(单词翻译:单击)
听力文本
Aaron Burr was vice president of the United States. His term came to an end in eighteen hundred and five. He was heavily in debt and his political future did not look promising. Burr was not without plans, however. For some time, he had been considering an idea. He wanted to seize Mexico from Spain. Burr made secret deals with a number of people. He told them different things to get their help or their money for his plan. What was Aaron Burr's real goal? Was it to seize Mexico? Or was it to create a country of his own out of some of America's western lands? The facts are not clear. This week in our series, Shirley Griffith and Steve Ember tell about Burr's secret activities, and the trial that ended them. Burr traveled west in the spring of eighteen-oh-five. His trip would take him down the Ohio and Mississippi rivers to the port city of New Orleans. In that city, he talked with a number of rich, powerful men. He explained his plan. And he found support among those who wished to end Spanish control of Mexico. Burr was then ready to return east and put his plan into action. On the way back, Burr stopped in Saint Louis to see General James Wilkinson, governor of the Louisiana Territory. Wilkinson was plotting with Burr. At the same time, however, Wilkinson was spying for Spain. He did not want to lose the money Spain paid him for information.
So he began to think about how he could pull out of Burr's plan. He advised Burr that it might be best to forget Mexico, that perhaps the time was not right. He offered to help Burr get back into politics as a congressman from Indiana. Burr rejected Wilkinson's offer. He was not yet ready to give up his dream about Mexico. Burr had hoped to begin his move against Mexico in the spring of eighteen-oh-six. Without money, however, he could do nothing. He tried to get money from people who might be interested in sharing the riches of Mexico. But he was not successful. Nor did he get the money and ships he had asked earlier from Britain. War between the United States and Spain was an important part of Burr's plan. Should there be such a war, Burr was sure the men of the western lands would join him against the Spanish in Mexico. Without war, the campaign might fail. Burr received bad news after he returned to Washington. He met with President Thomas Jefferson. Jefferson made clear that there would be no war with Spain. After his meeting with Jefferson, Burr began to make new plans.
He would forget the idea of invading Mexico -- at least temporarily. Instead, he said he would build a settlement in Louisiana and wait for a better time. While Aaron Burr had been traveling in the west, stories began to spread about his activities. Newspaper reports came close to accusing him of plotting to split the Union. People seemed willing to believe the reports. This was the situation General Wilkinson would use to pull out of Burr's plan. Wilkinson wrote a letter to President Jefferson. He claimed that a force of ten thousand men was moving toward New Orleans. He said it was part of a campaign against Mexico. He gave details of the campaign, but claimed he did not know who was leading it. He warned the president that the force might try to seize Louisiana as well as Mexico. It was not the first letter Jefferson received about Burr's Mexican campaign. Nor was it the first to say that Burr was, in fact, planning to split some western states from the Union. But, unlike the other letters, Jefferson accepted Wilkinson's as firm evidence against Burr. The president called a cabinet meeting to discuss what should be done. The result of the meeting was this: all American military commanders were ordered to stop Burr. President Jefferson then made a public declaration.
He said a private military campaign was about to begin against the Spanish, and that anyone involved should leave it immediately. The declaration did not speak of Aaron Burr by name. Jefferson also spoke of the private military campaign in his yearly State of the Union message to Congress. Congress asked for more information. In a special message, the president said Burr had several plans. One was to split the western states from the Union. Another was to seize Mexico. He said Burr wanted to make people believe he was building a settlement in Louisiana. But, he said, that was just a trick. The president said Burr had discovered that the people of the western states would not support any attempt to take them out of the Union. So, the president said, Burr had decided to capture New Orleans. Jefferson said there was no question that Burr was guilty. Burr's guilt had not been proved in court. But to many Americans, Jefferson's statement was taken as truth. Some demanded that Burr be put to death for treason. The crime of treason, as explained in America's Constitution, is the act of a citizen making war against the United States.
Burr was arrested in February, eighteen-oh-seven, and taken to Richmond, Virginia. A federal grand jury hearing would be held to decide if there was enough evidence to bring him to trial. In June, the grand jury officially charged him with treason. Burr would stand trial before John Marshall, chief justice of the United States. At one point in court, Burr spoke for himself. "Treason," he said, "is not possible without action. Yet I am being attacked -- not for acts -- but because of false reports about what I might do. The whole country has been turned against me. Is this justice? Wilkinson frightened the president with his reports about me. Then, the president frightened the people." It was true that President Jefferson wanted to prove Burr guilty. He ordered government officials in all parts of the country to find witnesses who could give evidence against Burr. Some of Jefferson's opponents said he did this to turn the trial into a political battle. They believed he wanted to use the trial record to attack Chief Justice Marshall, who was a member of the opposition Federalist Party. Jefferson objected to the way Marshall controlled the Supreme Court. He felt Marshall used his position to threaten the powers of the presidency and Congress.
