VOA建国史话(翻译+字幕+讲解):美墨冲突剑拔弩张
日期:2019-04-28 14:26

(单词翻译:单击)

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Welcome to THE MAKING OF A NATION – American history in VOA Special English. In the middle of the eighteen forties, the United States offered to buy California from Mexico. The government of Mexico refused to negotiate. American President James Polk felt that the use of force was the only way to make Mexico negotiate. So, in the spring of eighteen forty-six, he ordered American soldiers to the Rio Grande River. The Rio Grande formed part of the border between the United States and Mexico. This week in our series, Larry West and Maurice Joyce tell about the conflict between the United States and Mexico.
General Zachary Taylor commanded the American force. He sent one of his officers across the river to meet with Mexican officials. The Mexicans protested the movement of the American troops to the Rio Grande. They said the area was Mexican territory. The movement of American troops there, they said, was an act of war. For almost a month, the Americans and the Mexicans kept their positions. Then, on April twenty-fifth, General Taylor received word that a large Mexican force had crossed the border a few kilometers up the river. A small force of American soldiers went to investigate. They were attacked. All were killed, wounded, or captured. General Taylor quickly sent a message to President Polk in Washington. It said war had begun. The message arrived at the White House on May ninth. A few days later, President Polk asked Congress to recognize that war had started. He asked Congress to give him everything he needed to win the war and bring peace to the area. A few members of Congress did not want to declare war against Mexico. They believed the United States was responsible for the situation along the Rio Grande. They were out-voted. President Polk signed the war bill. Later, Polk wrote: "We had not gone to war for conquest. But it was clear that in making peace we would, if possible, get California and other parts of Mexico."
Many Americans opposed what they called "Mr. Polk's war." Whig Party members and Abolitionists in the North believed that slave-owners and southerners in Polk's administration had planned the war. They believed the South wanted to win Mexican territory for the purpose of spreading and strengthening slavery. President Polk was troubled by this opposition. But he did not think the war would last long. He thought the United States could quickly force Mexico to sell him the territory he wanted. Polk secretly sent a representative to former Mexican dictator Santa Ana. Santa Ana was living in exile in Cuba. Polk's representative said the United States wanted to buy California and some other Mexican territory. Santa Ana said he would agree to the sale, if the United States would help him return to power. President Polk ordered the United States navy to let Santa Ana return to Mexico. American ships that blocked the port of Vera Cruz permitted the Mexican dictator to land there. Once Santa Ana returned, he failed to honor his promises to Polk. He refused to end the war and sell California. Instead, Santa Ana organized an army to fight the United States. American General Zachary Taylor moved against the Mexicans. He crossed the Rio Grande River. He marched toward Monterrey, the major trading and transportation center of northeast Mexico. The battle for Monterrey lasted three days. The Mexicans surrendered.

