(单词翻译:单击)
听力文本
Welcome to THE MAKING OF A NATION – American history in VOA Special English. The nineteen twenties are remembered as a quiet period in American foreign policy. The nation was at peace. Americans elected three Republican presidents in a row: Warren Harding, Calvin Coolidge and Herbert Hoover. These conservatives in the White House were generally more interested in economic growth at home than in relations with other countries. But the United States had become a world power. It was tied to other countries by trade, politics and shared interests. And America had gained new economic strength. This week in our series, Bob Doughty and Shirley Griffith discuss American foreign policy during the nineteen twenties.
Before World War One, foreigners invested more money in the United States than Americans invested in other countries -- about three billion dollars more. The war changed this. By nineteen nineteen, Americans had almost three billion dollars more invested in other countries than foreign citizens had invested in the United States. American foreign investments continued to increase greatly during the nineteen twenties. Increased foreign investment was not the only sign of growing American economic power. By the end of World War One, the United States produced more goods and services than any other nation, both in total and per person. Americans had more steel, food, cloth, and coal than even the richest foreign nations. By nineteen twenty, the United States national income was greater than the combined incomes of Britain, France, Germany, Japan, Canada, and seventeen smaller countries. Quite simply, the United States had become the world's greatest economic power.
America's economic strength influenced its policies toward Europe during the nineteen twenties. In fact, one of the most important issues of this period was the economic aid the United States had provided European nations during World War One. Americans lent the Allied countries seven billion dollars during the war. Shortly after the war, they lent another three billion dollars. The Allies borrowed most of the money for military equipment and food and other needs of their people. The Allied nations suffered far greater losses of property and population than the United States during the war. And when peace came, they called on the United States to cancel the loans America had made. France, Britain, and the other Allied nations said the United States should not expect them to re-pay the loans. The United States refused to cancel the debts. President Coolidge spoke for most Americans when he said, simply: "They borrowed the money." He believed the European powers should pay back the war loans, even though their economies had suffered terribly during the fighting.
However, the European nations had little money to pay their loans. France tried to get the money by demanding payments from Germany for having started the war. When Germany was unable to pay, France and Belgium occupied Germany's Ruhr Valley. As a result, German miners in the area reduced coal production. And France and Germany moved toward an economic crisis and possible new armed conflict. An international group intervened and negotiated a settlement to the crisis. The group provided a system to save Germany's currency and protect international debts. American bankers agreed to lend money to Germany to pay its war debts to the Allies. And the Allies used the money to pay their debts to the United States. Some Americans with international interests criticized President Coolidge and other conservative leaders for not reducing or canceling Europe's debts. They said the debts and the new payment plan put foolish pressure on the weak European economies. They said this made the German currency especially weak. And they warned that a weak economy would lead to serious social problems in Germany and other countries.
However, most Americans did not understand the serious effect that international economic policies could have on the future of world peace. They believed that it was wrong for the Europeans -- or anyone -- to borrow money and then refuse to pay it back. Many Americans of the nineteen twenties also failed to recognize that a strong national military force would become increasingly important in the coming years. President Coolidge requested very limited military spending from the Congress. And many conservative military leaders refused to spend much money on such new kinds of equipment as submarines and airplanes. Some Americans did understand that the United States was now a world power and needed a strong and modern fighting force. One general, Billy Mitchell, publicly criticized the military leadership for not building new weapons. But most Americans were not interested. Many Americans continued to oppose arms spending until the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor in Hawaii in nineteen forty-one. American policy toward the League of Nations did not change much in the nineteen twenties.
In nineteen nineteen, the Senate denied President Wilson's plea for the United States to join the new League of Nations. The United States, however, became involved unofficially in a number of league activities. But it continued to refuse to become a full member. And in nineteen thirty, the Senate rejected a proposal for the United States to join the World Court. The United States also continued in the nineteen twenties to refuse to recognize the communist government in Moscow. However, trade between the Soviet Union and the United States increased greatly during this period. And such large American companies as General Electric, DuPont, and R-C-A provided technical assistance to the new Soviet government. The Coolidge administration was involved actively in events in Latin America. Secretary of State Charles Evans Hughes helped several Latin American countries to settle border disputes peacefully. In Central America, President Coolidge ordered American Marines into Nicaragua when President Adolfo Diaz faced a revolt from opposition groups. The United States gave its support to more conservative groups in Nicaragua. And it helped arrange a national election in nineteen twenty-eight. American troops stayed in Nicaragua until nineteen thirty-three.
