(单词翻译:单击)
听力文本
The second president, John Adams, was a New Englander. In the election of eighteen twenty-four, his son, John Quincy Adams, was one of four leading candidates for president. At the same time, the West began to make its presence felt in national politics. This week in our series, Maurice Joyce and Stewart Spencer discuss the election of eighteen twenty-four. General Andrew Jackson of Tennessee got the most electoral votes: ninety-nine. But he needed one hundred thirty-one to win a majority. The secretary of state, John Quincy Adams, was second with eighty-four votes. Treasury Secretary William Crawford received forty-one. And Henry Clay of Kentucky got thirty-seven. None of the candidates got a majority of the votes. And the decision went to the House of Representatives. The House voted on only the three top candidates for president. The most powerful man in Congress -- Henry Clay -- was not, therefore, a candidate. But Clay's support would be the greatest help any of the candidates could receive. All three wanted his support. Treasury Secretary Crawford had suffered a serious illness before the election, and his health was bad. Clay felt he could not support him for that reason.
This left Adams and Jackson. Clay did not agree with all of Adams's policies. But he did believe Adams had the education and ability to be president. Clay did not like Jackson, the hero of New Orleans during the War of Eighteen Twelve. He knew Jackson was poorly educated and easy to anger. Clay did not think Jackson would be a good president. So Clay decided to support Adams for president. He said nothing about this for a time. Several of Clay's friends visited Adams. They told him that Clay's supporters in the West would be pleased if Adams, as president, named Clay as secretary of state. Adams told them that if the votes of the West elected him president, he would put a westerner in his cabinet. But he would not promise that the westerner would be Clay, or that the cabinet job would be that of secretary of state. Clay still had not said publicly which candidate he supported. But it became known that his choice was Adams. Late in January, the Philadelphia newspaper Columbian Observer published an unsigned letter. The letter charged that Clay and Adams had made a secret agreement. Clay, the letter said, would give his support to Adams. In exchange, Adams would name Clay his secretary of state.
Clay was furious. He not only denied the charge, but offered to fight a duel with the letter-writer, should his name be known. Much was made of the charge that Clay had sold his vote to Adams. But no proof was ever given. Clay demanded an investigation. But the man who accused him in the newspaper letter refused to say anything. Clay was sure Jackson's supporters were responsible. Snow was falling in Washington on the morning of February ninth, the day that Congress would elect the president. At noon, members of the Senate walked into the House of Representatives. The electoral votes were counted, and it was announced officially that no candidate had won. The senators left, and the House began voting. Each state had one vote for president. Adams was sure he would get the votes of twelve states. Crawford had the votes of four and Jackson, seven. New York was the question. Seventeen of the New York congressmen were for Adams, and seventeen were opposed to him. Adams needed just one of these opposition votes to get the vote of New York and become president.
One of those New Yorkers opposed to Adams was a rich old man who represented the Albany area, Stephen Van Rensselaer. Although Van Rensselaer had supported Crawford or Jackson, he really was not sure now whom to support. Henry Clay had taken the old man into his office that morning and talked to him. Daniel Webster also was there. They both told the New York congressman that the safety of the nation depended on the election of Adams as president. Clay and Webster told the old man that his was the most important vote in the whole Congress. That Stephen Van Rensselaer would decide who would be president. The old man's head was not too clear after listening to Clay and Webster. He still did not know what to do. When the New York congressmen voted, Van Rensselaer still was not sure of his choice. And he put his head down on his desk and asked God to help him make the right choice. After this short prayer, he opened his eyes and saw on the floor at his feet a piece of paper with Adams's name on it. Van Rensselaer picked it up and put it in the ballot box as his vote. This gave Adams the vote of the state of New York and made him president of the United States.
A committee of congressmen was sent to Mister Adams's home to tell him of the vote. One member of the committee described the secretary of state: "Sweat rolled down his face. He shook from head to foot and was so nervous he could hardly stand to speak." Later in the evening, Adams had control of himself. President Monroe gave a big party at the White House. Adams was there. So was Jackson, and Clay. During the party, Adams and Jackson met face to face. Jackson had his arm around a young lady. "How do you do, Mister Adams," said Jackson. "I give you my left hand, for the right -- as you see -- is devoted to the fair. I hope you are well, sir." "Very well, sir," answered Adams, coolly. "I hope General Jackson is well." Two days later, Adams told President Monroe that he had decided to offer the job of secretary of state to Clay. He said he was doing so because of the western support he had received. Clay thought deeply for a week about the offer. He asked a number of friends for advice.