Chief Justice Marshall knew of Jefferson's part in the accusations against Burr. He was extremely careful and fair in giving his opinions and decisions. At the end of August, Chief Justice Marshall stopped taking evidence. He told the court that -- under the Constitution -- a charge of treason must be proved by two witnesses. He said the government's claim had not been proved by even one witness. He ordered the jury to decide the case. On September first, the jury announced its decision. It said: "We of the jury declare that Aaron Burr is not proved guilty by any evidence offered to us. Therefore, we find him not guilty." Burr and his lawyers angrily protested the way the decision had been written. They said it was wrong for the jury to say more than "guilty" or "not guilty." Marshall agreed. He ordered the decision to be changed to read, simply, "not guilty." The trial was over. Aaron Burr lived another twenty-nine years. He spent some time in Europe, and then New York City. A few hours before he died, a friend asked if he had ever plotted -- as part of his plan to seize Mexico -- to split the Union of American states. Burr answered: "No! I would as soon have thought of seizing the moon and informing my friends that I would divide it among them."
重点解析
1.turned against 反对
Public opinion turned against nuclear power after Three Mile Island. But it was the economics of nuclear power that changed fundamentally.
尽管三哩岛事故后公众转而反对核电，但是发生根本改变的是核电经济。
2.more than 多于；超出；比……多
That would be more than I have expected.
那已经比我期望的还要多了。
3.offered to 提出
All of us in Australia will feel the same way and our government has offered to help in any way possible.
澳大利亚所有人都对此感到悲痛。澳大利亚政府已经表示，将提供一切有可能的援助。
4.pull out 离开，撤离；拔出；
Analysts say trade disputes between the United States and China are reasons to expand, rather than pull out of local partnerships.
多位分析师指出,美国和中国间的贸易争端是扩大,而非撤离本地合作关系的理由.
5.bring sb to trial 审判某人
Human Rights Watch called on the United States to close the Guantanamo camp, noting that it is long past time to either bring to trial or set free the detainees who remain there.
人权观察敦促美国关闭关塔纳摩俘虏营，并表示不管是对拘留在那儿的俘虏进行审判，或将他们释放出来，都来得太迟了。
参考译文
