(单词翻译:单击)
听力文本
Welcome to The Making of a Nation—American history in VOA Special English. Growing tensions in Europe and Asia created a serious conflict for Americans during the nineteen-thirties. Most Americans opposed the Fascist or military leaders gaining control in Germany, Italy, Japan, and other countries. But they were not willing to take any firm action to stop this growing movement. Americans did not want to become involved in another world war. And they called on President Franklin Delano Roosevelt and their representatives in Congress to remain neutral in world affairs. But aggression by Germany and Japan finally would force Americans to choose between their love of democracy and their desire for peace. The first challenge to America's policy of neutrality came in October nineteen thirty-five. Troops from Fascist Italy invaded Ethiopia.
Roosevelt did not feel neutral at all. He told his advisers, "Italy is dropping bombs on Ethiopia, and that is war." He sharply criticized the Fascist Italian leader, Benito Mussolini. Roosevelt issued an order banning Americans from sending arms to either Italy or Ethiopia. And he called on Americans not to send oil or other materials to Italy. Roosevelt's efforts to stop the export of oil and other products did not succeed. But the efforts by the White House played an important part in leading the League of Nations to take economic actions against Italy. Less than two years later, civil war broke out in Spain. Spanish Fascists led by General Francisco Franco tried to overthrow the democratic government in Madrid. Some Americans went to join the democratic army in Spain to fight Franco. But Roosevelt and the Congress agreed that America should remain officially neutral in the conflict. In this way, Roosevelt was meeting the wishes of the American people by avoiding war. But personally, he was deeply troubled by the events in Europe. In a letter to his ambassador in France, Roosevelt wrote, "One cannot help feeling that the whole European situation is blacker than at any time in your lifetime or mine."
Another challenge to American neutrality came in Asia. Japan launched a new invasion of China in July, nineteen thirty-seven. Within one month, Japanese forces gained control of what was then called Peking, now Beijing, and Tientsin. The United States had long supported the Nationalist forces of China. And many Americans were angry about the Japanese invasion. But Roosevelt and his administration once again refused to take strong actions against the aggression. For one thing, the American Navy was weak. There was little it could do to stop Japanese aggression thousands of miles away in Asia. And neither Roosevelt nor the Congress wanted to be first to break America's official policy of neutrality. Franklin Roosevelt made clear in private talks with friends that he understood the serious threat to world peace created by Adolf Hitler and other Fascists. He believed that the United States could not remain neutral forever if democracy was threatened in so many countries. However, Roosevelt did little to educate the nation about this threat. Instead, he generally followed the wishes of the majority of people who wanted America to remain neutral.
Public opinion in the United States was strongly against any kind of involvement in foreign conflicts. In nineteen thirty-seven, Roosevelt made an important speech calling for the world's neutral nations to protect themselves from lawless Fascist nations. But many Americans feared that Roosevelt was trying to create a new alliance. And they opposed his efforts. A public opinion survey at the time showed that less than one in three Americans was willing to change the nation's strong neutrality laws to give Roosevelt more freedom of action. In the same year, Japanese planes sank an American gunboat in the Yangtze River in China. But few Americans showed any interest in going to war over the incident. Instead, they accepted Japanese apologies. Americans simply had no desire to fight. Most Americans honestly believed that the best hope for their country was neutrality. One of the most influential supporters of neutrality was Senator Gerald Nye of North Dakota. He told the New York Times in nineteen thirty-seven that there can be no objection to any action the government may take which tries to bring peace to the world.
But that action, he added, must not tie the American people "into another world death march." He said: "I very much fear that we are once again being caused to feel that the call is upon America to police a world that chooses to follow insane leaders." Adolf Hitler's Nazi forces moved into the Rhineland in nineteen thirty-six. Two years later, they invaded Austria. And then, in the following months, Hitler began making demands on the government of Czechoslovakia. Britain's Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain was afraid that Hitler might start a general European war if he was blocked from gaining control of Czechoslovakia. In September of nineteen thirty-eight, Chamberlain traveled to Munich to discuss the situation with the German leader. The result was that Britain agreed to a German takeover of Czechoslovakia. Chamberlain returned to London promising "peace in our time." "The settlement of the Czechoslovakian problem which has now been achieved is, in my view, only the prelude to a larger settlement in which all Europe may find peace. This morning, I had another talk with the German chancellor, Herr Hitler, and here is the paper which bears his name upon it, as well as mine. Some of you perhaps have already heard what it contains, but I would just like to read it to you. We, the German Führer and Chancellor and the British Prime Minister, have had a further meeting today, and are agreed in recognizing that the question of Anglo-German relations is of the first importance for the two countries, and for Europe. We regard the agreement signed last night, and the Anglo-German Naval Agreement, as symbolic of the desire of our two peoples never to go to war with one another again." The first reaction of most Americans to Chamberlain's Munich agreement was one of relief. But then, public opinion changed. Americans saw that Hitler's Germany now had control of central Europe. Japan was becoming more powerful in Asia. Chamberlain's weakness only served to show dictators that they could gain land and power through aggression and fear.
