(单词翻译:单击)
听力文本
Welcome to THE MAKING OF A NATION – American history in VOA Special English. On November eleventh, nineteen eighteen, a truce was signed ending the hostilities of World War One. The Central Powers -- led by Germany -- had lost. The Allies -- led by Britain, France and the United States -- had won. The war lasted four years. It took the lives of ten million people. It left much of Europe in ruins. It was described as "the war to end all wars." This week in our series, Barbara Klein and Doug Johnson tell about President Woodrow Wilson and his part in events after the war. The immediate task was to seek agreement on terms of a peace treaty. The Allies were filled with bitter anger. They demanded a treaty that would punish Germany severely. They wanted to make Germany weak by destroying its military and industry. And they wanted to ruin Germany's economy by making it pay all war damages. Germany, they said, must never go to war again.
President Woodrow Wilson of the United States did not agree completely with the other Allies. He wanted a peace treaty based on justice, not bitterness. He believed that would produce a lasting peace. President Wilson had led negotiations for a truce to end the hostilities of World War One. Now, he hoped to play a major part in negotiations for a peace treaty. To be effective, he needed the full support of the American people. Americans had supported Wilson's policies through most of the war. They had accepted what was necessary to win. This meant higher taxes and shortages of goods. At the time, Americans seemed to forget party politics. Democrats and Republicans worked together. All that changed when it became clear the war was ending. Congressional elections were to be held in November, nineteen eighteen. President Wilson was a Democrat. He feared that Republicans might gain a majority of seats in Congress. If they did, his negotiating powers at a peace conference in Europe would be weakened. Wilson told the nation: "The return of a Republican majority to either house of Congress would be seen by foreign leaders as a rejection of my leadership."
Republicans protested. They charged that Wilson's appeal to voters was an insult to every Republican. One party leader said: "This is not the president's private war." The Republican campaign succeeded. The party won control of both the Senate and House of Representatives. The congressional elections were a defeat for President Wilson. But he did not let the situation interfere with his plans for a peace conference. He and the other Allied leaders agreed to meet in Paris in January, nineteen nineteen. In the weeks before the conference, Wilson chose members of his negotiating team. Everyone expected him to include one or more senators. After all, the Senate would vote to approve or reject the final peace treaty. Wilson refused. Instead, he chose several close advisers to go with him to Paris. Today, American history experts say Wilson's decision was a mistake. Failure to put senators on the negotiating team, they say, cost him valuable support later on. In early December, President Wilson sailed to France. The voyage across the Atlantic Ocean lasted nine days. He arrived at the Port of Brest on December thirteenth. Wilson felt very happy. Thirteen, he said, was his lucky number.
French citizens stood along the railroad that carried him from Brest to Paris. They cheered as his train passed. In Paris, cannons were fired to announce his arrival. And a huge crowd welcomed him there. The people shouted his name over and over again -- Wilson! Wilson! Wilson! The noise sounded like thunder. French Premier Georges Clemenceau commented on the event. He said: "I do not think there has been anything like it in the history of the world." People cheered President Wilson partly to thank America for sending its troops to help fight against Germany. But many French citizens and other Europeans also shared Wilson's desire to establish a new world of peace. They listened with hope as he made an emotional speech about a world in which everyone would reject hatred -- a world in which everyone would join together to end war, forever. More than twenty-five nations that helped win the war sent representatives to the peace conference in Paris. All took part in the negotiations. However, the important decisions were made by the so-called "Big Four": Prime Minister David Lloyd-George of Britain, Premier Georges Clemenceau of France, Premier Vittorio Orlando of Italy, and President Woodrow Wilson of the United States.
Wilson hoped the other Allied leaders would accept his plan for a new international organization. The organization would be called the League of Nations. Wilson believed the league could prevent future wars by deciding fair settlements of disputes between nations. He believed it would be the world's only hope for a lasting peace. Most of the other representatives did not have Wilson's faith in the power of peace. Yet they supported his plan for the League of Nations. However, they considered it less important than completing a peace treaty with Germany. And they did not want to spend much time talking about it. They feared that negotiations on the league might delay the treaty and the rebuilding of Europe. Wilson was firm. He demanded that the peace treaty also establish the league. So, he led a group at the conference that wrote a plan for the operation of the league. He gave the plan to the European leaders to consider. Then he returned to the United States for a brief visit. President Wilson soon learned that opposition to the League of Nations existed on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean. Many Americans opposed it strongly. Some Republican senators began criticizing it even before Wilson's ship reached the port of Boston.
