(单词翻译:单击)
听力文本
Welcome to the MAKING OF A NATION – American history in VOA Special English. During the first half of the nineteenth century, leaders of the United States could find no answer to the question of slavery. The dispute grew more threatening after the war with Mexico in eighteen forty-nine. Northern states refused to permit slavery in the new territories of California and New Mexico. Southern states declared that they had a constitutional right to bring slaves into the new lands. The South was ready to secede -- leave and break up the Union of states. Then, in eighteen fifty, Senator Henry Clay of Kentucky offered a compromise to avoid secession, and a likely war between the North and the South. He said the Union was permanent and created for all future Americans. He attacked the South's claim that it had the right to leave. He warned that the war which would follow southern secession would be long and bloody. This week in our series, Jack Moyles and Lew Roland continue the story of the Compromise of Eighteen Fifty.
Extremists on both sides opposed Clay's compromise proposals. So did President Taylor. The president had hoped that Webster, Clay, and other Whig Party leaders would support his own limited plan of statehood for California. The president's feelings were hurt when none of the party leaders thought that his idea was important. The president's chief adviser, Senator Seward of New York, was also against Clay's proposals. Seward strongly opposed slavery and did not believe it was right to compromise on it. One week after Clay spoke, Senator Jefferson Davis of Mississippi explained his position. He did not say much about Clay's proposed compromise. Davis was sure that no good would result from it, not even from stronger laws on the return of escaped slaves. He said these laws would not be enforced in states where people opposed slavery. Senator Davis said that what was needed was a change in the North's policy toward the South. He said the North must recognize the rights of southerners, especially the right to take slave property into territories of the United States. Davis said Congress had no right to destroy or limit this right. He admitted that the old Missouri compromise of eighteen twenty had limited the right to take slaves into the territories. He said the eighteen twenty compromise worked -- not because Congress passed it -- but because the states agreed to it.
Senator Davis said the North was responsible for the growing split, because the North was trying to get complete control of the South. He said if these efforts were not stopped, the North some day would be powerful enough to change the Constitution and end slavery everywhere. Davis warned that the South would never accept this. Three weeks later, the Senate heard another southern leader, Senator John C. Calhoun. For years, Calhoun was the voice of the South. He now was sixty-eight years old and a sick man. He would die within a month. Calhoun had been too ill to hear Clay's speech. He spent the last week in February writing what he believed to be the true position of the South. On Sunday, March third, it was announced that Calhoun would speak in the Senate the next day. Most understood that it would be his last speech. The Senate was crowded when Calhoun entered. One by one, friends came up to speak to him. The old man's long, gray hair fell to his shoulders. His face was thin and white. But his eyes were bright and his jaw firm. Calhoun was too weak to read his speech. He asked Senator Mason to read it for him. Calhoun said that for a long time he had believed that the dispute over slavery -- if not settled -- would end in disunion. Calhoun said it was clear now to everyone that the Union was breaking apart, that the ties that had held the North and South together were breaking, one by one.
Three churches, once united across the nation, now were split between North and South. The two major political parties, he declared, were divided in the same way. Calhoun said the North was responsible for all this, because it had destroyed the political balance between the two parts of the country. As the population of the North had grown large, he noted, that part of the country had seized political and economic control. The North had passed tariff bills that the South opposed. It had filled most of the offices in the federal government. It closed the new territories to southern slaveholders. And, said Calhoun, it had viciously attacked the southern institution of slavery. The situation was so bad, Calhoun said, that the South could not -- with honor and safety -- remain in the Union. "How can the Union be saved?" he asked. Not by the compromise proposed by the senator from Kentucky. There is but one way. A full and final settlement, with justice, of all the questions disputed by the two sections. "The South asks for justice, simple justice, and less she ought not to take. She has no compromise to offer but the Constitution, and no concession or surrender to make. She has already surrendered so much that she has little left to surrender." Then Calhoun listed the things the North must do to satisfy the South. He said it must give the South an equal right in the new territories of the West. It must make people obey the laws on the return of runaway slaves. It must agree to an amendment to the constitution that would return political balance to North and South. And it must stop the attacks against slavery.
