(单词翻译:单击)
听力文本
Welcome to THE MAKING OF A NATION – American history in VOA Special English. I'm Steve Ember. Today, we tell about the administration of the thirty-ninth president of the United States, Jimmy Carter. It is January twentieth, nineteen seventy-seven. Inauguration Day. America's newly elected president, Jimmy Carter, is on his way to the White House after his swearing-in ceremony at the Capitol building. But the new president is not riding in a car. He is walking. His wife, Rosalynn, and his daughter, Amy, walk with him. Crowds along Pennsylvania Avenue cheer. Bands play. On this cold day in Washington, Americans look to the future. Watergate -- the crisis that led to the resignation of President Richard Nixon -- is several years in the past. The Vietnam War is history, too.
Republican Gerald Ford served the remaining years of Nixon's term. Many people believe he brought respect and order back to the government. Yet he lost the office to Democrat Jimmy Carter in the election of nineteen seventy-six. The nation still has problems. Unemployment is high. So is inflation. But the future of the nation looks bright. Jimmy Carter feels sure about his future, too. On the day before his inauguration, he said: "I do feel that the people of this nation and, I think, the entire world wish me well and want to see me succeed as president. And that gives me a sense of reassurance and confidence. I think I'm ready now to be president." During the election campaign, Carter often said he would be different from other presidents. He told voters he was not a member of the Washington political establishment. So he would do things in his own independent way. Carter was from Georgia, in the "Deep South" of the United States. There had not been a president born in the South in more than one-hundred years. Carter studied nuclear engineering and attended the United States Naval Academy. He planned to stay in the Navy. Then his father died. And he decided to return to Georgia to operate the family peanut farm.
Carter began his political life on the committee that supervised schools in his hometown of Plains, Georgia. He also served in other local offices. In nineteen-sixty-six, he failed to win the Democratic nomination for governor of Georgia. For the next four years, he traveled around the state gathering support. He won the next election. As governor, Carter earned praise for reorganizing the state government. He also reformed state programs dealing with prisons and mental health care. In nineteen-seventy-two, he offered himself as a candidate for vice president with presidential candidate George McGovern. But the Democratic Party chose someone else. Carter did not wait long to begin his next political move. He would try to win the Democratic presidential nomination in nineteen seventy-six. Jimmy Carter was hardly known outside the state of Georgia. Political experts gave him little chance. Even his mother was surprised to learn that he wanted to be president. "President of what?" she asked. But the farmer and former governor had a plan. He would try to win his party's primary elections in the South. He believed this would give him enough support at the party convention to win the nomination.
Other Democratic candidates tried to stop him, but his plan worked. By the time of the convention, he had enough support to win the nomination on the first ballot. In the general election, Carter defeated President Ford by almost two percent of the popular vote. He lost in the West and Middle West, but won the South and Northeast. President Carter believed strongly in human rights. He hoped he could use his new position to support human rights throughout the world. On this and other issues, he was not afraid of being criticized when he believed he was right. For example, he believed it was right for the United States to end its control of the Panama Canal. He won Congressional support for treaties to give control to Panama by the year two-thousand. He believed it was right to give diplomatic recognition to Communist China. And he believed it was right to continue negotiations with the Soviet Union about limiting nuclear weapons, even though he denounced human rights violations there.
In nineteen-seventy-nine, Carter and Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev signed the strategic arms limitation treaty known as SALT Two. However, Carter decided not to send the treaty to the Senate for approval after the Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan later that year. One of the finest moments of Carter's presidency took place at Camp David. That is the holiday home of American presidents. There, in March nineteen seventy-nine, President Anwar Sadat of Egypt met with Prime Minister Menachem Begin of Israel. They signed a peace treaty ending thirty years of war between their countries. "We're privileged to witness tonight a significant achievement in the cause of peace, an achievement none thought possible a year ago, or even a month ago, an achievement that reflects the courage and wisdom of these two leaders." Both men said the treaty would not have been possible without President Carter's help. President Carter was not as successful in dealing with the economy. High unemployment and inflation continued. The federal deficit increased, although he had promised to end it. And there was a shortage of gasoline.
The shortage resulted when oil-producing countries limited production and exports. Carter urged American companies to develop new sources of energy, in addition to oil. He said the United States needed to do this, because it could not always depend on getting enough oil from other countries. "This intolerable dependence on foreign oil threatens our economic independence and the very security of our nation. The energy crisis is real. It is worldwide. It is a clear and present danger to our nation. These are facts and we simply must face them. "I am tonight setting a clear goal for the energy policy of the United States. Beginning this moment, this nation will never use more foreign oil than we did in 1977 -- never. From now on, every new addition to our demand for energy will be met from our own production and our own conservation. The generation-long growth in our dependence on foreign oil will be stopped dead in its tracks right now." During the gasoline shortage, Americans had to wait in long lines to buy fuel. They did not like it and were angry. Many were even more angry about a different situation. Like the gasoline shortage, it was a result of actions in another distant place.
