(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. Britain was once the most powerful nation in the world. It ruled a wide-reaching empire. This week in our series, we look at how British power gave way to American influence after World War Two. One can almost name the day when this happened. It was February twenty-first, nineteen forty-seven. British diplomats in Washington called the State Department. They had two messages from their government. The first was about Greece. The situation there was critical. Greece had been occupied by Germany during the war. Now it was split by a bitter civil war. On one side of the fighting was the Greek royal family supported by Britain. On the other side were communist-led rebels supported by Yugoslavia and the Soviet Union. British forces had helped keep Greece from becoming communist at the end of World War Two. A few years later, Britain could no longer help. It needed all its strength to rebuild after the war. So, on that February day in nineteen forty-seven, Britain told the United States it would soon end all support for Greece.
Britain's second message that day was about Turkey. Turkey was stronger than Greece. But the concern was that it, too, could become communist unless it received outside help. Britain warned the United States that the Soviet Union would soon extend its control all the way across eastern Europe to the eastern Mediterranean. It called on President Harry Truman to provide strong American support to help Greece and Turkey resist the communist threat. Britain, in effect, was asking the United States to take over leadership of the Western world. The United States was ready to accept this new responsibility. For months, relations between the United States and the Soviet Union had been growing worse and worse. The two countries had fought together as allies in the Second World War. But Soviet actions after the war shocked the American people. The Soviet Union wanted to block western political and economic influence in central and eastern Europe. It wanted to extend its own influence instead. So, after the war, it forced a number of countries to establish communist governments. The Soviets sent troops into Hungary, Bulgaria and Czechoslovakia to make sure its political demands were met.
"From Stettin in the Baltic to Trieste in the Adriatic an iron curtain has descended across the Continent." Britain's prime minister, Winston Churchill, described the situation in a speech in March of nineteen forty-six at Westminster College in the American state of Missouri. "Behind that line lie all the capitals of the ancient states of Central and Eastern Europe. Warsaw, Berlin, Prague, Vienna, Budapest, Belgrade, Bucharest and Sofia, all these famous cities and the populations around them lie in what I must call the Soviet sphere, and all are subject in one form or another, not only to Soviet influence but to a very high and, in some cases, increasing measure of control from Moscow." Churchill warned that the Soviet Union was trying to expand its power. He described it as an "iron curtain" falling across the middle of Europe. This iron curtain divided Europe into a communist east and a democratic west. The United States was more successful in its policies toward Europe. The British warnings about the communist threat in Greece and Turkey led President Truman to speak to Congress. He said, "I believe that it must be the policy of the United States to support free peoples who are resisting attempted subjugation by armed minorities or by outside pressures."
Truman called on Congress to give him four hundred million dollars in aid for Greece and Turkey. After a brief but intense national debate, Congress agreed. Truman then launched an effort to save the Greek economy and reorganize the Greek army. Soon after that, Yugoslavia and the Soviet Union ended their aid to Greek rebels. The civil war in Greece ended. American help for Greece and Turkey was the first step in what became known as the "Truman Doctrine." The goal of this policy was to stop Soviet aggression anywhere in the world. Truman was willing to use military force to stop the spread of communism. But he also believed it was equally important to build up western European nations so they would be strong enough to defend themselves. Europe was suffering terribly after World War Two. There were severe shortages of food and fuel. Crops were destroyed. Many Europeans were beginning to look to the communists -- to anybody -- to save them. This is one reason why Truman and his advisers developed a plan to rebuild the economies of Europe.
After the war, President Truman made George Marshall his secretary of state. Marshall had led American troops as a general in World War Two. Now, as the nation's top diplomat, he proposed the idea for rebuilding Europe. This idea became known as the "Marshall Plan". President Truman explained why there had to be a Marshall Plan. People were starving, he said. There had been food riots in France and Italy. There was not enough fuel. People were cold and sick. Tuberculosis was breaking out. As Truman said later, "Something had to be done." Secretary of State Marshall described the plan during a congressional hearing in Washington. "Why must the United States carry so great a load in helping Europe? The answer is simple. The United States is the only country in the world today which has the economic power and productivity to furnish the needed assistance. The six and eight-tenths billion proposed for the first fifteen months is less than a single month's charge of the war. To be quite clear, this unprecedented endeavor of the new world to help the old is neither sure nor easy. It is a calculated risk. It is a difficult program. And you know, far better than I do, the political difficulties involved in this program.
But there's no doubt whatever in my mind that, if we decide to do this thing, we can do it successfully. And there's also no doubt in my mind that the whole world hangs in the balance as to what it is to be." The United States offered aid through the Marshall Plan to all countries in Europe. The Soviet Union and its allies refused help. Sixteen other countries, however, welcomed the aid. From nineteen forty-eight to nineteen fifty-two, administrators of the Marshall Plan worked with these countries. The United States spent thirteen billion dollars. The plan worked. Agricultural production in Marshall Plan countries increased by ten percent. Industrial production increased by thirty-five percent. Production in some industries, such as steel, increased by much more. There were political results, as well. Stronger economies helped prevent communists from gaining control of the governments in France and Italy. Some Europeans criticized the Marshall Plan. They said it increased tensions between the United States and the Soviet Union in the years after the war. Yet few could deny that the plan was one of the most successful international economic programs in history.
重点解析
1.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。
2.not only 不仅；不但
That, as we all know, is not only a possibility but a likelihood.
众所周知，那不仅可能发生，而且是很可能发生。
3.by the end of 到……为止；到……末为止
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.known as 被认为是；以……而闻名
She is known as a great beauty.
