(单词翻译:单击)
听力文本
Welcome to the MAKING OF A NATION -- American history in VOA Special English. This week in our series, we talk about the presidential election of eighteen twelve. The first ten years of the twentieth century in America were shaped by the strong leadership of President Theodore Roosevelt. And in the second decade, he returned to national politics to bring, once more, dramatic changes to the United States. Theodore Roosevelt was a distant cousin of Franklin Roosevelt, a Democrat who became president in nineteen thirty-three. In nineteen twelve, Teddy Roosevelt organized a new political party: the Progressives. Roosevelt created this new party after he failed to win the Republican presidential nomination. The Republican convention of nineteen twelve had been controlled by conservative supporters of President William Howard Taft. And, as we hear now from Leo Scully and Maurice Joyce, the party nominated Taft for four more years in the White House.
As a result, Roosevelt broke with the Republicans. And he and his supporters held their own convention. They formed the Progressive party and approved a platform that promised reforms. These reforms were proposed to make the government serve the people and carry out more fully their desire for social progress. The Democratic Party also nominated a candidate who supported progressive ideas. The Democrats chose Governor Woodrow Wilson of New Jersey, a former president of Princeton University. So, for the first time in many years, there were three major candidates for president. Wilson clearly had the best chance to win. He had the support of almost all the Democrats. The Republicans, however, were split. Some supported Taft. The others were for Roosevelt. Roosevelt refused to accept the idea of defeat. He campaigned hard, visiting many cities and towns, making speech after speech. Wilson also campaigned hard. He seemed to enjoy it as much as Roosevelt. Taft did not like it at all. He refused to do much campaigning. He spent most of the time at his summer home.
It was a quiet election campaign...until the middle of October. Then, only three weeks before election day, Roosevelt was shot. It happened in Milwaukee. Roosevelt had just left his hotel and climbed into the automobile that would carry him to the hall where he planned to make a speech. As he stood in the open car, an extremist named John Schrank ran up to him, pulled a gun from his coat, and fired a bullet into Roosevelt's chest. The bullet knocked him down. Roosevelt said it felt as if he had been kicked by a mule. He jumped up and put his hand to the wound. The bullet had passed through the inside pocket of his coat. It struck a steel case that held his glasses, and went through the folded fifty pages of his written speech. These slowed the bullet, and it went only a few centimeters into his chest. Roosevelt did not know if he was seriously wounded. He put his hand to his mouth and coughed. No blood came. And he knew the shot had not damaged his lungs. Roosevelt ordered the crowd around to stop beating Schrank. "Bring him to me," he said. He looked down at the man. "You poor creature," said Roosevelt. Then he turned away. Doctors arrived. They said Roosevelt must go at once to the hospital. But Roosevelt refused. He said he would go to the hall. "I will make this speech," he said, "or die. It will be one or the other." On his way to the hall, he told a friend:
"It takes more than that to kill a Roosevelt. I do not care a rap about being shot. Not a rap." At the hall, he stood before the big crowd. His face was white. But he stood straight, without help. Someone announced that Roosevelt had been wounded, but still planned to speak. Roosevelt's voice was very low, almost a whisper. "I am going to ask you to be very quiet. And please excuse me from making a long speech. I will do the best I can. But there is a bullet in me." He paused and then continued. "It is nothing. I am not hurt badly. I have something to say. And I will say it as long as there is life in my body." Roosevelt's speech was not important. He said nothing that he had not already said many times before. What was important, however, was his cool courage. Men did not see his act as foolish or overly-dramatic. They saw it as the brave act of a strong man. To the public, he was a hero. Roosevelt spoke for almost an hour. Finally, very weak, he let himself be helped from the hall. He was rushed to a hospital where doctors could examine the wound.
The doctors found that the bullet had broken a rib, but caused no serious damage. They decided to leave the bullet where it was. The next day, Roosevelt made a statement from his hospital bed. "Tell the people not to worry about me. For if I go down, another will take my place." President Taft and Woodrow Wilson sent messages of regret to Roosevelt. They announced that they would not campaign until Roosevelt was able to do so. Roosevelt's condition improved quickly. After two weeks of rest, he was ready to continue his campaign for the presidency. He made a speech to a big crowd at Madison Square Garden in New York City. Everyone was surprised to see how strong and healthy he seemed. Wilson ended his campaign in New York City the next day. He told a cheering crowd of Democrats: "What the Democratic Party proposes to do is to go into power and do the things that the Republican Party has been talking about for sixteen years." On November fifth, the people voted. The winner was Woodrow Wilson. He received more than six million votes. Roosevelt was second with four million. Taft received only about three and a half million. Wilson's victory was even greater in the electoral vote. He got four hundred thirty-five. Roosevelt got only eighty-eight. And Taft received only the eight electoral votes of Utah and Vermont. The Democrats won not only the White House, but also control of Congress. And a number of Democratic governors were elected in states formerly controlled by Republicans.
