(单词翻译:单击)
听力文本
Welcome to THE MAKING OF A NATION -- American history in VOA Special English. The years after World War One were an important turning point in the making of the American nation. The country turned away from the problems of Europe. Now it would deal with problems of its own. This week in our series, Kay Gallant and Maurice Joyce tell about the many changes in America during the early nineteen twenties. There was a presidential election in America in nineteen twenty. President Woodrow Wilson was not a candidate. He had suffered a stroke and was too sick. The two major candidates were Democrat James Cox and Republican Warren Harding. Voters had a clear choice between the two candidates. Cox supported the ideas of President Wilson. He believed the United States should take an active part in world affairs. Harding opposed the idea of internationalism. He believed the United States should worry only about events within its own borders.
Warren Harding won the election. By their votes, Americans made clear they were tired of sacrificing lives and money to solve other people's problems. They just wanted to live their own lives and make their own country a better place. This was a great change in the nation's thinking. For twenty years, since the beginning of the century, the United States had become more involved in international events. Young Americans had grown up with presidents like Woodrow Wilson and Theodore Roosevelt. Both Wilson and Roosevelt had active foreign policies. Both helped start the nation on the road to becoming a major world power. Then came World War One. It was like a sharp needle that bursts a balloon. The United States and the Allies won the war against Germany and the Central Powers. But thousands of American troops had died in the European conflict. And many months were taken up by the bitter debate over the peace treaty and the League of Nations. Most Americans did not want to hear about Europe and international peace organizations any more.
Instead, Americans became more concerned with material things. During World War One, they had lived under many kinds of restrictions. The federal government had controlled railroads, shipping, and industrial production. At the end of the war, these controls were lifted. Industries that had been making war supplies began making products for a peacetime economy. Wages for most workers in the United States were higher than ever at the beginning of the nineteen twenties. Men and women had enough money to enjoy life more than they had in the past. Technology made it possible for millions of people to improve their lives. It also caused great changes in American society. Two of the most important new technologies were automobiles and radio. In the early years of the twentieth century, automobiles were very costly. Each one was built separately by a small team of skilled workers. Most Americans did not have the money to own an automobile. Then Henry Ford decided to make cars everyone could buy. He built them on an assembly line. Cars were put together, or assembled, as they moved slowly through the factory. Each worker did just one thing to the car before it moved on to the next worker. In this way, the Ford Motor Company could build cars more quickly and easily. And it could sell them for much less money
Before long, there were cars everywhere. All these cars created a need for better roads. Outside cities, most roads were made just of dirt. They were chokingly dusty in dry weather and impassably muddy in the rain. They were rough and full of holes. Few bridges connected roads across rivers and streams. America's new drivers demanded that these problems be fixed. So, local and state governments began building and improving roads as they had never done before. As new roads were built, many new businesses opened along them. There were gasoline stations and auto repair shops, of course. But soon there were eating places and hotels where travelers could eat and sleep. In the nineteen-twenties, the United States was becoming a nation of car-lovers. Cars changed more than the way Americans traveled. They changed the way Americans lived. They removed some of the limitations of living conditions. For example, families with cars no longer had to live in noisy, crowded cities. They could live in suburbs -- the wide-open areas outside cities. They could use their car to drive to work in the city.
Businesses moved, too. No longer did they have to be close to railroad lines. With new cars and trucks, they could transport their goods where they wanted, when they wanted. They were no longer limited by train times. Cars also made life on farms less lonely. It became much easier for farm families to go to town on business or to visit friends. Cars helped Americans learn more about their nation. In the nineteen twenties, people could drive all across the land for not much money. Places that used to be days apart now seemed suddenly closer. Families that normally stayed home on weekends and holidays began to explore the country. They drove to the seashores and lakeshores. To the mountains and forests. To places of historical importance or natural beauty. Not all the changes linked to the car were good, of course. Automobile accidents became more common and deadly. Other forms of transportation, such as railroads, began to suffer from the competition. Some railroads had to close down. Horses and wagons -- once the most common form of transportation -- began to disappear from city streets.
There were not enough cars in the nineteen-twenties to cause severe air pollution. But the air was becoming less pure every year. And the roads were becoming more crowded and noisy. While the automobile greatly changed America's transportation, radio greatly changed its communication. The first radio station opened in the state of Pennsylvania in nineteen-twenty. Within ten years, there were hundreds of others. There were more than thirteen million radio receivers. Most of the radio stations were owned by large broadcasting networks. These networks were able to broadcast the same program to stations all over the country. Most programs were simple and entertaining. There were radio plays, comedy shows, and music programs. But there also were news reports and political events. Millions of people who never read newspapers now heard the news on radio. Citizens everywhere could hear the president's voice.
Like the automobile, radio helped bring Americans together. They were able to share many of the same events and experiences. Radio also was a great help to companies. Businesses could buy time on radio programs for advertisements. In these 'ads', they told listeners about their products. They urged them to buy the products: cars, Electric refrigerators, Foods, Medicines. In this way, companies quickly and easily created a nationwide demand for their goods. Automobiles and radios were not the only new technologies to change American life in the days after World War One. Still one more invention would have a great effect on how Americans spent their time and money. That was the motion picture. It will be our story next week.
重点解析
1.turn away from 对...感到厌恶；厌恶
Kennedy exhorted his listeners to turn away from violence.
肯尼迪劝诫听众远离暴力。
2.be tired of 厌烦；厌倦
I know that you must be tired of this excuse.
我知道你一定厌烦了这个借口。
3.hear about 听说；得悉
Have you hear about Michael Jordan making a comeback?
迈克尔-乔丹复出了，你听说了吗？
4.of course 自然；当然可以
Of course there were lots of other interesting things at the exhibition.
