Washington were discussing the situation. The officials did not understand why the United States army could not capture several hundred Indians.
So they decided to send General William Tecumseh Sherman -- a hero of the Civil War -- to find out.
The Indians continued to move toward Canada, battling groups of soldiers along the way.
When the Indians reached the great Yellowstone Park, General Sherman himself was waiting for them. His troops closed every road out of the park. But Joseph, with his people and their horses, escaped through the trees.
General Sherman sent word by telegraph to other army commanders along the Indians' way north. At one place in the mountains, the Indians found a group of soldiers building a wall across the only road.
Joseph, White Bird and Looking Glass rode down to the wall and spoke to the officers. The chiefs told them: "We are going by you without fighting if you will let us. But we are going by you anyhow."
The soldiers would not let the Indians pass. Fighting broke out. And, again, the Indian warriors defeated the white soldiers.
Joseph was not a military man. In fact, before the war against the American army, Joseph had never been in battle. But he understood human nature. He understood his enemy. And he was able to unite his warriors and his people.
Many weeks after the Nez Perce had left their home lands, they reached the Bear Paw Mountains. They were only eighty kilometers from Canada. The Nez Perce were close to their goal. But safety was not yet in sight.
Six-hundred army troops, under the command of General Nelson Miles, were waiting at Bear Paw.
The soldiers attacked two times on the first day. They were beaten back two times. Joseph's brother was killed in the fighting, as well as Toohoolhoolzote and some of the other chiefs.
After the long march and so many battles, only eighty-seven warriors remained. Many of the women and children were wounded or sick. Most of the horses were dead.
The weather turned cold in the mountains. The wind blew, and it began to snow.
General Miles sent a message to Chief Joseph. He said: "If you will come out and give up your arms, I will not harm you, and will send you to the reservation."
Chief Joseph would not give up. The battle continued. On the fourth day, Chief Looking Glass was hit by a bullet and died. On the fifth day, Chief Joseph rode out -- alone -- to the snowy battlefield. He surrendered. He said:
"I am tired of fighting. Our chiefs are killed. It is cold, and we have no blankets. Some of my people have run away to the hills. No one knows where they are. I want to have time to look for my children. Hear me, my chiefs! My heart is sick and sad. From where the sun now stands... I will fight no more forever. "
Two days after Chief Joseph surrendered, the government ordered him and his people far away.
First, they went to an army base in Kansas. Then they went to a dry and empty piece of land in Oklahoma. Within a year, almost half the people died. Joseph buried all of his children.
Years later, Chief Joseph and his people were permitted to return to the northwest. But they were not permitted to return home.
Joseph spoke to American officials. Nothing changed. He could never go back to the holy ground that held the bones of his father and mother. He lived in the northwest -- in exile -- until September, nineteen-oh-four, when he died.
Chief Joseph's words expressed the ideas of justice and civil rights. . . Even though he lived in a time when he could not have those rights himself. He said:
"Treat all men alike. Give them all the same law. Give them all an even chance to live and grow. The earth is the mother of all people. And all people should have equal rights upon it. Then the great spirit chief who rules above will smile upon this land, and send rain to wash out the bloody spots made by brothers' hands upon the face of the earth."
重点解析
1.set up建立；创立
He set up in that way an alternative form of quantum mechanics.
他就是以这样一种方式建立了量子力学的另一种形式。
2.be able to能够
After working through this tutorial, you should be familiar with all these topics and be able to use them in your editing sessions.
在完成本教程的学习之后，您应该熟悉所有的这些主题，并且能够在您的编辑会话中使用它们。
3.a group of一群
A group of zebras started up by a shot.
一声枪响把一群斑马惊得四散奔逃。
4.in front of 在…前面
In the distance is a clubhouse and standing in front of it are all his friends and other politicians who had worked with him.
在远处是一个俱乐部而且站在俱乐部前面的都是他的朋友和以前与他一起工作过的政客。
5.find out找出；发现
They find out your strengths and limitations and work with them to improve yourself.
他们找出你的实力和局限，解决问题并且提高你自己的实力。
6.go back 回到
Jot down the thought or idea and go back to what you were doing.