The nineteen twelve campaign ended public life for Theodore Roosevelt. Soon after the election, a friend visited Roosevelt and talked of possible victory in nineteen sixteen. "I thought you were a better politician," Roosevelt said. "The fight is over. We are beaten. There is only one thing to do. That is to go back to the Republican Party. You cannot hold a party like the Progressive Party together. There are no loaves and fishes...no financial support." War was soon to break out in Europe. The United States would enter the struggle in nineteen seventeen. As always, Roosevelt was ready to join in a fight. He asked for permission to organize an American force and lead it into battle in France. President Wilson, however, turned down the request. Roosevelt was sure that it was a political decision. He never forgave Wilson for keeping him out of the war. Although Roosevelt himself could not fight, four of his sons went into battle. One -- his youngest son Quentin -- did not return. When he received news of his son's death, Roosevelt wrote these words to honor him: "Only those are fit to live who do not fear to die. And none are fit to die who have shrunk from the joy of life. Both life and death are parts of the same great adventure. All of us who give service and stand ready for sacrifice are torch bearers. We run with the torches until we fall, satisfied if we can then pass them to the hands of other runners.
"The torches whose flame is brightest are carried by the brave men on the battlefield and by the brave women whose husbands, lovers, sons, and brothers struggle there. These are the torch bearers. These are they who have dared the great adventure." Roosevelt's own great adventure was itself coming to an end. He suffered from painful attacks of inflammatory rheumatism and from a serious ear infection. He had difficulty in hearing and could not walk. But the old man was still cheerful. He spent his sixtieth birthday in the hospital. And to his family and friends, he said: "I am ahead of the game. Nobody ever packed more kinds of fun and interest into sixty years." Death came to Roosevelt as he slept on the night of January sixth, nineteen nineteen. Said Vice President Thomas Marshall: "Death had to take him sleeping. For if Roosevelt had been awake, there would have been a fight."
重点解析
1.as a result 因此；结果是
As a result of this conflict he lost both his home and his means of livelihood.
这场冲突使他同时失去了住所和生计来源。
2.seem to 好像；看起来
They seem to have lost their desire for life.
他们似乎已丧失了对生活的热望。
3.act as 充当；担任
I'll act as interpreter.
我来作翻译。
4.ask for 请求；要求
