(单词翻译:单击)
听力文本
Welcome to People in America in VOA Special English. Today Gwen Outen and Steve Ember tell about America's fortieth president, Ronald Reagan. Experts say Ronald Reagan re-defined the American presidency during his two terms in the nineteen eighties. He became president when he was sixty-nine years old. It was a far different place from that of his birth on February sixth, nineteen eleven.
Ronald Wilson Reagan was born in Tampico, Illinois. His mother Nelle, father Jack, and brother Neil lived above a bank in the town. Ronald Reagan's family began calling the baby "Dutch." The nickname remained for the rest of his life.
Jack Reagan worked at a general store. The family was poor. Yet, in a book about his life, Ronald Reagan wrote that he never felt poor. He was good at sports, especially football. During the summers, he was a lifeguard at a local swimming pool. He reportedly rescued many people from drowning.
Ronald Reagan said there was a feeling of security throughout his childhood. But it was not perfect. His father was dependent on alcohol. Ronald Reagan studied at Eureka College in Illinois. After seeing a play at college, he said: "More than anything in the world, I wanted to speak the actor's words."
But Ronald Reagan did not have enough money to go to New York or Hollywood to become an actor. So, after college he found a job as a sports broadcaster for a radio station in Iowa. Later he moved to a bigger radio station in Chicago, Illinois. He announced the action of baseball games. This work took him on a trip to California. He took a screen test to become an actor. Warner Brothers Studios offered him a job.
Ronald Reagan moved to Hollywood and became a movie star. He appeared in many movies. "Knute Rockne – All American," is probably his most famous. It is where he got the nickname "The Gipper."
Mister Reagan played George Gipp, one of the greatest college football players ever. In the movie, he speaks of the school's football team as he is dying.
Those words, "win one for the Gipper," later became a political battle cry for Ronald Reagan. In nineteen forty, he married actress Jane Wyman. They had two children, Maureen and Michael. But the marriage ended in nineteen forty-nine.
Ronald Reagan became president of the main labor group for movie actors in nineteen forty-eight. He served six terms. He met actress Nancy Davis through the union. They married in nineteen fifty-two. They later had two children, Patti and Ron.
At this time, Ronald Reagan was a member of the Democratic Party who described himself as a liberal. But, he became increasingly conservative as his worries about communism grew. He opposed anyone in the movie industry who supported communism.
In the early nineteen fifties, Ronald Reagan began to appear on television. He presented dramatic shows produced by the General Electric Company. He became a spokesman for the company. Mister Reagan learned a lot about public speaking. He began to campaign for Republican Party political candidates a few years later. Reagan developed the ability to reach people through his speeches. He later became known as "The Great Communicator."
Nancy Reagan supported her husband's political interests. Political experts say she was always his most important adviser.
In nineteen sixty-six, Ronald Reagan announced his own candidacy for governor of California. Democrats in the state did not think he was a serious candidate. However, Mister Reagan was elected governor by almost one million votes.
Ronald Reagan received mixed public opinion as governor of the nation's most populated state. He was praised for lowering California's debt, yet criticized for raising taxes. Voters re-elected him as governor in nineteen seventy.
Ronald Reagan was unsuccessful in his first two attempts to win the Republican nomination for president. Then, in nineteen eighty, he became the Republican Party's presidential candidate. His opponent was President Jimmy Carter.
The two men debated on national television. Ronald Reagan spoke directly and simply to the American people and asked them some questions:
"Are you better off than you were four years ago? Is it easier for you to go and buy things in the stores than it was four years ago? Is there more or less unemployment in the country than there was four years ago?"
Ronald Reagan won the United States presidential election by a huge majority. He and his vice-president, George Herbert Walker Bush, were sworn into office in January, nineteen eighty-one. Many people called the change in political power "The Reagan Revolution."
President Reagan immediately began to work to honor a major campaign promise. He called on Congress to lower taxes. But only two months later, tragedy struck. A mentally sick man shot the president and three other people outside a hotel in Washington. President Reagan and his press secretary, James Brady, were severely wounded.
Mister Reagan had a bullet in his left lung, close to his heart. But he showed his sense of humor at the hospital. As the president was taken into the operating room he said he hoped all the doctors were Republicans.
Ronald Reagan recovered from the shooting and returned to work within two weeks.
The President now began work on his main goal to reduce the size of the federal government. He had campaigned on the idea that the government was too costly and interfered too much in the lives of Americans.
Mister Reagan and Congress reduced taxes and cut spending for social programs. The administration argued that these actions would create economic growth. Extremely high inflation rates did begin to fall. But the United States' debt rose sharply. This was partly from big increases in military spending. The Reagan economic policy became known as "Reaganomics." It had, and still has, supporters and opponents. Some people argued that the cuts in social programs greatly hurt poor people. Others said the policy improved the economy.