她是出了名的大美女。
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。英国曾经是世界上最强大的国家，统治着辽阔的帝国。在本周的系列节目中，我们来看看二战后，英国的影响力如何被美国所取代。人们几乎可以说出其发生的日期，那天是1947年2月21日。英国驻华盛顿外交官致电美国国务院，他们收到了政府的两条信息。第一条信息是关于希腊，那里的情况很危急。希腊在战争期间被德国占领。现在，激烈的内战将其分裂。战争的一方是得到英国支持的希腊王室，另一方是由南斯拉夫和苏联支持的共产党领导的叛军。二战结束时，英国军队帮助希腊避免成为共产主义国家。几年后，英国再也帮不上忙了。战后它需要全力重建。因此，在1947年2月的那一天，英国告知美国，它将很快结束给予希腊的所有支持。
英国当天收到的第二条信息是关于土耳其的。土耳其比希腊强大，但令人担忧的是，除非得到外界帮助，否则它也可能成为共产主义国家。英国警告美国，苏联很快将把控制权一路延伸过东欧，到达地中海东部。它呼吁杜鲁门总统提供强有力的支持，帮助希腊和土耳其抵御共产主义的威胁。实际上，英国要求美国接管西方世界的领导权，美国准备接受这一新的责任。几个月来，美苏关系越来越糟糕。这两个国家在第二次世界大战中曾作为盟国一起作战，但战后苏联采取的行动使美国人民感到震惊。苏联想阻止西方在中东欧的政治和经济影响，它也想扩大自己的影响力。因此，它在战后迫使一些国家建立共产主义政府。苏联向匈牙利、保加利亚和捷克斯洛伐克派遣军队，以确保其政治要求得到满足。
“从波罗的海的斯特廷，到亚得里亚海的里雅斯特，整个大陆都笼罩着一层铁幕。”1946年3月，英国首相温斯顿·丘吉尔在美国密苏里州威斯敏斯特学院的演讲中描述了这一情况。 “在这条线的后面是中欧和东欧所有古代国家的首都，华沙、柏林、布拉格、维也纳、布达佩斯、贝尔格莱德、布加勒斯特和索非亚，所有这些著名的城市及其周围的人口都位于我称之为苏联的范围内，而且都以某种形式受到苏联的影响，不仅受到苏联的影响，在某些情况下，还受到来自莫斯科越来越多的控制。”丘吉尔警告说，苏联正试图扩大其权力。他形容这“铁幕”落在整个欧洲中部。这个铁幕把欧洲分为东部的共产主义国家和西部的民主国家。美国对欧洲的政策比较成功。英国对希腊和土耳其共产主义威胁的警告，致使杜鲁门总统向国会发表讲话。他说：“我认为，支持那些抵抗武装少数派或外界压力企图镇压的自由人民，必须成为美国的政策。”
杜鲁门呼吁国会给他分派四亿美元，用以援助希腊和土耳其。经过短暂而激烈的全国性辩论，国会表示同意。杜鲁门随后展开拯救希腊经济和重组希腊军队的努力。不久之后，南斯拉夫和苏联结束了对希腊叛军的援助，希腊的内战结束了。美国对希腊和土耳其的援助是“杜鲁门主义”的第一步，这项政策的目标是阻止苏联在世界上的任何地方发动侵略。杜鲁门愿意动用军事力量阻止共产主义的蔓延，但他也认为，建立西欧国家同样重要，这样它们才能强大到足以自卫。欧洲在第二次世界大战后遭受了可怕的苦难，粮食和燃料严重短缺。庄稼被毁，许多欧洲人开始指望共产党人——任何人——来拯救他们。这就是杜鲁门和他的顾问们制定重建欧洲经济计划的原因之一。
战后，杜鲁门总统任命乔治·马歇尔为国务卿，马歇尔在第二次世界大战中以将军的身份率领美国军队。现在，作为美国最高外交官，他提出了重建欧洲的想法，该想法被称为“马歇尔计划”。杜鲁门总统解释了出台马歇尔计划的必要性，人们都在挨饿，他说。法国和意大利发生了食品骚乱，燃料不足，人们感到寒冷，还饱受疾病的之苦，肺结核在那时爆发。正如杜鲁门后来所说，“必须做点什么。”美国国务卿马歇尔在华盛顿的国会听证会上，描述了这一计划。“为什么美国必须在援助欧洲方面，要承担如此大的责任？答案很简单，美国是当今世界上唯一拥有经济实力和生产能力，提供所需援助的国家。前15个月提出的60亿和80亿，还不到战时一个月的军费。显然，新世界帮助旧世界的空前努力既不确定也不容易，这是值得的冒险，是一个困难的安排。而且，该计划涉及的政治困难比我所了解的要难得多。
但毫无疑问，在我看来，如果我们决定做这件事，就能成功办到。我也毫不怀疑，全世界都在权衡未来的命运。”美国通过马歇尔计划向欧洲所有国家提供援助，苏联及其盟国拒绝提供帮助。不过，还有16个国家欣然接受援助计划。从1984年到1952年，马歇尔计划的管理者与这些国家合作，美国的花销为130亿美元。该计划产生了效果。在实施马歇尔计划的国家里，农业生产增长了10%，工业生产增长了35%，钢铁等一些工业的产量增加更多。在政治方面也取得了成果。强大的经济有助于防止共产党控制法国和意大利政府。一些欧洲人批评马歇尔计划，他们说，该计划加剧了战后数年间，美国和苏联之间的紧张关系。然而，很少有人能否认，马歇尔计划是历史上最成功的国际经济计划之一。
译文为可可英语翻译，未经授权请勿转载！