Most of them urged him to take the job. They told him that a man of the West was needed in the cabinet. And they said being secretary of state would greatly help his own chances of becoming president some day. Clay accepted the offer. He said he would serve as Adams's secretary of state. Until now, General Jackson had refused to believe the charges that Clay had sold his vote to Adams for the top cabinet job. Now he was sure of it. He wrote to a friend: "Was there ever before such bare faced corruption. What is this trade of vote for office, if not bribery?" Many of Jackson's supporters did not believe John Quincy Adams had the ability to be political leader of the party. They believed that Clay would seize the party leadership and use this power to help himself become elected the next president. Jackson, himself a senator, showed his feelings when the Senate was asked to approve Clay as secretary of state. He voted no. And thirteen other senators joined him against the nomination. But they were too few to prevent Clay from getting the job. The next presidential election was four years away.
General Andrew Jackson promised himself this would be one election he would not lose. Before he left Washington to return to Tennessee, Jackson wrote a letter that soon became public. "I became a soldier for the good of my country," Jackson wrote. "Difficulties met me at every step. I thank God that it was my duty to overcome them. I am in no way responsible to Henry Clay. There is a purer court to which I will put my case -- to the intelligent judgment of our patriotic and honest voters." General Jackson returned to Nashville to rest and plan. He was still a senator, and he questioned if it might not be best for him to resign from the Senate. He would be free of Washington politics and able to build his political strength for the election in eighteen twenty-eight. He decided to resign.
重点解析
1.face to face 面对面
Perhaps on the other side of eternity, when I see God face to face.
到那时可能我已经在天堂了，也已经面对面地见到了上帝。
2.agree with 同意，和…意见一致
I do not agree with him.
我不同意他的看法。
3.vote for 投票赞成
However, if only the Democrat or Republican had a real chance to win, most of the Tea Party supporters would vote for the Republican.
不过，如果仅仅只有民主党或共和党有赢的机会，大部分茶叶党支持者都会投票给共和党人。
4.decided to 决定
We decided to round off our tour of Europe with a brief visit to Madrid.