You cannot ask for your money back before the agreed date.
约定的日期没到，你不能把钱要回去。
参考译文
欢迎收听VOA慢速英语之建国史话节目。在本周的系列节目中，我们将讨论1812年的总统选举。美国20世纪初的10年是由西奥多·罗斯福总统强有力的领导方式所影响，第二个10年，他重返国家政治领域，再次给美国带来戏剧性的变化。西奥多·罗斯福是富兰克林·罗斯福的远亲，富兰克林·罗斯福是1933年当选总统的民主党人。在1912年，泰迪·罗斯福组织了一个新的政党：改革党。罗斯福在未能赢得共和党总统提名后创立了这个新党派。1912年的共和党大会由总统威廉·霍华德·塔夫特的保守派支持者控制。而且，正如我们现在从利奥·斯库利和莫里斯·乔伊斯那里听到的，该党提名塔夫特在白宫再任职四年。
结果，罗斯福与共和党人决裂了。他和支持者举行了他们自己的大会。他们成立了改革党，批准了一个承诺改革的纲领。这些改革的提出，是为了让政府为人民服务，更充分地实现人民对社会进步的愿望。民主党还提名了一位支持改革思想的候选人，民主党人选择了新泽西州州长伍德罗·威尔逊，他曾任普林斯顿大学校长。因此，多年来首次出现了三位总统候选人，威尔逊显然有最好的机会获胜。他得到了几乎所有民主党人的支持。然而，共和党人却各执一词。一些人支持塔夫特，其他人则支持罗斯福。罗斯福拒绝接受失败的想法，他努力竞选，走访了许多城镇，发表了一次又一次的讲话。威尔逊也努力竞选。他似乎和罗斯福一样喜欢做这件事。塔夫特一点也不喜欢，他拒绝进行很多竞选活动，大部分时间都在避暑山庄度过。
这是一场平静的竞选......直到10月中旬。然后，就在选举日前三周，罗斯福被枪杀。这事发生在密尔沃基，罗斯福刚刚离开旅馆，上了把他带到计划做演讲的大厅的汽车。当他站在敞篷车上时，一个名叫约翰·施兰克的极端分子跑到他面前，从外套里掏出一把枪，朝罗斯福的胸口开了一枪。他中弹后倒地。罗斯福说，感觉好像被骡子踢了一脚。他跳起来把手放在伤口上，子弹穿过了他上衣的内口袋，撞到了装着他眼镜的铁壳，穿过了折叠起来的50页演讲稿。这些都减缓了子弹的速度，只射入他胸膛几厘米。他把手放在嘴边咳嗽，没有血迹。他知道子弹没有伤到肺。罗斯福命令周围的人群停止殴打施兰克。“带他来见我，”他说。他低头看着那个人，“你这个可怜的家伙，”罗斯福说。然后，他转过身去。
但是，罗斯福拒绝了。他说，他要去议事厅。“我要发表这份演讲，”他说，“或者就死去，这两件事中会发生一件。”在去大厅的路上，他告诉一个朋友：“杀死罗斯福还需要更多的时间，我不在乎出现描写枪杀的说唱，没有说唱。”在大厅里，他站在一大群人面前。他脸色苍白，但是站得笔直，没靠别人帮忙。有人宣布罗斯福受伤了，但仍打算演讲。罗斯福的声音很低沉，几乎是耳语。“我要你保持安静，请原谅我要做长篇大论。我会尽我所能，但我身上有一颗子弹。”他停顿了一下，然后继续说，“没什么，我伤得不重。我有话要说。只要我还活着，我就要说出来。”罗斯福的演讲并不重要，以前他没有说的东西，仍然没说。然而，重要的是他的勇气。人们并不认为他的行为愚蠢或过于戏剧化。他们认为这是一个坚强者的勇敢行为。对公众来说，他是个英雄。罗斯福讲了将近一个小时。最后，他非常虚弱，让人扶他离开大厅。他被送往医院，医生可以为他检查伤口。
医生发现子弹折断了一根肋骨，但没有造成严重损害。他们决定不取出子弹。第二天，罗斯福在病床上发表了一项声明。“告诉人们不要为我担心，因为如果我不行了，另一个人会来接替我。”塔夫特总统和伍德罗·威尔逊向罗斯福传达了表示遗憾的信息。他们宣布，他们要等到罗斯福能够竞选时，才开始竞选。罗斯福的情况迅速好转。休息两周后，他准备继续参加总统竞选活动。他在纽约麦迪逊广场花园向一大群人发表演讲，每个人都惊讶地看到他是多么强壮和健康。威尔逊第二天结束了在纽约的竞选活动，他对欢呼的民主党群众说：“民主党提议的是掌控政权，做共和党16年来一直在谈论的事情。”11月5日，人民进行投票。获胜者是伍德罗·威尔逊。他获得了600多万张选票。罗斯福以400万张选票位居第二，塔夫特只获得大约350万张。威尔逊在选举人投票中取得的胜利更大，他获得435张选票。罗斯福仅有88票。塔夫特只获得了犹他州和佛蒙特州的8张选举人选票。民主党不仅赢得了入主白宫的权利，还获得了国会的控制权。一些民主党州长在以前由共和党控制的州当选。
1912年的竞选结束了西奥多·罗斯福的公众生涯。选举后不久，一位朋友拜访了罗斯福，谈到了1916年可能获得的胜利。“我认为你是位更好的政治家，”罗斯福说。“战斗结束了，我们被打败了，只有一件事要做。那就是回归共和党。你们不能把改革党这样的党派聚集在一起。没有面包和鱼......没有财政支持。”欧洲战争很快就要爆发了，美国将在1917年加入这场战斗。请求批准组建一支美国部队，并带领它在法国作战。然而，威尔逊总统拒绝了这个请求。罗斯福确信这是一个政治决定。他从未原谅威尔逊不让他参加战争。尽管罗斯福本人不能参战，但他的四个儿子参战了。一个是他最小的儿子昆汀，他没能回来。当罗斯福收到儿子去世的消息时，他写下了这些话来纪念他：“只有那些不畏惧死亡的人才适合活下来，还没有享受过生命美好的人不应死去。生与死，都是同样伟大的冒险，所有愿意牺牲自己照亮他人的人都是火炬手。我们跟着火炬一直奔跑，直到我们倒下。我们也愿意牺牲自己，将这火种传递到其他的奔跑者手上。
这明亮的火焰，是被战场上勇敢的男人，和在家里等待着战场上的丈夫、爱人、儿子、兄弟的女人所传递的。这些人都是火炬手，他们都是敢于承受这样伟大冒险的人。罗斯福自己的伟大冒险经历即将终结。他患有发炎性风湿病和严重的耳部感染，发作时非常疼痛。他听力有困难，不能走路。但是这位老人仍是兴高采烈。他在医院度过了自己的60岁生日。他对家人和朋友说：“我在比赛中遥遥领先。60年来，没有人能获得更多的乐趣和关注了。”1919年1月6日晚上，罗斯福在睡梦中死去。副总统托马斯·马歇尔说：“死亡让他无法入睡。因为如果罗斯福醒了，就会有一场战斗。”
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