However, American troops withdrew from the Dominican Republic during this period. And Secretary of State Hughes worked to give new life to the Pan American union. Relations with Mexico became worse during the nineteen-twenties. In nineteen twenty-five, Mexican President Plutarco Elias Calles called for laws to give Mexico more control over its minerals and natural wealth. American oil companies resisted the proposed changes. They accused Calles of communism. And some American business and church leaders called for armed American intervention. However, the American Senate voted to try to settle the conflict peacefully. And American diplomat Dwight Morrow helped negotiate a successful new agreement. These American actions in Nicaragua and Mexico showed that the United States still felt that it had special security interests south of its border. But its peaceful settlement of the Mexican crisis and support of elections in Nicaragua showed that it was willing to deal with disputes peacefully. America's policies in Latin America during the nineteen-twenties were in some ways similar to its policies elsewhere. It was a time of change, of movement, from one period to another. Many Americans were hoping to follow the traditional foreign policies of the past. They sought to remain separate from world conflict. The United States, however, could no longer remain apart from world events. This would become clear in the coming years. Europe would face fascism and war. The Soviet Union would grow more powerful. And Latin America would become more independent. The United States was a world power. But it was still learning in the nineteen twenties about the leadership and responsibility that is part of such power.
重点解析
1.at home 在国内；在家里
The firm has identified 60 potential customers at home and abroad.
该公司已在国内外找到60个潜在客户。
2.invest in 投资于；在......投入
They had the foresight to invest in new technology.
他们拥有投资新技术的远见。
3.by the end of 到……为止；到……底为止
By the end of the holiday I had spent all my money.
到假期结束时，我已经花光了自己所有的钱。
4.fail to 未能；没有
Those who fail to register risk severe penalties.
那些没有注册的人可能会受到严厉的处罚。
参考译文