Roosevelt warned Americans in late nineteen thirty-eight about this Fascist threat. "There can be no peace," he said, "if another nation makes the threat of war its national policy." "There can be no peace if national policy adopts as a deliberate instrument the threat of war. There can be no peace if national policy adopts as a deliberate instrument the dispersion all over the world of millions of helpless and persecuted wanderers with no place to lay their heads. There can be no peace if humble men and women are not free to think their own thoughts, to express their own feelings, and to worship God. There can be no peace if economic resources that ought to be devoted to social and economic reconstruction are to be diverted to an intensified competition in armaments." Roosevelt and much of the American public continued to hope that the United States could stay out of foreign conflicts. But increasingly, they understood that war might come. And they began to prepare for possible hostilities. Following the Munich agreement, Roosevelt requested a large increase in the defense budget. He asked Britain and France to buy arms from American manufacturers to give those companies more experience in producing weapons. And he helped bring about an agreement among nations in North and South America to join together to oppose Fascist threats to peace and security.
Finally, Roosevelt tried to get Congress to change the neutrality laws. He wanted more freedom as president to resist Fascist aggression and help Britain, France, China, and other friendly nations. Congress, however, continued to resist such changes. But events in early nineteen thirty-nine showed that war was on the way. Germany occupied Czechoslovakia and then Lithuania. Franco's forces took control in Spain. Italy invaded Albania. And then Hitler began making demands on Poland. In August, Germany and the Soviet Union announced to the world that they had signed a joint defense agreement. A week later, Germany attacked Poland. Two days later, Britain and France declared war on Germany. Germany's invasion of Poland, and the beginning of the war, presented a giant challenge to the United States. On the one hand, almost all Americans supported the European democracies opposing the aggression by Hitler, Mussolini, and other Fascists. But on the other hand, Americans had no desire to fight in what might be a long and bloody war. The following months would force Americans of all political beliefs to consider this problem. It would be a final period of peace for the United States before events once again drew it into a terrible world conflict.
重点解析
1.be willing to 乐于；情愿
You must be willing to reskill.
你必须乐于学习新技术。
2.call on 号召；呼吁
I call on everyone to renounce the use of violence and armed struggle.
