(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 begin the story of America's thirty-seventh president. "I, Richard Milhous Nixon, do solemnly swear..." "That you will faithfully execute the office..." "That I will faithfully execute the office..." "Of President of the United States." "Of President of the United States..." Richard Nixon was sworn into office on January twentieth, nineteen sixty-nine. Nixon began his presidency at a difficult time. American forces, allied with the Army of South Vietnam, were continuing to fight against the communist forces of North Vietnam. Thousands of soldiers and civilians were dying. The Americans and South Vietnamese were making little progress, and there were anti-war demonstrations in the United States. Anti-War Protesters chanting: "Hell No, We Won't Go!" There were also demonstrations against racial injustice. The issues that divided the nation also divided families and friends. At the same time, fighting the war meant there was less government money available to fight social problems.
The last president, Lyndon Johnson, had proposed new legislation to help poor people and minorities. In some cases, Congress approved less money than he had requested. In other cases, lawmakers did not approve any money at all. The new president seemed well prepared to deal with the difficulties of being president. He was known for his ability to fight, to lose, and to keep trying. Richard Nixon was born in California. His family was poor. When he was about ten years old, he harvested vegetables to help earn money for his family. He earned the money that he needed to go to college. Then he decided to study law. He was among the top students in his class. During World War Two, Nixon served in the Navy in the Pacific. When he came home, he ran for a seat in Congress and won. As a member of the House of Representatives, Nixon became known for his part in the Alger Hiss case. "I am holding in my hand a microfilm of very highly confidential secret State Department documents. These documents were fed out of the State Department, over ten years ago, by communists who were employees of that department and who were interested in seeing if these documents were sent to the Soviet Union, where the interests of the Soviet Union happened to be in conflict with those of the United States."
Alger Hiss was a former official in the State Department. He had been accused of lying about helping provide secret information to the Soviet Union. He denied the accusations. Nixon demanded a congressional investigation. Other members of the House thought the issue should be dropped. But Nixon succeeded and led the investigation. While never convicted of espionage, Hiss was tried and found guilty of lying to a grand jury that investigated the case. He was sentenced to prison. Some Americans disliked Richard Nixon for the way he treated people during the investigation. They felt that some of his attacks were unfair. At that time, fear of communism was very strong. Critics thought he was using the situation for his own gain, to improve his political future. In nineteen fifty, Richard Nixon ran for the Senate. Nixon, a Republican, competed against Democrat Helen Gahagan Douglas, a former actress and three-time California Congresswoman. During the often bitter campaign he accused her of not recognizing the threat of communism in America. He also said that she was "pink, right down to her underwear," a reference to her being sympathetic to communism. In response, Congresswoman Douglas gave Nixon a nickname he would never completely lose, "Tricky Dick." Nixon won the election.
Two years later, in nineteen fifty-two, the Republican Party chose him as its candidate for vice president. The candidate for president was Dwight Eisenhower. Eisenhower and Nixon easily defeated the Democratic Party candidates, Illinois Governor Adlai Stevenson and Alabama Senator John Sparkman. They won again in nineteen fifty-six. During his eight years as vice president, Nixon visited sixty countries. He faced violent protests during a visit to South America in nineteen fifty-eight. The following year, he visited the Soviet Union. He and Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev had what became known as the "kitchen debate." It took place in Moscow as they visited a model of a kitchen that might be found in an American house. The debate was about world peace. Nixon at one point told Khrushchev that he did not know everything. But there were light moments as well. Spirited and playful interchanges between Khrushchev and his interpreter, Nixon's interpreter, and Nixon, ending with... "All that I can say from the way you talk, and the way you dominate the conversation, you would have made a good lawyer yourself."
In nineteen sixty, Nixon accepted the Republican nomination for president. He had many years of political experience and had gained recognition as vice president. Many people thought he would win the national election easily. But he lost to the young John Kennedy. It was the closest presidential election since eighteen eighty-four. After losing to Kennedy, Nixon moved back to California. Then in nineteen sixty-two he tried to defeat Governor Edmund "Pat" Brown, a Democrat, and lost. In conceding defeat, Nixon gave a "final" press conference, in which he told reporters: "For sixteen years, ever since the Hiss case, you've had a lot of fun. You've had an opportunity to attack me, and I think I've given as good as I've taken. I leave you gentlemen now, and you will now write it, you will interpret it, that's your right. But, as I leave you, I want you to know, just think how much you're going to be missing – you don't have Nixon to kick around anymore." Nixon's political career seemed to be over. He moved to New York City and worked as a lawyer. But he made it clear that he was not ruling out a return to public life at some point in the future.
