(单词翻译:单击)
听力文本
Welcome to THE MAKING OF A NATION – American history in VOA Special English. I'm Steve Ember. History is full of examples of leaders joining together to meet common goals. But rarely have two leaders worked together with as much friendship and cooperation as Franklin Roosevelt and Winston Churchill did. Roosevelt was president of the United States; Churchill was prime minister of Britain. The two men had much in common. They were both born to wealthy families, and they were both active in politics for many years. Both leaders also shared a love of history and nature, and the sea. Roosevelt and Churchill first met when they were lower-level officials during World War One. But neither man remembered much about that meeting. However, as they worked together during the Second World War, they came to like and trust each other.
Roosevelt and Churchill exchanged more than one thousand seven hundred letters and messages over a period of five and a half years. They met many times, at large international gatherings and in private talks. But the closeness of their friendship might be seen best in a story told by one of Roosevelt's close advisers, Harry Hopkins. Hopkins remembered how Churchill was visiting Roosevelt at the White House one day. Roosevelt went into Churchill's room in the morning to say hello. But the president was shocked to see Churchill coming from the bathroom with no clothes on. Roosevelt immediately apologized to the British leader. But Churchill reportedly answered, "The prime minister of Great Britain has nothing to hide from the president of the United States." The United States and Great Britain were the most powerful of the nations that joined together as allies to resist Germany's Adolf Hitler and his Axis partners. In January of nineteen forty-two, twenty-six of the Allied nations signed an agreement promising to fight for the goals of peace, religious freedom, human rights and justice.
The three major Allies were the United States, Britain and the Soviet Union. The governments in Washington and London did not always agree. For example, they disagreed about when to attack Hitler's forces in western Europe. And Churchill resisted Roosevelt's suggestions that Britain give up some of its colonies. But in general, the friendship between Roosevelt and Churchill, and between the United States and Britain, led the two nations to cooperate closely. This was not true with the Soviets. The Soviet Union was a communist country. It did not share the same history or political system as the United States or Britain. And the Soviet Union had its own interests to protect along its borders and in other areas. Relations between the Soviet Union and the western Allies were mixed. On the one hand, Hitler's invasion deep into the Soviet Union had forced Josef Stalin and other Soviet leaders to make victory over the Germans their most important goal. On the other hand, shadows of future problems could already be seen. The Soviet Union was making clear its desire to keep political control over Poland. And it was supporting communist fighters in Yugoslavia and Greece.
These differences were not discussed much as the foreign ministers of Britain, the Soviet Union and the United States gathered in Moscow in nineteen forty-three. Instead, they reached several agreements, including on a plan to establish a new organization called the United Nations. Finally, Roosevelt, Churchill, and Stalin met together for the first time. They met in Tehran in late nineteen forty-three mainly to discuss the military situation. However, the three leaders also considered political questions such as the future of Germany, eastern Europe and East Asia. Later, the Allies made further plans for the new United Nations. They arranged for new international economic organizations -- the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund. And the Allies agreed to divide Germany into different parts after the war for a temporary period. The Soviet Union would occupy the eastern part while Britain, France and the United States would occupy the west. Washington, London and Moscow were united during the early years of the war because of military need. They knew they must fight together to defeat their common enemy.
But this unity faded as Allied troops marched toward the German border. Roosevelt continued to call on the world to wait until the last bullet was fired before deciding what would come next. But Churchill, Stalin and other leaders already were trying to shape the world that would follow the war. Now, differences between the Allies became more serious. The most important question was Poland. Hitler's invasion of Poland in nineteen thirty-nine had started the war. Roosevelt and Churchill believed strongly that the Polish people should have the right to choose their own leaders after the war. Churchill supported a group of Polish resistance leaders who had an office in London. In nineteen forty, Polish fliers had taken part in the Battle of Britain, piloting British warplanes against the German Luftwaffe. But Stalin had other ideas. He demanded that Poland's border be changed to give more land to the Soviet Union. And he refused to help the Polish resistance leaders in London. Instead, he supported a group of Polish communists and helped them establish a new government in Poland.
Churchill visited Stalin late in nineteen forty-four. The two leaders met with Roosevelt a few months later in Yalta, on the Crimean coast. All agreed that free elections should be held quickly in Poland. And they traded ideas about the future of eastern Europe, China and other areas of the world. Roosevelt was in good spirits when he reported to Congress after his return from the Yalta conference. "I come from the Crimea conference with a firm belief that we have made a good start on the road to a world of peace. There were two main purposes in this Crimea conference. The first was to bring defeat to Germany with the greatest possible speed, and the smallest possible loss of Allied men. "That purpose is now being carried out in great force. The German Army, and the German people, are feeling the ever-increasing might of our fighting men and of the Allied armies. Every hour gives us added pride in the heroic advance of our troops in Germany -- on German soil -- toward a meeting with the gallant Red Army. "The second purpose was to continue to build the foundation for an international accord that would bring order and security after the chaos of the war, that would give some assurance of lasting peace among the nations of the world. Toward that goal, a tremendous stride was made.