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Then General Taylor got orders to send most of his forces back to the coast. They were to join other American forces for the invasion of Vera Cruz. While this was happening, Santa Ana was moving his army north. In four months, he had built an army of twenty thousand men. When General Taylor learned that Santa Ana was preparing to attack, he left Vera Cruz. He moved his forces into a position to fight Santa Ana. Santa Ana sent a representative to meet with General Taylor. The representative said the American force had one hour to surrender. Taylor's answer was short: "Tell Santa Ana to go to hell." The battle between the United States and Mexican forces lasted two days. Losses were heavy on both sides. On the second night, Santa Ana's army withdrew from the battlefield. Taylor had won another victory. Other American forces were victorious, too. General Winfield Scott had captured the port of Vera Cruz and was ready to attack Mexico City. Commodore Robert Stockton had invaded California and had raised the American flag over the territory. Stephen Kearny had seized Santa Fe, the capital of New Mexico, without firing a shot. Still, the war was not over. President Polk's "short" war already had lasted for more than a year. Polk decided to send a special diplomatic representative to Mexico. He gave the diplomat the power to negotiate a peace treaty whenever Mexico wanted to stop fighting.
A ceasefire was declared. But attempts to negotiate a peace treaty failed. Santa Ana tried to use the ceasefire to prepare for more fighting. So General Scott ended the ceasefire. His men began their attack on Mexico City. The fighting lasted one week. The government of Mexico surrendered. Santa Ana stepped down as president. Manuel de la Pena y Pena -- president of the supreme court -- became acting president. On February second, eighteen forty-eight, the United States and Mexico signed a peace treaty. Mexico agreed to give up California and New Mexico. It would recognize the Rio Grande River as the southern border of Texas. The United States would pay Mexico fifteen million dollars. It also would pay more than three million dollars in damage claims that Mexico owed American citizens.
The terms of the treaty were those set by President Polk. Yet he was not satisfied with just California and New Mexico. He wanted even more territory. But he realized he probably would have to fight for it. And he did not think Congress would agree to extend the war. So Polk sent the peace treaty to the Senate. It was approved. The Mexican Congress also approved it. The war was officially over. The United States now faced the problem of what to do with the new lands. President Polk wanted to form territorial governments in California and New Mexico. He asked Congress for immediate permission to do that. But the question of slavery delayed quick congressional action. Should the new territories be opened or closed to slavery. Southerners argued that they had the right to take slaves into the new territories. Northerners disagreed. They opposed any further spread of slavery. The real question was this: did Congress have the power to control or bar slavery in the territories. Until Texas became a state, almost all national leaders seemed to accept the idea that Congress did have this power. For fifty years, Congress had passed resolutions and laws controlling slavery in United States territories. Northerners believed Congress received the power from the constitution. Southern slave owners disagreed. They believed the power to control slavery remained with the states.
There were some who thought the earlier Missouri Compromise could be used to settle the issue of slavery in California, Oregon, and New Mexico. They proposed that the line of the Missouri Compromise be pushed west, all the way to the Pacific Coast. Territory north of the line would be free of slavery. South of the line, slavery would be permitted. Everyone agreed that governments had to be organized in the territories. But there seemed to be no way to settle the issue of slavery. Then a senator from Delaware agreed to be chairman of a special committee on the question of slavery in the new territories. The Senate committee included four Whigs and four Democrats. North and South were equally represented. Within six days, the committee had agreed on a compromise bill. That will be our story next week.

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重点解析

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1.be responsible for 负责;担负

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I feel partly responsible for the problems we're in.

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我觉得应为我们遭遇的问题负部分责任+XyUan9Kea

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2.return to 回到;恢复

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Do we really want a return to an antiquated system of privilege and elitism?

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我们真的想回归到一种特权和精英政治的过时制度中吗?

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3.prepare to 准备去做;做……的准备

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He had to go back to his hotel and prepare to catch a train for New York.

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他不得不回到酒店,准备赶火车去纽约17#7k=S,BdXQ

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4.be ready to 准备好;预备

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He may now be ready to sanction the use of force.

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他现在可能打算批准使用武力#zzgs1lmYU|)

