(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 forty-eight, while James Polk was president, there was a great constitutional debate in the United States. It arose over slavery in the new territories. Southerners argued that they had the right to take slaves into New Mexico and California. Northerners opposed any further spread of slavery. The question was this: did Congress have the power to control or even ban slavery in the new territories? There seemed to be no answer to the problem. Everyone agreed that governments had to be organized in the territories. But northern and southern leaders could not settle their dispute over slavery. Now, with this week's program in our series, here are Jack Moyles and Jack Weitzel.
Senator John Clayton of Delaware proposed to the Senate that it name a special committee on the question of slavery in the new territories. Both parties -- the Whigs and the Democrats -- had the same number of senators on the committee. Senator Clayton was its chairman. South and North were equally represented. After six days, Clayton's committee agreed on a compromise bill. It proposed that Oregon be organized as free territory. Slavery there would be illegal. And on California and New Mexico, the bill proposed this: they could be organized as territories. But their territorial legislatures would not have the power to act on the issue of slavery. All questions on slavery in these two territories must be decided by the United States Supreme Court. Not everyone believed this plan was a good one. Some northern senators believed that Chief Justice Taney would decide for slavery. Southern senators were just as sure that Taney would decide against slavery. Many Whigs in the House of Representatives opposed the plan, because they feared that the political dispute over slavery would destroy the Supreme Court. The Senate approved the compromise bill. But the House rejected it.
After long debate, Congress finally approved territorial government for Oregon. And it voted that Oregon should be free territory, with slavery illegal. The vote on the Oregon bill was very close. It passed in the Senate only because two men from slave states voted for it. They were Senator Thomas Benton of Missouri and Senator Sam Houston of Texas. Senator John C. Calhoun said it was a bad defeat for the South. But what was worse was the fact that it was caused by the votes of two southern senators. Soon after, at the end of August, Congress ended its session. And the nation's leaders prepared for the national election of eighteen forty-eight. The country moved quickly into the presidential campaign. President Polk was old, tired and in poor health. He had decided not to try for a second term. Polk felt he had done his duty. During the first days of his administration, he listed the things he planned to do as president. First, he wanted to reduce the tax on imports. Second, he wished to establish the independent treasury, which the Whigs had voted out. Third, he hoped to settle the Oregon border dispute with Britain. And fourth, he wanted to get California for the United States. Less than four years later, he had succeeded with each item on his list. The United States and Britain agreed on a compromise in the Oregon dispute. In eighteen forty-six, he was able to establish the independent Treasury again, where the government could keep its own funds. No longer would government funds be kept in private banks.
That same year, Polk was able to get Congress to approve a bill that greatly reduced the taxes on imports. And the peace treaty with Mexico gave the United States not only California, but also New Mexico. So, Polk believed he had served his country well. Polk, however, had not served his party well. He was not a good politician. He failed to unite the disputing groups of the Democratic Party. What was worse, he let them move even farther apart. There seemed to be no strong Democratic candidate who could unite the party. At one extreme were the supporters of former President Van Buren -- New York Democrats opposed to slavery. They were called "Barnburners." They got this name from their political opponents, who charged that they were willing to burn down the barn to get rid of pro-slavery rats. At the party's other extreme were the Democrats of the South, led by John C. Calhoun of South Carolina. In every state, the Democrats were divided between those who supported the administration and those opposed to it. The Democrats met in Baltimore in May eighteen forty-eight to choose their presidential candidate. Several men were proposed as possibilities: Polk's Treasury Secretary Robert Walker of Mississippi; John Dix of New York; and Senator Lewis Cass of Michigan. On the fourth vote, the convention chose Cass as the party's presidential candidate. Cass was sixty-six years old. He was a middle-of-the-road Democrat. He was a northerner who did not oppose slavery.
On the question of slavery in the new territories, Cass believed that the people of the territory should make the decision. The Barnburner Democrats of New York refused to accept Cass as their candidate. They walked out of the Baltimore convention. Senator Henry Clay -- three times the Whig Party choice for president -- expected to be its candidate again. The old members of the party still supported Clay. But young Whigs felt that a new candidate was needed. Some Whig leaders remembered how William Henry Harrison had won the presidency for the party by campaigning as a military hero. The country had a new military hero now. "Old Zach" -- General Zachary Taylor. General Taylor and his men never lost a battle in the Mexican War. Several times, he defeated Mexican forces much larger than his. After the general's first victory, New York political leader Thurlow Weed happened to meet Taylor's brother on a Hudson River steamboat. That meeting had a most important effect on future events. Weed asked Joseph Taylor if his brother was a political man. Joseph answered that "Old Zach" was not. He said his brother belonged to no party, that often he did not even vote. He said Zach supported Henry Clay and did not like Andrew Jackson.