Roosevelt went on to say that "the peace cannot be a completely perfect system, at first. But it can be a peace based on the idea of freedom." Churchill had the same high hopes. He told the British parliament after the conference that Stalin and other Soviet leaders wished to live in honorable friendship. "I also know that their word is honest," Churchill said. But, as history proved, Roosevelt and Churchill were wrong about the Soviets. In the months after the Yalta conference, relations between Moscow and the western democracies grew steadily worse. The Soviet Union moved to seize control of eastern Europe. Stalin began making strong speeches charging that Washington and London were holding secret peace negotiations with Germany. And the Soviet Union refused to discuss ways to bring democracy to Poland. Churchill wrote later that he had always held the Russian people in high honor, but their shadow darkened the picture after the war. Britain and America had gone to war not just to defend the smaller countries, but also to fight for individual rights and freedoms.
Churchill went on to say that the Soviet Union had other goals. Its hold tightened on eastern Europe after the Soviet Army gained control. And Churchill said that after the long suffering and efforts of World War Two, it seemed that half of Europe had just exchanged one dictator for another. Churchill and Roosevelt agreed in secret letters that they must try to oppose the Soviet effort. But before they could act, Roosevelt died. And the world began to live through a new war -- the Cold War -- in the years to follow. Roosevelt's death, from bleeding in the brain, also ended a deep personal friendship between two world leaders. Winston Churchill later wrote about hearing the news of the death of his close friend. "I felt as if I had been struck with a physical blow," Churchill wrote. He said he was overpowered by a sense of deep and permanent loss. The free world joined Churchill in mourning the loss of so strong a leader as Franklin Roosevelt. But it could not weep for long. War was giving way to peace. A new world was forming. And, as we will hear in future programs, it was a world that few people expected.
重点解析
1.apologize to 向……道歉；认错
He had the grace to apologize to me for the insulting remark.
由于说话失礼，他通情达理地向我道了歉。
2.fight for 为……而战；为……而斗争
I hope they continue to fight for equal justice after I'm gone.
我希望我走后他们能继续为司法公正而战。
3.refuse to 不肯；拒绝
I refuse to honour your bill.
我拒绝兑现你的票据。
4.wish to 想要，希望
