(单词翻译:单击)
听力文本
Welcome to THE MAKING OF A NATION -- American history in VOA Special English. In eighteen thirty-six, Texas declared its independence from Mexico. Nine years later, in eighteen forty-five, the United States Congress passed a resolution inviting the Republic of Texas to join the Union as a state. President John Tyler signed the resolution on March first. That was just three days before his term ended and James Polk moved into the White House as the nation's eleventh president. Britain and France tried to prevent Texas from becoming a state. They got Mexico to agree to recognize the independence of Texas, but only if Texas agreed not to join the United States. Texas had two choices. It could become a state. Or it could remain a republic, with its independence recognized by Mexico. The Texas Congress chose statehood. This week in our series, Lew Roland and Jack Weitzel talk about statehood for Texas and about the presidency of James Polk.
James Polk had campaigned for the presidency on two promises. He declared that he would make all of Texas and all of Oregon part of the United States. The people had elected Polk because they shared his belief that the United States should extend from sea to sea -- from the Atlantic to the Pacific Oceans. They felt it was God's will, and their duty, to spread American democracy and freedom across the continent. In the words of poet Walt Whitman: "It is for the interest of mankind that [America's] power and territory should be extended -- the farther, the better." Traders from New England were the first Americans to visit Oregon. They stopped on the Oregon coast to trade for animal skins. Later, American explorers Lewis and Clark crossed the Louisiana territory to reach Oregon. And in eighteen hundred eleven, John Jacob Astor built a fur trading center at the mouth of Oregon's Columbia River. British explorers had given Britain claims to the same territory. The British Hudson's Bay Company also built a trading center on the Columbia and claimed a large area north of it. The two countries could not agree on how to divide Oregon between them. Since there were few settlers in Oregon, Britain and the United States agreed to occupy the territory jointly.
This system worked well until the eighteen forties. Then, thousands of Americans began moving west to Oregon. The new settlers were not satisfied with the joint occupation agreement. They wanted all of Oregon to belong to the United States. President Polk said he thought the United States had strong claims to all of the territory. But he said he would compromise. He offered to divide Oregon at the forty-ninth parallel of latitude. All north of this line would belong to Britain. All south of it -- including the Columbia River -- would belong to the United States. The offer was given to Britain's minister in Washington. He rejected it, refusing even to send it to London. He said Britain would accept nothing but the Columbia River as the southern border of British Oregon. President Polk withdrew the offer. He said America had no choice but to claim all of Oregon. He used strong language and seemed to say that the United States would fight, if necessary, to defend its claim. Polk really did not want war. But he thought a strong position was necessary in negotiating with Britain. He said softer treatment only led to stronger demands from Britain. Polk asked Congress to give him permission to end the joint occupation agreement. It did so in the spring of eighteen hundred forty-six.
In London, the British government decided that Oregon was not worth a war with the United States. It had demanded the Columbia River border because of the Hudson's Bay trading center on the river. The center had been moved farther north to Vancouver Island. So there was no real reason to continue this demand. The British foreign minister proposed a treaty that would make the forty-ninth parallel of latitude the border between the United States and British Oregon. The proposal was almost the same that President Polk had made earlier. Leaders in the western United States demanded that Polk reject the British offer. They wanted all of Oregon. Polk decided to let the Senate vote on the British proposal. The Senate accepted the treaty, and Polk signed it. The treaty made the forty-ninth parallel the border from the Rocky Mountains to the Pacific Ocean. The southern border of the Oregon territory was the forty-second parallel. South of this was California. The United States, for some time, had wanted to buy California from Mexico. Former President Tyler had asked his minister to Mexico to try to buy California. The minister, Waddy Thompson, had been to California. He described it as the richest, the most beautiful, the healthiest country in the world. Thompson said the port of San Francisco was big enough to hold all the navies of the world. He said San Francisco, some day, would control the trade of all of the Pacific Ocean.
There was little chance that Thompson could get California from Mexico. But then something happened that destroyed any chance of getting California peacefully. The commander of a United States navy force in the Pacific, Thomas Jones, received news that led him to believe the United States was at war with Mexico. He sailed to Monterey, the capital of California. The navy force arrived there in October, eighteen hundred forty-two. Jones and his men seized Monterey and held it for two days. He found he had made a mistake and returned the town to Mexican officials. Jones apologized. But his actions greatly angered Mexican leaders. They refused even to talk about selling California to the United States. Mexico broke relations with the United States when Congress approved statehood for Texas. Mexican officials had warned that Texas statehood would lead to war. After Polk became president, he sent a representative to Mexico to try to establish diplomatic relations again. A weak government was in power in Mexico, headed by President Jose Joaquin Herrera. Herrera at first agreed to meet with the American, John Slidell, to discuss four offers from President Polk. Earlier, Mexico had agreed to pay more than two million dollars for damages claimed by Americans. But it did not have the money. Slidell was to offer to pay these claims if Mexico would accept the Rio Grande River as the border between Texas and Mexico.
