(单词翻译:单击)
听力文本
Welcome to THE MAKING OF A NATION – American history in VOA Special English. Franklin Roosevelt's New Deal policies during the nineteen thirties changed the face of American government. The new president and the Congress passed legislation that helped farmers, strengthened the banking system and supplied jobs for millions of workers. One of the results of Roosevelt's policies was a stronger movement of organized labor in America. This week in our series, Sarah Long and Doug Johnson continue the story of the presidency of Franklin Delano Roosevelt.
Labor leaders had little success in organizing workers in the United States during the nineteen twenties. Three Republican presidents and a national wave of conservatism prevented them from gaining many members or increasing their negotiating power. In nineteen twenty-nine, organized labor fell even further with the beginning of the great economic depression. By nineteen thirty-three, America's labor unions had less than three million members. But by the end of the nineteen thirties, more than ten-and-a-half million American workers belonged to unions. New laws proposed by the Roosevelt administration made the labor growth possible. The National Industrial Recovery Act of nineteen thirty-three gave labor leaders the right to organize and represent workers. The Supreme Court ruled that the law was illegal. But another law, the Wagner Labor Relations Act of Nineteen Thirty-Five, helped labor unions to increase their power.
Most of the leaders of America's traditional labor unions were slow to understand their new power. They were conservative men. They represented workers with certain skills, such as wood workers or metal workers. They did little to organize workers with other kinds of skills. But a new group of labor leaders used the new laws to organize unions by industries, not by skills. They believed that workers would have much more power if they joined forces with other workers in the same factory to make common demands. These new leaders began to organize unions for the automobile industry, the steel industry, and other major industries. The leader of the new movement was the head of the mine workers, John L. Lewis. Lewis was a powerful leader with a strong body and strong opinions. He had begun to work in the coal mines at the age of twelve. Lewis rose to become a powerful and successful leader of the mine workers. But he was concerned about workers in other industries as well. And he believed that most of the leaders in the American Federation of Labor were doing little to help them.
For this reason, Lewis and the heads of several other unions formed their own group to organize unions by industry, not by skills. They called their group the Congress of Industrial Organizations, the CIO. And they tried immediately to gain members. The CIO successfully organized the workers in several major industries. But it succeeded only by hard work and struggle. The CIO's first big battle was against the giant automobile company, General Motors. Late in nineteen thirty-five, workers at several General Motors factories began a "sit-down" strike at their machines to demand better pay and working conditions. After forty-four days, General Motors surrendered. It recognized that the automobile workers' union had the right to represent GM workers. And it agreed to negotiate a new work agreement. The struggle at the Ford Motor Company was more bitter. Ford company guards beat union organizers and workers. But the Ford company finally agreed to negotiate with the new union.
The same story was true in the steel industry. But the new labor leaders succeeded in becoming the official representatives of steel workers throughout the country. By nineteen thirty-eight, the C.I.O. had won its battle to organize major industries. In later years, it would join with the more traditional American Federation of Labor to form the organization that remains the most important labor group in America today, the AFL-CIO. President Roosevelt was not always an active supporter of organized labor. But neither was he a constant supporter of big business, like the three Republican presidents before him. In fact, Roosevelt spoke out often against the dangers of big business in a democracy. These speeches caused great concern among many of the traditional business and conservative leaders of the nation. And Roosevelt's increasingly progressive policies in nineteen thirty-five made many richer Americans fear that the president was a socialist, a dictator or a madman.
Former president Herbert Hoover, for example, denounced Roosevelt's New Deal policies as an attack "on the whole idea of individual freedoms." The family of business leader JP Morgan told visitors not to say Roosevelt's name in front of Morgan. They said it would make his blood pressure go up. This conservative opposition to Roosevelt grew steadily throughout nineteen thirty-five and thirty-six. Many Americans were honestly worried that Roosevelt's expansion of government was the first step to dictatorship. They feared that Roosevelt and the Democrats were trying to gain power as the Nazis did in Germany, the Fascists in Italy or the Communists in Russia. The Republican Party held its presidential convention in the summer of nineteen thirty-six. The party delegates chose Alfred Landon to oppose Roosevelt for president. Mr. Landon was the governor of the farm state of Kansas. He was a successful oil producer with conservative business views. But he was open to some of the social reforms of Roosevelt's New Deal. Republicans hoped he would appeal to average Americans who supported mild reforms, but feared Roosevelt's social policies.