Joseph said his brother felt strongly that American products should be protected against competition from foreign imports. He felt so strongly about it, Joseph said, that he refused to wear any imported clothing. Weed made a quick decision. "Your brother," he said, "will be our next president." "That is preposterous. My brother knows nothing about government or civil affairs. When I tell you," said Joseph Taylor, "that he is not as fit to be president as I am, you will see how foolish this idea is." Weed, however, did not think his proposal was foolish. He began to build support for General Taylor among Whig politicians. When Old Zach first heard of efforts to make him president, he agreed with his brother. The idea was foolish. "I would not accept such high office," he said, "even if it were offered." This statement he made in June, eighteen forty-six. A month later, he was saying he was not a candidate for president -- and never would be. He said he felt it was wrong to make a military man president. But, a few months later, Taylor changed his mind. He told his son-in-law in December: "I will not say I would not serve if the good people were to be so unwise as to elect me." By July of eighteen forty-seven, Old Zach had made up his mind. He told a friend: "I am satisfied that if the election were held now, nothing could prevent me from becoming president." Senator Clay did not think Taylor had the ability to be president. But Clay knew well how the voters loved a military hero. Senator Clay was seventy years old. He knew this would be his last chance to become president. He worked very hard to get the support of Whig leaders.
重点解析
1.seem to 好像；看起来
They seem to have lost their desire for life.
他们似乎已丧失了对生活的热望。
2.soon after 不久；很快
He and Liz became lovers soon after they first met.
他和莉兹初次见面后不久就成了情侣。
3.move into 进入；迁居
As we move into broadband, a wide range of e-commerce services will become available.
我们转入宽频传输领域后，将会提供多种电子商务服务。
4.fail to 未能；使…失望
If executives fail to exploit the opportunities of networking they risk being left behind.
如果高管们未能抓住机会建立关系网，他们就有落后的风险。
参考译文
欢迎收听VOA慢速英语之建国史话节目。1848年，詹姆斯·波尔克担任总统时，美国发生了一场规模壮大的宪法辩论，它起源于新领地的奴隶制。南方人认为他们有权把奴隶带到新墨西哥州和加利福尼亚州，北方人则反对奴隶制的进一步扩沿。问题是：国会有权控制甚至禁止在新领地的沿用奴隶制吗？这个问题似乎没有答案，所有人都同意必须在这些新领地组建政府。但是北方和南方的领导人无法解决他们关于奴隶制的争论。现在，在本周的系列节目中，将由杰克·莫伊尔斯和杰克·威策尔为我们讲述。
