(单词翻译:单击)
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Welcome to THE MAKING OF A NATION – American history in VOA Special English. America's civil war in the eighteen sixties did not have the full support of the people. Many said they did not care who won -- North or South. They just wanted to be left alone. In the North, many young men refused to be drafted into the Union army. Some of their protests turned violent. Southern leaders were pleased with the anti-war movement in the North. Confederate General Robert E. Lee saw it as a sign of weakness in the northern war effort. He also saw it as an opening for a military victory. Lee hoped for a final, decisive blow that would bring the war to an end. This week in our series, Kay Gallant and Harry Monroe talk about General Lee's campaign north to Gettysburg, Pennsylvania.
Gettysburg was a small town. Many roads came together there. Robert E. Lee needed those roads to pull his army together quickly. He had seventy thousand men in all. But they were spread over a wide area of southern Pennsylvania. Some were at York, to the east. Some were at Carlisle, to the north. And most were at Chambersburg, to the west. All of them were ordered to move against the Union force at Gettysburg. General Robert E. Lee had not planned to go to Gettysburg. He had planned to capture Harrisburg, the state capital, and then Philadelphia. If successful, he would turn south to seize Baltimore and Washington. Lee had not worried about the large Union Army of the Potomac. He believed it was far behind him, in Virginia. But Lee was wrong. The Union Army had followed him. And it had reached Gettysburg first. The first group of northern soldiers formed a thin line of defense outside Gettysburg. The first group of southern soldiers attacked this line. It was the morning of July first, eighteen sixty-three. When the guns began to roar, both sides hurried more men to the front.
After hours of fighting, the Confederates had pushed the Union soldiers back through the town. The Union soldiers formed a new line along a place called Cemetery Hill. General Robert E. Lee decided not to attack the hill immediately. He would wait for more men. But as he waited, more and more Union soldiers arrived. By sunrise the next day, Lee's seventy thousand men faced a Union army of ninety thousand men. The Confederates attacked both sides of the Union line. They moved the Union soldiers a little. But then the Union soldiers came back again. The Confederates could not hold the line. The fighting stopped at sunset. Union commander George Meade met with his generals. He said he was sure General Lee would attack again the next day. The next attack, Meade said, would be against the center of the Union line. Meade was right. Lee planned to send fifteen thousand men against the Union center. They would be under the command of General George Pickett. When the sun rose on July third, the Union troops were ready. They watched as the Confederate troops set up their cannon. More than one hundred thirty of these big guns were aimed at the center of the Union line.
The morning passed. The day grew hotter. A little past one o'clock in the afternoon, a Confederate gun fired, once. Then again. That was the signal to attack. All at once, the Confederate artillery thundered with a deafening roar. The cannon sent iron and smoke into the Union soldiers on Cemetery Hill. Within minutes, hundreds lay dead or dying. Union artillery on the hill answered the Confederate cannon. Men lay flat on the ground. They prayed for the shelling to stop. Finally, it did. And the smoke of battle began to clear. Now the Union soldiers could see across the valley. They watched as the Confederate soldiers formed a long line. It was a sight to take your breath away. Facing Cemetery Hill, the Confederates stood shoulder to shoulder in a line almost two kilometers long. Sunlight shone from their guns. Their battle flags waved. Slowly, the line began to move. It seemed more like a parade than an attack. Shouts went up and down the Union line. "Here they come! Here come the rebels!"
Thousands of Confederate soldiers moved across the valley outside Gettysburg. Union artillery opened fire. The guns tore open big holes in the Confederate battle line. But the southerners kept moving forward up the hill. Union soldiers rose up from behind stone walls and fallen trees. They poured even more gunfire into the Confederate line. More and more bodies fell to the ground. Still, the line moved forward. A few Confederates reached the Union line, but not enough to seize it. They were shot down. Suddenly, the Confederates began racing down the hill. Many raised their hands in surrender. Fifteen thousand began the attack. Only half returned. The battle of Gettysburg was over. The Union commander, General Meade, was told that the Confederate attack had been broken. He said, simply: "Thank God." The Confederate commander, General Lee, said: "This has been a sad day for us, a sad day." Lee's invasion of the North had failed. There was only one thing he could do now: retreat. He must get his army back to Virginia. He could only hope that the Union Army was hurt too badly to chase him.