President Reagan sought re-election in nineteen eighty-four. His Democratic opponent was former Vice-President Walter Mondale. Again Mister Reagan won the election by a large amount.
President Reagan dealt with many serious foreign issues while in office. He sent American Marines to Lebanon to stop the fighting among several opposing groups. But more than two hundred Marines were killed in an extremist bomb attack.The so-called "Reagan Doctrine" was the Administration's most famous foreign policy. That policy was to support anti-communist forces anywhere in the world. Under the policy, American forces invaded the Caribbean island nation of Grenada. The policy also led to secret United States support for rebels in Nicaragua.
President Reagan met with Soviet Leader Mikhail Gorbachev several times in an effort to reduce nuclear weapons. He gave a famous speech at the Berlin Wall that divided Soviet-controlled East Germany from West Germany on June twelfth, nineteen eighty-seven.
"General Secretary Gorbachev, if you seek peace, if you seek prosperity for the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe, if you seek liberalization: Come here to this gate! Mister Gorbachev, open this gate! Mister Gorbachev, tear down this wall!" Some historians say Ronald Reagan helped cause the fall of the Soviet Union. They say his military spending forced the Soviets to spend more, too. They say this led to the communist nation's economic failure. President Reagan enjoyed very high public approval ratings throughout his presidency. Many Americans considered him a friendly leader, a "man of the people," filled with hope for America.
Ronald and Nancy Reagan returned to California after his second term ended in nineteen eighty-nine. In nineteen ninety-four, Mister Reagan wrote an open letter to the American people. He informed them that he had the brain disease Alzheimer's. The former president expressed his love for the country and thanked Americans for letting him serve. And, he wrote: "I know that for America there will always be a bright dawn ahead." Ronald Reagan died at his home in California on June fifth, two thousand four. He was ninety-three.
重点解析
1.feeling of security 安全感
He lost his feeling of security when he left home.
离开家的时候，他失去了安全感。
2.screen test 试镜
I was able to go down and do a screen test and audition and have a lot of fun with it.
我能够被认可，接受试镜，并从中获得许多乐趣。
3.battle cry 口号
Their battle-cry will be: 'Sign this petition before they sign away your country.'
他们的口号将是“如果不想看到自己的国家被签字出卖，就请在这份请愿书上签字吧。”
4.In nineteen sixty-six, Ronald Reagan announced his own candidacy for governor of California.
candidacy 候选资格
Today he is formally announcing his candidacy for president.
今天他正式宣布他的总统候选人身份。
