(单词翻译:单击)
听力文本
Welcome to the MAKING OF A NATION – American history in VOA Special English. Theodore Roosevelt became president of the United States at the beginning of the nineteen hundreds. He firmly believed in expanding American power in the world. To do this, he wanted a strong navy. And he wanted a waterway that would let the navy sail quickly between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. Roosevelt decided to build that waterway. This week in our series, Richard Rael and Maurice Joyce tell the story of the Panama Canal. For many years, people had dreamed of building a canal across Central America to link the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. The most likely place was at the thinnest point of land: Panama. Another possible place was to the north: Nicaragua. President Roosevelt appointed a committee to decide which place would be better.
Engineers said it would cost less to complete a canal that had been started in the eighteen eighties in Panama. But, the United States would have to buy the land and building rights from a French company. The price was high: more than one hundred million dollars. So, the committee decided it would be less costly, overall, to build a canal in Nicaragua. The proposal went to the United States Congress for approval. The House of Representatives quickly passed a bill to build the Nicaragua canal. Then the French company reduced its price for the land and building rights in Panama. It decided some money was better than no money at all. President Roosevelt was pleased. He gave his support to the Panama plan. When the Senate began debate, however, it appeared the Nicaragua plan would win. Then a volcano exploded in the Caribbean area. A city was destroyed. Thirty-thousand people were killed. Soon, reports said another volcano had become active and was threatening a town. The volcano was in Nicaragua. Nicaragua's president denied there were any active volcanoes in his country. But one of Nicaragua's postal stamps showed a picture of an exploding volcano. That little stamp weakened support for the Nicaragua canal. The Senate passed a bill for a Panama canal instead. The House of Representatives changed its earlier decision. It approved the Senate bill.
At that time, Panama was a state of Colombia. Canal negotiations between America and Colombia did not go smoothly. After nine months, the United States threatened to end the talks and begin negotiations with Nicaragua. The threat worked. In January nineteen-oh-three, Colombia signed a treaty to permit the United States to build the Panama Canal. The treaty gave the United States a canal zone. This was a piece of land ten kilometers wide across Panama. The United States could use the canal zone for one hundred years. In exchange, it would pay Colombia ten million dollars, plus two hundred fifty thousand dollars a year. The United States Senate passed the treaty within two months. The Colombian Senate rejected it. The Colombian government demanded more money. President Roosevelt was furious. He saw the issue in terms of world politics, not simply Colombia's sovereignty. He said: "I do not think Colombia should be permitted to bar permanently one of the future highways of civilization." Roosevelt was ready to take over Panama to build the canal. That was not necessary. A revolt was being planned in Panama to gain independence from Colombia. The United States made no promises to support the rebels. But it wanted the rebels to succeed.
Under an old treaty, Colombia had given the United States the right to prevent interference with travel across Panama. Now, the United States used the old treaty to prevent interference from Colombian troops. Several American warships were sent to Panama. The local leader of the Panamanian revolt was Manuel Amador. Amador had the support of the French company that still owned the rights to build the Panama Canal. The chief representative of the company was Philippe Bunau-Varilla. He worked closely with an American lawyer, William Cromwell. Bunau-Varilla and Cromwell provided Manuel Amador with a declaration of independence, a constitution, and money. Amador used the money to buy the support of the Colombian military commander in Panama City, the capital. He also got the support of the governor, who agreed to let himself be arrested on the day of the revolt. Amador formed a small army of railroad workers and fire fighters. The rebel army planned to take over Panama City on November fourth, nineteen-oh-three. Just before that date, five hundred Colombian soldiers landed at Colon, eighty kilometers away. The soldiers could not get to Panama City, however. All but one railroad car had been moved to the capital. Manuel Amador gave a signal. The revolution began. There was a little shooting, but no one was hurt. Most of the shots were fired into the air to celebrate the call for Panama's independence. Colombian officials were arrested quickly. Then Amador made a speech.
He said: "Yesterday, we were slaves of Colombia. Today, we are free. President Theodore Roosevelt has kept his word. Long live the Republic of Panama! Long live President Roosevelt!" Colombia asked the United States to help it re-gain control of Panama. The United States refused. It said it would oppose any attempt by Colombia to send more forces there. The United States also recognized Panama's independence. And, almost immediately, it started negotiations with the new government on a canal treaty. The two sides reached agreement quickly. The treaty was almost the same as the one the Colombian Senate had rejected earlier. This time, however, the canal zone would be sixteen kilometers wide, instead of ten. And the United States would get permanent control of the canal zone. The treaty was signed on November eighteenth, nineteen-oh-three. That was just fifteen days after Panama declared its independence. Colombia protested. It said the United States had acted illegally in Panama. Many American citizens protested, too. They called President Roosevelt a pirate. They said he had acted shamefully. Some members of Congress questioned the administration's deal with the French canal company in Panama. Several investigations examined the deal.
