【美国精神】第75期

Explanation:   

  Being the president of the United States is always a difficult and dangerous job, but it is especially so (or even more so) when there is a civil war and two or more parts of one country are fighting against each other. This was the experience of Abraham Lincoln, who was the 16th president of the United States.  

 

  Abraham Lincoln believed that slavery (or the practice of owning other people and making them work without paying them) was wrong and he worked hard to make slavery illegal (or against the law) in the United States. This was one of the biggest reasons that the United States had its Civil War. The northern and southern states fought bitterly (or in a very serious and negative way) against each other and it seemed like the United States could not be united anymore (or with all the states working together in one country). But Abraham Lincoln led the United States during the Civil War and he was able to preserve (or save) the Union when many people thought it wasn’t possible. 

 

  Abraham Lincoln also made the Emancipation¹ Proclamation, an official government document that freed the slaves and made slavery illegal (or against the law). This made many people in the north happy, but it made many people in the south angry. In fact, the Emancipation Proclamation made some people so angry that they began to plan Abraham Lincoln’s assassination² (or the murder of a country’s leader). 

 

  On April 14, 1865, President Lincoln and his wife were watching a play (or theater performance) at Ford’s Theater in Washington, DC. A man named John Wilkes Booth³ was in the theater, too, and he had a gun.  He shot President Lincoln.  The president died the next morning. He was the first U.S. president to be assassinated⁴. People in the northern part of the country mourned his loss (or felt sad that he had died), but some of the people in the south celebrated⁵ his death. Today he is remembered as a great president who helped the country stay together in very, very difficult times. 

 

问题：

What was one important thing that Abraham Lincoln did?  

Answer:   

•  Freed the slaves (Emancipation Proclamation)  

•  Saved (or preserved) the Union  

•  Led the United States during the Civil War 

1 emancipation   

n.（从束缚、支配下）解放

参考例句：

• We must arouse them to fight for their own emancipation. 我们必须唤起他们为其自身的解放而斗争。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• They rejoiced over their own emancipation. 他们为自己的解放感到欢欣鼓舞。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 assassination   

n.暗杀；暗杀事件

参考例句：

• The assassination of the president brought matters to a head.总统遭暗杀使事态到了严重关头。
• Lincoln's assassination in 1865 shocked the whole nation.1865年，林肯遇刺事件震惊全美国。

3 booth   

n.小房间，公用电话亭，岗亭；货摊

参考例句：

• Where can I find a telephone booth?我在哪儿可以找到电话亭？
• Let's walk around to each booth.我们到每个摊子转一转吧！

4 assassinated   

v.暗杀( assassinate的过去式和过去分词 )；中伤；诋毁；破坏

参考例句：

• The prime minister was assassinated by extremists. 首相遭极端分子暗杀。
• Then, just two days later, President Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas. 跟着在两天以后，肯尼迪总统在达拉斯被人暗杀。 来自辞典例句

5 celebrated   

adj.有名的，声誉卓著的

参考例句：

• He was soon one of the most celebrated young painters in England.不久他就成了英格兰最负盛名的年轻画家之一。
• The celebrated violinist was mobbed by the audience.观众团团围住了这位著名的小提琴演奏家。