The senators said the plan failed to recognize America's long-term interests. They said it would take away too many powers from national governments. Thirty-seven senators signed a resolution saying the United States should reject the plan for the League of Nations. That was more than the number of votes needed to defeat a peace treaty to which, Wilson hoped, the league plan would be linked. The Senate resolution hurt Wilson politically. It was a sign to the rest of the world that he did not have the full support of his people. But he returned to Paris anyway. He got more bad news when he arrived. Wilson's top adviser at the Paris peace conference was Colonel Edward House. Colonel House had continued negotiations while Wilson was back in the United States. House agreed with Wilson on most issues. Unlike Wilson, however, he believed the Allies' most urgent need was to reach agreement on a peace treaty with Germany. To do this, House was willing to make many more compromises than Wilson on details for the League of Nations. Wilson was furious when he learned what House had done. He said: "Colonel House has given away everything I had won before I left Paris. He has compromised until nothing remains. Now I have to start all over again. This time, it will be more difficult." For Woodrow Wilson, the most difficult negotiations still lay ahead. That will be our story next week.
重点解析
1.be filled with 充满；装满
Will our world be filled with the cold and gloominess of the winter?
将我们的世界充满了寒冷和黑暗的冬天？
2.arrive at 到达；抵达
As soon as you arrive at your destination, step out of the aircraft and reset your wristwatch.
你一到达目的地，就走出飞机并重新设置手表时间。
3.fail to 不能；
Those who fail to register risk severe penalties.
那些没有注册的人可能会受到严厉的处罚。
4.give away 赠送；分发
We have six copies of the book to give away.
这本书我们要赠送六本出去。
参考译文
欢迎收听VOA慢速英语之建国史话节目。1918年11月11日，签署停战协议，结束了第一次世界大战的敌对状态。以德国为首的中央大国已经失败，而以英、法、美为首的盟国赢得了胜利。战争持续了四年，夺走了一千万人的生命，致使欧洲大部分地区成为一片废墟。人们把这场战争被描述为“结束一切战争的战争”。在本周的系列节目中，芭芭拉· 克莱恩和道格·约翰逊将讲述伍德罗·威尔逊总统和他在战后事件中所扮演的角色。目前的任务是就寻求达成和平条约的各项条款，盟军充满了愤怒。他们要求签订一项严厉惩罚德国的条约，想通过摧毁德国的军事和工业来削弱德国，并让德国支付所有战争损失来破坏德国的经济。他们说，德国决不能再参与战争。