If all these things were not done, Calhoun said, then it would be better to separate, to part in peace. But if the North refused a peaceful separation, then the South would be faced with the choice of surrender or fight. "The South will know what to do," said Calhoun. When Calhoun finished his speech to the Senate, southern lawmakers crowded around the old man, congratulating him. But many of them could not agree with his extreme demands and the violence of his words. His appeal was too late. Most southerners believed that Clay's proposals were a reasonable way to settle the difference and protect the union. Clay was worried that his compromise might be defeated by northern votes. Many in the North felt slavery was wrong. They opposed the compromise, because it might permit slavery in the New Mexico territory, and because it called for stronger laws on the return of slaves who had escaped to the North. Eight days before he first proposed the compromise, Clay visited Senator Daniel Webster of Massachusetts. A friend of Webster's described the meeting in these words: "Mister Clay came to Mister Webster's house and had a long talk with him about the best way to settle the difficulties growing out of slavery and the new territories. I heard part of their conversation."
"Mister Clay left after about an hour. Mister Webster called me to his side and spoke to me of Mister Clay in words of great kindness. He said he agreed generally with Mister Clay, that he thought Mister Clay's purpose was great and highly patriotic." "He said Mister Clay seemed to be very weak and had a very bad cough, that he was sure Mister Clay wanted to do something for the good of his country during the little time he had left on Earth. Mister Webster said further that he thought Mister Clay's plan was one that should be satisfactory to the North and to the reasonable men of the South. He said he believed that he could support all of it and would work for its approval in the Senate." Webster planned to speak in support of Clay's proposal. But he would wait until the best time for declaring it. He decided to make it on March seventh, just three days after Calhoun's speech was read to the Senate. Webster was sixty-eight years old, as old as Calhoun. His voice was weaker now. But his words rang with the same strength as years earlier.
重点解析
1.refuse to 拒绝；不肯
I refuse to honour your bill.
我拒绝兑现你的票据。
2.be ready to 准备好；准备做某事
They'll be ready to embrace the new technology when it arrives.
他们随时准备迎接新技术的问世。
3.break apart 分裂；分解
This piane feeis Iike it's gonna break apart.