Many Republicans began to see Richard Nixon as the statesman they wanted in the White House. By then, President Johnson had decided not to run for re-election in nineteen sixty-eight. His Democratic Party was divided. The Republicans believed they had a good chance to win the election. Nixon campaigned hard against the Democratic candidate, Hubert Humphrey. Humphrey was vice president under Johnson and had to defend the president's unpopular policies on the Vietnam War. Some Americans thought the war should be expanded. Many others demanded an immediate withdrawal. Both Humphrey and Nixon promised to work for peace in Vietnam. On Election Day, voters chose Nixon. He narrowly won the popular vote but collected many more electoral votes than Humphrey. On the day after his victory, Richard Nixon spoke to a gathering of supporters. He told them that "the great objective" of his administration, from the start, would be "to bring the American people together." Once in office, President Nixon proposed legislation to deal with problems at home. He called his proposals the "New Federalism." One proposal was for revenue sharing. Under his plan, the federal government would share tax money with state and local governments. For three years, Congress objected. Then, in nineteen seventy-two, the revenue sharing plan was finally approved.
Lawmakers also approved legislation for some of Nixon's other ideas. One changed the way American men were drafted into military service for the war. The new law said young men would now have their names chosen in a lottery system. Many people had criticized the earlier system which they said chose too many poor people and racial minorities. These were the men who were fighting, and dying, in Vietnam. Congress also approved a change to the Constitution to decrease the voting age from twenty-one to eighteen. Supporters of the amendment said if people were old enough to fight and die in war, then they were old enough to vote. The amendment became law when three-fourths of the states approved it in nineteen seventy-one. On another issue, Nixon proposed to build a system to defend against missile attacks. He said it was needed to protect American missile bases. Congress approved the idea in nineteen sixty-nine. Critics said it would only intensify the arms race with the Soviet Union. Nixon's first appointments to the nation's highest court also caused much debate. He named two conservative judges from the South, Clement Haynsworth and G. Harold Carswell. Lawmakers said Haynsworth had been unfair to blacks in his decisions and that Carswell was not prepared for the job. Congress rejected both nominations to the Supreme Court.
President Nixon faced these disappointments, and others. But he still had moments to celebrate during his first term. One came on July twentieth, nineteen sixty-nine. On that day, he and millions of people around the world watched as two American astronauts became the first humans to land on the moon. Nixon on phone with astronauts on moon. "Hello Neil and Buzz. I'm talking to you by telephone from the Oval Room at the White House. I just can't tell you how proud we all are. Because of what you have done, the heavens have become part of man's world. And, as you talk to us from the Sea of Tranquility, it inspires us to redouble our efforts to bring peace and tranquility to Earth."