The line of wagons carrying wounded soldiers was twenty-five kilometers long. Many of the wounded needed treatment. But the wagons were not permitted to stop for any reason. Suffering was terrible. An officer who led the wagon train said he learned more about the horrors of war on that one trip than he had learned in all of his battles. Twenty thousand Confederate soldiers were killed, wounded, or listed as missing in the battle of Gettysburg. Twenty-three thousand Union soldiers were killed, wounded or missing. General Meade lost so many men that he was in no hurry to chase General Lee. He believed it might be best to let Lee escape than to take a chance on losing what remained of the Army of the Potomac. Meade waited for a week until his army was stronger. But by then, Lee and his men had crossed safely back into Virginia.
President Abraham Lincoln was angry. He had told General Meade that driving the Confederates out of the North was not enough. The southern army must be destroyed. "We had them," Lincoln said. "We had only to stretch out our hands and take them. And nothing I could do or say could make the army move." President Lincoln believed that General Meade had made a mistake. But he felt that the general had ability. Lincoln was thankful for what Meade had done at Gettysburg. He said Meade would continue to command the Army of the Potomac. In November of eighteen sixty-three, President Lincoln went to Gettysburg. He attended the opening of a new burial place for the Union soldiers who had died in the great battle there. The governor of Pennsylvania had asked the president to say a few words at the ceremony. Lincoln agreed. He felt it was his duty to go to honor the brave men who lost their lives to save the Union. Lincoln hoped his words might help lift the spirit of the nation. Lincoln did not have much time to prepare his speech. He wrote it down the night before the ceremony. Lincoln was sure the speech was not a good one. But it came to be one of the most famous speeches in American history. We will tell the story of Abraham Lincoln's Gettysburg Address next week.
重点解析
1.worry about 担心;烦恼
Don't worry about me; I'm very well.
别为我担心,我很好
2.set up 设置;设立
He set up a stand on the pedlars' market.
他在集贸市场上设了个摊位
3.all at once 忽然;突然
I feel terribly sleepy all at once.
我突然觉得特别困
。4.in hurry 急急忙忙;赶快
He is in hurry to buy a car.
他急于买一辆汽车
。参考译文
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葛底斯堡是一座小镇,许多道路都在那里汇聚 。罗伯特·E·李要借助这些道路迅速把军队整合起来 。他总共有七万将士,但他们分布在宾夕法尼亚州南部的广大区域 。有些部队部署在东边的约克,有些则在北方的卡莱尔 。大多数士兵都在西边的钱伯斯堡,所有人都接到命令,要在葛底斯堡对抗联邦的部队 。罗伯特·E·李将军不打算去葛底斯堡,他计划先占领州首都哈里斯堡,然后攻打费城 。如果成功的话,他会转向南方占领巴尔的摩和华盛顿 。李将军并不担心波托马克规模庞大的军团,他认为军团在弗吉尼亚州,远远落后于他身后 。但李将军估计错了,联邦军队跟随着他,已经首先到达葛底斯堡 。第一批北方士兵在葛底斯堡城外形成了一条细密的防线,第一批南方士兵在1863年7月1日清晨,袭击了这道防线 。枪声响起时,双方都催促派出更多士兵赶往前线 。
经过几小时的激战,联盟国部队已经迫使联邦军退回城镇 。联邦士兵沿着一个叫公墓山的地方排成一条新战线 。罗伯特·E·李将军决定不立即攻击小山,他要等更多士兵到来 。但就在他等待之时,越来越多的联邦士兵抵达 。第二天日出前,李将军的七万士兵面对的是九万人的联邦军部队 。联盟国军队袭击了联邦军的两翼部队,使联邦士兵后撤了一些, 但随后联邦军再次返回 。联盟国军队没办控制住这条防线了 。战斗在日落时分停止了 。联邦军指挥官乔治·米德会见了他的将军 。他说他确信李将军第二天会再次发动进攻 。米德表示,下一次袭击将攻击联盟军战线的中心部位 。米德说的没错,李将军计划派遣一万五千名将士进攻联邦军的中心区 。他们将在乔治·皮克特将军的指挥下作战 。7月3日太阳升起时,联邦军队已经做好备战准备 。他们看着联盟国部队安装大炮,130多门大炮瞄准了联邦军的中线 。
上午过去了,天变得越来越热 。下午刚过一点钟,联盟国的一把枪开火了,接着又一枪,再一枪,这是进攻的信号 。突然,联盟国的大炮发出震耳欲聋的轰鸣声,铁弹和烟雾射向公墓山上的联邦士兵 。几分钟之内,数百名将士阵亡 。山上的联邦军炮兵回应着联盟国部队的大炮,士兵们平躺在地上,祈祷着炮击停止 。终于,炮火攻击结束了 。战斗的硝烟开始消散 。 现在联邦军可以看到山谷的另一边,他们看着联盟国士兵排起长队,那景象让人屏息 。联盟国部队面对公墓山站立,肩并肩地排成两公里长的队伍 。阳光照在他们的枪上,反射出耀眼的光亮 。他们的战旗飘扬,战线开始慢慢地移动,看起来更像是游行,而不是袭击 。联邦军中传出此起彼伏的呼喊声:“他们来了!叛军来了!”
