原文赏析

90% of eligible voters go to the polls, roughly double recent turnouts.
90％的合格选民都去投票了 大约是近期的一倍多
In the 1890s voting was a public act and on one side there was the Republican ballot box and on the other side was the Democratic ballot box.
在19世纪90年代投票是公开的 一边是投给共和党的投票箱 另一边是投给民主党的投票箱
And so your foreman or an agent of your foreman could see who you voted for.
所以工头或者工头代理能够看出你是投给谁的
So there was a certain coercion that was employed by the Republicans upon those urban workers.
因此共和党对这些城镇职工施加了一定的压力
They might well have decided what they decided on their own but this simply made it easier for them to decide that.
他们可能有自己的决定 但是这样一来 他们决定起来就简单了
When the polls close, the nation's future hangs in the balance.
投票结束 国家的前途未卜
For 20 long hours Carnegie, Morgan and Rockefeller agonize over the results.
在漫长的二十小时里 卡内基 摩根与洛克菲勒都在苦等结果
Not knowing whether the modern country they helped to build will still be the same when all the ballots are counted.
不知道选票统计完毕后 他们帮助建立的现代化国家 还能不能维持原样
America is at a crossroads.
美国正处在一个十字路口
A small group of men have created the modern country, building unimagined empires in oil, steel and electricity.
一小群人建立起了现代化国家 打造了难以想象的石油 钢铁以及电力帝国
But now, those empires are being threatened.
但现在这些帝国正在受到威胁

视频资料
视频资料:
洛克菲勒、范德比尔特、卡内基、阿斯托、福特和摩根，他们的名字几乎是美国梦的近义词，也代表着美国梦的历史。他们转变了他们所接触的每个行业：石油、铁路、钢铁、船运、汽车，还有金融。他们的付出改变了一个国家。出身贫寒，他们却多次涉足总统选举，设立经济政策，影响他们那个年代——内战到大萧条时期。他们，被称为造就美国的人。

重点讲解

讲解：
eligible (for sth) | ~ (to do sth)
有资格的；合格的；具备条件的:
Only those over 70 are eligible for the special payment.
只有 70 岁以上的人才有资格领取这项专款。

vote (for / against sb / sth)
选票；票:
There were 21 votes for and 17 against the motion, with 2 abstentions.
这项动议有 21 票赞成,17 票反对,2 票弃权。

agonize (over / about sth)
苦苦思索；焦虑不已:
I spent days agonizing over whether to take the job or not.
我用了好些天苦苦思考是否接受这个工作。

(be / hang) in the 'balance
(前途)不明朗的；(结果)未定的,悬而未决:
The long-term future of the space programme hangs in the balance.
航天计划的长远前景尚未明朗。

under coercion
强迫；胁迫:
He claimed he had only acted under coercion.
他声称他只是被迫采取行动。