美国总统伍德罗·威尔逊并不完全同意其他盟国的意见，他想达成一个基于正义，而不是怨恨的和平条约。他认为这样才能产生持久的和平。威尔逊总统领导了一场旨在结束第一次世界大战敌对状态的谈判。现在，他希望在和平条约的谈判中发挥重要作用。为了达到目的，他需要美国人民的全力支持。在战争的大部分时间里，美国人都支持威尔逊的政策。他们接受了获胜的必要条件，这意味着更高的税收和货物短缺。当时，美国人似乎忘记了政党政治。民主党人和共和党人并肩协作。当战争结束时，一切都改变了。国会选举将于1918年11月举行，威尔逊总统是民主党人，他担心共和党人可能在国会获得多数席位。如果发生这种情况，他在欧洲和平会议上的谈判能力将被削弱。威尔逊告诉全国人民：“共和党多数派重返国会两院，外国领导人将视其为对我的领导的否决。”
共和党人对此表示抗议，他们指责威尔逊对选民的呼吁，是对每位共和党人的侮辱。一位政党领导人表示：“这不是总统的私人战争。”共和党竞选成功，该党赢得了参议院和众议院的控制权。国会选举对威尔逊总统来说失败了。但是，他没有让局势干扰举行和平会谈的计划。他和其他盟国领导人同意于1919年1月在巴黎会晤。在会议召开前的几周里，威尔逊挑选了谈判小组的成员。每个人都希望他能挑选一位或多位参议员。毕竟，参议院将投票赞成或反对最终和平条约。威尔逊拒绝这种做法。相反，他选择了几位亲近的顾问和他一起前往巴黎。今天，美国历史专家说，威尔逊的决定是个错误。他们表示，没有让参议员加入谈判团队，致使其后来失去了他们宝贵的支持。12月初，威尔逊总统乘船前往法国，横渡大西洋的航行持续了九天。他于12月13日到达布雷斯特港。威尔逊感到非常高兴，他说，13是他的幸运数字。
威尔逊从布雷斯特乘坐火车前往巴黎，法国公民站在铁道两侧守候。当他的火车经过时，他们欢呼起来。在巴黎，人们鸣炮宣布他的到来。一大群人等在那里欢迎他。人们一遍又一遍地呼喊他的名字——威尔逊！威尔逊！威尔逊！声音如雷声般震耳欲聋。法国总理乔治·克莱门梭对此发表评论说：“我认为世界历史上从未发生过任何类似的事情。”人们为威尔逊总统欢呼，部分是为了感谢美国派遣军队与德国作战。但许多法国公民和其他欧洲人也赞同威尔逊建立一个新的和平世界的愿望，他们满怀希望地听着他发表了一篇感人的演讲，讲的是关于一个人人都拒绝仇恨的世界。在这个世界里，每个人都会联合起来，永久地结束战争。超过25个帮助赢得战争的国家派出代表，参加在巴黎举行的和平会谈。所有人都参与了谈判。然而，重要的决定都是由所谓的“四大”作出的：英国首相戴维·劳埃德·乔治、法国总理乔治·克莱门索、意大利总理维托里奥·奥兰多和美国总统伍德罗·威尔逊。
威尔逊希望其他盟国领导人能接受他建立一个新的国际组织的计划，该组织将被称为国际联盟。威尔逊认为，这个联盟可以通过公平解决国家间争端的决定，来防止未来的战争。他认为，这将是世界实现持久和平的唯一希望。其他大多数代表都不像威尔逊那样对和平力量抱有信心，但他们支持他说的国际联盟计划。然而，他们认为这没有与完成和德国的和平条约相比重要。他们不想花太多时间讨论这件事。他们担心，有关联盟的谈判可能会推迟该条约的达成，以及重建欧洲的进程。威尔逊表现得非常坚定，他要求和平条约也要建立联盟。所以，他在会谈中带领了一个小组，为联盟的运作撰写一份计划。他把这份计划交给欧洲领导人定夺，随后他回美国短暂停留。威尔逊总统很快得知，大西洋两岸都存在对国际联盟的反对。许多美国人强烈反对这一提议，甚至当威尔逊的船抵达波士顿港之前，一些共和党参议员就开始对其大肆批评。
参议员表示，该计划未能认识到美国的长期利益。他们说，这将剥夺中央政府的太多权力。37名参议员签署了一项决议，称美国应拒绝国际联盟的计划。这比否决一项和平条约所需的票数还要多，威尔逊希望，这项和平条约能与联盟的计划联系起来。参议院的决议在政治上伤害到威尔逊，这向其他国家表明，他未能获得美国人民的全力支持。但是，他还是回到了巴黎。他到达时得到了更多的坏消息。威尔逊在巴黎和平会谈上的最高顾问是爱德华·豪斯上校。当威尔逊返回美国时，豪斯上校继续进行谈判。在大多数问题上，豪斯同意威尔逊的意见。然而，与威尔逊不同的是，他认为盟国最迫切的需要是与德国就和平条约达成协议。为了做到这一点，豪斯愿意在国际联盟事宜的细节上做出比威尔逊更多的让步。威尔逊得知豪斯所做的事后非常生气，他说：“豪斯上校把我在离开巴黎之前赢得的一切都拱手送出。他妥协了，什么都没剩下。现在我必须重新再来，这一次将更加困难。”对伍德罗·威尔逊来说，最困难的谈判尚未到来。这将是我们下周要讲述的故事。
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