特拉华州参议员约翰·克莱顿向参议院提议，成立一个特别委员会来讨论新领地的奴隶制问题。辉格党和民主党在该委员会中的参议员人数相同，参议员克莱顿是委员会主席。南方和北方的代表人数相等。六天后，克莱顿的委员会同意了一项妥协法案，该法案建议把俄勒冈州组织成自由区，蓄奴在该地区是非法的。在加利福尼亚州和新墨西哥州，法案提出了这样的建议：他们可以是美国的领土，但他们的领土立法机构无权就奴隶制问题采取行动，这两个地区有关奴隶制的所有问题必须由美国最高法院决定。不是所有人都相信这是个好计划，一些北方参议员认为，首席大法官塔尼将决定奴隶制的问题，南方参议员也同样确信塔尼会决定反对奴隶制。众议院的许多辉格党人反对这项计划，因为他们担心有关奴隶制的政治纠纷会摧毁最高法院。参议院通过了折中法案，但是众议员拒绝通过。
经过长时间的辩论，国会最终批准了俄勒冈州的属地政府。国会投票认为俄勒冈州应该是自由领土，奴隶制是非法的。俄勒冈法案的投票数量非常接近，它在参议院获批仅仅是因为两个来自允许蓄奴州的议员投了赞成票。他们是密苏里州的参议员托马斯·本顿和德克萨斯州的参议员萨姆·休斯顿。参议员约翰·C·卡尔霍恩说，这对南方来说是一场惨败。但更糟糕的是，这是由两名南方的参议员给出的投票。不久之后，在八月底，国会结束了会议。全国的领袖为1848年的全国大选作准备。美国迅速开始总统竞选活动，总统波尔克年老多病，而且身心疲惫，他决定不再连任。波尔克觉得他已经履行了自己的职责，在他执政的头几天，他就列出了他作为总统打算做的事情。首先，他想降低进口税。第二，他希望建立独立的国库，但辉格党已经否决了这项计划。第三，他希望解决与英国有关的俄勒冈州边境的争端。第四，他想把加利福尼亚纳入美国领土。不到四年，他成功地完成了清单上的每一项工作。美国和英国同意就俄勒冈州争端问题达成折中法案。在1846年，他再次建立独立国库，使政府可以保留自己的资金，不再将其存放于私有银行。
同年，波尔克使国会批准了一项大大降低进口税的法案。与墨西哥签订的和平条约不仅使美国获得了加利福尼亚，而且还得到了新墨西哥。因此，波尔克认为他尽到了自己应有的职责。然而，波尔克并没有做好所在政党的工作。他不是一个好的政治家，未能统一民主党中有争议的团体。更糟的是，他让他们渐行渐远。似乎缺少一位强有力的民主党候选人能使该党团结起来。其中一个极端派是前总统范布伦的支持者——反对奴隶制的纽约民主党人。人们称他们为“焚烧谷仓的民主党人”，这个名字是他们的政治对手起的，对手们指责他们宁愿烧毁谷仓也要摆脱支持奴隶制的鼠辈。该党的另一个极端派是由南卡罗来纳州的约翰·C·卡尔霍恩领导的南方民主党人。在每一个州，民主党人都被划分为支持政府者和反对政府者两部分。民主党人于1848年5月在巴尔的摩举行会议，选出他们的总统候选人。有几个人有望成为总统候选人：波尔克的财政部长，密西西比州的罗伯特·沃克；纽约州的约翰·迪克斯；和密歇根州的参议员刘易斯·卡斯。在第四次投票中，大会选择卡斯作为该党的总统候选人。卡斯66岁，是民主党的中间派。他是一个不反对奴隶制的北方人。
有关新领地的奴隶制问题，卡斯认为应该由该地区的人民作出决定。纽约州焚烧谷仓的民主党人拒绝接受卡斯作为他们的候选人，他们退出了巴尔的摩会议。辉格党曾三次选出参议员亨利·克莱作为总统候选人，这次他又有望成为候选人。政党中的老成员仍然支持克莱，但年轻的辉格党人则认为需要一个新的候选人。一些辉格党领导人还记得威廉·亨利·哈里森是如何以军事英雄的身份参加竞选，从而赢得该党的总统职位。现在，这个国家有了一位新的军事英雄。“老扎克”——扎卡里·泰勒将军。泰勒将军和他的部下在墨西哥战争中从未输过一场仗，有几次还击败了比他的军队人数更多的墨西哥军。将军获得第一次胜利后，纽约州政治领导人瑟洛·威德在哈德逊河的汽船上碰巧遇到泰勒的弟弟。那次会面对未来事态的发展起到了最重要的影响。威德问约瑟夫·泰勒，他的哥哥是不是个政界人物。约瑟夫回答说“老扎克”不是，他不属于任何政党，甚至还经常不投票，他支持亨利·克莱，不像安德鲁·杰克逊。
约瑟夫说，他哥哥强烈地认为，美国产品应该受到保护，免受来自外国进口产品的竞争。他对这件事的态度非常强烈，都拒绝穿任何进口的衣服。威德很快做出了决定，他说：“你的哥哥将成为我们的下一任总统。”约瑟夫·泰勒说：“这太荒谬了，我哥哥对政府事务和民政工作一无所知。我告诉你，他和我一样都不适合做总统时，你就能明白这个想法是多么的愚蠢。”然而，威德并不认为他的提议有多愚蠢。他开始在辉格党政客中为泰勒将军聚拢支持者。当老扎克第一次听说要让他当总统时，他和弟弟的感觉一样，认为这个想法太愚蠢。 “我不会接受这么高的职位，”他说，“即使有人提议让我这么做我也不同意。”他在1846年6月发表了上述声明。一个月后，他表示自己不是总统候选人，永远也不是，还说感觉让一个军人当总统是错误的。但几个月后，泰勒改变了主意。12月，他对女婿说：“如果善良的人不明智地选择我，我不会说我不做的。”到1847年7月，老扎克已经下定决心。他告诉一位朋友：“我确信，如果现在举行选举，我志在必得。”参议员克莱认为泰勒没有能力成为总统。但是克莱很清楚，选民们非常热爱军事英雄。参议员克莱70岁，他知道这将是他成为总统的最后机会，他为获得辉格党领导人的支持拼尽全力。
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