(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. This week in our series, we continue the story of America's thirty-third president, Harry Truman. Truman was sometimes called an "accidental" president. He only became president because he was vice president when Franklin Roosevelt died in nineteen forty-five. In the election of nineteen forty-eight, Truman ran for a full term. As we told you last week, many experts predicted he would lose. But voters chose him over the Republican Party candidate, Thomas E. Dewey, the governor of New York. Americans also elected a Congress with a majority from Truman's Democratic Party. The president might have expected a Congress led by his own party to support his policies. But that did not always happen. Time after time, Democrats from southern states joined in voting with conservative Republicans. Together, these lawmakers defeated some of Truman's most important proposals. One of the defeated bills was a proposal for health care insurance for every American.
One of the major issues during Truman's second term was fear of communism. After World War Two, Americans watched as one eastern European nation after another became an ally of the Soviet Union. Soviet leader Josef Stalin wanted to see communism spread around the world. During this tense period, there were charges that communists held important jobs in the United States government. These fears, real or imagined, became known as the "Red Scare." "Even if there were only one communist in the State Department –- (repeats) Even if there were only one Communist in the State Department, that would still be one communist too many." A Republican senator from Wisconsin, Joseph McCarthy, led the search for communists in America. In speeches and congressional hearings, he accused hundreds of people of being communists or communist supporters. His targets included the State Department, the Army and the entertainment industry. Senator McCarthy often had little evidence to support his accusations. Many of his charges would not have been accepted in a court of law. But the rules governing congressional hearings were different. So he was able to make his accusations freely.
Many people lost their jobs after they were denounced as communists. Some had to use false names to get work. A few went to jail briefly for refusing to cooperate with McCarthy. The senator continued his anti-communist investigations for several years. By the early nineteen fifties, however, more people began to question his methods. Critics said he violated democratic traditions. In nineteen fifty-four, the Senate finally voted to condemn his actions. McCarthy died three years later. There were problems caused by the fear of communists at home. But President Truman also had to deal with the threat of communism in other countries. He agreed to send American aid to Greece and Turkey. He also supported continuing the Marshall Plan. That was the huge economic aid program that helped rebuild western Europe after World War Two. Many historians say the Marshall Plan prevented western Europe from becoming communist. The defense of western Europe against Soviet communism led Truman to support the creation of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. NATO began in nineteen forty-nine with the United States, Britain, Canada, France and eight other nations. The treaty that created NATO stated that a military attack on any member would be considered an attack on all of them.
Truman named General Dwight Eisenhower to command the new organization. General Eisenhower had been supreme commander of Allied forces in Europe in World War Two. In his swearing-in speech in nineteen forty-nine, Truman urged the United States to lend money to other countries to aid their development. He also wanted to share American science and technology. In nineteen fifty-one, the president asked Congress to establish a new foreign aid program. The aid would go to countries threatened by communist forces in Europe, the Middle East, North Africa, East Asia, South Asia and Latin America. Truman believed the United States would be stronger if its allies were stronger. President Truman believed that many of the world's problems could be settled by other means besides military force. But he supported and used military power throughout his presidency. On June twenty-fifth, nineteen fifty, forces from North Korea invaded South Korea. Two days later, the United Nations Security Council approved a resolution urging UN members to help South Korea resist the invasion. At first President Truman agreed to send American planes and ships. Later he agreed to send American ground forces.
The president knew his decision could start World War Three if the Soviet Union entered the war on the side of communist North Korea. Yet he felt the United States had to act. Later, he said it was the most difficult decision he made as president. Truman named Army General Douglas MacArthur to command all United Nations forces in South Korea. Most of the fighting in the Korean War took place along the geographic line known as the thirty-eighth parallel. This line formed the border between North and South Korea. Many victories on the battlefield were only temporary. One side would capture a hill; then the other side would recapture it. In September of nineteen fifty, Mac Arthur led the UN land and sea attack at Inchon, pushing the North Koreans back across the border. There was hope that the war could end by Christmas, December twenty-fifth. On the Korean Peninsula, the war continued. Ceasefire talks began in July of nineteen fifty-one. But the conflict would last for another two years until a truce was declared. The Korean War Armistice Agreement was signed on July twenty-seventh nineteen fifty-three. Nineteen fifty-two was a presidential election year in the United States. Harry Truman was losing popularity because of the continuing war in Korea and economic problems at home. At the same time, Dwight Eisenhower, a military hero from World War Two, was thinking of running for president as the Republican candidate. Harry Truman had made many difficult decisions as president. In March of nineteen fifty-two, he made one more. He announced that he would not be a candidate for re-election. The nineteen fifty-two presidential election will be our story next week.
重点解析
1.spread around 分散；扩散
Ball games have spread around the world.
球类运动已经在世界各地传播开了。
2.agreed to 一致；对某事同意
France had agreed to his request for political asylum.
法国已经同意了他寻求政治庇护的请求。
3.take place 发生；举行
A total solar eclipse is due to take place some time tomorrow.
明天某个时刻会发生日全食。
4.at the same time 同时；另一方面
I was afraid of her, but at the same time I really liked her.
