(单词翻译:单击)
听力文本
Welcome to THE MAKING OF A NATION – American history in VOA Special English. After the end of World War One, President Woodrow Wilson sought national support for his idea of a League of Nations. He took his appeal directly to the American people in the summer of nineteen nineteen. This week in our series, Tony Riggs and Frank Oliver continue the story of Wilson's campaign. The plan for the League of Nations was part of the peace treaty that ended World War One. By law, the United States Senate would have to vote on the treaty. President Wilson believed the Senate would have to approve it if the American people demanded it. So he went to the people for support. For almost a month, Wilson traveled across America. He stopped in many places to speak about the need for the League of Nations. He said the league was the only hope for world peace. It was the only way to prevent another world war.
Wilson's health grew worse during the long journey across the country. He became increasingly weak and suffered from severe headaches. In Witchita, Kansas, he had a small stroke. A blood vessel burst inside his brain. He was forced to return to Washington. For a few days, President Wilson's condition improved. Then, his wife found him lying unconscious on the floor of his bedroom in the White House. Wilson had lost all feeling in the left side of his body. He was near death. The president's advisers kept his condition secret from almost everyone. They told reporters only that Wilson was suffering from a nervous breakdown. For the next few days, the medical reports from the White House were always the same. They said Mister Wilson's condition had not changed. People began to wonder. Were they being told the truth. Some people began to believe that the president was, in fact, dead. Vice President Thomas Marshall was worried. If the president died or could not govern, then he – Marshall -- would become president. But even Vice President Marshall could get no information from Wilson's doctors.
After several weeks, the president seemed to get a little stronger. He was still very weak. He could not work, except to sign several bills. This simple act took most of his strength. Wilson's wife Edith guarded her husband closely. She alone decided who could see him. She alone decided what information he could receive. All letters and messages to Woodrow Wilson were given first to Edith Wilson. She decided if they were important enough for him to see. Most, she decided, were not. She also prevented members of the cabinet and other government officials from communicating with him directly. Mrs. Wilson's actions made many people suspect that she -- not her husband -- was governing the country. Some spoke of her as the nation's first woman president. There was one issue Mrs. Wilson did discuss with her husband: the League of Nations. The Senate was completing debate on the Treaty of Versailles. That was the World War One peace agreement that contained Wilson's plan for the league. It seemed clear the Senate would reject the treaty. Too many Senators feared the United States would lose some of its independence and freedom if it joined the league. The leader of Wilson's political party in the Senate, Gilbert Hitchcock, headed the administration campaign to win support for the treaty. He received Mrs. Wilson's permission to visit her husband.
Hitchcock told the president the situation was hopeless. He said the Senate would not approve the treaty unless several changes were made to protect American independence. If the president accepted the changes, then the treaty might pass. Wilson refused. He would accept no compromise. He said the treaty must be approved as written. Senator Hitchcock made one more attempt to get Wilson to reconsider. On the day the Senate planned to vote on the treaty, he went back to the White House. He told Mrs. Wilson that compromise offered the only hope for success. Mrs. Wilson went into the president's room while Hitchcock waited. She asked her husband: "Will you not accept the changes and get this thing settled?" He answered: "I cannot. Better a thousand times to go down fighting than to surrender to dishonorable compromise." The Senate voted. Hitchcock's fears proved correct. The treaty was defeated. The defeat ended Wilson's dream of American membership in the League of Nations. Mrs. Wilson gave the news to her husband. He was silent for a long time. Then he said: "I must get well." Woodrow Wilson was extremely sick. Yet he was not the kind of man who accepted opposition or defeat easily. From his sick bed, he wrote a letter to the other members of the Democratic Party. He urged them to continue debate on the League of Nations. He said a majority of Americans wanted the treaty approved.
Wilson probably was correct about this. Most Americans did approve of membership in the League of Nations. But they also wanted to be sure membership would not restrict American independence. The Senate Foreign Relations Committee agreed to re-open discussion on the treaty. It searched yet again for a compromise. It made new efforts to get Wilson to accept some changes. But, as before, Wilson refused. He was a proud man. And he thought many of the Senators were evil men trying to destroy his plan for international peace. Wilson's unwillingness to compromise helped kill the treaty once and for all. The Senate finally voted again, and the treaty was defeated by seven votes. The treaty was dead. The United States would never enter the League of Nations. And one of the most emotional and personal stories in the making of the American nation had ended. The long battle over the Treaty of Versailles ended with political defeat for Woodrow Wilson. Yet history would prove him correct. Wilson had warned time and again during the debate that a terrible war would result if the world did not come together to protect the peace. Twenty years later, war came. The First World War had been called 'the war to end all wars'. But it was not. And the Second World War would be far more destructive than the first.