简单记下想法或念头，然后回去做你刚才做的事情。
参考译文
这里是VOA慢速英语栏目《美国人物志》。每周的这个时候，我们会讲述一位在美国历史上起了重要作用的男性和女性。今天，拉里·韦斯特和沃伦·希尔为您继续讲述内兹佩尔塞印第安人酋长约瑟夫的故事。
1877年，美国政府决定将内兹佩尔塞印第安人从他们居住的位于美国西北部的土地上迁移出去。政府已经在爱达荷州为他们准备了一个居留地。约瑟夫不想离开这片土地。那是圣地。他的父母皆葬于此。
但是，和那时候的父亲一样，约瑟夫酋长知道留下来保卫这片土地是没有希望的。印第安人太少，他们不能赢得与白人之间的战争。
所以在1877年7月，内兹佩尔塞印第安人离开了他们在瓦洛瓦山谷的家。他们迅速离开。他们只带走了他们拥有的东西中的一小部分，以及一些牛和阿帕卢萨马。
当印第安人到达蛇河时，那里的河水很深，水流很湍急，还有山上融化的雪。约瑟酋长和他的人们用木棒和干兽皮造船过河。正当印第安人忙碌的时候，一群白人来了，他们偷了一些在河边等待的牲畜。
其他的酋长要求约瑟夫召开一个会议。其中两个酋长，白鸟和图胡尔胡尔祖特酋长主张与白人开战。
但是约瑟夫说，“最好生活在和平当中，而不要发动一场战争，然后死去。”
白鸟酋长手下的一些年轻人非常愤怒。那天晚上，他们骑行到乡下，杀死了11个白人。
多年来，作为酋长，约瑟夫想要维持和平。现在他知道已经没有希望了。尽管他知道他和他的手下没有参与这场杀戮。他知道白人会把这件事怪到所有的印第安人身上。约瑟夫酋长说，“如果我能撤销对白人的杀戮，我愿意献出自己的生命。”
很多内兹佩尔塞印第安人都逃跑了。但是约瑟夫酋长留了下来，因为他的妻子将要生育了。妻子生育后，约瑟夫和他的兄弟和家人与南方的白鸟峡谷的其他人汇合。
约瑟夫想把人们带到蒙大拿平原的安全地带。但美国军队很快派出骑兵跟随他们。
部队骑行了一整夜。他们到白鸟峡谷的时候非常累。一个手持白旗的印第安人走上前去迎接他们。一名士兵向他开了枪。
这一枪打响了内兹佩尔塞印第安人和美国人之间的战争。
年轻的内兹佩尔塞人枪法非常熟练。他们了解这片土地。而且他们在战斗中非常镇静。部队的军官并不了解这片土地。他们也不明智。当士兵们攻击的时候，他们朝着印第安人的女人和儿童开火。
双方陷入了激战。军队士兵不能击败印第安人。
约瑟夫，白鸟和图胡尔胡尔祖特酋长领导他们的人民穿过了大山，加入了由玻璃镜酋长领导的其他内兹佩尔塞印第安人。当时，内兹佩尔塞军队总共有250多名战士。
酋长们会合了。他们知道他们不能回家了。他们决定带领他们的人民前往加拿大。所以他们向北行进，一直让他们的马匹位于队伍的前面。酋长们相信部队士兵们不会再跟着他们了。
然而，酋长们不知道的是，华盛顿的军方官员在讨论现在的形势。官员们不明白为什么美国军队不能追上几百个印第安人。
所以他们决定派遣内战英雄谢尔曼将军去探个究竟。
印第安人继续向加拿大前进，一路上与一群群士兵作战。
当印第安人到达黄石公园时，谢尔曼将军本人正在等他们。他的部队封锁了黄石公园外的所有道路。但是约瑟夫和他的百姓和马，都从树林里逃跑了。
谢尔曼将军给位于印第安人北行路线的其他军队指挥官发了电报。在山里的一个地方，印第安人发现，一群印第安人正在沿着他们行进的唯一的道路上筑墙。
约瑟夫，白鸟和玻璃镜酋长沿着墙骑行过去，跟那些军官进行了对话。酋长们告诉他们：“如果你让我们走的话，我们将不会和你们战斗。但是无论如何我们都会过去的。”
士兵们没有让印第安人通过。于是战争爆发了。而且，印第安的勇士们再一次击败了白人士兵。
约瑟夫并不是一个军人。实际上，在与美国军队的战争之前，约瑟夫从没有参加过战斗。但是他了解人类的本性。他了解他的敌人。他可以将他的勇士和人民联系起来。
内兹佩尔塞印第安人离开他们的家乡很多周以后，他们到达了熊掌山。那离加拿大只有80千米。内兹佩尔塞印第安人离他们的目标很近了。但是他们还不安全。
尼尔逊·迈尔斯领导的600名军队士兵正在熊掌山等着他们。
第一天，士兵们发动了两次攻击。他们两次都战败而归。约瑟的哥哥、图胡尔胡尔祖特和一些别的首领都在战斗中阵亡了。
经过长途跋涉和这么多次的战斗，他们只剩下87名勇士了。很多的妇女和儿童都受伤或生病了。很多的马匹都死去了。
山中的天气变冷了。刮起了风，又下起了雪。
迈尔斯将军给约瑟夫酋长传递了一个消息。他说：“如果你们出来，缴械投降，我将不会伤害你们，而且把你们送到居留地。
约瑟夫是不会投降的。于是战斗继续。第四天，玻璃镜酋长中弹身亡。第五天，约瑟夫酋长独自骑马去了白雪皑皑的战场。他投降了。他说：
“我厌倦了战斗。我们的酋长战死了。天气又冷，我们也没有毯子。有些人跑到山里去了。没人知道他们去了哪里。我想花时间照顾我的孩子。听我说，我的酋长们！我的心受伤了。从现在开始...我将永远不会再战争了。”
约瑟夫酋长投降两天后，政府命令他和他的人民远离这里。
首先，他们去了堪萨斯的一个军事基地。然后他们去了俄克拉何马州的一片干燥空旷的土地。一年内，几乎一半的人死亡。约瑟夫埋葬了他所有的孩子。
若干年后，约瑟夫酋长和他的人民被允许返回西北部。但是他们不允许回家。
约瑟夫与美国官员交谈。但是什么都没有改变。他再也回不去那个埋葬他父母的圣地了。他一直流亡在西北部，直到1904年9月去世。
约瑟夫酋长的话表达了正义和公民权利的理念……即使他生活在一个他自己不能拥有这些权利的时代。他说：
“平等对待所有的人。用同样的法律对待他们。给他们平等的机会去生活和成长。地球是所有人的母亲。每位生活在地球上的人都应享有平等的权利。然后统领一切的大神酋长将会对着这片土地微笑，而且会降雨，来洗去兄弟们的双手在地球上留下的血迹。”
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