VOA慢速英语20061019b

THE MAKING OF A NATION - 1940: President Roosevelt Continues a Policy of Neutrality After His Re-ElectionBy David Jarmul

Broadcast: Thursday, October 19, 2006

VOICE ONE:

Germany's attack on Poland and the start of World War Two presented a serious problem to Americans in September nineteen thirty-nine.


Adolf Hitler

The United States -- by law -- was neutral. And few Americans had any desire to fight in another world war. But Americans did not like Germany's Nazi¹ leader, Adolf Hitler. They hoped for victory for Britain, France, and the other Allied² powers.

President Franklin Roosevelt made this clear in a radio talk to Americans soon after the war began.

He praised the British and other allies. Finally, the president called on Congress to change the neutrality laws that prevented him from sending arms to the Allies to help them fight the Nazis³. Congress agreed to change the laws so foreign nations could buy American arms.

VOICE TWO:

In the months that followed, Hitler and his allies won one victory after another. German and Soviet⁴ troops captured Poland quickly in September nineteen thirty-nine. Then Soviet forces invaded the small Baltic nations of Latvia, Estonia, and Lithuania. In late November, they attacked Finland. Fighting between Finland and the Soviet Union continued through the winter, until Finland accepted Russia's demands.

VOICE ONE:

Fighting grew even more fierce the following spring, in early nineteen forty.

Germany attacked Denmark and Norway, defeating them easily. In May, Nazi forces struck like lightning through Belgium and Holland. Within one day, they were in France. British and French forces were unable to stop the Germans from moving deep into northern France. The British forces finally were forced to flee from the European continent in small boats. They sailed from the French town of Dunkerque back to Britain.

German soldiers marched through France. And Italian forces joined them by invading France from the south. Soon, Paris fell. A German supporter, Marshal Petain, took control of the French government. And France -- beaten and crushed -- was forced to sign a peace treaty with Hitler.

VOICE TWO:

Now it was just Britain alone against Hitler and his allies. Only the English Channel separated the British people from a German army that seemed unbeatable.


Winston Churchill

British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain was forced to resign. The British people turned to a new leader, Winston Churchill. Churchill would prove to be strong and brave in the long months ahead.

The British would need strong leadership. Hitler wasted no time in launching a fierce air attack on Britain. Throughout the summer, German and British planes fought above the English Channel.

VOICE ONE:

All this military action had an important effect on American popular opinion. War and neutrality were no longer just ideas to be discussed in a classroom or political debate. Now they were real concerns, real events. Fascist⁵ troops led by a dictator in Berlin were defeating one friendly democracy after another. And Soviet forces were on the march, too.

Most Americans still desired neutrality. But how long could America remain at peace. And was peace worth the cost of just sitting by and watching friends like France and Britain be bombed and invaded.

VOICE TWO:

Other issues melted away as Americans began to consider what to do about the darkening world situation.

Some Americans, led by newspaper publisher William Allen White, called for the United States to help Britain immediately. But other groups, like the America First Committee, demanded that the United States stay out of another bloody⁶ European conflict.

VOICE ONE:


Franklin Roosevelt

The struggle between those who wanted to help Britain, and those who wanted to remain neutral, did not follow traditional party lines. Some of the closest supporters of Roosevelt's foreign policies were Republicans. And some members of his own Democratic Party opposed his policies.

Even so, foreign policy was one of the main issues in the presidential election campaign of nineteen forty. The Democrats⁷, once again, nominated Franklin Roosevelt for president.

The Republicans had several popular candidates who were interested in campaigning against Roosevelt. At first, it seemed that these candidates would fight it out in a bitter nominating convention in Philadelphia. But to everyone's surprise, a little-known candidate named Wendell Willkie suddenly gained a great deal of support and won the nomination⁸.

VOICE TWO:


Wendell Willkie

Wendell Willkie was a tough candidate.

He was friendly, a good businessman, and a strong speaker. He seemed honest. And he seemed to understand foreign policy. Most important, Willkie had a progressive record on many social issues. He was not the kind of traditional conservative Republican that Roosevelt had defeated so easily in his first two campaigns.

Instead, Willkie could claim to represent the common man just as well as Roosevelt. And he offered the excitement of a change in leadership.

While Willkie and Roosevelt began campaign battles with words, German and British planes were fighting real battles with bullets over the English channel. Winston Churchill sent a desperate message to Roosevelt. The British prime minister said Britain could not fight alone much longer. It needed help immediately.

VOICE ONE:

Roosevelt did not want to take steps toward war just before an election. But neither could he refuse such an urgent appeal from the British.

Roosevelt and Willkie discussed the situation. Willkie agreed not to criticize Roosevelt when the president sent fifty ships to the British navy. He also supported Roosevelt's order for American young men to give their names to army officials so they could be called if fighting began.

In this way, Roosevelt and Willkie tried to keep America's growing involvement in the war from becoming a major political issue in the election.