数千名联盟国士兵穿过葛底斯堡外的山谷,联邦军的炮兵开火了 。炮火在联盟国战线上炸开了一个巨大的缺口,但是联盟国士兵继续向山上挺进 。联邦军从石墙和倒下的树木后面站起来,更密集地向联盟国阵线开火 。越来越多的尸体倒在地上 。当时,战线仍在前移 。一些联盟国士兵已到达联邦战线,但还无法占领它,士兵们被击毙 。突然,联盟国士兵开始往山下跑 。许多人举手投降 。一万五千人开始的进攻,只有一半人生还 。葛底斯堡战役结束了 。联邦军指挥官米德将军得知,联盟国部队的进攻已经被击溃 。他只是说了句:“感谢上帝 。”联盟国指挥官李将军说:“这对我们来说是一个悲痛的日子,令人感到悲哀的一天 。”李将军入侵北方失败了,他现在只能做一件事,那就是撤退,他必须把军队带回弗吉尼亚州 。他只能希望联邦军队受到重创,无法追击他 。
运送伤员的一列货车有二十五公里长,许多伤员都需要治疗 。但是,由于某些原因,货车不允许停车 。这番遭遇非常可怕 。一位指挥这列货车的军官说,他在那次行程中了解到战争的恐怖,比他在参与的所有战斗中所学到的都要多 。在葛底斯堡战役中,共有两万名联盟国士兵丧生、受伤或失踪 。两万三千名联邦军丧生、受伤或失踪 。米德将军损失惨重,他并不急于追击李将军 。他认为,让李将军逃走可能比冒险损失波托马克军团的残余兵力更好 。米德等了一个星期,直到他的军队变得更加强大 。但到那时,李将军和他的部队已经安全返回弗吉尼亚州 。
总统亚伯拉罕·林肯很气愤,他告诉米德将军,把联盟国部队赶出北方是不够的,必须把它们一网打尽 。“我们曾把他们握于股掌之间,”林肯说 。“我们要做的只是伸出手去抓住他们,北军按兵不动,我无话可说,爱莫能助 。”林肯总统认为米德将军犯了一个错误,但他觉得将军很有能力 。林肯感谢米德在葛底斯堡战役中所做的一切,他说让米德将军继续指挥波托马克军团 。1863年11月,林肯总统前往葛底斯堡 。他参加了为在那场伟大战役中阵亡的联邦士兵而设立的新墓地的开幕式 。宾夕法尼亚州州长请求总统在仪式上讲几句话,林肯同意了 。他觉得有责任去纪念那些为拯救联邦而牺牲生命的勇士们 。林肯希望他的话语有助于振奋民族精神 。林肯的演讲准备的很仓促,他在典礼前一天晚上把它写了下来 。林肯确信这次演讲不会太理想,但它却成为美国历史上最著名的演讲之一 。我们将在下周讲述亚伯拉罕·林肯在葛底斯堡发表演讲的故事 。
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