看上去这飞机要粉身碎骨了。
4.decide to 决定；决定去做
If you decide to do you own make-up, here are a few valuable tips that will help you look your best.
如果你决定自己化妆，这里有一些有用的小窍门，可以帮助你呈现最美的一面。
参考译文
欢迎收听VOA慢速英语之建国史话节目。在19世纪上半叶，美国的领导人无法找到解决奴隶制问题的答案。这场争端在1849年与墨西哥之间爆发战争之后变得更具威胁性。北方各州拒绝在加利福尼亚州和新墨西哥州的新领地内允许实施奴隶制，南方各州宣布他们拥有宪法赋予的权利，可以把奴隶带到新的土地上。南方已经准备脱离联邦——离开联邦并与联邦断绝关系。在1850年，肯塔基州参议员亨利·克莱提出了一项折衷法案以避免分裂的发生，和南北方之间可能爆发的战争。他说联邦是永久性的，是为所有未来的美国人而建立的。他攻击了南方声称它有权离开联邦的说法。他警告说，在南方脱离联邦之后爆发的战争将是漫长而血腥的。在本周的系列节目中，杰克·莫伊尔斯和卢·罗兰将继续讲述1850年折衷法案的故事。
双方的极端分子都反对克莱提出的折衷法案，总统泰勒也持有相同的态度。总统曾希望韦伯斯特、克莱和辉格党其他领导人支持自己对加利福尼亚授予有限制条件的州制计划。当没有任何政党的领导人认为他的想法很重要时，总统感到受到了伤害。总统的首席顾问，纽约州参议员西沃德，也反对克莱的提议。西沃德强烈反对奴隶制，认为在奴隶制上妥协是不对的。在克莱发表演说一周后，密西西比州参议员杰斐逊·戴维斯解释了他的立场。他对克莱提出的折衷法案没有发表意见。戴维斯确信，这样做不会带来任何好处，对逃亡奴隶遣返加强法律管束也更不会产生益处。他表示，在那些反对奴隶制的各州，不会执行这些法律。参议员戴维斯说，现在需要将北方对南方的政策进行调整。他说，北方必须承认南方人的权利，特别是把奴隶带进美国领土的权利。戴维斯说，国会无权破坏或限制这种权利。他承认，1820年旧版密苏里州折衷法案限制了把奴隶带进领土的权利。1820年的折衷法案发挥了作用不是因为国会通过了该法案，而是因为各州对法案表示同意。
参议员戴维斯说，北方对日益加剧的分裂负有责任，因为北方正试图完全控制南方。如果不停止这些做法，北方总有一天会因过度强大而得以改变宪法，终结各地的奴隶制。戴维斯警告说，南方永远不会接受这一点。三周后，参议院听取了另一位南方领袖参议员约翰·C·卡尔霍恩的演讲。多年来，卡尔霍恩一直代表南方发声。他现在68岁，病痛缠身，可能在一个月内就会去世。卡尔霍恩病情严重，无法去听克莱的演讲。他在二月份最后一个星期里撰写了他所认为的南方的真正地位。3月3日，星期天，国会宣布卡尔霍恩将于周一在参议院发表演讲。大多数人都知道这将是他最后一次发言。当卡尔霍恩进入参议院时，里面已经人满为患。朋友们纷纷走过来和他说话，年迈的卡尔霍恩长长的灰发垂在肩上，他的面孔消瘦而苍白，但双眼明亮、下巴紧绷。卡尔霍恩身体太过虚弱，无法宣读自己的演讲稿，他邀请参议员梅森为他宣读。卡尔霍恩说，很长一段时间以来，他都相信关于奴隶制的争论，如果不能得到解决，将会分裂联邦。卡尔霍恩说，现在大家都清楚，联邦正在瓦解，联结南北双方的纽带正在一个接一个地断裂。
曾经在全国范围内联合在一起的三种教派，现在在南北两方分裂。他宣称，两个主要政党也在以同样的方式分裂。北方对此负有所有责任，因为它破坏了美国两个地区之间的政治平衡。他指出，随着北方人口的增长，该地区已经控制了美国的政治和经济。北方通过了南方反对的关税法案，联邦政府的大部分办公室里都是北方人，北方向南方奴隶主关闭了新领地，它还曾恶意攻击南方的奴隶制制度。着荣耀安全地留在联邦。“如何拯救联邦？”他问道。不能依靠肯塔基州参议员提出的折衷方案，解决办法只有一个。两方争论的所有问题，以公正的方式，最终获得全面和解。“南方寻求正义，简单的公正，绝不妥协。除了宪法，没有折衷方案可以提供，也没有让步或投降。她已经屈从太多，所剩无几。”然后，卡尔霍恩列出了北方必须做的一些事情，以此来满足南方的要求。他说，必须赋予南方在西部新领地上拥有平等的权利，必须让人们遵守返还逃跑奴隶的法律，必须同意宪法修正案，以恢复南北政治平衡，还必须阻止对奴隶制的攻击。
卡尔霍恩说，如果所有这些事情都不能完成，那么最好是分开，和平地分开。但如果北方拒绝和平分离，那么南方将要在投降或战斗之间做出选择。“南方人知道该怎么做，”卡尔霍恩说。卡尔霍恩在参议院结束演讲后，南方的议员们围住这位老人，向他表示祝贺。但他们中的许多人都不同意他的极端要求和过激的言辞。他的诉求来得太晚了，大多数南方人都认为克莱的提议是解决分歧和保护联邦的合理途径。克莱担心他的折衷法案可能会因北方的投票而被击败。许多北方人认为奴隶制是错误的，他们反对这个折衷法案，因为该法案允许在新墨西哥州的领土上实施奴隶制，而且因为它要求对逃到北方的奴隶实行更强有力的法律。在克莱首次提出折衷法案的八天前，他拜访了马萨诸塞州的参议员丹尼尔·韦伯斯特。韦伯斯特的一位朋友用这样的话对会议进行了描述：“克莱先生来到韦伯斯特先生的家，和他长谈，讨论解决奴隶制和新领地所引发的困难的最佳方法。我听到他们的部分谈话。”
“克莱先生大约一小时后就离开了，韦伯斯特先生把我叫到他身边，用充满慈爱的话语和我交谈。他说，他大体上同意克莱先生的观点，认为克莱先生的目的是崇高的，也非常爱国。” “他说克莱先生看起来非常虚弱，咳嗽很严重，他确信克莱先生在所剩不多的时间里想报效国家。韦伯斯特先生进一步说，他认为克莱先生的计划应该会让北方人和南方那些理性的人感到满意。他说，他相信自己可以支持所有的计划，并将在参议院努力使其获得批准。”韦伯斯特打算发言支持克莱的建议，但他会等待宣布消息的最佳时机。他决定在3月7日，也就是卡尔霍恩向参议院宣读演讲的三天后，做出这一决定。韦伯斯特68岁，和卡尔霍恩年龄相当。他的声音现在变得很虚弱，但他的话语和几年前一样有力。
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