VOICE TWO:

President Roosevelt won the election of nineteen forty. Roosevelt won twenty-seven million votes to twenty-two million for Willkie. This made Roosevelt the first and only man in American history to win a third term in the White House.

Soon after the election, President Roosevelt received a letter from Winston Churchill. The British prime minister wrote that Britain urgently needed more arms and planes to fight Germany.

Roosevelt agreed. He went to the Congress to plead for more aid to Britain. He said the United States should change its neutral policy, because Britain was fighting a common enemy of democracy. Roosevelt also said the United States could avoid war if Britain was strong enough to defeat Germany by herself.

VOICE ONE:

Congress agreed, after a fierce debate, to increase aid to London. And in the weeks and months that followed, the United States moved closer and closer to open war with Germany.

In March nineteen forty-one, Roosevelt allowed British ships to come to American ports to be fixed⁹. In June, the United States seized ships under German control. It also took over German and Italian funds in American banks.

VOICE TWO:

Open fighting could not be prevented with this increase in tension between Germany and the United States. In September nineteen forty-one, a German submarine fired at an American ship. The ship was not damaged. But a number of American troops were killed in other naval¹⁰ incidents that followed.

VOICE ONE:

By the end of nineteen forty-one, the United States and Germany were almost at war. Even so, most Americans continued to hope for peace. In fact, few Americans could guess that war was just days away. The first blow would come -- not from Germany -- but from Japan.

That will be our story next week.

(MUSIC)

VOICE TWO:

You have been listening to THE MAKING OF A NATION, a program in Special English by the Voice of America. Your narrators have been Harry¹¹ Monroe and Jack¹² Weitzel. Our program was written by David Jarmul.

1 Nazi   

n.纳粹分子，adj.纳粹党的，纳粹的

参考例句：

• They declare the Nazi regime overthrown and sue for peace.他们宣布纳粹政权已被推翻，并出面求和。
• Nazi closes those war criminals inside their concentration camp.纳粹把那些战犯关在他们的集中营里。

2 allied   

adj.协约国的；同盟国的

参考例句：

• Britain was allied with the United States many times in history.历史上英国曾多次与美国结盟。
• Allied forces sustained heavy losses in the first few weeks of the campaign.同盟国在最初几周内遭受了巨大的损失。

3 Nazis   

n.（德国的）纳粹党员( Nazi的名词复数 )；纳粹主义

参考例句：

• The Nazis worked them over with gun butts. 纳粹分子用枪托毒打他们。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The Nazis were responsible for the mass murder of Jews during World War Ⅱ. 纳粹必须为第二次世界大战中对犹太人的大屠杀负责。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 Soviet   

adj.苏联的，苏维埃的；n.苏维埃

参考例句：

• Zhukov was a marshal of the former Soviet Union.朱可夫是前苏联的一位元帅。
• Germany began to attack the Soviet Union in 1941.德国在1941年开始进攻苏联。

5 fascist   

adj.法西斯主义的；法西斯党的；n.法西斯主义者，法西斯分子

参考例句：

• The strikers were roughed up by the fascist cops.罢工工人遭到法西斯警察的殴打。
• They succeeded in overthrowing the fascist dictatorship.他们成功推翻了法西斯独裁统治。

6 bloody   

adj.非常的的；流血的；残忍的；adv.很；vt.血染

参考例句：

• He got a bloody nose in the fight.他在打斗中被打得鼻子流血。
• He is a bloody fool.他是一个十足的笨蛋。

7 democrats   

n.民主主义者，民主人士( democrat的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The Democrats held a pep rally on Capitol Hill yesterday. 民主党昨天在国会山召开了竞选誓师大会。
• The democrats organize a filibuster in the senate. 民主党党员组织了阻挠议事。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 nomination   

n.提名，任命，提名权

参考例句：

• John is favourite to get the nomination for club president.约翰最有希望被提名为俱乐部主席。
• Few people pronounced for his nomination.很少人表示赞成他的提名。

9 fixed   

adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的

参考例句：

• Have you two fixed on a date for the wedding yet?你们俩选定婚期了吗？
• Once the aim is fixed,we should not change it arbitrarily.目标一旦确定，我们就不应该随意改变。

10 naval   

adj.海军的，军舰的，船的

参考例句：

• He took part in a great naval battle.他参加了一次大海战。
• The harbour is an important naval base.该港是一个重要的海军基地。

11 harry   

vt.掠夺，蹂躏，使苦恼

参考例句：

• Today,people feel more hurried and harried.今天，人们感到更加忙碌和苦恼。
• Obama harried business by Healthcare Reform plan.奥巴马用医改掠夺了商界。

12 jack   

n.插座，千斤顶，男人；v.抬起，提醒，扛举；n.（Jake）杰克

参考例句：

• I am looking for the headphone jack.我正在找寻头戴式耳机插孔。
• He lifted the car with a jack to change the flat tyre.他用千斤顶把车顶起来换下瘪轮胎。