当然，展览上还有很多其他有趣的展品。
参考译文
欢迎收听VOA慢速英语之建国史话节目。第一次世界大战后的几年，是美国建国的一个重要转折点。美国回避了欧洲的问题，现在它将处理国内事务。在本周的系列节目中，凯·格兰特和莫里斯·乔伊斯将讲述20世纪20年代初美国发生的许多变化。罗·威尔逊总统不是候选人，他患了中风，病情过重。两位主要候选人是民主党人詹姆斯·考克斯和共和党人沃伦·哈丁。选民在两位候选人中表现出明确的选择倾向。考克斯支持威尔逊总统的想法，他认为美国应该积极参与国际事务。哈丁则反对国际化。他认为，美国应该只担心本国境内的事件。
沃伦·哈丁赢得了选举。美国人通过投票表明，他们已经厌倦了为了解决别国问题而牺牲生命和金钱。他们只想过自己的生活，把自己的国家建设得更好。这是国家思想上的一个重大转变。自本世纪初的20年以来，美国越来越多地参与国际活动。美国的年轻人是和伍德罗·威尔逊和西奥多·罗斯福这样的总统一起长大的，威尔逊和罗斯福都奉行积极的外交政策。他们都帮助美国走上了成为世界大国的道路。随后爆发了第一次世界大战，它就像一根锋利的针扎破气球一样。美国和盟国赢得了对抗德国和中央大国的战争。但数千名美军在欧洲冲突中丧生，有关和平条约和国际联盟的激烈辩论持续了数月。大多数美国人不想再听到关于欧洲和国际和平组织的消息。
相反，美国人更关心物质生活。第一次世界大战期间，他们生活在各种各样的限制条件之下。联邦政府控制着铁路、航运和工业生产。战争结束时，这些控制得以解除。制造战争物资的工业开始为和平时期的经济制造产品。20世纪20年代初，美国大多数工人的工资比以往任何时候都高。与过去相比，男人和女人都拥有足够的钱来享受生活。科技使数百万人得以改善生活，它也引起了美国社会的巨大变化。最重要的两项新技术是汽车和无线电。在20世纪早期，汽车非常昂贵。每辆车都由一小队熟练的工人分别建造。大多数美国人没有钱拥有汽车。后来，亨利·福特决定制造人人都能买得起的汽车。他使用装配线进行生产。汽车零件在工厂里缓慢通过时，被组装起来。每个工人只负责汽车装配中的一道工序，然后再转到下一个工人那里。福特汽车公司以这种方式能更快、更容易地制造汽车，它也能以更低的价格出售汽车。
不久，随处都能看到汽车了。所有这些汽车都需要更好的道路。在城市之外，大多数道路都是用泥土铺成的。天气干燥时，尘土飞扬。下雨时，则泥泞不堪。这些道路崎岖不平，到处都是坑洞。很少有桥梁连接河流和溪流两侧的道路。美国的新司机要求解决这些问题。因此，地方和州政府开始建设和改善道路，因为他们以前从未做过这些事。随着新道路的修建，许多新企业也在路边随之开业。当然，还有加油站和汽车维修店。不过，很快就有了可以让旅客进餐和睡觉的地方和旅馆。20世纪20年代，美国正在成为一个汽车爱好者的国度。汽车改变的不止是美国人旅行的方式，它们改变了美国人的生活方式，消除了生活条件中的一些限制。例如，有车的家庭不用再住在嘈杂拥挤的城市里了。他们可以住在郊区——城市以外的开阔地区。他们可以开车进城工作。
企业也在转移位置，他们不必再靠近铁路线了。有了新汽车和卡车，他们可以随心所欲地运输货物，不再受火车时间的限制。汽车也使农场的生活不再那么孤独了，住在农场的家庭去镇上做生意或拜访朋友变得容易多了。汽车帮助美国人更多地了解自己的国家。在20世纪20年代，人们可以开车穿越整个美国，而不用花费很多钱。过去要花几天时间才能到达的地方，现在突然变得更近了。通常在周末和假期呆在家里的家庭，开始探索这个国家。他们开车去海边和湖边，去山上和森林，去具有历史意义或拥有自然美景的地方。当然，不是所有与汽车相关的变化都是好的。汽车事故变得更加普遍，也更加致命。铁路等其他交通方式，开始遭受竞争的影响，一些铁路不得不关闭。曾经最常见的交通工具马匹和马车，开始从城市街道上消失。
20世纪20年代没有足够的汽车造成严重的空气污染，但是空气变得越来越不洁净了。道路也变得更加拥挤、嘈杂。汽车极大地改变了美国的交通，而无线电则使美国的通讯发生了巨变。第一家广播电台于1920年在宾夕法尼亚州开通。不到十年，就出现了数百家电台。全国有1300多万个无线电接收器。大多数广播电台归大型广播网络所有，这些电视网能够向全国各地的电视台播放同样的节目。大多数节目都很简单、有趣，有广播剧、喜剧秀和音乐节目，但也有新闻报道和政治事件。数以百万计从未读过报纸的人，现在从收音机里听到各种新闻。各地的市民都能听到总统的声音。
就像汽车一样，收音机也帮助美国人团结起来。他们能够分享许多相同的事件和经历。收音机对各个公司也有很大的帮助，他们可以购买广播节目中的时间。在这些“广告”中，他们向听众介绍产品，力荐他们购买这些产品：汽车、电冰箱、食品、药品。公司通过这种方式，迅速又轻松地创造出全国人民对其产品的需求。汽车和收音机并非第一次世界大战后改变美国人生活的唯一新技术。还有一项发明将对美国人如何打发时间，花钱消费产生重大影响。这项发明就是电影。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！