5.He was praised for lowering California's debt, yet criticized for raising taxes.
criticize for 因...受指责
People will criticize you for rescuing the arsonist.
人们会批评你救了纵火犯。
6.Some historians say Ronald Reagan helped cause the fall of the Soviet Union.
the fall of ...的衰落
It is a book that records the fall of the Third Reich.
它是一本记载第三帝国衰亡的书。
参考译文
欢迎来到VOA慢速英语栏目《美国人物志》。今天格温·奥登和史蒂夫·恩贝尔将讲述美国第四十任总统罗纳德·里根的故事。专家称在1980年代的两届任期中，罗纳德·里根重新定义了总统这个职位。他在69岁的时候当上总统。那时的美国和他1911年2月6日出生时非常不同。
罗纳德·威尔逊·里根出生于伊利诺斯州坦皮科。他的母亲内尔、父亲杰克和哥哥内伊住在镇上一家银行楼上。罗纳德·里根的家人在他出生时称他为“Dutch”。这个绰号一直陪伴着他。杰克·里根在一家杂货店工作，家里很穷。但是在一本关于他的书中，罗纳德·里根写到，他从未感受到贫穷。他擅长体育，而别是足球。在夏天，他是当地一个游泳池的救生员。据称他救过很多溺水的人。罗纳德·里根说在他的童年一直都有一种安全感。但是童年并非完美，他的父亲非常依赖于酒精。
罗纳德·里根在伊利诺斯州尤里卡学院读书。在大学看了一场戏剧后，他说：“我想成为演员，比任何人都想。”但是罗纳德·里根并有足够的钱去纽约或好莱坞当演员。所以大学毕业后，他在爱荷华州的一个无线电台找了一份体育播报员的工作。之后，他换到了位于伊利诺斯州芝加哥的一家更大的公司。他播报棒球比赛。这份工作将他去了加利福尼亚。他参加了演员试镜。华纳兄弟工作室给了他一份工作。
罗纳德·里根搬到好莱坞成为一名电影明星。他出演过很多电影。《克努特.罗克尼》或许是他最出名的电影。在这部电影里他获得了Gipper这个外号。里根先生在电影里扮演最伟大的大学足球队员之一George Gipp。在电影中，他谈起学校足球队。那些台词，“为吉帕赢一个球”，之后也称为罗纳德·里根的政治口号。1940年，他和女演员简·惠曼结婚。他们有两个孩子，莫林和迈克尔。但是1949年，他们离婚了。
1948年，罗纳德·里根成为电影演员主要劳动团体的主席。任期6届。他在工会上结识了女演员南茜·戴维斯。他们于1952年结婚，有两个孩子帕蒂和罗恩。那时，罗纳德·里根是民主党成员，民主党认为他是自由派。但是随着他对共产主义的担忧，他逐渐变得保守。他反对电影界中任何支持共产主义的人。1950年代早期，罗纳德·里根开始上电视。他出演国通用电气公司出品的戏剧节目。他成为公司发言人，里根先生学会了很多关于公众演讲的知识。
几年后，他开始为共和党政治候选人助选。里根通过他的演讲发展了结交别人的能力。他之后以“最伟大演讲者”而著称。南茜·里根支持她丈夫的政治兴趣。政治专家称她一直是她丈夫最重要的顾问。1966年，罗纳德·里根宣布他获得加利福尼亚州州长候选资格。该州的民主党人觉得他不是一个可靠的候选人。但是里根先生得到了将近百万选票成为州长。作为美国人口最多的加利福尼亚州州长，人们对他的公开评价不一。人们称赞他降低了加利福尼亚州的负债，但批评他提高了收税。1970年，选民再次选他为州长。
罗纳德·里根在头两次争夺民主党总统提名时都失败了。1980年，他成为民主党总统候选人。他的对手是吉米·卡特总统。两人在全国播出的节目中进行争辩。罗纳德·里根直接向美国人民提出问题：“你现在比四年前过得好么？现在比四年前买东西更容易么？四年前相比，失业率是增加还是减少了？”罗纳德·里根以绝大多数选票赢得选举。1981年1月，他和他的副总统乔治·赫伯特·沃克·布什宣誓就职。
很多人都将这次政权的变更成为“里根革命”。里根总统立刻开始工作，履行竞选承诺。他呼吁议会降低税收。但是仅两个月后，悲剧发生了。一个精神病人射击总统和另外三名宾馆外的人。里根总统和他的新闻秘书詹姆斯·布雷迪严重受伤。里根先生左肺接近心脏的地方中弹，但是他在医院也展现出了自己的幽默感。总统被送至手术室时，他说他希望所有医生都是共和党人。罗纳德·里根从伤病中恢复，两周内便回归工作。现在总统朝着他的主要目标努力—缩减联邦政府的规模。他强调这样一个观点，政府开支过多，对美国人民的生活干预也过多。里根先生和议会为社会项目降低税收减少开支。政府争论到这些举措能创造经济增长。极高的通货膨胀确实开始下降，但是美国负债急剧上升。部分原因是军队开支的巨大增长。里根经济政策被称为“里根经济学”。之前和现在都有支持者和反对者。一些人争论到社会项目的缩减伤害了穷人。其他人则说这个政策改善了经济。里根总统1984年再次竞选。他的民主党对手是前任副总统沃尔特·蒙代尔。里根先生再次大选票赢得选举。
里根总统在职期间处理过很多严重外交事件。他派美国海军前往黎巴嫩停止不同组织间的斗争。但是在极端主义分子的炸弹袭击中，两百多名海军牺牲。所谓的“里根主义”是政府最著名的外交政策。该政策支持世界各地的反共产主义力量。在该政策之下，美军入侵加勒比海岛国格林纳达。该政策还导致美国秘密支持尼加拉瓜的反叛者。里根总统几次会见苏联领导人米哈伊尔·戈尔巴乔夫，旨在减少核武器。他在柏林墙发表了著名演讲，1987年6月12日，柏林墙将德国分隔为东德和西德。“戈尔巴乔夫总书记，如果您寻求和平、寻求苏联和东欧的繁荣、寻求自由：来到这扇门吧！戈尔巴乔夫先生，打开这扇门！戈尔巴乔夫先生拆毁这面墙！”
一些历史学家说罗纳德·里根帮助导致苏联的阶梯。他们说他的军队开支也迫使苏联在军队的开支更多。他们说这导致国产主义国家的经济失误。在担任总统期间，里根总统享有很高的民众支持率。很多美国人认为他是一个友好的领导，是同人民打成一片的人，充满了对美国的希望。1989年，第二次总统任期结束后，罗纳德和南希·里根返回加利福尼亚州。1994年，里根先生给美国人民写了一封公开信。他告诉他们自己患上了阿尔茨海默病。这位前任总统表达了他对国家的爱，他感谢美国人民给他的选票。他写道：“我知道，对于美国而言，前方总有明亮得了黎明。”2004年，罗纳德·里根在位于加利福尼亚的家中逝世，享年93岁。
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