(单词翻译:单击)
听力文本
Welcome to THE MAKING OF A NATION -- American history in VOA Special English. In eighteen sixty-three, Union forces defeated Confederate forces in the bloodiest battle of the American Civil War -- the Battle of Gettysburg. Soon after that, the Union won another important victory, seizing Vicksburg, Mississippi. This week in our series, Kay Gallant and Harry Monroe continue our story of the Civil War with the Battle of Vicksburg. In November eighteen sixty-three, President Lincoln traveled to Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. He spoke at the opening of a military cemetery. He felt very tired by the time he got back to Washington. Doctors thought he had a cold. Later, they said he had a weak form of smallpox. The president remained in bed. Few visitors could see him. There was a danger the smallpox could spread. Lincoln got better after a few weeks. He began working on his yearly message to Congress. After two-and-a-half years of war, he had good news to report. Union armies had gained two important victories at about the same time.
One was the battle of Gettysburg. Union forces led by General George Meade had defeated Confederate forces led by General Robert E. Lee. They pushed Lee back into Virginia. It was the last Confederate invasion of the North. The day after the battle of Gettysburg, Union forces defeated Confederate forces at Vicksburg, Mississippi. This victory gave them control of the Mississippi River. And it split the states of the Confederacy. Union General Ulysses Grant had been trying to seize Vicksburg for several months. It was not easy. Vicksburg lay on the east side of the Mississippi River. It was built high above the water on a rocky cliff. As the river flowed past Vicksburg, it turned in sharply at the base of the cliff and then continued on to the Gulf of Mexico. The Confederates had placed cannon all along the sharp turn in the river. Enemy boats sailing past, made easy targets. General Grant began the campaign for Vicksburg in late eighteen sixty-two. His army was west of the Mississippi River. He needed to get to the other side to attack the city.
First, Grant planned to cross the river into northern Mississippi state. Then he would march south to Vicksburg. He crossed the river. But Confederate forces destroyed his transportation and supply lines. He withdrew. Early in eighteen sixty-three, he tried again. This time, he planned to sail his men past Vicksburg. They would cross the river a little downstream, turn and attack. Grant moved forty thousand men to a point ten kilometers from Vicksburg. He told the men to put down their guns and take up digging tools. They would build a canal to carry them past the turn in the river, past the Confederate cannon. For weeks, the Union soldiers worked on the canal. They dug through mud and wet clay. Many died of disease. After more than a month of digging, engineers decided that the canal would not work. Grant ordered the men to build another canal. Then another. They did not work, either. By this time, the Union soldiers had become experts at digging canals. One of them said: "As soon as the canals at Vicksburg are finished, we are going to cut a canal across the upper part of Florida. We will cut that state off from the Confederacy, and give it to the alligators!"
Finally, in April, eighteen sixty-three, Grant gave up all ideas of getting past Vicksburg without a fight. He decided to march most of his men down the west side of the river to a steamboat landing thirty kilometers below Vicksburg. He would send his navy boats past the city at night and hope for the best. It took three weeks for Grant's men to reach the steamboat landing. The roads were very rough. In many places, they were covered with water. Engineers had to cut trees and cover the muddy roads with logs so wagons would not sink. They had to build bridges over the many streams. On the night of April sixteenth, the Union navy made its run past Vicksburg. Eight gunboats and three empty troop boats floated down the dark river. Their engines were silent. The Confederates, however, had built fires along the river. They saw the Union boats and began to shoot. They hit most of the boats, but destroyed only one. The damaged boats reached safety below the city. On the last day of April, the Union troop boats began carrying soldiers to the east side of the river. About twenty-three thousand men crossed. Right away, they faced a force of eight thousand Confederate soldiers. They drove the Confederates back.
Grant then ordered the rest of his army to cross to the east side of the river. Some of his officers protested. They said it would be impossible to get supplies to a large army east of the river. Grant was not worried about supplies. He said the men should bring only coffee, hard bread, and salt. Anything else could be taken from the farmers of Mississippi. Their homes, he said, were full of food. Grant decided not to throw his men against the strong defenses around Vicksburg immediately. Instead, he marched them east toward Jackson, the state capital. Jackson was the supply base for the Confederate army defending Vicksburg. Grant wanted to cut the supply lines between the two cities. He also wanted to prevent the soldiers in Jackson from joining the soldiers in Vicksburg. Grant captured Jackson easily. He left some troops to destroy enemy supplies. He took the remaining troops and turned back toward Vicksburg. Grant attacked Vicksburg several times. Each time, his troops were thrown back. The city's defenses were too strong. Grant then decided to surround the city and wait until its food was gone. That, he thought, would make the Confederates surrender. Grant closed in with men and artillery. As one soldier wrote: "The circle of Union forces around the city was so tight that a cat could not have crept out without being discovered." Nothing could get out. Nothing could get in.