我呼吁每个人都放弃使用暴力和武装斗争。
3.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。
4.agree to 同意某事；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，欧洲和亚洲日益紧张的局势，在20世纪30年代给美国人造成了严重的冲突。大多数美国人反对法西斯或军事领导人控制德国、意大利、日本和其他国家。但他们不愿意采取任何坚定的行动来阻止这一日益增长的运动。美国人不想卷入另一场世界大战，他们呼吁富兰克林·德拉诺·罗斯福总统及其国会代表在国际事务中保持中立。但德国和日本的侵略，最终将迫使美国人在对民主的热爱和对和平的渴望之间做出选择。对美国中立政策的第一个挑战发生在1935年10月。法西斯意大利军队入侵埃塞俄比亚。
罗斯福一点也不觉得中立，他对顾问们说：“意大利正在向埃塞俄比亚投掷炸弹，这就是战争。”他尖锐地批评了意大利法西斯领导人贝尼托·墨索里尼。罗斯福发布命令，禁止美国人向意大利或埃塞俄比亚运送武器，并呼吁美国人不要向意大利运送石油或其他物资。罗斯福阻止石油和其他产品出口的努力没有成功，但白宫的努力在领导国际联盟对意大利采取经济行动方面发挥了重要作用。不到两年后，西班牙爆发内战。弗朗西斯科·佛朗哥将军领导的西班牙法西斯试图推翻马德里的民主政府。一些美国人加入了西班牙的民主军与佛朗哥作战，但是罗斯福和国会同意美国应该在冲突中保持官方中立。就这样，罗斯福通过避免战争来满足美国人民的愿望。但就个人而言，他对欧洲发生的事件深感不安。罗斯福在写给驻法国大使的信中写道：“人们不禁感到，整个欧洲局势比我们有生之年任何时候都要黑暗。”
对美国中立的另一个挑战来自亚洲。1937年7月，日本对中国发动了新的侵略。不到一个月，日军就控制了当时的北平（现在的北京）和天津。美国长期以来一直支持中国的民族主义力量，许多美国人对日本的入侵感到愤怒。但是，罗斯福和他的政府再次拒绝对侵略采取强有力的行动。一方面，美国海军力量薄弱。在数千英里之外的亚洲，美国几乎无法阻止日本的侵略。罗斯福和国会都不想率先打破美国的官方中立政策。富兰克林·罗斯福在与朋友的私下会谈中明确表示，他理解阿道夫·希特勒和其他法西斯分子对世界和平造成的严重威胁。他认为，如果这么多国家的民主政体受到威胁，美国不可能永远保持中立。然而，罗斯福并没有使全国人民认识到这一威胁。相反，他通常遵循大多数人希望美国保持中立的意愿。美国舆论强烈反对以任何形式卷入外国冲突。1937年，罗斯福发表了一次重要讲话，呼吁世界上那些中立国保护自己免受不法法西斯国家的侵略。但是，许多美国人担心罗斯福试图建立一个新的联盟。他们反对他所做的各种努力。当时的一项民意调查显示，不到三分之一的美国人愿意改变美国强有力的中立法律，给予罗斯福更多的行动自由。同年，日本飞机在中国长江击沉了一艘美国炮艇。但是，很少有美国人有兴趣就此事件发动战争。相反，他们接受了日本人的道歉，美国人根本不想打仗。老实说，大多数美国人认为，他们国家的最大希望是保持中立。最有影响力的中立支持者之一，是北达科他州参议员杰拉尔德·奈。他在1937年告诉《纽约时报》，没有人反对政府可能采取的尝试给世界带来和平的任何行动。
但他补充说，这一行动决不能将美国人民“束缚在另一场世界死亡的游行中”。他说：“我非常担心，我们再次感到，呼吁美国能够维护起一个选择追随疯狂领袖世界的治安。”1936年希特勒的纳粹军队进入莱茵兰。两年后，他们入侵奥地利。然后，在接下来的几个月里，希特勒开始向捷克斯洛伐克政府提出要求。英国首相张伯伦担心，如果希特勒无法控制捷克斯洛伐克，他可能会发动一场全面的欧洲战争。1938年9月，张伯伦前往慕尼黑，与德国领导人商讨局势。结果，英国同意德国接管捷克斯洛伐克。张伯伦回到伦敦，承诺“在我们的时代实现和平。”
“我认为，现在已经成功解决了捷克斯洛伐克的问题，这只是一个更大解决方案的前奏，欧洲所有的国家都能从这个办法中找到和平。今天早上，我和德国总理希特勒先生又进行了一次会谈，这张纸上写有他的名字。也许你们中的一些人已经听说了它所包含的内容，但我只想读给你们听。德国元首兼总理和英国首相，今天又举行了一次会谈，大家一致认为英德关系问题对两国和欧洲来说都是重中之重。我们认为昨晚签署的协定和《英德海军协定》，象征着我们两国人民不再彼此开战的愿望。”大多数美国人对张伯伦的慕尼黑协定的第一反应是感到宽慰。但后来，舆论发生了变化。美国人看到希特勒统治的德国现在控制了中欧，日本在亚洲越来越强大。张伯伦的软弱只会向独裁者表明，他们可以通过侵略和恐惧获得土地和权力。
罗斯福在1938年底警告美国人，这是法西斯的威胁。他说：“如果另一个国家把战争威胁作为其国家政策，就不可能有和平的存在。”“如果国家政策把战争威胁作为一种蓄意的手段，就不可能有和平。如果国家政策作为一种蓄意的手段，把数百万无助和受迫害的流浪者分散到世界各地，使他们无处下榻，就不会有和平存在。如果谦卑的男女不能自由地思考自己的想法，表达自己的感情，并敬拜上帝的话，就不会有和平。如果把本应用于社会和经济重建的经济资源转用于加剧军备竞争，就不可能有和平。”罗斯福和许多美国公众仍然希望美国能够远离国际冲突。但是，他们越来越明白战争可能会到来。他们开始为可能的敌对行动做准备。在慕尼黑协议之后，罗斯福要求大幅增加国防预算。他要求英国和法国从美国制造商那里购买武器，让这些公司在生产武器方面具有更多的经验。他还帮助南北美洲各国达成协议，共同反对法西斯对和平与安全的威胁。
最后，罗斯福试图让国会修改中立法律。他希望作为总统有更多的自由来抵抗法西斯侵略，帮助英、法、中等友好国家。然而，国会继续抵制这种变化。但是1939年初的事件表明战争正在进行中。德国占领捷克斯洛伐克，然后占领立陶宛。佛朗哥的军队控制了西班牙，意大利入侵阿尔巴尼亚，后来希特勒开始对波兰提出要求。今年8月，德国和苏联向世界宣布，两国签署了联合防御协议。一周后，德国袭击了波兰。两天后，英法两国向德国宣战。德国入侵波兰，战争开始，给美国带来了巨大的挑战。一方面，几乎所有的美国人都支持欧洲民主国家反对希特勒、墨索里尼和其他法西斯分子的侵略。但另一方面，美国人不想参加一场可能是既漫长又血腥的战争。接下来的几个月，将迫使拥有所有政治信仰的美国人思考这个问题。对美国来说，这将是在事态再次将其卷入可怕的世界冲突之前的最后一段和平时期。
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