And America would pay Mexico five million dollars for New Mexico and twenty-five million more for California. If these offers were rejected, Slidell was to try to buy part of California for five million dollars. Slidell arrived in Mexico City in December, eighteen hundred forty-five. The Mexican government had grown even weaker. And Herrera was afraid he would be forced from power if he met with the American diplomat. The Herrera government fell anyway. And the new Mexican government refused to talk with the American representative. Slidell returned to the United States, firm in the belief that only force could win the Mexican territories the United States wanted. President Polk shared Slidell's belief. He learned in January, eighteen hundred forty-six, that Mexico had refused to negotiate with his representative. Polk had wanted a peaceful settlement of the differences with Mexico. This now seemed impossible. Perhaps, he thought, a more forceful policy would make Mexico negotiate. President Polk had sent several thousand American soldiers to Texas six months before, when Texas accepted statehood. This force, led by General Zachary Taylor, had camped near the town of Corpus Christi at the mouth of the Nueces River. Polk now ordered Taylor's soldiers to the Rio Grande River. He told them to stay on the north side of the river. Should Mexico attack, Taylor and his men were to strike back as hard as possible. General Taylor was glad to get his orders. For months, his men had been training at Corpus Christi. They were ready for action.
重点解析
1.belong to 归于；属于
Earls, princes, and kings belong to the nobility.
伯爵、亲王和国王属于贵族。
2.at first 起先；最初
At first I felt very resentful and angry about losing my job.
起初我对丢掉工作感到非常怨恨和恼怒。
3.agree on 同意；对…意见一致
I refuse to act that way when my kids fight.
我的孩子们打起架来时，我不会那样做。
4.be satisfied with 对……感到满意；对……满意
I told myself I would be satisfied with whatever I could get.
我告诉自己，不管得到什么我都会心满意足的。
参考译文
欢迎收听VOA慢速英语之建国史话节目。1836年，德克萨斯宣布脱离墨西哥独立。1845年，美国国会通过了一项决议，要求德克萨斯共和国作为一个州加入联邦。总统约翰·泰勒于3月1日签署了这项决议。三天后，他的总统任期即满，詹姆斯·波尔克作为美国第十一任总统进入白宫。英国和法国试图阻止德克萨斯成为美国的一个州，他们让墨西哥同意承认德克萨斯独立，但前提是德克萨斯同意不加入美国。德克萨斯有两个选择，它可以成为一个州，或仍然以共和国的身份存在，墨西哥承认它的独立。德克萨斯议会选择了州制。本周，在我们的系列节目中，卢·罗兰和杰克·韦泽尔将探讨赋予德克萨斯州地位和詹姆斯·波尔克总统任期内发生的故事。