Weeks passed. The Union army shelled the city. The Confederate army answered from time to time. Food supplies dropped. There was little to eat except corn bread and the meat of mules. Some people caught rats and ate them. Finally, the Confederate commander, General John Pemberton, decided the situation was hopeless. He sent word to Grant that he was ready to discuss surrender. The two commanders met under a white flag of truce. Grant demanded unconditional surrender. Pemberton rejected the demand. Pemberton's men were to be prisoners. That was a fact. But Pemberton wanted them released immediately on parole. He told Grant that his men would promise to stay out of the war if permitted to return to their homes. If not, he said, they would continue to fight. Grant agreed to let the Confederate soldiers go home. He and Pemberton signed the surrender agreement on July fourth. The siege of Vicksburg had lasted forty-seven days. Never had a Union army won such a victory. Grant had taken thirty thousand Confederate soldiers out of the war. He had captured sixty thousand guns and one hundred seventy cannons. These were serious losses for the Confederacy. It already was low on manpower and weapons. But an even greater loss was the control of the Mississippi River. With Vicksburg in Union hands, the North could control the whole length of the river. And the confederacy was split badly.
重点解析
1.soon after 不久之后；很快
He and Liz became lovers soon after they first met.
他和莉兹初次见面后不久就成了情侣。
2.at the base of 在......的底部；在......的基部
At the base of the model is the network interface layer.
模型的底层是网络接口层。
3.as soon as 一......就；一怎么样就怎么样
As soon as we found this out, we closed the ward.
我们一发现此事就关闭了病房。
4.decide to 决定去做；决定要
If the Conservatives got in they might decide to change it.
如果保守党赢得选举，他们可能会决定改变这一现状。
参考译文
欢迎收听VOA慢速英语之建国史话节目。1863年，联邦军在美国内战中最血腥的战役——葛底斯堡战役中击败了联盟国部队。不久之后，联邦又赢得了另一个重要胜利，占领了密西西比州的维克斯堡。本周，在我们的系列节目中，凯·格兰特和哈里·门罗继续讲述内战中维克斯堡战役的故事。1863年11月，林肯总统前往宾夕法尼亚州的葛底斯堡。他在一个军事公墓的落成典礼上发表讲话。他返回华盛顿时感到很疲惫，医生认为他得了感冒。后来，他们说他患上一种弱型天花。总统卧病在床，很少有人能见他。天花有传染的危险。几周后林肯的病情好转了，他开始为一年一度向国会发表的国情咨文做准备。经历了两年半的战争，他有好消息要报告。联邦军队在大约同一时间取得了两次重要胜利。