我害怕她，但同时也确实喜欢她。
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。在本周的系列节目中，我们将继续讲述美国第33任总统杜鲁门的故事。人们有时称杜鲁门为“意外”总统，他成为总统是因为他出任副总统时，富兰克林·罗斯福于1945年去世。在1948年的选举中，杜鲁门参加总统竞选。正如我们在上周的故事中讲到，许多专家预测他将在选举中落败。但选民们选择了他，而不是共和党候选人，纽约州州长杜威。美国人还选举出以杜鲁门的民主党成员占多数的国会。总统可能希望由他自己的政党领导的国会，来支持他的政策，但情况并不总是这样。一次又一次，来自南部各州的民主党人，加入了与保守共和党人的投票。这些议员一起否决了杜鲁门最重要的一些提议，其中之一就是为每个美国人提供医疗保险的提案。
杜鲁门第二任期的主要问题之一，是对共产主义的恐惧。第二次世界大战后，美国人眼看着东欧国家一个个地成为苏联的盟友。苏联领导人斯大林希望看到共产主义在全世界传播。在这一紧张时期，有人指控共产党人士在美国政府中担任重要职务。这些无论是真实抑或想象的恐惧，都被称为“红色恐惧”。“即使国务院只有一个共产主义者，那也是太多了。”来自威斯康星州的共和党参议员约瑟夫·麦卡锡，领导了在美国寻找共产主义者的行动。在演讲和国会听证会上，他指责数百人为共产党人或共产主义支持者，其目标包括国务院、军队和娱乐业。麦卡锡参议员的指控通常没有证据可作支持，许多指控无法获得法庭的认可。但国会听证会上的规则不同，所以他可以自由地提出指控。
许多人在被指责为共产主义者后失业了，有些人不得不用假名来找工作，一些人因拒绝与麦卡锡合作而短暂入狱。这位参议员继续反共的调查进行了数年。然而，到20世纪50年代初，越来越多的人开始质疑他的方法，批评者说他违反了民主传统。1954年，参议院最终投票谴责他的行为。麦卡锡于三年后去世。有一些问题是由于国内对共产党人的恐惧造成的，但杜鲁门总统也不得不应对其他国家共产主义的威胁。他同意向希腊和土耳其提供援助，还支持继续实施《马歇尔计划》，这是在二战后帮助西欧重建的巨大经济援助计划。许多历史学家表示，《马歇尔计划》阻止了西欧成为共产主义国家。西欧对苏联共产主义的防御，使杜鲁门支持建立北大西洋公约组织（北约）。北约始于1949年，成员有美国、英国、加拿大、法国和其它八个国家。创建北约的条约规定，对任何成员国的军事攻击都将被视为对所有成员国的攻击。
杜鲁门任命德怀特·艾森豪威尔将军指挥这个新的组织。艾森豪威尔将军在第二次世界大战中，曾任欧洲盟军的最高指挥官。杜鲁门在1949年的宣誓演说中，敦促美国向其他国家出借款项以帮助他们发展。他还想分享美国的科学技术。1951年，总统要求国会建立新的对外援助计划。援助将流向欧洲、中东、北非、东亚、南亚和拉丁美洲中，受到共产主义势力威胁的国家。杜鲁门认为，如果美国的盟友变得强大了，美国就会更强大。杜鲁门总统认为，世界上的许多问题可以通过军事力量以外的其他手段解决。但他在总统任期内，一直支持并使用军事力量。1950年6月25日，朝鲜军队入侵韩国。两天后，联合国安理会通过一项决议，敦促联合国成员国帮助韩国抵抗入侵。起初，杜鲁门总统同意派遣美国飞机和船只。后来，他同意派遣美国地面部队。
总统知道，如果苏联站在共产主义朝鲜一边参战，他的决定可能会引发第三次世界大战。但他觉得美国必须采取行动。后来他说，这是他出任总统时做出的最艰难的决定。杜鲁门任命陆军上将道格拉斯·麦克阿瑟指挥驻韩国的所有联合国部队。朝鲜战争中的大部分战斗，发生在三八线这一地理线的地方。这条地理线，形成了南北朝鲜的边界。战场上的许多胜利都只是暂时的，战斗一方会先占领一座小山，随后另一方则把它夺回去。1950年9月，麦克·阿瑟领导联合国对仁川的海陆进攻，迫使朝鲜人越过边界。人们希望，战争能在12月25日圣诞节前结束。在朝鲜半岛，战争仍在继续。停火谈判开始于1951年7月。但冲突还将持续两年，直到宣布停战。《朝鲜战争停战协定》于1953年7月27日签署。1952年是美国总统选举年，哈里·杜鲁门因为朝鲜战争的持续和国内经济问题失去了声望。与此同时，二战时期的军事英雄德怀特· 艾森豪威尔正考虑以共和党候选人的身份竞选总统。哈里·杜鲁门作为总统做出过许多艰难的决定。1952年3月，他又做出一个决定，宣布不再竞选连任。1952年的总统选举将是我们下周要讲述的故事。
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