"Good Evening. The U-S embassy in Tehran has been invaded and occupied by Iranian students. The Americans inside have been taken prisoner." On November fourth, nineteen seventy-nine, Muslim extremists in Iran seized the American Embassy in Tehran. They took many hostages, including more than sixty Americans. The extremists said they were punishing the United States for being friendly with ousted Iranian leader, Shah Reza Pahlavi. The extremists refused to negotiate. They refused to release the hostages. In early April nineteen-eighty, President Carter broke off diplomatic relations with Iran. He then ordered American military forces to try to rescue the hostages in Tehran. The operation failed. A sandstorm caused two of the aircraft to crash into each other. They went down in the desert hundreds of kilometers away. The failed rescue attempt had a major effect on the presidency of Jimmy Carter. Many Americans felt it showed that he could not do the job. Their respect for him continued to decrease as the hostages continued to be held.
Other things were beginning to go wrong, too. The president's younger brother, Billy, admitted receiving a large amount of money from Libya. He took the money in exchange for supporting Libyan interests with American lawmakers. His mistake was that he did not list his name as a representative of a foreign government. Nineteen-Eighty was a presidential election year in the United States. President Carter was expected to be the candidate of the Democratic Party. His chances were almost ruined because of the situation in Iran. Carter hoped that concern for the hostages would unite the country behind him. Instead, support turned to blame. Senator Edward Kennedy of Massachusetts believed he could defeat Carter for the nomination. Kennedy won several important Democratic primary elections. But that was not enough. The party re-nominated Carter. Kennedy offered Carter his support, but not very strongly. This left the party divided. The Republicans got ready to win back the White House. They hoped to do it with a strong appeal to American voters. The appeal came from a man who would become one of America's most popular presidents -- Ronald Reagan. That will be our story next week.
重点解析
1.lead to 导致；引起
A lack of prudence may lead to financial problems.
不够谨慎可能会导致财政上出现问题。
2.a sense of ......的感觉；观念
The passing of time brought a sense of emptiness.
时间的流逝带来了一丝空虚感。
3.return to 回到；返回
I solemnly vowed that someday I would return to live in Europe.
我郑重发誓，总有一天我将回到欧洲生活。
4.deal with 处理；对付
In dealing with suicidal youngsters, our aims should be clear.