Theodore Roosevelt did not care. He was proud of his success in getting the canal started. He said: "I took the canal zone and let Congress debate. And while the debate goes on, so does work on the canal." It took ten years for the United States to complete the Panama Canal. The first ship passed through it in August, nineteen fourteen. In that same year, the United States signed an agreement with Colombia. The agreement expressed America's regret for its part in the Panamanian revolution. And it provided a payment of twenty-five million dollars to Colombia. Theodore Roosevelt was no longer president when the agreement was signed. But he still had many friends in the Senate. He got them to reject it. After Roosevelt's death, the United States signed another agreement with Colombia. The new agreement included the payment of twenty-five million dollars. It did not include the statement of regret. The Senate approved the new agreement. The issue of America's involvement in Panama caused much bitterness in other countries of Latin America. Some did not feel safe from American interference. President Roosevelt said the United States would not interfere with any nation that kept order and paid what it owed. Roosevelt was worried because some Latin American countries were having difficulty re-paying loans from European banks. He did not want the issue of non-payment used as an excuse for European countries to seize new territory in the western hemisphere. Roosevelt said the United States was responsible for making sure the debts were paid. His policy led to further United States involvement in Latin America. That will be our story next week.
重点解析
1.dream of 梦想；向往
I did once dream of becoming the first woman to captain an ocean liner.
我确实曾经梦想过成为首位远洋客轮的女船长。
2.in exchange 作为交换；为了换取
He paid her a huge salary. In exchange, he was assured of her vote.
他给她支付了很高的薪水，作为交换，他确定能够得到她的选票。。
3.be proud of 为......自豪；骄傲
That's a beautiful piece of work. You should be proud of it.
那件作品非常漂亮，你应当为之自豪。
4.no longer 已不；再也
They no longer had him as a friend.
他们再也不把他看成朋友了。
参考译文