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参考译文

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欢迎收听VOA慢速英语之建国史话节目6AbfRcmAiHv]F*6iEq2+。在18世纪40年代中期,美国提出从墨西哥购买加利福尼亚im~EIEeFtcK%n~BA3_。墨西哥政府拒绝谈判,美国总统詹姆斯·波尔克认为使用武力是墨西哥进行谈判的唯一途径KnK6bQoP|qJWJ^C4u。因此,在1846年春天,他命令美国士兵前往格兰德河,格兰德河是美国和墨西哥边境的一部分i)ruzbSgM9iE!#@s(-,d。在本周的系列节目中,拉里·韦斯特和莫里斯·乔伊斯将讲述美国和墨西哥之间的冲突=D0R4=a8q8pfyTPK
扎卡里·泰勒将军指挥美军,他派一名军官过河去会见墨西哥官员^cz5Rh*AKWuI)。墨西哥人抗议美国军队向格兰德河进发,他们说那是墨西哥的领土,美军到那里就是要进行一场战争Et5bx.lEpt#F!Cas%|Ek。近一个月来,美国和墨西哥人固守着他们的立场cB*M3J|Kz]。在4月25日,泰勒将军接到消息说,一支墨西哥军队已经越过了该河上游几公里的边界#=gg=CUl^D。一小队美国士兵前去调查,他们遭到袭击M|]=~*z1(LCVeEla6U。所有人都阵亡、受伤或被俘aD;rT_#ueO。泰勒将军很快给华盛顿的总统波尔克发了一封电报,电报中说战争已经开始=h%&cLUMMIe6ksJFDPg。5月9日,电报传到了白宫~UC8uv]YJFMEXwr。几天后,总统波尔克要求国会承认战争已经开始,3CKLQP^,frB^H|LhyT。他要求国会为他赢得战争和为该地区带来和平提供所需的一切#Kqt7_(#pgTnib(%。一些国会议员不想向墨西哥宣战,他们认为美国是格兰德河沿岸局势的罪魁祸首,但他们的意见遭到否决DQ~T;iEFe7XN~pxrP!。总统波尔克签署了与墨西哥开战的战争法案IPh*^]a53,)%CF。后来,波尔克写道:“我们不是为了征服墨西哥而战,但很明显,如果可能的话,我们会为了维护该地区和平而拿下加利福尼亚和墨西哥其他地方bC#Q,,XVLD1.%P~i。”
许多美国人反对所谓的“波尔克先生的战争”,北方的辉格党成员和废奴主义者认为波尔克政府的奴隶主和南方人策划了这场战争,他们认为南方想要赢得墨西哥领土,以传播和加强奴隶制vz2hqcmtbbd。总统波尔克对这种反对意见感到很不安,但他认为战争不会持续很久,美国可以迅速迫使墨西哥把他想要的领土卖给他QZZ0Iw8G0@9M#8xy。波尔克秘密地派遣了一名代表去见墨西哥前独裁者圣塔安那,圣塔安那当时流亡于古巴PMj6OBv~XZ](+FFSkPg。波尔克的代表说,美国想买下加利福尼亚和墨西哥其他一些领土WX~F&so+~X!vq2B-C。圣塔安那说,如果美国帮助他重新掌权,他就同意出售土地UfMM5F8Jdsfu.]9Zx-9。总统波尔克命令美国海军让圣塔安那返回墨西哥,美国船只封锁了韦拉克鲁斯港,允许墨西哥独裁者在那里登陆((zPk~RVU0Ivoa,tQ。圣塔安那一回来,就没能兑现他对波尔克的承诺_%y9fx.ncx。他拒绝结束战争,也不同意出售加利福尼亚,而是组织了一支军队与美国作战l07aJWupu71D。 美国将军扎卡里·泰勒反对墨西哥人,他跨过格兰德河,向蒙特雷前进,蒙特雷是墨西哥东北部的主要贸易和运输中心v@Zubvz5g(cvlcTy。蒙特雷战役持续了三天,最终墨西哥人投降了]TS,#hVeG6kHI)+q
随后,泰勒将军接到命令,让他把大部分部队派回到海岸边,和其他美国军队一起入侵韦拉克鲁斯nB1XFgLRL&#kltc=。而此时,圣塔安那正在兴师北上aYj&+~]dnA。他在四个月内建立了一支两万人的军队g!RDjRhZ(@。当泰勒将军得知圣塔安那正准备进攻时,他离开了韦拉克鲁斯,调动兵力准备与圣塔安那作战zPhU[K&^M;K&#D。圣塔安那派出一名代表去见泰勒将军,这名代表说,美军的投降时间只有一个小时了VR[cU7+sKd1!_(Kp。泰勒的回答很简短:“你告诉圣塔安那,让他去见鬼吧fG,78%]T@CGL|。” 美国和墨西哥军队之间的战斗持续了两天,双方都损失惨重nN,zo6tRQGR。第二天晚上,圣塔安那的军队撤离战场,泰勒又赢得了一场战斗zG.Y%el@ltNc4v。其他美国军队也取得了胜利,温菲尔德·斯科特将军占领了韦拉克鲁斯港,准备攻击墨西哥城J;LRkfQUEW5btL#!。准将罗伯特·斯托克顿侵入加利福尼亚,并在该地区升起美国国旗p~Z0=2_guF。斯蒂芬·科尼没有开一枪就占领了新墨西哥首府圣达菲x[.|(KO0Zl#k;。不过,战争还没有结束vrzf9zE)fN^gF3K2w;_。总统波尔克的“短暂”战争已经持续了一年多,波尔克决定派一名特别外交代表前往墨西哥-~=I)V#T|!Hr9|。他赋予这位外交官权力,让他在墨西哥想停战时就和平条约进行谈判hw28LP_!b=scrp5