重点解析
1.continue to 继续;持续到
Continue to ask for feedback on your work.
继续征求对你的工作的反馈意见
2.at the same time 在同时;与此同时
It's impossible to get everybody together at the same time.
让所有人同时聚在一起是不可能的
3.accuse of 指责;指控
Accuse of a wrong or an inadequacy.
对错误或不足提出责备
4.take place 产生;发生
A total solar eclipse is due to take place some time tomorrow.
明天某个时刻会发生日全食
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
上届总统林登·约翰逊提出了帮助穷人和少数民族的新立法 。在某些情况下,国会批准的资金比他要求的要少 。在其他情况下,立法者根本没有批准任何资金 。新总统似乎已经做好了充分的准备来应付当总统的困难,他以战斗、失败和不断尝试的能力而闻名 。理查德·尼克松出生在加利福尼亚,家境贫寒 。他在大约十岁时,收割蔬菜来贴补家庭 。他挣到了上大学所需的钱,后来他决定学习法律,他是班上最好的学生之一 。二战期间,尼克松在太平洋地区的海军服役 。回家后,他竞选国会席位并获胜 。作为众议院议员,尼克松因参与阿尔杰·希斯案而闻名 。“我手里拿着一张极为机密的国务院机密文件的微缩胶片 。十多年前,这些文件由国务院提供,这些共产党人是国务院的雇员,他们对于这些文件是否被送到苏联很感兴趣,因为苏联和美国之间的利益相冲突 。”
阿尔杰·希斯曾是国务院官员,他被指控在帮助向苏联提供秘密情报方面撒谎,而他否认了这项指控 。尼克松要求国会进行调查,众议院的其他成员认为应该搁置这个问题,但尼克松取得了胜利,并领导进行调查 。虽然希斯从未因间谍罪被定罪,但他被审判,并被裁定对调查此案的大陪审团撒谎,他被判入狱 。一些美国人不喜欢理查德·尼克松在这次调查中的待人方式,他们觉得他的一些攻击不公平 。当时,人们对共产主义的恐惧非常强烈 。批评人士认为他是在利用这种情况谋取私利,以改善自己的政治前途 。1950年,理查德·尼克松竞选参议员 。共和党人尼克松与民主党人海伦·加哈根·道格拉斯展开竞争,后者曾是演员、也曾任三届加州女议员 。在通常都非常激烈的竞选中,尼克松指责道格拉斯没有意识到共产主义在美国的威胁 。他还说,她“从里到外都是粉色的”,这是指她同情共产主义 。作为回应,女议员道格拉斯给尼克松起了一个他永远不会完全丢掉的绰号,“狡猾的迪克”尼克松赢得了选举 。
两年后,在1952年,共和党选择他为副总统候选人 。总统候选人是德怀特·艾森豪威尔 。艾森豪威尔和尼克松轻松击败了民主党候选人、伊利诺伊州州长阿德莱·史蒂文森和阿拉巴马州参议员约翰·斯帕克曼 。他们在1965年再次获胜 。在担任副总统的八年里,尼克松出访60个国家 。他在1958年,访问南美洲期间曾面对暴力抗议 。第二年,他访问苏联 。他和苏联总理尼基塔·赫鲁晓夫进行了所谓的“厨房辩论” 。 这场辩论在莫斯科进行,当时他们在参观美国房屋中可能存在的厨房模型 。这场辩论是关于世界和平的 。尼克松曾对赫鲁晓夫说,他并不是无所不知,但也有一些轻松的时刻 。赫鲁晓夫及其翻译,以及尼克松和他的翻译,之间进行的交流充满活力,而且非常有趣 。“从你说话的方式,以及你主导谈话的方式,我可以说,你本来可以成为一名好律师 。”
在1960年,尼克松接受了共和党总统提名 。他有多年的从政经验,并获得了副总统的认可 。许多人认为他会轻而易举地赢得全国大选 。但他输给了年轻的约翰·肯尼迪 。这是自1884年以来投票结果最接近的一次总统选举 。在输给肯尼迪之后,尼克松返回加利福尼亚 。随后在1962年,他试图击败州长、民主党人埃德蒙·“帕特”·布朗,但失败了 。尼克松承认了自己的失败,他举行了“最后一次”记者招待会,他告诉记者:“16年了,自从希斯事件以来,你们一直很开心,有机会攻击我,我想我已经付出了我所得 。先生们,我现在离开你们,你们要撰写故事,要解释,这是你们的权利 。但是,我离开你们时,我想让你们知道,想想你们会失去多少,你们再也没有尼克松可以左右了 。”尼克松的政治生涯似乎结束了,他搬到纽约市做律师 。但他明确表示,不排除在未来某个时候重返公众生活 。
许多共和党人开始将理查德·尼克松视为他们希望入主白宫的政治家 。那时,约翰逊总统已经决定在1968年不再竞选连任 。他所在的民主党分裂了,共和党人认为他们拥有很好的机会赢得选举 。尼克松极力反对民主党候选人休伯特·汉弗莱 。汉弗莱在约翰逊任职期间为副总统,他不得不为总统在越战中不受欢迎的政策辩护 。一些美国人认为应该扩大战争规模,还有许多人要求立即撤军 。汉弗莱和尼克松都承诺为越南的和平而努力 。在选举日,选民选择了尼克松 。他险胜普选,但比汉弗莱获得的选举人票数多得多 。在他获胜的第二天,理查德·尼克松在一个支持者集会上发表讲话 。他告诉他们,从一开始,其政府的“伟大目标”就是“把美国人民团结在一起” 。尼克松总统上台后,提出解决国内问题的立法 。他把其提议称为“新联邦制”,其中一项提议是收入分享 。根据他的计划,联邦政府将与州和地方政府分享税收 。三年来,国会一直对此表示反对 。后来在1972年,收入分享计划最终获得批准 。
立法者还批准了尼克松的其他一些立法,其中一项改变了美国士兵应征入伍的方式 。新法律规定,年轻人的名字将通过抽签系统进行选择 。许多人批评了早期的制度,他们说那种制度选择了太多的穷人和少数民族 。这些人在越南作战,后来阵亡 。国会还批准了对宪法的修改,将投票年龄从21岁降到18岁 。该修正案的支持者说,如果人们的年龄足够大,可以参战,并战死沙场,那么他们就可以投票 。1971年,四分之三的州通过该修正案,使其成为法律 。在另一个问题上,尼克松提议建立一个防御导弹攻击的系统 。他说,这是保护美国导弹基地的需要 。国会在1969年批准了该理念 。批评人士表示,这只会加剧与苏联的军备竞赛 。尼克松对美国最高法院的首次任命也引起了很多争论,他任命两位来自南方的保守派法官,克莱门特·海恩斯沃思和G·哈罗德·卡斯韦尔 。议员们说,海恩斯沃思的决定对黑人不公平,而且卡斯韦尔并未对此工作做好准备 。国会否决了这两项为最高法院的提名 。
尼克松总统面临着各种失望 。但在第一个任期内,他仍然有值得庆祝的时刻 。一次是在1969年7月20日,那一天,他和全世界数百万人一起,观看两名美国宇航员成为第一批登陆月球的人 。尼克松与登陆月球的宇航员通电话 。“你好尼尔、巴斯,我在白宫椭圆屋和你们通电话,我无法形容我们有多么骄傲 。因为你们的壮举,天空已经成为人类世界的一部分 。而且,你们在宁静之海与我们交谈时,激励我们要加倍努力,为地球带来和平与安宁 。”
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