The Democrats nominated Roosevelt and Vice President John Garner to serve a second term. The main issue in the presidential campaign of nineteen thirty-six was Franklin Roosevelt himself. Roosevelt campaigned across the country like a man sure that he would win. He laughed with the cheering crowds and told them that the New Deal had helped improve their lives. In New York, Roosevelt made a major speech promising to continue the work of his administration if he was re-elected. "Of course we will continue to seek to improve working conditions for the workers of America. "Of course we will continue to work for cheaper electricity in the homes and on the farms of America, for better and cheaper transportation, for low interest rates, for sounder home financing, for better banking, for the regulation of security issues, for reciprocal trade among nations ... "And, my friends, for all these we have only just begun to fight." The Republican candidate, Alfred Landon, began his campaign by saying that many of Roosevelt's New Deal programs were good. But he said that a Republican administration could do them better and for less money. However, Landon's words became much stronger as the campaign continued. He attacked many of Roosevelt's programs.
The campaign became increasingly bitter. Roosevelt said his opponents cared only about their money, not about other Americans. "I welcome their hatred," he said. Landon's supporters accused Roosevelt of destroying the nation's economic traditions and threatening democracy. The nation had not seen such a fierce campaign in forty years. But when it was over, the nation also saw a victory greater than any in its history. Franklin Roosevelt defeated Alfred Landon in the election of nineteen thirty-six by one of the largest votes in the nation's history. Roosevelt won every state except Maine and Vermont. The huge election victory marked the high point of Roosevelt's popularity. In our next program, we will look at the many problems he faced in his second administration.
重点解析
1.less than 不到；小于
The marriage had lasted for less than two years.
这段婚姻维持了不到两年。
2.such as 比如；像这种的
She was involved in many New Age activities such as yoga and healing.
她参加了很多“新时代”活动，如瑜伽和康复法。
3.agree to 同意；赞成
I cannot but agree to your decision.
我不得不同意你的决定。
4.of course 自然；当然
