(单词翻译:单击)
听力文本
THE MAKING OF A NATION -- a program in Special English by the Voice of America.
World War Two ended with one of the most important events in the history of warfare, science, and technology. A team of American scientists, working in secrecy, designed and built the first atomic bombs. President Harry Truman made the decision to use these weapons against Japan. America's use of atomic weapons brought to an end a terrible worldwide conflict. But it also marked the beginning of the modern nuclear period. And it showed the growing importance of science and technology in a modern economy and military system. The leaders of the United States have been interested in science since the early days of the nation. Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Jefferson were famous not only as great political leaders, but as inventors and scientists. President Abraham Lincoln and the Congress established the National Academy of Sciences during the Civil War in the eighteen sixties. And in the early nineteen hundreds, the nation created scientific offices to study and improve agriculture, public health, and air travel.
By the start of World War One in nineteen fourteen, the federal government was using scientists in many ways. President Woodrow Wilson created the National Research Council to organize the work of scientists and engineers to win the war. However, government support for science before World War Two generally was quite limited. The government was willing to pay for research only to meet certain clear goals, such as better weapons or military transport systems. World War Two greatly changed the traditional, limited relationship between American scientists and the federal government in Washington. In the early years of the war, the German forces of Adolf Hitler showed the world the strength of their new tanks, guns, and other weapons. American President Franklin Roosevelt knew that the United States would need to develop modern weapons of its own if it entered the war. For this reason, Roosevelt established a National Defense Research Committee in nineteen forty to support and organize research on weapons.
The new committee included some of the top scientists in America. Among its members were the presidents of Harvard University, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and the Bell Laboratories. The committee did its work so well that Roosevelt later formed an even more powerful Office of Scientific Research and Development. The leader of both groups was a great scientist and organizer named Vannevar Bush. Bush had long experience as a professor of electrical engineering and as an inventor. Many scientists knew him. Bush put together a hard-working team. And in the years that followed, American scientists and engineers developed one invention after another to help the war effort. Scientists developed new devices to help the navy find German submarines. They improved methods for bomber planes to find their targets. And they developed more powerful rockets to protect American troops when they landed on foreign beaches.
American scientists and doctors also made great progress in improving the methods of wartime medicine. World War Two may well have been the first war in history in which a wounded soldier was more likely to survive than to die. The most important scientific development by far, however, was the invention of the atomic bomb. In nineteen thirty-nine, scientist Albert Einstein wrote President Roosevelt a letter. Einstein told the president that it might soon be possible to build a weapon that would use the power of the atom to cause terrible destruction. And he urged Roosevelt to get American scientists to build the atomic bomb before German scientists could build one. Roosevelt agreed. He created a special team of scientists. Their work became known as the Manhattan Project. Roosevelt made sure that these scientists got all the money and supplies they needed. Roosevelt died before the scientists could complete their work. But in April, nineteen forty-five, the scientists told the new president, Harry Truman, that they were almost ready to test the atomic bomb. And just three months later, they exploded the world's first atomic weapon in a test in the southwestern state of New Mexico. Truman had to make a difficult decision. He knew the atomic weapon would cause major death and suffering if it was used on a Japanese city. But he was willing to do anything to avoid the need for American troops to invade Japan. Such an invasion surely would be a long, bloody struggle.
A new prime minister and government in Japan were searching for a way to end the war. But Truman believed that the Japanese still were not ready to surrender. And he felt it was his duty to end the war as soon as possible. On August sixth, nineteen forty-five, the first bomb fell on the city of Hiroshima. It killed nearly eighty thousand people and destroyed a great many buildings. Three days later, a second bomb fell on the city of Nagasaki. It, too, caused great destruction in human life and property. The bombs left Japan's rulers with no choice. In less than one week, they surrendered. Truman always defended his decision strongly. "I understand the tragic importance of the atomic bomb," he told the world by radio shortly after the two bombings. "We knew our enemies also were searching for this secret. And we know the disaster that would have come to this nation and to all peaceful nations if they had found it. "Having found the bomb," said Truman, "we have used it. We have used it against those who attacked us. And we have used it to shorten the suffering of war, and to save the lives of thousands and thousands of young Americans." American scientists and engineers proved that wars could be won with research as well as with bullets. And all Americans learned how much could be gained when government, scientists, and universities worked together for common goals.