欢迎收听VOA慢速英语之建国史话节目。西奥多·罗斯福在20世纪初成为美国总统，他坚信要扩大美国在世界上的势力。为此，他需要一支强大的海军。他想拥有一条能让海军在大西洋和太平洋之间快速航行的航道。罗斯福决定修建这条水道。在本周的系列节目中，理查德·雷尔和莫里斯·乔伊斯将讲述巴拿马运河的故事。多年来，人们一直梦想着在中美洲建造一条连接大西洋和太平洋的运河。最有可能修建运河的地方是在陆地最狭长的地方：巴拿马。另一个可能的地点在北部：尼加拉瓜。罗斯福总统任命了一个委员会来决定哪个地方更好。
工程师们表示，19世纪80年代开始在巴拿马修建一条运河的花销会更少。但是，美国将不得不从一家法国公司购买土地和建筑权，其价格高昂：超过一亿美元。因此，委员会决定，总体而言，在尼加拉瓜修建运河的成本较低。委员会将这项提议提交美国国会批准。众议院很快通过了修建尼加拉瓜运河的法案。随后，这家法国公司降低了在巴拿马的土地和建筑权价格。该公司认为能拿到些钱总比没钱好。罗斯福总统很高兴，他支持修建巴拿马运河的计划。然而，当参议院开始辩论时，尼加拉瓜运河计划看起来似乎会胜出。后来，加勒比地区的一座火山爆发了，毁掉了一座城市，三万人丧生。不久，有报道称另一座火山变得活跃起来，威胁到一座城镇的安危。这座火山就在尼加拉瓜。尼加拉瓜总统否认国内存在任何活跃的火山，但尼加拉瓜的一张邮票上有一座火山爆发的照片。这枚小小的邮票削弱了对修建尼加拉瓜运河的支持。参议院则通过了一项修建巴拿马运河的法案。众议院改变了先前的决定，批准了参议院的议案。
当时，巴拿马还是哥伦比亚的一个省。美国和哥伦比亚之间进行的运河谈判并不顺利。九个月后，美国威胁要结束谈判，开始与尼加拉瓜谈判。这个威胁奏效了。1903年1月，哥伦比亚签署了一项条约，允许美国建造巴拿马运河。条约划给美国一个运河区，这是一块横跨巴拿马十公里宽的土地。美国可以使用运河区域长达一百年之久。作为交换，它将付给哥伦比亚一千万美元，每年还要付25万美元。美国参议院在两个月内通过了这项条约，而哥伦比亚参议院则拒绝了。哥伦比亚政府要求支付更多的钱款。罗斯福总统大发雷霆。他从世界政治的角度看待这个问题，而不仅仅只是考虑哥伦比亚的主权问题。他表示：“我认为哥伦比亚不能永远被隔绝于文明社会的康庄大道之外。”罗斯福准备接管巴拿马来建造这条运河。这样做是不必要的，巴拿马正在策划一场叛乱，以从哥伦比亚获得独立。美国没有承诺支持叛军，但是希望叛军取得成功。
根据一项旧条约，哥伦比亚授权美国阻止对穿越巴拿马行为的干涉。现在，美国利用这项旧条约来阻止哥伦比亚军队的干涉。几艘美国军舰被派往巴拿马。巴拿马起义的地方领导人是曼努埃尔·阿马多。阿马多得到了法国公司的支持，该公司仍然拥有建造巴拿马运河的权利。公司的首席代表是菲利普·布诺·瓦莱拉，他与美国律师威廉·克伦威尔密切合作。布诺·瓦里拉和克伦威尔向曼努埃尔·阿马多提供了独立宣言、宪法和钱款。阿马多用这笔钱在首都巴拿马城收买哥伦比亚军事指挥官的支持。他还得到了州长的支持，州长同意在起义当天，让他们逮捕自己。阿马多组建了一支由铁路工人和消防队员组成的小部队。叛军计划于1903年11月4日占领巴拿马城。就在这之前，500名哥伦比亚士兵在80公里外的科隆登陆。然而，士兵们无法到达巴拿马城。除了一个火车车厢外，其余的都已转移到首都。曼纽尔·阿马多发出信号，革命开始了。起义时有一些枪击，但没有人受伤，因为绝大多数射击都是朝天放的，以庆祝巴拿马独立。哥伦比亚的官员们很快就被捕了。随后，阿玛多发表演说。
他说：“昨天，我们是哥伦比亚的奴隶。今天，我们自由了。西奥多·罗斯福总统信守诺言。巴拿马共和国万岁！罗斯福总统万岁！”哥伦比亚要求美国帮助它重新控制巴拿马。美国表示拒绝，声称它将反对哥伦比亚在那里派遣更多军队的任何企图。美国也承认巴拿马的独立。而且，它几乎立刻开始与新政府就运河条约事宜进行谈判。双方很快达成协议。该条约与哥伦比亚参议院早些时候否决的条约几乎相同。然而，这次运河区域将为16公里宽，而不是10公里宽。美国将永久控制运河区域。条约于1903年11月18日签署，就在巴拿马宣布独立的15天后。哥伦比亚提出抗议，它表示美国在巴拿马的行为是非法的。许多美国公民也提出抗议。他们把罗斯福总统叫做海盗，说他行为可耻。一些国会议员质疑政府与巴拿马的法兰西运河公司的协议，几项调查对这笔交易进行了审查。
西奥多·罗斯福并不在乎，他为自己在开凿运河方面取得的成功而感到自豪。他说：“我占领了运河区域，让国会进行辩论。在辩论进行的同时，运河的工程也在进行。”美国花了十年时间才完成巴拿马运河的修建，第一艘船于1914年8月通过。同年，美国与哥伦比亚签署了一项协议。协议表达了美国对其参与巴拿马革命的遗憾。它还支付给哥伦比亚2500万美元。签署协议时，西奥多·罗斯福已不再是总统。但是，他在参议院还有很多朋友，他让他们拒绝接受该协议。罗斯福去世后，美国与哥伦比亚签署了另一项协议。这项新协议包括支付2500万美元，其中不包括道歉声明。参议院批准了新协议。美国介入巴拿马事务一事，在拉丁美洲的其他国家引起很大的怨恨。有些人觉得因为美国的干涉，而感到不安全。罗斯福总统表示，美国不会干涉任何一个维持秩序、偿还债务的国家。罗斯福之所以担心，是因为一些拉美国家在偿还欧洲银行贷款方面遇到困难。他不希望拒不付款的问题成为欧洲国家夺取西半球新领土的借口。罗斯福说，美国有责任确保债务得到偿还。他的政策使美国进一步介入拉丁美洲事务。这将是我们下周要讲述的故事。
译文为可可英语翻译，未经授权请勿转载！