亚伦·伯尔是美国副总统，1805年结束任期。他负债累累，政治前途看来并不乐观。然而，伯尔并非没有计划。一段时间以来，他一直都有一个想法。他想从西班牙手中夺取墨西哥。伯尔私下里联系了许多人。但他告诉每个人的内容都不一样，为的是得到他们的资助。亚伦·伯尔的真正目标是什么？是为了占领墨西哥吗？或者是在美国西部的土地上建立自己的国家？事实并不清楚。本周节目中，雪莉·格里菲斯和史蒂夫·恩伯讲述了伯尔的秘密行动，及结束其行动的审判。1805年春天，伯尔动身西行。他将沿着俄亥俄河和密西西比河到达港口城市新奥尔良。在新奥尔良，他和许多有钱势的人进行了交谈，并解释了他的计划。他得到了那些希望结束西班牙对墨西哥控制的人的支持。伯尔准备返回东部，实施他的计划。在回去的途中，伯尔在圣路易斯停留，看望了路易斯安那州州长詹姆斯·威尔金森将军。威尔金森在和伯尔密谋。然而，与此同时，威尔金森却是西班牙的间谍。威尔金森不想失去西班牙付给他的情报费。于是，他开始思考如何才能退出伯尔的计划。威尔金森建议伯尔最好忘掉墨西哥，也许时机尚未成熟。他表示愿意帮助伯尔重返政坛，成为印第安纳州的国会议员。伯尔拒绝了威尔金森的提议。他并不准备放弃他的墨西哥之梦。伯尔曾原打算在1806年春天开始对墨西哥实施行动。然而，没有资金，他什么也做不了。
伯尔试图从那些可能想分享墨西哥财富的人那里获取资金，但没有成功。也没有从英国得到他早些时候要求的资金和船只。美国和西班牙之间的战争是伯尔计划的重要组成部分。如果战争爆发，伯尔确信西部的人们会和他一起在墨西哥对抗西班牙人。如果战争没有爆发，他的计划可能会失败。伯尔回到华盛顿后收到了坏消息。他会见了托马斯·杰斐逊总统，杰斐逊明确表示不会与西班牙开战。与杰斐逊会面后，伯尔开始制定新的计划。他会忘记入侵墨西哥的想法--至少暂时不会攻打墨西哥。他表示将会在路易斯安那州建立定居点，等待时机成熟。亚伦·伯尔西行的这段时间里，关于他的故事开始流传开来。新闻报导指控他密谋分裂联邦。人们似乎愿意相信这些报道。威尔金森将军利用这一形势从伯尔的计划脱身。威尔金森给杰斐逊总统写了一封信，声称有一万人正在向新奥尔良进发。他表示这是针对墨西哥的行动的一部分。他提供了计划的细节，但表示不知道领导者是谁。他警告总统，该部队可能试图夺取路易斯安那州和墨西哥。这不是杰弗逊收到的第一封关于伯尔进攻墨西哥的信。事实上，也不是第一封说伯尔计划将一些西部州从联邦分裂出去的信。但是，与其他信件不同的是，杰斐逊接受威尔金森的信作为制裁伯尔的确凿证据。总统召开了内阁会议商量对策。会议的结果是这样的：所有的美国军事指挥官都被要求阻止伯尔。
杰斐逊总统随后发表了一项公开声明。他说，一场针对西班牙的私人军事行动即将开始，任何相关人员都应该立即离开。宣言没有提到亚伦·伯尔的名字。杰斐逊还在向国会发表的年度国情咨文中谈到了私人军事行动。国会要求提供更多信息。杰斐逊专门提出伯尔的几个计划。一个是把西部各州从联邦分裂出去。另一个是占领墨西哥。杰斐逊说，伯尔想让人们相信，他正在路易斯安那州建立定居点。但是，这只是一个诡计。杰斐逊表示，伯尔发现，西部各州的人民不支持他的脱离联邦计划。所以，伯尔决定占领新奥尔良。杰斐逊说，伯尔有罪，这一点毫无疑问。伯尔的罪行尚未在法庭上得到证实。但对许多美国人来说，杰斐逊的声明就是事实。一些人要求以叛国罪处死伯尔。根据美国宪法，对美国开战的行为属于叛国罪。伯尔于1807年2月被捕，然后被带到弗吉尼亚的里士满。联邦大陪审团将举行听证会，以决定是否有足够的证据将他送上法庭。6月，大陪审团正式指控伯尔犯有叛国罪。伯尔将接受美国首席大法官约翰·马歇尔的审判。在法庭上，伯尔一度为自己辩护。他说："不采取行动，就不能构成叛国罪，然而，我之所以受到攻击，不是因为行动，而是因为有关我可能行动的虚假报道。全国人民都反对我。这是正义吗？威尔金森的那些关于我的报道吓坏了总统。然后，总统成功让人民感到害怕。"杰斐逊总统确实想证明伯尔有罪。
他命令全国各地的政府官员寻找证人，提供不利于伯尔的证据。杰斐逊的一些反对者说，他这样做是为了把伯尔的审判变成一场政治斗争。他们认为，杰斐逊想利用这次审判攻击身为反对党联邦党人的首席大法官马歇尔。杰斐逊反对马歇尔控制最高法院的方式。他觉得马歇尔利用职权来威胁总统和国会的权力。马歇尔大法官知道杰斐逊在伯尔案件中的角色。所以他在发表意见和决定时非常谨慎和公正。8月底，首席大法官马歇尔停止取证。他告诉法庭，根据宪法，叛国罪必须有两名证人。他说，一个证人都没有。他命令陪审团裁决此案。9月1日，陪审团宣布了他们的决定。裁决书上写道："本陪审团宣布，目前证据不能证明亚伦·伯尔有罪。所以判定他亚伦·伯尔无罪，伯尔和他的律师们愤怒地抗议判决的撰写方式。他们说，陪审团除了"有罪"或"无罪"之外，不应该说别的。马歇尔表示同意。他命令将判决改为"无罪"。审判结束。亚伦·伯尔又生活了二十九年。他在欧洲待了一段时间，然后去了纽约。在他死前几个小时，一个朋友问他是否曾密谋分裂美国各州，作为他占领墨西哥计划的一部分。伯尔回答说："没有！我只是想夺取月亮，然后告诉我的朋友们，我要和他们分享。"
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