最新15篇文章贯通英语四级词汇MP3 Unit10-Part4

 

[00:00.00]The development of the country, 

[00:02.83]as we know it today, 

[00:04.47]was an evolutionary¹ process 

[00:05.89]over more than eight decades. 

[00:08.63]Manitoba became a province 

[00:11.69]after some controversial events 

[00:13.88]involving the federal government 

[00:15.63]and the Metis,French speaking descendants 

[00:18.91]of French fur traders 

[00:20.66]who married American Indian girls. 

[00:23.29]This ethnic² group settled 

[00:26.02]near Fort Gary, the city of Winnipeg, 

[00:28.65]Manitoba what is called today.

[00:31.39]John A. Macdonald, the new 

[00:35.80]and first Prime Minister 

[00:37.67]of the new nation, 

[00:38.98]made a deal with the western

[00:40.84]most colony in Vancouver guaranteeing 

[00:42.81]on the building of a railroad 

[00:45.43]from the east to the west 

[00:47.84]if that colony would 

[00:49.48]join Canadian Confederation. 

[00:51.78]The property of the Metis, to which 

[00:56.37]the latter felt legally entitled, 

[00:58.56]was in the path 

[00:59.98]of the new railway.

[01:01.19]The federal government essentially 

[01:04.47]took the land. The  Metis  

[01:07.43]were compelled to move further west, 

[01:09.72]but not without a fight. 

[01:11.04](The Metis and the federal government

[01:14.43] were on an inevitable³ collision course. 

[01:16.50]Twice, Metis revolts tested 

[01:19.46]the might of the federal government 

[01:21.97]and relationship between 

[01:23.51]French and Englishspeaking Canada). 

[01:26.03]The federal government was able 

[01:29.63]to defeat the Metis in both clashes.

[01:32.04]Louis Riel, the leader of 

[01:35.55]the Metis was hanged for 

[01:37.30]treason in 1885 for his leading role

[01:40.79] in resisting the federal government. 

[01:43.31]He became a martyr⁴ to 

[01:45.06]FrenchCanadians. His death 

[01:48.23]only added fuel to 

[01:49.55]the growing discontent between 

[01:51.29]French and English Canada.

[01:53.37]Throughout this whole period, 

[01:56.44]1869 to 1885, the federal 

[02:00.81](or central) government ignored the appeals 

[02:04.53]of the Metis. It appeared that, 

[02:06.83]according to Macdonald and his followers, 

[02:09.79]the creation of the new nation 

[02:11.87]was more important than 

[02:13.61]relieving the plight⁵ of 

[02:15.36]a relatively⁶ small minority group. 

[02:17.44]The Metis probably deserved 

[02:21.06]much better of the federal goverment. 

[02:23.02]Different versions of these events 

[02:26.75]are still debated 

[02:28.17]in Canadian classrooms today.

[02:30.24]Macdonald was also criticized 

[02:33.20]for concealing⁷ the fact that 

[02:35.39]he took some money illegally 

[02:37.25]to complete the railway. 

[02:39.21]In 1873 as “The Pacific Scandal” 

[02:42.93]became known, the construction 

[02:46.21]of the railway suspended temporarily. 

[02:49.07]The determined⁸ Macdonald and 

[02:51.79]his government, obsessed⁹ by the possibility 

[02:54.64]of the Americans moving in 

[02:56.50]and taking over the west, 

[02:58.91]boldly pushed railway 

[03:00.66]construction to completion.

[03:02.08]Manitoba became a province 

[03:05.91]in 1870, British Columbia in 1871, 

[03:09.41]Prince Edward Island in 1873, 

[03:12.47]Alberta and Saskatchewan in 1905. 

[03:15.43]The admission of Newfoundland 

[03:21.88]into Confederation in 1949 

[03:24.07]completed the Canadian Confederation 

[03:27.03]of ten provinces from sea to sea, 

[03:29.54]as they exist today. The railway, 

[03:33.70]the Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR) 

[03:36.10]was completed before the agreed deadline.

1 evolutionary   

adj.进化的；演化的，演变的；[生]进化论的

参考例句：

• Life has its own evolutionary process.生命有其自身的进化过程。
• These are fascinating questions to be resolved by the evolutionary studies of plants.这些十分吸引人的问题将在研究植物进化过程中得以解决。

2 ethnic   

adj.人种的，种族的，异教徒的

参考例句：

• This music would sound more ethnic if you played it in steel drums.如果你用钢鼓演奏，这首乐曲将更具民族特色。
• The plan is likely only to aggravate ethnic frictions.这一方案很有可能只会加剧种族冲突。

3 inevitable   

adj.不可避免的，必然发生的

参考例句：

• Mary was wearing her inevitable large hat.玛丽戴着她总是戴的那顶大帽子。
• The defeat had inevitable consequences for British policy.战败对英国政策不可避免地产生了影响。

4 martyr   

n.烈士，殉难者；vt.杀害，折磨，牺牲

参考例句：

• The martyr laid down his life for the cause of national independence.这位烈士是为了民族独立的事业而献身的。
• The newspaper carried the martyr's photo framed in black.报上登载了框有黑边的烈士遗像。

5 plight   

n.困境，境况，誓约，艰难；vt.宣誓，保证，约定

参考例句：

• The leader was much concerned over the plight of the refugees.那位领袖对难民的困境很担忧。
• She was in a most helpless plight.她真不知如何是好。

6 relatively   

adv.比较...地，相对地

参考例句：

• The rabbit is a relatively recent introduction in Australia.兔子是相对较新引入澳大利亚的物种。
• The operation was relatively painless.手术相对来说不痛。

7 concealing   

v.隐藏，隐瞒，遮住( conceal的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• Despite his outward display of friendliness, I sensed he was concealing something. 尽管他表现得友善，我还是感觉到他有所隐瞒。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• SHE WAS BREAKING THE COMPACT, AND CONCEALING IT FROM HIM. 她违反了他们之间的约定，还把他蒙在鼓里。 来自英汉文学 - 三万元遗产

8 determined   

adj.坚定的；有决心的

参考例句：

• I have determined on going to Tibet after graduation.我已决定毕业后去西藏。
• He determined to view the rooms behind the office.他决定查看一下办公室后面的房间。

9 obsessed   

adj.心神不宁的,鬼迷心窍的,沉迷的

参考例句：

• He's obsessed by computers. 他迷上了电脑。
• The fear of death obsessed him throughout his old life. 他晚年一直受着死亡恐惧的困扰。