The debate over the Treaty of Versailles was the central issue in American politics during the end of Woodrow Wilson's administration. It also played a major part in the presidential election of nineteen twenty. Wilson himself could not be a candidate again. He was much too sick. So the Democratic Party nominated a former governor of Ohio, James Cox. Cox shared Wilson's opinion that the United States should join the League of Nations. He campaigned actively for American membership. The Republican Party chose Senator Warren Harding as its candidate for president. Harding campaigned by promising a return to what he called 'normal times'. He said it was time for America to stop arguing about international events and start thinking about itself again. The two presidential candidates gave the American people a clear choice in the election of nineteen twenty. On one side was Democrat James Cox. He represented the dream of Woodrow Wilson. In this dream, the world would be at peace. And America would be a world leader that would fight for the freedom and human rights of people everywhere. On the other side was Republican Warren Harding. He represented an inward-looking America. It was an America that felt it had sacrificed enough for other people. Now it would deal with its own problems. Warren Harding won the election. The results of the election shocked and hurt Woodrow Wilson. He could not understand why the people had turned from him and his dream of international unity and peace. But the fact was that America was entering a new period in its history. For a long time, it would turn its energy away from the world beyond its borders. That will be our story next week.
重点解析
1.suffer from 遭受；患病
Many kids suffer from acne and angst.
许多年轻人都会受到青春痘和焦虑的困扰。
2.begin to 开始
You can add ingredients to these desserts as they begin to set.
我不得不同意你的决定。
3.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。
4.agree to 同意；赞成
I cannot but agree to your decision.
我不得不同意你的决定。
参考译文
欢迎收听VOA慢速英语之建国史话节目。第一次世界大战结束后，伍德罗·威尔逊总统寻求国际支持，以支持他建立国际联盟的构想。他在1919年夏天直接向美国人民提请上诉。在本周的系列节目中，托尼·里格斯和弗兰克·奥利弗将继续讲述威尔逊竞选的故事。国际联盟的计划是结束第一次世界大战的和平条约的一部分，根据法律，美国参议院必须对该条约进行表决。威尔逊总统认为，如果美国人民要求，参议院将不得不批准这项法案。所以，他去寻求人民的支持。近一个月来，威尔逊周游美国。他在许多地方驻足，探讨国际联盟的必要性。他说，该联盟是世界和平的唯一希望。这是防止另一场世界大战的唯一办法。
