(单词翻译:单击)
听力文本
Welcome to THE MAKING OF A NATION -- American history in VOA Special English. There was one main issue in America's presidential election of nineteen sixteen. That issue was war. Europe was in the middle of what is now remembered as World War One. It was the bloodiest conflict the world had ever known. Most Americans wanted no part of the struggle in Europe. They supported their country's official position -- neutrality. This desire was the main reason President Woodrow Wilson won re-election. People gave Wilson their votes because they hoped he would continue to keep America out of the war. This week in our series, Larry West and Maurice Joyce tell more about the presidency of Woodrow Wilson. Like most Americans, Woodrow Wilson did not want war. He feared that entering the conflict would cost the United States many lives. Wilson read the reports from European battlefields. The news was unbelievably terrible. By the end of nineteen sixteen, several million men had been killed, wounded, or captured.
At the Battle of Verdun, French forces stopped a German attack. The cost was high on both sides. More than seven hundred thousand soldiers were killed, wounded, or captured. The Battle of the Somme followed. Britain lost sixty thousand men on the first day. By the time the battle was over, losses for both sides totaled more than a million. Germany also was at war on its eastern border, with Russia. Losses on that battlefront, too, totaled more than a million men. At the time of America's presidential election in nineteen sixteen, Germany seemed to be winning the war. Its losses were terrible. But the losses of its enemies -- The Allies -- were even worse. German forces occupied much of northern France and almost all of Belgium. German and Austrian soldiers also held parts of Russia, Italy, Romania, and Serbia. Germany was winning on the battlefield. The Allies were winning at sea. A British blockade cut off almost all German trade with the rest of the world. Even food shipments were blocked. As a result, Germany faced mass starvation. It urgently needed to break the blockade and get food. This situation finally forced Germany to make the decision that would bring the United States into the war.
It decided to use its submarines to break the British blockade. The submarines would attack any ships that came near Britain or other parts of Europe. This included ships from neutral countries, like the United States. Earlier, Germany had made a promise to the United States. Its submarines would not attack civilian ships unless warning was given and the lives of those on the ships were saved. Now Germany was withdrawing that promise. It said unrestricted submarine warfare would begin immediately. German ruler Kaiser Wilhelm said: "If Wilson wants war, let him make it, and let him then have it." President Wilson immediately broke diplomatic relations with Germany. He still hoped the two nations would not go to war. He left that decision to Germany. If German submarines sank American ships, Wilson would have no choice but to declare war. Most American shipping companies feared attack by German submarines. Throughout the early part of nineteen seventeen, they kept their ships in home ports. They wanted protection. So they asked for permission to arm their ships. At first, President Wilson refused to seek such permission from Congress. He did not want to do anything that might cause Germany to declare war. Then he received secret news from Britain.
British agents had gotten a copy of a telegram from Germany's foreign minister to Germany's ambassador in Mexico. The telegram said Germany was planning hostile acts against the United States. Wilson acted quickly. He began putting guns and sailors on American trade ships. It did not take long for the worst to happen. Within days, a German submarine sank an unarmed American ship, the Algonquin. Then three more American ships were sunk. Many lives were lost. President Wilson no longer had a choice between war and peace. There would be war. Wilson called a special session of Congress. Members of both the Senate and House of Representatives gathered in one room. They stood as the president walked quickly to the front. He stood silent for a moment before speaking. This is what he said: I fully understanding the serious step I am taking, I advise that the Congress declare the recent acts of the German government to be, in fact, nothing less than war against the United States. "It is a fearful thing to lead this great peaceful people into war. But right is more precious than peace. And we will fight for the things which we have always carried nearest our hearts -- for democracy, for the rights and liberties of small nations, and for the belief that a worldwide union of free people can bring peace and safety to all nations."
President Wilson's emotional speech brought tears to the eyes of many of the lawmakers. They felt the great seriousness of his request. Outside, crowds lined the street to cheer Wilson as he returned to the White House from the Capitol Building. He sat in his car and shook his head sadly. "Think of what it is they are cheering," he said. "My message today was a message of death for our young men. How strange it seems they would cheer that." On April sixth, nineteen seventeen, Congress approved a declaration of war against Germany. The Allies -- Britain, France and Russia -- welcomed American involvement. The war was going badly for them. It had been very costly in lives, money, and supplies. Allied shipping was suffering heavy losses from German submarine attacks. A British naval blockade had greatly reduced food shipments to Germany. Now, Britain itself faced dangerously low supplies of food.
Allied representatives went to Washington to explain what The Allies needed. They needed supplies -- especially food -- immediately. They needed money to pay for the supplies. They needed ships to get the supplies from America to Europe. And they needed American soldiers. President Wilson and Congress worked together to organize the United States for war. Congress gave Wilson new wartime powers. He soon formed a council to build ships, improve industrial production, and control national transportation. He formed an agricultural agency to increase food production and food exports. And he formed an information committee to build public support for the war. Wilson's efforts succeeded. The Allies quickly got the ships, supplies, and money they requested. Most important, they soon got American soldiers. Allied military leaders said only about a half-million troops were needed from the United States. But American officials decided to build a much larger army. Before long, large numbers of American soldiers were crossing the Atlantic Ocean. They would fight the Germans at the western battlefronts of Europe. The extra strength they gave the Allies would play a major part in helping defeat Germany. That will be our story next week.
重点解析
1.more than 多于；超过
He has been mugged more than once.
他已是不止一次被抢劫了。
2.ask for 请求；要求
You cannot ask for your money back before the agreed date.
约定的日期没到，你不能把钱要回去。
3.in fact 实际上；其实
In fact, the oil companies are already prospecting not far from here.
事实上，石油公司已经在离此不远处进行勘探。
4.before long 不久以后；很快
Before long, we were deep in conversation.