双方宣布停战,但是有关和平条约的谈判失败了k%S@UuMtrt[SB*fTj。圣塔安那试图利用停战为进行更多场战斗做准备,所以斯科特将军结束了停战,他的部队开始攻击墨西哥城~^&TN;O=a|le。战斗持续了一个星期,墨西哥政府投降了G.soTX[35k+XW~+v1。圣塔安那辞去总统职务,最高法院院长曼努埃尔·德拉佩纳·佩纳成为代理总统c&|^z-Av5xR。1848年2月2日,美国和墨西哥签署了和平条约8dizC]dt-hN*。墨西哥同意放弃加利福尼亚和新墨西哥,它将承认格兰德河作为德克萨斯的南部边界pO*VO,(A-U[(bm_I+bP8。美国将付给墨西哥1500万美元,墨西哥向美国支付三百多万美元,用以补偿墨西哥对美国公民的伤害6Jli_gAG4u&RiH
该条约的条款由总统波尔克制定,但他对加利福尼亚和新墨西哥的情况并不满意hvWb6N1g)+Z#。他想要更多的领土,但他意识到可能不得不通过战争的方式获取v[zAAVTt]0。他认为国会不会同意延长战争,所以波尔克把和平条约送到参议院=EWNXj)-PM7Vf7_51S(。参议院予以批准,墨西哥国会也批准了该条约,战争正式结束4YEEffeI7o。现在,美国面临的问题是如何处置新土地3@aPGuEB17HWlO。总统波尔克想在加利福尼亚州和新墨西哥州成立属地政府,他请求国会立即进行批准,但是奴隶制问题使国会无法快速行动qOnfTr+e&0t1SAo7。新领地是否应该允许或禁止蓄奴制8h8OMM6MSNp-h-l。南方人认为他们有权把奴隶带到新领地,而北方人则并不同意这种观点hAFJuTvD4wcDUj|@A4w。他们反对进一步扩沿奴隶制,真正的问题是:国会是否有权在领地上控制或禁止奴隶制PCPo6-in)E。在德克萨斯成为美国一个州之前,几乎所有国家领导人似乎都接受国会确实拥有这种权力的看法8-OQpo2@rx=。五十年来,国会通过了控制美国领土奴隶制的决议和法律9e!]P%oSA~oZ&j,09C。北方人相信宪法赋予了国会这种权力,而南方奴隶主并不同意,他们认为控制奴隶制的权力仍属于各州fx*^Wb*FClAn
有一些人认为可以采用密苏里州早期的折中法案来解决加利福尼亚州、俄勒冈州和新墨西哥州的奴隶制问题O5lj)J]qqf6cy4。他们建议把密苏里州的折中法案向西推进,直抵太平洋海岸HFEW_sIPDwa|R。该法案以北的地区没有奴隶制,而在南侧,允许奴隶制j2eonyd&qEdFJq-M。所有人都同意必须在这些新领地组建政府,但似乎没有办法能解决奴隶制问题C98e2zXQ+0~)~r9@。随后,一位来自特拉华州的参议员,同意担任负责处理新领地奴隶制问题特别委员会的主席x6-L_k66~OwUh,d。参议院委员会包括四名辉格党人和四名民主党人,北方和南方的代表人数相等7rrF6,yeYo=6w。在六天内,委员会就一项妥协法案达成一致L%%GvW~A@G6ehnduNj。这将是我们下周要讲述的故事-Z!_d|RB_X(QpTA^5

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译文为可可英语翻译,未经授权请勿转载!

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重点单词
  • surrenderv. 投降,让与,屈服 n. 投降,屈服,放弃
  • actingn. 演戏,行为,假装 adj. 代理的,临时的,供演出
  • constitutionn. 组织,宪法,体格
  • exilen. 放逐,流放,被放逐者 vt. 放逐,流放
  • recognizevt. 认出,认可,承认,意识到,表示感激
  • flagn. 旗,旗帜,信号旗 vt. (以旗子)标出 v. 无
  • spreadv. 伸展,展开,传播,散布,铺开,涂撒 n. 伸展,传
  • controln. 克制,控制,管制,操作装置 vt. 控制,掌管,支
  • diplomaticadj. 外交的,古字体的,老练的
  • transportationn. 运输,运输系统,运输工具