我们决定去马德里作一次短暂的访问，以此结束我们的欧洲之行。
参考译文
第二任总统约翰·亚当斯是新英格兰人。在1824年的总统选举中，亚当斯的儿子约翰·昆西·亚当斯是四个首席候选人之一。与此同时，西部开始在国家政治中崭露头角。本周节目中，莫里斯·乔伊斯和斯图尔特·斯宾塞将为您讲述1824年选举的故事。田纳西州的安德鲁·杰克逊将军获得的选票最多：99张，但他需要131票才能占得上峰。国务卿约翰·昆西·亚当斯以84票位居第二。财政部长威廉·克劳福德获得41票。肯塔基州的亨利·克莱得了37票。没有一位候选人得到超过半数的选票。总统候选人的抉择被提交给了众议院，众议院投票选出三位最优秀的总统候选人。因此，国会最有权势的人亨利·克莱并不是候选人。但克莱的支持将是所有候选人的最大助力。三位候选人都需要他的支持。选举前，美国财政部长克劳福德患了重疾，身体状况不佳。克莱觉得不能支持克劳福德。就只剩下亚当斯和杰克逊。克莱不同意亚当斯的所有政策。但是他相信亚当斯有能力成为总统。克莱不喜欢1812年新奥尔良战争中的英雄杰克逊。他知道杰克逊没有受过良好的教育，很容易发怒，克莱认为杰克逊不会成为一位好总统。所以克莱决定支持亚当斯竞选总统。有一段时间他对此只字未提。克莱的几个朋友拜访了亚当斯。朋友告诉亚当斯，如果亚当斯当选总统后任命克莱为国务卿，克莱在西部的支持者会很高兴。亚当斯说道，如果西部选他为总统，他会让一个西部人进入内阁。但他不会承诺这个人会是克莱，也不会承诺内阁的职务将是国务卿。
克莱仍然没有公开表示他支持哪位候选人。但后来大家都知道克莱选择了亚当斯。1月底，费城《哥伦比亚观察家报》发表了一封没有署名的信件。该信指控克莱和亚当斯签订了一项秘密协议。信中表示，克莱将支持亚当斯。作为交换，亚当斯将任命克莱为国务卿。克莱非常愤怒。他不仅否认了这一指控，还提出，如果他知道写信的人的名字，愿意和他对峙。很多人指责克莱把选票卖给了亚当斯。但是没有任何证据证明。克莱要求进行调查。但是在报纸上指责他的那个人拒绝回答。克莱肯定这个人是杰克逊的支持者。2月9日上午，华盛顿正下着雪，这一天是国会选举总统的日子。中午，参议院成员走进众议院。选举团的选票已经清点完毕，官方宣布没有候选人获胜。参议员们离开了，众议院开始投票。各州都有一票选举权。亚当斯确信他会得到十二个州的选票。克劳福德得到四票，杰克逊得到七票。纽约州会想选谁呢。17位纽约国会议员支持亚当斯，17位反对亚当斯。亚当斯只需要这些反对派中的一票就能获得纽约州的选票，成为总统。在那些反对亚当斯的纽约人中，有一位富有的老人，他是奥尔巴尼地区的代表斯蒂芬·范·伦斯勒。虽然范·伦斯勒曾经支持过克劳福德或杰克逊，但他现在真的不知道该支持谁了。那天早晨，亨利·克莱把老人带进了他的办公室，并和他谈了话。丹尼尔·韦伯斯特也在现场。他们都告诉纽约国会议员，国家的安全就看亚当斯能否当选总统了。
克莱和韦伯斯特告诉这位老人，他的选票是整个国会中最关键的一票。斯蒂芬·范·伦斯勒将决定谁将成为总统。听了克莱和韦伯斯特的解释，老人还理不清思绪，仍然不知道该怎么办。纽约国会议员投票时，范·伦斯勒仍然不知道选谁。他低下头，请求上帝帮助他做出正确的选择。简短的祈祷之后，他睁开眼睛，看到脚下的地板上有一张纸，上面写着亚当斯的名字。范·伦斯勒把它捡起来，作为选票投进了投票箱。亚当斯获得了纽约州的选票，成为美国总统。国会议员组成委员前往亚当斯的家中，告诉他投票结果。委员会的一名成员这样描述国务卿：“汗水从他的脸上滚落下来。他从头到脚不停地发抖，紧张得几乎说不出话来。”晚些时候，亚当斯控制住了自己。门罗总统在白宫举行了一个盛大的聚会。亚当斯在那里。杰克逊和克莱也在那儿。晚会上，亚当斯和杰克逊见面了。杰克逊搂着一位年轻女士。杰克逊说：“你好，亚当斯先生，我把左手给你，右手是给美人的，希望你一切都好，先生。”“很好，杰克逊先生。”亚当斯冷冷地回答。“我希望杰克逊将军身体健康。”两天后，亚当斯告诉门罗总统，他已决定将国务卿一职交给克莱。他说，这样做是因为他得到了西部的支持。克莱对这个提议深思了一个星期。他向许多朋友征求意见。大多数人敦促他接受这项工作，说内阁需要一个西部人。他们表示，担任国务卿将大大有助于他自己有朝一日成为总统。克莱接受了这个提议，表示他将担任亚当斯的国务卿。
到目前为止，杰克逊将军一直拒绝相信克莱以支持亚当斯的选票换取内阁最高职位的指控。如今他可以肯定了。他在给朋友的信中写道：“以前有过如此赤裸裸的腐败吗？如果不是贿赂，选举公职的交易是什么?”杰克逊的许多支持者不相信约翰·昆西·亚当斯有能力成为该党的政治领袖。他们相信克莱会掌握党的领导权，并利用这种权力帮助自己当选下一任总统。杰克逊本人是参议员，当参议院要求他批准克莱担任国务卿时，他说出了自己的感受。他投了反对票。其他13名参议员也加入了他的阵营，反对提名。但是反对者人数太少了，无法阻止克莱得到这份职务。距离下一次总统选举还有四年。安德鲁·杰克逊将军向自己保证，这次选举他不会输。在离开华盛顿返回田纳西州之前，杰克逊写了一封信，这封信不久被公之于众。“为了国家的利益，我当兵了，”杰克逊写道。“步履维艰，我感谢上帝，我有责任克服它们。我对亨利·克莱没有任何责任。法庭是公正的，我将把我的案子提交给法庭——由我们爱国而诚实的选民做出明智的判断。”杰克逊将军回到纳什维尔休息，计划着。他仍然是一名参议员，他质疑辞去参议员一职是否对他不利。他将摆脱华盛顿政治，并为1828年的选举积累了政治力量。他决定辞职。
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