Roosevelt had understood this long before the war ended. He asked Vannevar Bush to study how the federal government could work with scientists and universities in peacetime. Bush studied the problem. And he offered a number of ideas to President Truman at the end of the war. Bush told the president that science was important to America's progress and safety. He called on the federal government to support scientific study and education. Professor Bush said that the nation's universities should be greatly strengthened. He called for the creation of a new government agency to provide money for useful science projects. Truman and the Congress agreed with Bush. And in the next few years, they helped the American scientific and research effort to grow to new size and strength. In nineteen forty-six, an Office of Naval Research was created to support basic science study in the universities. In the same year, the government created the Atomic Energy Commission to develop nuclear energy for military and peaceful uses. And in nineteen fifty, it created the powerful National Science Foundation to provide support to thousands of the nation's best scientists.
In the years that followed, American science would grow beyond the wildest dreams of Vannevar Bush or the other scientists who worked during World War Two. Universities would add thousands of new students. They would build new laboratories, book collections, and study centers. By the middle of the nineteen sixties, the federal government would spend more than thirteen thousand million dollars each year for research and development. And five hundred new centers of higher learning would be created. This investment would help make the United States the world's leader in such fields as computer science, genetics, and space travel.
You have been listening to THE MAKING OF A NATION, a program in Special English by the Voice of America. Your narrators have been Harry Monroe and Warren Scheer. Our program was written by David Jarmul.
重点解析
1.troop 军队；组
Accountability starts with the commander in charge of this troop.
军队的主管应该在开始就有责任。
2.surrender 投降；放弃
They have agreed on the terms of surrender.
他们就投降条件达成了协议。
3.committee 委员会
He submitted the report to the committee.
他向委员会呈交了一份报告。
4.bomb 炸弹
炸弹和其他爆炸物爆炸了。
The bomb and other explosive exploded.