没过多久，我们便聊得很起劲了。
参考译文
欢迎收听VOA慢速英语之建国史话节目。1916年的美国总统选举中，存在一个主要事宜，那就是战争。欧洲当时正在经历人们记忆中的第一次世界大战，这是世界上最血腥的冲突。大多数美国人不想参与欧洲的争斗，他们支持美国的官方立场——保持中立。这种愿望是伍德罗·威尔逊总统赢得连任的主要原因。人们投票给威尔逊，是因为他们希望他能继续使美国能排除在战争之外。本周在我们的系列节目中，拉里·韦斯特和莫里斯·乔伊斯将讲述有关伍德罗·威尔逊总统的更多故事。像大多数美国人一样，伍德罗·威尔逊不想打仗。他担心卷入冲突将使许多美国人丧命。威尔逊读了欧洲战场的报道，这消息极其恐怖，令人难以置信。到1916年底，已经有几百万人丧生、受伤或沦为俘虏。
在凡尔登战役中，法国军队阻止了德国的进攻。双方的成本都很高昂，超过70万名士兵被杀、受伤或被俘。接着发生了索姆河战役，英国在第一天就损失了六万人。战斗结束时，双方损失人数总计超过100万。德国在东部边界也与俄罗斯交战，战场上的损失也超过了一百万人。在1916年美国总统选举时，德国似乎要赢得这场战争的胜利。其损失惨重，但敌人，即盟国的损失更大。德国军队占领了法国北部的大部分地区，以及几乎整个比利时。德国和奥地利士兵还控制了俄罗斯、意大利、罗马尼亚和塞尔维亚的部分地区。德国在战场上取得了胜利，盟军则在海上获胜。英国的封锁几乎切断了德国与世界其他地区的所有贸易，甚至连食品运输也受阻。结果导致德国面临大规模饥荒，它迫切需要打破封锁，获取食物。
这种情况最终迫使德国做出决定，将美国带入战争。它决定使用潜艇打破英国的封锁，潜艇会攻击任何靠近英国或欧洲其他地区的船只，包括来自中立国家（比如美国）的船只。早些时候，德国曾向美国作出承诺，表示其潜艇不会攻击民用船只，除非发出警告，且拯救船只上人员的生命。现在，德国收回了这一承诺。德国表示，将立即开始对潜艇作战不再设置限制。德国统治者威廉姆大帝说：“如果威尔逊想要参加战争，那就让他来好了，他会得到报应的。”威尔逊总统立即与德国断交，他仍然希望两国不要开战，他把决定留给了德国。如果德国潜艇击沉美国船只，威尔逊除了宣战别无选择。大多数美国船运公司担心会受到德国潜艇的攻击，1917年年初，他们把船只留在本国的港口。他们想做防卫，所以请求允许他们武装这些船只。起初，威尔逊总统拒绝向国会寻求这样的许可，他不想做任何可能导致德国宣战的事情。随后，他收到了来自英国的秘密消息。
英国特工获得一份德国外交部长发给德国驻墨西哥大使的电报。电报说，德国正计划对美国采取敌对行动。威尔逊迅速展开行动，他开始在美国贸易船上安置枪支和水手。没过多久，最坏的情况就出现了。几天之内，一艘德国潜艇击沉了一艘没有武器的美国船只阿尔冈琴号。接着，又有三艘美国船只沉没，许多人因此而丧生。威尔逊总统在战争与和平之间已别无选择。战争将会爆发。威尔逊召集国会举行特别会议，参众两院议员齐聚一个房间。当总统迅速走到前面时，他们都站了起来。总统沉默了一会儿才开口说话，他说：我完全理解我正在采取的严肃步骤，我建议国会宣布德国政府最近采取的做法，实际上是在对美国宣战。“把这个热爱和平的伟大民族引向战争，是一件可怕的事情。但是，权利比和平更珍贵。我们将为一直以来最关心的事情，即为民主、为小国的权利和自由而战，为全世界自由人民联盟能够为所有国家带来和平与安全的信念而战。”
威尔逊总统的演讲非常感人，许多议员都热泪盈眶，他们感受到他对所提出的要求的态度非常严肃。当威尔逊从国会大厦返回白宫时，外面的人群排在街道两旁为他欢呼。他坐在车里，伤心地摇了摇头。“想想他们在欢呼什么，”他说，“我今天传达的信息是给年轻人的死讯，而他们在为此而欢呼，真是奇怪。”1917年4月6日，国会通过了对德宣战。英国、法国和俄罗斯等盟国欢迎美国加入战争。战争对他们不利，在生命、金钱和物资方面都非常昂贵。盟军船只因德国潜艇袭击而损失惨重。英国海军的封锁大大减少了对德国的粮食运输。现在，英国的食品供应水平很低，情况非常危险。
盟军代表前往华盛顿解释盟军的需要，他们要各种补给，特别是食物；需要钱来买补给品，需要船只把物资从美国运到欧洲；还需要美国士兵。威尔逊总统和国会共同组织美国进行战争，国会赋予威尔逊新的战时权力。他很快成立了一个委员会来建造船只，改善工业生产，控制国家交通。他成立了一个农业机构来增加粮食产量和粮食出口。他还成立了一个新闻委员会，以建立公众对战争的支持。威尔逊的努力成功了。盟军很快得到了他们要求的船只、补给品和资金。最重要的是，他们很快就有了美国士兵。盟军军事领导人说，只需要大约50万美国军队。但是，美国官员决定建立一支规模更大的军队。不久，大批美国士兵横渡大西洋，他们将在欧洲的西部战场上与德国人作战。他们给予盟国的额外力量，将在帮助击败德国方面发挥重要作用。这将是我们下周要讲述的故事。
译文为可可英语翻译，未经授权请勿转载！
