【美国精神】第62期

Explanation:

  There is a funny story that shows how many Americans think of Thomas Jefferson, the third president of the United States. One day, President John F. Kennedy (our thirty-fifth president) was in the White House, which is the building where the U.S. president lives. He was there with 49 Nobel Prize winners. (The Nobel Prize is an award given to people who have done very important work in different fields all over the world.) President Kennedy said that this was the greatest group of human knowledge and talent that had ever been together in the White House, except when Thomas Jefferson ate there alone. This was his funny way of saying that Thomas Jefferson was a great man in American history who was good at many things, much more than other people, even a group of some of the world’s smartest people!

  Thomas Jefferson is famous for many things. He was the second vice-president and the third president of the United States, but he is even better known for having written the Declaration¹ of Independence, or the letter that was written to let Great Britain know that its colonies² had become the United States, an independent country. Thomas Jefferson was one of the most influential³ Founding Fathers (meaning he was able to affect other people’s opinions) who helped to create the United States. While he was president, he sent two men named Lewis and Clark to explore the western part of North America. He also negotiated⁴ (or arranged) the Louisiana Purchase, which allowed the United States to buy a lot of land from France.

  Thomas Jefferson was born in 1743 and was a Renaissance⁵ man, which means he was a man who has a lot of different types of knowledge and knows how to do many different things. He was a gardener, a politician, an author, an architect (or someone who designed buildings), and an inventor (or a person who makes new things that no one else had thought of before). He was the founder⁶ of (or the person who started) the University of Virginia.

  Thomas Jefferson built a home called Monticello in Virginia. It is still there today, and many people go to visit it and learn more about this great man. At Monticello, people can see his architectural designs and many of his inventions, like automatic⁷ doors (or doors that open without being touched) and the swivel chair (or a chair that turns in circles while a person is sitting on it).

 

问题：

Who wrote the Declaration of Independence?

Answer:

(Thomas) Jefferson

1 declaration   

n.宣布，宣告，宣言，声明（书），申报

参考例句：

• We read the declaration posted on the bulletin board.我们读了贴在布告板上的声明。
• At the recent convention a declaration was adopted.在最近举行的大会上通过了一项宣言。

2 colonies   

n.殖民地( colony的名词复数 )；（侨民等）聚居区；（动植物的）群体；（来自同一地方，职业或兴趣相同的）聚居人群

参考例句：

• They amassed huge wealth by plundering the colonies. 他们通过掠夺殖民地聚敛了大笔的财富。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• But throughout the colonies, people relied primarily on small farms and self-sufficiency. 但就整个殖民地来说，人们主要依靠小型农场，过着自给自足的生活。 来自英汉非文学 - 政府文件

3 influential   

adj.有影响的，有权势的

参考例句：

• He always tries to get in with the most influential people.他总是试图巴结最有影响的人物。
• He is a very influential man in the government.他在政府中是个很有影响的人物。

4 negotiated   

谈判，协商，议定( negotiate的过去式和过去分词 )； 兑现（支票等）； 通过，越过（险要路段）

参考例句：

• The government negotiated with the opposition party over the new law. 政府就新法与反对党进行了协商。
• By careful strategy she negotiated a substantial pay rise. 她精心策划后，谈妥了大幅增加工资的事。

5 renaissance   

n.复活，复兴，文艺复兴

参考例句：

• The Renaissance was an epoch of unparalleled cultural achievement.文艺复兴是一个文化上取得空前成就的时代。
• The theme of the conference is renaissance Europe.大会的主题是文艺复兴时期的欧洲。

6 Founder   

n.创始者，缔造者

参考例句：

• He was extolled as the founder of their Florentine school.他被称颂为佛罗伦萨画派的鼻祖。
• According to the old tradition,Romulus was the founder of Rome.按照古老的传说，罗穆卢斯是古罗马的建国者。

7 automatic   

adj.自动的；不经思考的，习惯性的；当然的

参考例句：

• Breathing is an automatic function of the body.呼吸是身体的一种无意识的功能。
• Modern trains have automatic doors.现代火车装有自动门。