5.explode 爆炸，爆发
They help you cool down when you feel like your anger might explode.
当你感觉自己要怒火爆发的时候，它们会帮助你冷静下来。
参考译文
《建国史话》——VOA慢速英语节目。
第二次世界大战以战争、科学和技术史上最重要的事件之一而结束。由美国科学家组成的团队秘密设计并制造了世界上第一颗原子弹。杜鲁门总统决定对日本投放原子弹。美国核武器的使用结束了一场可怕的世界性争斗，但也标志着现代核时代的开始。它表明科学技术在现代经济和军事系统中的重要性与日俱增。美国的领导人从建国之初就对科学感兴趣。本杰明·富兰克林和托马斯·杰斐逊不仅是著名的政治领袖，还是发明家和科学家。19世纪60年代内战期间，亚伯拉罕·林肯总统和国会建立了美国国家科学院。19世纪早期，美国创立了科学办事处来研究和改善农业、公共卫生和太空旅行。
1914年第一次世界大战开始时，美国联邦政府在许多方面都启用了科学家。伍德罗·威尔逊总统创立了国家研究委员会组织科学家和工程师工作，赢得这场战争。然而第二次世界大战之前，政府对科学的支持相当有限。只在为了实现某些明确的目标，比如更好的武器或军事运输系统，政府才愿意给予资金支持。第二次世界大战极大地改变了美国科学家和华盛顿联邦政府之间传统意义上有限关系。战争早期，阿道夫·希特勒的德国军队向世界展示了他们的新式坦克、大炮和其他武器威力。美国总统富兰克林·罗斯福认识到，如果美国参战就要研发自己的现代武器。于此，1940年罗斯福建立了国防研究委员会来支持和组织武器研究。新成立的委员会包括美国顶尖的科学家，其中有哈佛大学、麻省理工学院和贝尔实验室的校长。委员会的工作做得很好，因此，罗斯福后来又成立了规模更大的科学研究和发展办公室。这两个组织的领导人是伟大的科学家和组织者万尼瓦尔·布什。
布什是一名经验丰富的电气工程教授兼发明家，名声在外，为众多科学家所熟知。布什组建了一个团队，成员们努力上进。接下来的几年里，美国科学家和工程师的发明一项接着一项，帮助取得战争胜利。科学家们研发了新设备来帮助海军找到德国潜艇。他们改进了轰炸机搜寻目标的方式，还研发了更强大的火箭来保护登陆外国海滩的美军。美国科学家和医生在改进战时医学方法上也取得了巨大进步。第二次世界大战很可能是历史上首场受伤士兵幸存几率大于死亡的战争。然而，迄今为止最重要的科学发明就是原子弹。1939年，科学家阿尔伯特·爱因斯坦给罗斯福总统写了一封信。爱因斯坦告诉总统，可能很快就会研制出一种武器，该武器利用原子力量将会带来毁灭性的灾难。他敦促罗斯福让美国科学家赶在德国之前研制出原子弹。罗斯福同意了，他组建了一组特别的科学团队，工作内容就是我们熟知的曼哈顿计划。
罗斯福确保这些科学家得到了他们所需的所有资金和物资。还没等到科学家们完成，罗斯福就去世了。但是1945年4月，科学家们告诉新总统哈里·杜鲁门，原子弹的测试准备工作快要完成了。仅仅三个月后，他们在美国西南部的新墨西哥州进行了一次核试验，引爆了世界上第一枚核武器。杜鲁门不得不做出一个艰难的决定。他知道，如果在日本城市投放原子弹，将会给民众带来死亡和巨大的痛苦。但是为避免美军入侵日本，他愿意肝脑涂地。这肯定会是一场漫长而血腥的斗争。日本新首相和政府正在寻找结束战争的方法。但是杜鲁门认为日本还没有做好投降的准备，他觉得尽快结束战争是他的责任。
1945年8月6日，第一颗炸弹落在日本广岛，造成近8万人死亡，众多建筑被摧毁。三天后，第二枚炸弹落在长崎，它同样对人类的生命财产造成巨大的破坏。面对这些炸弹，日本统治者别无选择，不到一个星期就投降了。杜鲁门总是为自己辩解，“我知道原子弹带来的悲剧，”两起爆炸发生后不久，杜鲁门通过广播告诉全世界，“我们知道，敌人也在寻找原子弹的研制秘诀，要是敌人研制出原子弹，我们国家以及所有的和平国家都将面临灾难。”“所以我们先研制出原子弹”，杜鲁门说道，“我们使用它，并用它来对付那些攻击我们的人。我们用其减轻战争带来的痛苦，拯救成千上万美国年轻人的生命。”美国科学家和工程师证明，战争可以通过科学研究和子弹来赢得。所有美国人都知道，如果政府、科学家和大学为了共同的目标而共同努力，他们可以获得更多。早在战争结束之前，罗斯福就明白这一点。
他要求万尼瓦尔·布什研究和平时期联邦政府如何与科学家和高校合作。布什研究这个问题。在战争结束时，他向杜鲁门总统提出了一些建议。布什对总统说，科学对美国的进步和安全至关重要，他呼吁联邦政府支持科学研究和教育。布什教授说，应该大力加强美国的大学教育。他呼吁成立新的政府机构，为实用的科学项目提供资金。杜鲁门和国会同意布什的意见。在接下来的几年里，他们努力让美国的科学研究规模更大，实力更强。
1946年成立了海军研究办公室来支持大学的基础科学研究。同年，日本政府成立了原子能委员会，研制核能帮助加强军事，实现和平。1950年成立了强大的国家科学基金会，为成千上万顶尖的科学家提供资金支持。接下来的几年里，美国科学将超越万尼瓦尔·布什或其他二战期间工作的科学家们最疯狂的梦想。大学生源将扩招，成立新的实验室、馆藏和研究中心。20世纪60年代中期，联邦政府每年将投资130亿美元用于研发，成立500个新的高等教育中心。该项投资将使美国成为世界上计算机科学、遗传学和太空旅行等领域的领头人。
您正在收听的是VOA慢速英语节目《建国史话》，播报人哈里·梦露和沃伦·舍尔，撰写人David Jarmul。
译文为可可英语翻译，未经授权请勿转载！