在长途旅行中，威尔逊的健康状况恶化。他变得越来越虚弱，头痛得厉害。在堪萨斯州的威奇塔，威尔逊中风了，脑血管破裂，他被迫返回华盛顿。几天来，威尔逊总统的病情有所好转。然后，他的妻子发现他躺在白宫卧室的地板上，不省人事。威尔逊已经失去了身体左侧的全部感觉，他快不行了。总统的顾问们几乎对所有人都没有提及他的病情，他们只告诉记者威尔逊患有神经衰弱。接下来的几天，白宫的医疗报告总是一样。他们说，威尔逊先生的情况没有变化。人们开始怀疑，有人告诉他们真相吗。一些人开始认为总统实际上已经去世。副总统托马斯·马歇尔很担心。如果总统去世或无法执政，那么他——马歇尔——将成为总统。但即使是副总统马歇尔，也无法从威尔逊的医生那里得到任何信息。
几周后，总统的身体似乎变得强健了一些。他仍然很虚弱，还不能工作，只能签署几份法案，这个简单的动作消耗了他大部分的力气。威尔逊的妻子伊迪丝严密地保护着她的丈夫，她来决定谁能看见威尔逊。由她决定他能收到什么信息。所有给伍德罗·威尔逊的消息和信件都先送达伊迪丝·威尔逊。她来决定这些信息对他来说是否足够重要。她认为，大多数都不重要。她还阻止内阁成员和其他政府官员与他直接沟通。威尔逊夫人的行为使许多人怀疑她——而不是她的丈夫——在统治这个国家。有人说她是美国的第一位女总统。威尔逊夫人确实和她丈夫讨论过一个问题：国际联盟。参议院正在完成凡尔赛条约的辩论。这是一战和平协议，其中包含威尔逊的联盟计划。参议院显然会否决这项条约。太多的参议员担心，如果美国加入该联盟会失去一些独立和自由。威尔逊参议院的政党领袖吉尔伯特·希区柯克领导了政府竞选活动，以赢得对该条约的支持。他得到威尔逊夫人的允许去看望她的丈夫。
希区柯克告诉总统，形势已无望。他说，参议院不会批准这项条约，除非为保护美国独立做出几项修改。如果总统接受这些改变，那么条约可能会通过。威尔逊拒绝了，他决不妥协。他表示，条约必须以书面形式通过。参议员希区柯克再次试图让威尔逊重新考虑。在参议院计划对条约进行表决的那天，他回到白宫。他告诉威尔逊夫人，妥协是成功的唯一希望。威尔逊夫人走进总统的房间，希区柯克等在那里。她问她丈夫：“你不愿意接受这些改变，把这件事解决吗？”他回答说：“我不能这么做。与其屈从于可耻的妥协，不如一直战斗。”参议院投票表决，希区柯克的恐惧被证明是正确的。条约被否决了。这场失败结束了威尔逊让美国加入国际联盟的梦想。威尔逊太太把这个消息告诉了她丈夫，他沉默了很长时间，然后说：“我必须康复。”伍德罗·威尔逊病得很重，但他不是那种轻易接受反对或失败的人。他在病床上，给民主党的其他成员写了一封信。他敦促他们继续就国际联盟问题进行辩论。他说，大多数美国人希望条约获得批准。
威尔逊可能是对的，大多数美国人确实赞成加入国际联盟。但是，他们也希望确保成员资格不会限制美国的独立。参议院外交关系委员会同意重新开始讨论该条约，它再次寻求妥协。它做出了新的努力让威尔逊接受一些改变。但是，和以前一样，威尔逊还是拒绝了。他是个骄傲的人，他认为许多参议员都是邪恶之人，企图破坏他的国际和平计划。威尔逊不愿意妥协，永久地将其扼杀。参议院最终再次投票，条约以7票之差遭到否决。该条约已经失效，美国永远不会加入国际联盟。美国建国史中最感人、最私人化的一个故事也结束了。
围绕凡尔赛条约的长期斗争以伍德罗·威尔逊的政治失败而告终，但历史会证明他是正确的。威尔逊在辩论中一次又一次警告说，如果世界不团结起来保护和平，将导致一场可怕的战争。20年后，战争爆发了。第一次世界大战被称为“结束一切战争的战争”。但事实并非如此。第二次世界大战的破坏力要比第一次大得多。凡尔赛条约的争论是伍德罗·威尔逊政府末期美国政治的中心议题，它也在1920年的总统选举中发挥了重要作用。威尔逊本人无法再做候选人，他的病情太过严重。因此，民主党提名了俄亥俄州前州长詹姆斯·考克斯。考克斯同意威尔逊的观点，即美国应该加入国际联盟，他积极地争取使美国成为联盟的会员。共和党选择沃伦·哈丁参议员作为总统候选人，哈丁通过承诺回到他所谓的“正常时期”，进行竞选活动。他说，现在是美国停止争论国际事件，重新开始思考自己的时候了。这两位总统候选人在1920年的选举中给了美国人民一个明确的选择。一边是民主党人詹姆斯·考克斯，他代表了伍德罗·威尔逊的梦想。在这个梦想中，世界将会和平。美国将成为世界领袖，为世界各地人民的自由和人权而战。另一边是共和党人沃伦·哈丁，他代表了向内审视的美国。这是一个觉得自己已经为他人做出了足够牺牲的美国。现在，它将处理自己的问题。沃伦·哈丁赢得了选举。选举结果震惊了伍德罗·威尔逊，也使他受到伤害。他不明白为什么人民会对他和他的国际团结与和平的梦想视而不见。但事实是，美国正进入一个新的历史时期。在很长一段时间内，它将把自己的精力从国际世界转移开。这将是我们下周要讲述的故事。
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