I wish to take this opportunity to thank you all.
我愿借此机会向大家表示感谢。
参考译文
欢迎收听VOA慢速英语之建国史话节目，我是史蒂夫·恩伯。历史上有很多领导人联手，实现共同目标的例子。但很少有两位领导人能像富兰克林·罗斯福和温斯顿·丘吉尔那样，以友谊与合作的方式合作。罗斯福是美国总统，丘吉尔是英国首相，这两个人有许多共同点。他们都出身于富裕家庭，而且都活跃在政坛多年。两位领导人也都热爱历史、自然和海洋。罗斯福和丘吉尔第一次见面是在第一次世界大战期间，那时他们是下级官员，但两人都对那次会面没有印象。不过，当他们在第二次世界大战期间一起工作时，他们开始喜欢和信任彼此。
罗斯福和丘吉尔在五年半的时间里，交换了1700多封信件和信息。他们在大型国际集会和私下会谈中多次会晤。不过，罗斯福的密友之一哈里·霍普金斯讲述的一个故事，也许最能看出他们的亲密友谊。霍普金斯记得有一天丘吉尔在白宫拜访罗斯福，罗斯福早上走进丘吉尔的房间打招呼。但总统看到丘吉尔从浴室里出来，并未着装，感到很震惊。罗斯福立即向英国领导人道歉。但据说，丘吉尔回答道：“英国首相对美国总统没有什么可隐瞒的。”美国和英国是最强大的国家，联合起来作为盟友，抵抗德国的阿道夫希特勒和他的轴心国伙伴。1942年1月，26个盟国签署了一项协议，承诺为和平、宗教自由、人权和正义的目标而战。
三大盟国是美国、英国和苏联，美国和英国政府并不总是表示同意。例如，他们对于何时进攻希特勒在西欧的军队问题上存在分歧，丘吉尔拒绝了罗斯福关于英国放弃部分殖民地的建议。但总的来说，罗斯福和丘吉尔之间以及英美之间的友谊使两国合作十分密切。苏联不是这样，苏联是一个共产主义国家，它与美国或英国的历史或政治制度不同。苏联在边境和其他地区有自己需要保护的利益。苏联和西方盟国之间的关系是复杂的。一方面，希特勒深入苏联的侵略迫使斯大林和其他苏联领导人把战胜德军作为最重要的目标。另一方面，未来问题的阴影已经显现。苏联明确表示希望继续对波兰实行政治控制，它支持南斯拉夫和希腊的共产主义战士。
由于英、苏、美三国的外交部长于1943年在莫斯科聚会，并未过多地讨论这些分歧。相反，他们达成了几项协议，包括关于建立成为联合国的一个新型组织的计划。最后，罗斯福、丘吉尔和斯大林第一次见面。他们于1943年底在德黑兰会面，主要讨论军事局势。不过，三位领导人还考虑了德国、东欧和东亚的未来等政治问题。后来，盟国为新的联合国制定了进一步的计划。他们安排了新的国际经济组织——世界银行和国际货币基金组织。盟国同意在战后将德国划分为不同的部分，并暂时保留一段时间。苏联将占领东部地区，英国、法国和美国占领西部。出于军事方面的需要，美国、英国和苏联在战争初期团结一致，他们知道必须一起战斗才能打败共同的敌人。
但随着盟军向德国边境进军，这种团结逐渐消失。罗斯福继续呼吁全球人民下一枪打响后，再决定接下来的行动方向。但丘吉尔、斯大林和其他领导人已经在试图塑造战后的世界。现在，盟国之间的分歧变得更加严重。最重要的问题是波兰。1939年，希特勒对波兰的入侵引发了战争。罗斯福和丘吉尔坚信，波兰人民战后有权选择自己的领导人。丘吉尔支持一群在伦敦具有办事处的波兰抵抗运动领导人。1940年，波兰飞行员参加了英国战役，驾驶英国战机对抗德国空军。但斯大林有其他想法，他要求变更波兰的边界，给苏联划出更多土地。他拒绝帮助在伦敦的波兰抵抗运动领导人。相反，他支持一批波兰共产党人，帮助他们在波兰建立新政府。
丘吉尔在1944年末访问了斯大林，两位领导人数月后在克里米亚海岸的雅尔塔会见罗斯福。所有人都同意波兰应迅速举行自由选举，他们还就东欧、中国和世界其他地区的未来交换了意见。罗斯福从雅尔塔会议回来后，向国会报告时心情振奋。“我刚参加完克里米亚会议，坚信我们在通往和平世界的道路上已经具有良好的开端。这次克里米亚会议有两个主要意图，第一个是以尽可能快的速度，尽可能少的盟军损失，让德国失败。“这一目标现在正在大力执行，德军和德国人民正感受到我们的战士和盟军不断增强的力量。每个小时，我们都为我军在德国国土上英勇前进，与勇敢的红军会合而倍感自豪。“第二个目标是继续建立一个国际协议的基础，它将在战后的混乱中带来秩序和安全，这将在一定程度上为世界各国之间的持久和平提供保证。我们正朝着那个目标，大步前行。
罗斯福接着说：“起初，和平不可能是一个完全完美的体系，但它可以是基于自由理念的和平。”丘吉尔也抱有同样的厚望，他在会后对英国议会说，斯大林和其他苏联领导人希望生活在光荣的友谊中。“我也知道他们说的是实情，”丘吉尔说。但是历史证明，罗斯福和丘吉尔在苏联问题上是错误的。雅尔塔会议后的数月里，苏联与西方民主国家的关系稳步恶化。苏联采取行动夺取东欧的控制权。斯大林开始发表强硬讲话，指责英美两国正在与德国进行秘密的和平谈判。苏联拒绝讨论如何将民主带到波兰。丘吉尔后来写道，他一直对俄国人民表示崇高的敬意，但他们带来的阴影使战后的情况更加黯淡。英美开战不仅是为了保卫小国，也是为了争取自己权利和自由。
丘吉尔接着说，苏联还有其他目标。苏联军队取得控制权后，它加强了对东欧的控制。丘吉尔说，在经历了第二次世界大战的长期苦难和努力之后，欧洲的一半地区似乎刚从一个独裁者换成另一个独裁者。丘吉尔和罗斯福在秘密信件中同意，他们必须努力反对苏联。但他们还没来得及行动，罗斯福就去世了。在接下来的几年里，世界开始经历一场新的战争——冷战。罗斯福因脑出血而去世，这也结束了两位世界级领导人之间深厚的私人友谊。温斯顿·丘吉尔后来撰写了一篇有关听到他密友去世消息的文章。丘吉尔写道：“我觉得自己的身体好像被重重地击打了一下。”他说，他被一种能深切感受到的永久失落感所压倒。全世界的自由民众和丘吉尔一起哀悼富兰克林·罗斯福这样一位坚强的领袖的逝世，但却不能过久的悲伤。战争正让位给和平，一个新世界正在形成。而且，正如我们将在未来的节目中将要听到的那样，这是一个鲜有人能预料到的世界。
译文为可可英语翻译，未经授权请勿转载！