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。富兰克林·罗斯福在19世纪30年代实施的新政政策改变了美国政府的面貌，新总统和国会通过了帮助农民、加强银行体系并为数百万工人提供工作的立法。罗斯福政策的结果之一是美国国内有组织的劳工运动变得更为强劲。在本周的系列节目中，莎拉·朗和道格·约翰逊将继续讲述富兰克林·德拉诺·罗斯福担任总统时的故事。
19世纪20年代，劳工领袖在组织工人方面几乎没有获得成功。三位共和党总统和全国性的保守主义浪潮，使他们无法获得更多成员或增加其谈判能力。在1929年经济大萧条开始时，有组织的劳动力数量进一步下降。到1933年，美国的工会会员人数不到三百万。但是，到19世纪30年代末，超过150万美国工人加入了工会。罗斯福政府提出的新法律使劳动力增长成为可能。1933年的《国家工业复苏法》赋予劳工领袖组织和代表工人的权利，最高法院裁定这项法律是非法的。但是另一项法律，1935年的瓦格纳《劳动关系法》，帮助工会增加他们的权力。
美国传统工会的大多数领导人，对他们获得的新权力，反应都比较迟缓。他们是保守派，代表具有某些技能的工人，如木工或焊工。他们很少组织有其他技能的工人。但是，一个新的劳工领袖团体利用新的法律，按行业而不是按技能组织工会。他们认为，如果工人和同一间工厂中的其他工人联合起来提出共同的要求，他们将拥有更多的权力。这些新领导人开始组织汽车工业、钢铁工业和其他主要工业的工会。新运动的领袖是煤矿工人们的领袖约翰·L·刘易斯。刘易斯是一位身强力壮、观点坚定的领导人，他十二岁起就开始在煤矿工作。国劳工联合会的大多数领导人并未给他们提供多少帮助。
因此，刘易斯和其他几个工会的负责人组成了自己的小组，按照行业而非技能来组织工会。他们称自己的小组为工业组织党派，他们还试图希望马上能有会员加入。工业组织党派成功地组织了几个主要行业的工人。但是，这也是经过艰苦抗争才得以成功。工业组织党派的第一场大战，是与大型汽车公司通用汽车对抗。1935年下旬，通用汽车公司几家工厂的工人开始坐在机器旁边进行“静坐”罢工，以要求更好的工资和工作条件。44天后，通用汽车投降了。公司认可了汽车工人工会有权代表通用汽车工人，同时同意进行一项有关新工作协议的谈判。福特汽车公司的斗争更加激烈了，福特公司的保安殴打工会组织者和工人。但福特公司最终同意与新的工会谈判。
钢铁行业的情况也是如此。但是，新的劳工领袖成功地成为全国钢铁行业工人的官方代表。到1938年，工业组织党派赢得了组织主要工业的战斗。在以后的几年里，它将与更传统的美国劳工联合会联合成立一个组织，这个组织仍然是当今美国最重要的劳工组织，即美国劳工联盟。罗斯福总统并不总是劳工团体的积极支持者。但他也不像之前的三位共和党总统那样，一直支持大企业。事实上，罗斯福经常公开反对民主国家中大企业的危险。这些演讲引起了许多传统商界和保守派国家领导人的极大关注。1935年，罗斯福逐渐宽容的政策使许多富裕的美国人担心，总统是社会主义者、独裁者或疯子。
例如，前总统赫伯特·胡佛谴责罗斯福的新政政策是对“个人自由的整体观念”的抨击。商界领袖摩根大通银行的家人告诉来访者，不要在摩根面前提及罗斯福的名字。他们说，这会让他的血压升高。保守党对罗斯福的这种反对情绪，在整个1935年和1936年稳步增长。许多美国人真的担心罗斯福政府的扩张是走向独裁的第一步。他们担心罗斯福和民主党试图获得权力，就像德国的纳粹、意大利的法西斯和俄罗斯的共产党那样。共和党在1936年夏天举行了总统会议，党内代表们选择了阿尔弗雷德·兰登作为罗斯福的反对者竞选总统。兰登先生是农场大州堪萨斯州的州长。他是一位成功的石油生产商，持有保守的商业观点。但是，他对罗斯福新政中的一些社会变革持开放态度。共和党人希望他能吸引那些支持温和改革派的普通美国人，但又对罗斯福的社会政策表示担忧。
民主党提名罗斯福和副总统约翰加纳连任。1936年总统竞选的主要议题是富兰克林·罗斯福本人，罗斯福像确信自己能赢得选举一样在全国各地竞选。他和欢呼的人群一起大笑，告诉他们新政有助于改善他们的生活。在纽约，罗斯福发表了一次重要讲话，承诺如果他连任，将继续当前政府的工作。“当然，我们将继续努力改善美国工人的工作条件。“我们会继续努力，使美国家庭和农场获得廉价电力、更好更便宜的交通、低利率、更健全的家庭融资、更好的银行业、安全问题的监管、国家间的互惠贸易等。“而且，我的朋友们，对于所有这些，我们才刚刚开始斗争。”共和党候选人阿尔弗雷德·兰登在竞选开始时说，罗斯福的许多新政方案都是好的。但他表示，共和党政府可以花费更少的款项，而把工作做得更好。然而，随着竞选的进行，兰登的话语变得更加有力。他对罗斯福的许多方案进行抨击。
竞选变得越来越激烈。罗斯福说，他的对手只关心他们的钱，而不关心其他美国人。“我接受他们的仇恨，兰登的支持者指责罗斯福破坏了美国的经济传统，并且威胁到民主制度。这个国家四十年来从未见过如此激烈的运动，但当它结束时，这个国家也见证了历史上最伟大的一次胜利。在1936年的选举中，富兰克林·罗斯福以美国历史上获得最多的选票数击败了阿尔弗雷德·兰登。罗斯福赢得了除缅因州和佛蒙特州以外的所有州的选票。巨大的选举胜利标志着罗斯福的声望达到了顶峰。在接下来的节目中，我们将探讨他在第二届政府中面临的许多问题。
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