在对待有自杀倾向的青少年时，我们的目标应当很明确。
参考译文
欢迎收听VOA慢速英语之建国史话节目，我是史蒂夫·恩伯。今天，我们来讲述美国第39任总统吉米·卡特所领导的政府。就职当天是1977年1月20日，美国新当选总统吉米·卡特在国会大厦举行宣誓就职仪式后，正在前往白宫的路上。但是，新总统没有乘坐汽车，而是走路前行。他的妻子罗莎琳和女儿艾米和他一同步行。人群站在宾夕法尼亚大道两侧，乐队演奏音乐。在华盛顿这个寒冷的日子里，美国人展望未来。导致尼克松总统辞职的水门危机，已经过去好几年了，越南战争也成为了历史。
共和党人杰拉尔德·福特在尼克松执政余下的任期内任职，许多人相信他给政府带来了尊重和秩序。然而，他在1976年的选举中输给了民主党人吉米·卡特。美国仍然存在很多问题，失业率很高，通货膨胀也是如此。但是，美国的未来看起来是光明的。吉米·卡特对自己的未来也很有把握。在就职典礼的前一天，他说：“我确实感到，这个国家的人民，我想是全世界人民，都希望我能顺利当选总统。这给了我一种安心和自信的感觉，我想我现在已经准备好做总统了。”在竞选期间，卡特经常说他将不同于其他总统。他告诉选民，他不是华盛顿政治机构的成员。所以，他会采用自己独立的方式行事。卡特来自美国的“南部腹地”乔治亚州。一百多年来，南方没有出过一个总统。卡特学习核工程，就读于美国海军学院，他计划留在海军。后来，他的父亲去世了，他决定回到乔治亚州去经营其家族留下的花生农场。
卡特的政治生涯是从家乡乔治亚州平原的一个监管学校的委员会开始的，他还曾在其他的地方办事处任职。1966年，他未能赢得乔治亚州州长的民主党提名。在接下来的四年里，他四处奔波，寻求支持，他在下一届选举中获胜。作为州长，卡特因重组州政府而赢得赞誉。他还对有关监狱和精神卫生保健的州计划进行改革。在1972年，他提出自己作为副总统候选人，总统候选人为乔治·麦戈文。但民主党选择了其他人。卡特没等多久就开始了他的下一步政治行动，他试图在1976年赢得民主党总统提名。吉米·卡特在乔治亚州之外几乎不为人所知，政治专家并未给他太多获胜的机会。甚至当他的母亲得知他想当总统时，都感到很惊讶。“什么总统？”她问。但是这位农民，兼前州长有一个计划。他将努力在南部的党内初选中获胜，他相信这将使他在党代会上获得足够的支持，从而赢得提名。
其他民主党候选人试图阻止他，但他的计划奏效了。到大会召开时，他已获得足够的支持，在第一轮投票中赢得提名。在大选中，卡特以将近2%的民意支持率击败了福特总统。他输掉了中西部地区的投票，但却在南部和东北部地区获胜了。卡特总统坚信人权，他希望能利用自己的新职位支持全世界的人权。在这个问题，以及其他问题上，当他认为自己是对的时候，就不怕遭到批评。例如，他认为美国结束对巴拿马运河的控制是正确的。他赢得了国会对2000年前控制巴拿马的条约的支持，他认为在外交方面，承认共产主义中国是正确的，他还认为继续与苏联就限制核武器进行谈判是正确的，尽管他对苏联侵犯人权的种种行为大加谴责。
1979年，卡特和苏联领导人列昂尼德·勃列日涅夫签署了战略武器限制条约，该条约又称为第二号战略武器条约。然而，卡特在那一年的晚些时候，苏联入侵阿富汗后决定不将条约提交参议院批准。卡特总统任期内最美好一个时刻，发生在马里兰州的大卫营。那是美国总统的度假之地。1979年3月，埃及总统安瓦尔·萨达杂特在那会见了以色列总理梅纳赫姆·贝京，他们签署了一项和平条约，结束了两国间长达30年的战争。“今晚我们有幸见证和平事业取得的一项重大成就，这是在一年前，甚至一个月前都无法想象的成就，这一成就体现出这两位领导人的勇气和智慧。”两人都表示，没有卡特总统的帮助，就无法签署该条约。卡特总统在处理经济问题方面，并没有那么成功。居高不下的失业率和通货膨胀仍在继续，联邦赤字增加了，尽管他承诺要将其终结，而且汽油也出现短缺。
石油短缺是由于产油国限制产量和出口所致。卡特敦促美国公司在石油之外开发新能源。他说，美国需要这样做，因为美国不能总是依赖于从其他国家获得足够的石油。“这种对外国石油令人无法容忍的依赖性，威胁到我们的经济独立和国家的安全。能源危机真实存在，世界各地都存在这个问题。对美国来说，这是一个明显而现实的危险，这些都是事实，我们必须加以面对。“今晚，我将为美国的能源政策设定一个明确的目标。从这一刻开始，美国将永远不会像1977年那样使用更多从外国进口的石油。从现在起，我们对能源的每一项新需求，都将通过我们自己的生产和节约来满足。我们对外国石油的依赖性已经有一代人之久，这种情况将即刻停止。在汽油短缺期间，美国人不得不排长队购买燃料。他们不喜欢这样做，感到很气愤。许多人对另一种情况表示更加愤怒，就像汽油短缺一样，这是在另一个遥远地方行动的结果。
“晚上好，美国驻德黑兰大使馆遭到伊朗学生的入侵和占领，里面的美国人遭到俘虏。”1979年11月4日，伊朗穆斯林极端分子占领了美国驻德黑兰大使馆。他们劫持了许多人质，包括60多名美国人。极端分子说，他们是在惩罚美国对罢黜的伊朗领导人巴列维示好。极端分子拒绝谈判，拒绝释放人质。1980年4月初，卡特总统与伊朗断交。他随后下令美军试图营救德黑兰的人质。行动失败，沙尘暴导致两架飞机相撞。他们在几百公里外的沙漠里坠毁了。这次失败的营救行动对吉米·卡特的总统任期，产生了重大影响。许多美国人认为，这表明他不能胜任这项工作。随着人质继续被扣押，他们对他的尊重持续下降。
其他事情也开始出问题。总统的弟弟比利承认，从利比亚收到一大笔钱。他用这笔钱换取使美国议员支持利比亚的利益。他犯的错误，是没有把自己的名字列为外国政府的代表。1980年，是美国的总统选举年。人们希望卡特总统成为民主党候选人。由于伊朗的局势，他的机会几乎被毁。卡特希望对人质的关注能让国家团结起来，共同支持他。然而，支持却变成了指责。马萨诸塞州参议员爱德华·肯尼迪认为，他可以在提名上击败卡特。肯尼迪赢得了几次重要的民主党初选，但这还不够。民主党再次提名卡特，肯尼迪向卡特表示支持，但这种支持并不十分强烈，这使该党出现分歧。共和党人准备赢回入主白宫的机会，他们希望以此来吸引美国选民。这种呼声来自一位将成为美国最受欢迎的一位总统——罗纳德·里根。这将是我们下期节目要讲述的故事。
译文为可可英语翻译，未经授权请勿转载！