詹姆斯·波尔克为竞选总统做出了两个承诺。他宣布将把德克萨斯和俄勒冈全部纳入美国领土。人民选择波尔克作为总统，是因为他们认同他的观点，即美国领土应从大西洋延伸到太平洋。他们认为，将美国的民主和自由传播到整个大陆是上帝的意愿，也是他们的职责所在。用诗人沃尔特·惠特曼的话来说：“为了人类的利益，（美国）的权力和领土应该扩大——越远越好。” 来自新英格兰的商人是第一批造访俄勒冈的美国人，他们停留在俄勒冈海岸交易兽皮。后来，美国探险家刘易斯和克拉克穿过路易斯安那州到达俄勒冈。1811年，约翰·雅各布·阿斯特在俄勒冈的哥伦比亚河口建立了一个毛皮交易中心。英国探险家曾向英国宣称拥有同一领土，英国哈德逊湾公司也在哥伦比亚建造了一个贸易中心，并声称拥有该中心以北有一大片区域。两国在如何划分俄勒冈领土问题上未能达成一致。由于俄勒冈的定居者很少，英国和美国同意共同占领该地区。
直到十九世纪四十年代，该系统都运转良好。后来，成千上万的美国人开始向西迁移到俄勒冈。新来的定居者对共同占领俄勒冈的协议表示不满，他们希望俄勒冈的所有地区都属于美国。总统波尔克说，他认为美国坚定主张拥有所有领土。但他也表示愿意采取折衷方案，提出要在纬度四十九条平行线处划分俄勒冈。这条线以北所有的领土都归英国所有，包括哥伦比亚河在内的南部所有地区都属于美国。这项提议提交给英国驻华盛顿部长，他将其驳回，甚至拒绝把它寄回伦敦。他说，英国仅接受哥伦比亚河，将其作为英国在俄勒冈的南部边界。总统波尔克撤回了此项提议，他说美国别无选择，只能宣布拥有俄勒冈的全部领土。他言辞非常强硬，似乎在表示美国将在必要时维护自己的主张而战。波尔克并不想战争发生，但他认为在与英国谈判时必须拥有坚定的立场。他说，温和的对待只会导致英国提出更强硬的要求。 波尔克要求国会允许他终止联合占领协议，国会于1846年春天予以批准。
在伦敦，英国政府认为不值得因为俄勒冈而与美国开战。因为哥伦比亚河上有哈德逊湾贸易中心，所以英国要求以哥伦比亚河作为边界线。该中心已经向北移到更远的温哥华岛，所以没有理由继续提出这样的要求。英国外交部长提出一项条约，用纬度四十九条平行线处作为美属和英属俄勒冈之间的边界，这与总统波尔克早前提出的建议不谋而合。美国西部各州的领导人要求波尔克拒绝英国的提议，他们想要整个俄勒冈的领土。波尔克决定让参议院对英国的提议进行投票。参议院接受了该条约，波尔克只得签署通过。该条约划定四十九条平行线处为边界线，即从落基山脉延伸到太平洋。俄勒冈领土的南部边界是四十二条平行线处，以南部分为加利福尼亚，美国一直想向墨西哥购买加利福尼亚。前总统泰勒要求墨西哥部长设法买下加利福尼亚，部长韦迪·汤普森去过加利福尼亚。他称之为世界上最富有、最美丽、最健康的国家。汤普森说，旧金山港非常大，足以容纳世界上所有的海军。他说，总有一天旧金山将控制整个太平洋上的贸易。
汤普森几乎没有机会从墨西哥买到加利福尼亚，但后来发生了一件事，导致无法以和平的方式获取加利福尼亚。美国太平洋海军司令托马斯·琼斯收到消息，认为美国在与墨西哥开战。他航行到加利福尼亚首府蒙特雷，海军部队于1842年10月抵达。琼斯和他的手下攻下蒙特利，并占领了两天。他发现自己犯了一个错误，于是又将城镇还给了墨西哥官员。琼斯表示歉意，但他的行为激怒了墨西哥领导人，他们甚至拒绝商讨将加利福尼亚卖给美国的事宜。就在国会批准德克萨斯成为美国一个州的同时，墨西哥与美国断绝了关系。墨西哥官员曾警告说，德克萨斯获得州地位将导致战争。波尔克当选总统后，他派了一名代表前往墨西哥，试图再次建立外交关系。当时的墨西哥，由总统何塞·华金·赫雷拉领导，其政府软弱无能。起初，赫雷拉同意与美国人约翰·斯莱德尔会面，讨论总统波尔克提出的四项提议。早些时候，墨西哥同意支付200多万美元赔偿美国人的损失，但墨西哥没有钱。如果墨西哥接受用格兰德河作为德克萨斯州和墨西哥的边界，斯莱德尔将提出支付索赔。
美国将向墨西哥支付500万美元购买新墨西哥、2500万美元购买加利福尼亚。如果这些提案遭到拒绝，斯莱德尔将试着以500万美元收购加利福尼亚的部分土地。斯莱德尔于1845年12月抵达墨西哥城，此时的墨西哥政府变得更加软弱无能。赫雷拉担心，如果他会见美国外交官，自己将被迫下台。赫雷拉政府还是倒台了，新的墨西哥政府拒绝与美国代表商谈。斯莱德尔返回美国，他坚定地认为只有武力才能赢得美国想要的墨西哥领土。总统波尔克赞同斯莱德尔的观点。1846年1月，他得知墨西哥拒绝与他的代表谈判。波尔克希望和平解决与墨西哥的分歧，但现在看来这一愿望无法实现。他认为，也许使用更强硬的政策能够迫使墨西哥进行谈判。六个月前，就在德克萨斯被授予州地位的时候，总统波尔克曾派遣数千名美国士兵前往德克萨斯。这支部队由扎卡里·泰勒将军率领，在努塞斯河口的科珀斯克里斯蒂镇附近扎营。现在，波尔克命令泰勒的士兵前往格兰德河，让他们驻留在河的北岸。如果墨西哥发动进攻，泰勒及其手下将尽最大可能进行反击。泰勒将军接到命令时非常高兴，几个月来，他的手下一直驻扎在科珀斯克里斯蒂接受训练，时刻准备行动。
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