欢迎收听VOA慢速英语建国史话—美国历史。20世纪20年代被认为是美国外交政策中一个平和的时期，全国处于一片和平的态势。美国人连续选举了三位共和党总统：沃伦·哈丁、卡尔文·柯立芝和赫伯特·胡佛。白宫的这些保守派通常对国内经济增长比与其他国家的关系更感兴趣。但美国已经成为世界强国，它通过贸易、政治和共同利益与其他国家联系在一起。美国获得了新的经济实力。在本周的系列节目中，鲍勃·多尔蒂和雪莉·格里菲斯将讨论20世纪20年代美国的外交政策。
第一次世界大战之前，外国人在美国的投资比美国人在其他国家的投资要多——大约多出30亿美元。战争改变了这一切。到1919年，美国人在其他国家的投资比外国公民在美国的投资多了近30亿美元。20世纪20年代，美国对外投资继续大幅增长。外国投资的增加并不是美国经济实力增长的唯一迹象。到第一次世界大战结束时，美国生产的商品以及提供的服务，无论是总量还是人均数量，都超过了其他国家。美国人拥有的钢铁、食品、布料和煤炭量，甚至比最富有的国家还要多。到1920年，美国的国民收入超过了英国、法国、德国、日本、加拿大和17个较小国家的总收入。显然，美国已经成为世界上最大的经济强国。
20世纪20年代，美国的经济实力影响了其对欧洲的政策。事实上，该时期最重要的问题之一，是美国在第一次世界大战期间向欧洲国家提供的经济援助。战争期间，美国人借给盟国70亿美元。战后不久，他们又借了30亿美元。盟国借用的款项大部分用于军事装备、粮食和人民的其他需要。盟国在战争期间遭受的财产和人口损失远远大于美国。当和平来临时，他们呼吁美国撤销美国提供的贷款。法国、英国和其他盟国表示，美国不应指望它们重新偿还贷款。美国拒绝取消债务。柯立芝总统代表大多数美国人简单地表述：“他们借了钱。”他认为，欧洲大国应该偿还战争贷款，尽管他们的经济在战争中遭受了严重的损失。
然而，欧洲国家几乎没有钱支付贷款。法国试图通过要求德国因为发动战争而付款，来获得这笔款项。当德国无力支付时，法国和比利时占领了德国的鲁尔山谷。因此，该地区德国矿工的煤炭产量减少。法国和德国正走向经济危机，并可能出现新的武装冲突。一个国际组织介入，并通过谈判解决了这场危机。该组织提供了一个拯救德国货币，并保护国际债务的体系。美国银行家同意向德国贷款，以偿还盟国的战争债务。盟国用这些钱来偿还他们从美国那里借来的债务。一些拥有国际利益的美国人批评柯立芝总统和其他保守派领导人，并未减少或取消欧洲债务。他们说，债务和新的付款计划给疲弱的欧洲经济体带来压力。他们说，这使得德国货币特别疲软。他们同时警告说，疲软的经济将导致德国和其他国家出现严重的社会问题。
然而，大多数美国人并不理解国际经济政策可能对世界和平的未来产生的严重影响。他们认为，欧洲人或任何人借钱后，拒绝还钱都是错误的。20世纪20年代的许多美国人也没有意识到，在未来几年，美国强大的军事力量将变得越来越重要。柯立芝总统要求国会提供非常有限的军事开支，许多保守的军事领导人拒绝在潜艇和飞机等新型装备上花费很多钱。一些美国人确实明白，美国现在是一个世界强国，需要一支强大而具备现代化作战力量的军队。一位名叫比利·米切尔的将军，公开批评军方领导层未能制造新武器。但是，大多数美国人对此并不感兴趣。许多美国人继续反对军费开支，直到1941年日本袭击夏威夷珍珠港。20世纪20年代，美国对国际联盟的政策没有太大变化。
1919年，参议院驳回了威尔逊总统要求美国加入新国际联盟的请求。然而，美国非正式地参与了一些联盟活动。但是，它继续拒绝成为正式成员。1930年，参议院否决了美国加入国际法庭的提案。美国也在20世纪20年代，继续拒绝承认莫斯科的共产主义政府。然而，在这一时期，苏联和美国之间的贸易大大增加。通用电气、杜邦和R-C-A等美国大型公司为新苏联政府提供技术援助。柯立芝政府积极参与拉丁美洲的活动。美国国务卿查尔斯·埃文斯·休斯帮助几个拉美国家和平解决边界争端。在中美洲，柯立芝总统命令美国海军陆战队进驻尼加拉瓜，当时阿道夫·迪亚兹总统面临反对派组织的反抗。美国支持尼加拉瓜更多的保守派团体，并帮助安排了1928年的全国选举。1933年之前，美国军队一直驻扎在尼加拉瓜。
然而，在此期间，美国军队撤出多米尼加共和国。美国国务卿休斯致力于给泛美联盟注入新的活力。在20世纪20年代，美国与墨西哥的关系变得更加糟糕。在1925年，墨西哥总统普鲁塔尔科·埃利亚斯·卡列斯呼吁立法，给予墨西哥更多控制其矿产和自然财富的权利。美国石油公司拒绝了这一提议。他们指责卡列斯是共产主义者，一些美国商界和教会领袖呼吁美国进行武装干预。然而，美国参议院投票试图和平解决冲突。美国外交官德怀特·莫罗协助进行谈判，成功达成一项新协议。美国在尼加拉瓜和墨西哥采取的这些行动表明，美国仍然感到在其边界以南享有特殊的安全利益。但是，其和平解决墨西哥危机，并支持尼加拉瓜选举表明，它愿意和平处理争端。20世纪20年代，美国对于拉美国家的政策，在某些方面与它在其他地方的政策相似。从一个时期到另一个时期，这是一个变革、运动的时代。许多美国人希望遵循过去的传统外交政策。他们试图与世界冲突分开。然而，美国再也不能脱离世界性事务。这一点在未来几年会变得很清楚。欧洲将面临法西斯主义和战争。苏联将变得更加强大，而拉丁美洲则将变得更加独立。美国是世界强国，但它在20世纪20年代，仍在有关领导和责任方面进行学习，这是这种权力的一部分。
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