一场是葛底斯堡战役。乔治·米德将军率领的联邦军击败了罗伯特·E·李将军率领的联盟国部队。他们把李将军赶回弗吉尼亚州，这是联盟国部队最后一次入侵北方。葛底斯堡战役的第二天，联邦军在密西西比州的维克斯堡击败了联盟国部队。这次胜利使他们控制了密西西比河，它分裂了联盟国各州。尤利西斯·格兰特将军数月来一直试图占领维克斯堡。这不是一件易事。维克斯堡位于密西西比河的东岸。它高高地建在水面上的岩石悬崖之上。当这条河流过维克斯堡时，它在悬崖底部急转直下，然后继续流向墨西哥湾。联盟国在河的急转弯处放置了大炮，敌军船只驶过时，很容易成为攻击的目标。格兰特将军于1862年底打响了维克斯堡战役。他的军队部署在密西西比河以西的地段，他需要到对岸去攻打这座城市。
格兰特计划先过河进入密西西比州北部，然后他向南行至维克斯堡。他跨过了这条河。但是联盟国摧毁了他的运输和补给线，于是他撤军了。1863年初，他又一次进军。这一次，他计划让部队乘船经过维克斯堡。他们会在下游处过河，然后回转部队再进攻。格兰特把四万人转移到离维克斯堡十公里的地方。他告诉部下放下枪，拿起挖掘工具。他们要修建一条运河，把士兵运过河流的转弯处，越过联盟国的大炮。 几个星期来，联邦士兵都在修建运河。他们在泥土和湿粘土中挖着，许多人死于各种疾病。经过一个多月的挖掘，工程师们确定这条运河不行。格兰特命令士兵再建一条运河。然后又建了一条，但这些运河都不行。此时，联邦军已经成为挖掘运河的专家。其中一人说：“维克斯堡的运河一完工，我们就要在佛罗里达州的上游开凿一条运河。我们要让这个州与联盟国分离，把它喂鳄鱼！“
最后，在1863年4月，格兰特放弃了所有不开战就能通过维克斯堡的想法。他决定带领大部分部队，沿着河的西岸走到维克斯堡下方30公里处的一艘汽船上。他会派海军舰艇在夜间经过这座城市，并希望一切顺利。格兰特的部队花了三周才登上汽船。道路非常崎岖，许多地方都被水覆盖了。工程师们不得不砍倒树木，用圆木覆盖泥泞的道路，这样货车就不会下沉。他们不得不在许多溪流上建桥。4月16日夜间，联邦海军经过维克斯堡。八艘炮艇和三艘空的军艇沿着黑暗的河水漂流而下。他们的发动机没有发出一点声音。然而，联盟国沿着河边生火。他们看到了联盟军的船只就开始射击，他们袭击了大多数船只，但只摧毁了一艘。受损的船只抵达城市下方的安全地带。在四月的最后一天，联邦军部队的巡逻艇开始把士兵运送到河的东岸。大约有2.3万人过了河。他们马上就要迎战一支由8000名联盟国士兵组成的部队。他们迫使联盟国士兵后撤。
格兰特随后命令其余兵力横渡到河的东岸。一些军官提出抗议，他们说无法向河东岸的大军提供补给。格兰特并不担心供给问题，他说士兵只应该带咖啡、硬面包和盐。其他任何东西都可以从密西西比州的农民那里拿。他说，农民们的家里全是食物。格兰特决定不立即派士兵去攻打维克斯堡周围坚固的防御工事，相反，他让他们向东行进至州首府杰克逊。杰克逊是保卫维克斯堡的联盟国士兵的补给基地，格兰特想切断这两座城市之间的供应线。他还想阻止驻派在杰克逊的士兵与维克斯堡的士兵联手。格兰特轻而易举地占领了杰克逊，他留下一些士兵去摧毁敌人的补给。格兰特带着剩下的部队，转身前往维克斯堡。格兰特多次攻击维克斯堡，他的部队每次都被击退。这座城市的防御攻势太强。格兰特决定包围它，等着城中的食物耗尽。他认为，这样联盟国就得投降了。格兰特与士兵和炮兵部队一起作战。一名士兵写到：“城市周围环绕的联邦军队非常紧密，连猫都无法偷偷爬出来。”什么都出不来，什么也进不去。
几个星期过去了，联邦军炮击了这座城市。联盟国部队不时地予以回应。食品供应变少，除了玉米面包和骡子肉以外，几乎没什么可吃的。有些人都抓老鼠吃。最后，联盟国部队的指挥官约翰·彭伯顿将军认为局势糟糕透顶。他捎信给格兰特，说已经准备好讨论投降的问题。两名指挥官在白色停战旗下会面，格兰特要求无条件投降，彭伯顿拒绝了这个要求。彭伯顿的士兵将遭到囚禁，这是事实。但彭伯顿希望他们立即假释。他告诉格兰特，如果允许他的部下回家，他们保证不再参战。如果这样不行的话，他们将继续战斗。格兰特同意让联盟国士兵回家，他和彭伯顿于7月4日签署投降协议。维克斯堡的围攻持续了47天。从来没有一支联邦军赢得过这样的胜利，格兰特把3万名联盟国士兵从战争中解救出来。他缴获了6万支枪和170门大炮。这些对联盟国来说是非常严重的损失，其人力和武器已经不足。但更大的损失，是对密西西比河的控制。联邦军占领维克斯堡，北方可以控制整条河，而联盟国却惨遭分裂。
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