VOA慢速英语2009-PEOPLE IN AMERICA - Douglas MacArthur, 1880-1964

ANNOUNCER:

Now, the VOA Special English program PEOPLE IN AMERICA. Today Rich Kleinfeldt and Sarah Long tell about one of the most unusual and successful American military leaders, General Douglas MacArthur.

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VOICE ONE:
　
General Douglas MacArthur

General Douglas MacArthur was a most unusual man. He was extremely intelligent and very demanding. He expected his orders to be followed exactly. Yet he had problems all his life following the orders of those who were his commanders.

Douglas MacArthur was very intelligent and could remember things that others would easily forget. He could design battle plans that left the enemy no choice other than surrender and defeat. His battle plans defeated the enemy and saved as many of his own men as possible.

At other times, he would make simple mistakes that made him appear stupid. He often said things that showed he felt important. Many people made jokes about him. Some of his soldiers sang songs that made fun of him. Others believed he was the best general ever to serve in the United States military.

General Douglas MacArthur was extremely brave in battle, sometimes almost foolish. It often seemed as if he believed he could not be killed. He won every medal and honor the United States can give a soldier. However, at the end of his life, he rejected war and warned American political leaders to stay away from armed conflict.

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VOICE TWO:

Douglas MacArthur was born to be a soldier. His father, Arthur MacArthur, was a hero of the American Civil War and continued to serve in the army after the war ended in eighteen sixty-five. He became the top officer of the army in nineteen-oh-six.

Douglas was born on an Army base near the southern city of Little Rock, Arkansas in January, eighteen eighty. He grew up on army bases where his father served. He said the first sounds he could remember as a child were those of the Army: the sounds of horns, drums and soldiers marching.

VOICE ONE:

There was never any question about what Douglas MacArthur would do with his life. He would join the army. He wanted to enter the United States Military Academy at West Point, New York.

The Academy is a university that trains officers for the United States Army. School officials rejected him two times before he was accepted. He finished his four years at West Point as the best student in his class.

VOICE TWO:
　
Douglas MacArthur during World War One

Douglas MacArthur began his service in the Army by traveling to several Asian countries including Japan, and to the Philippines, then an American territory. He also served at several small bases in the United States. He became a colonel¹ when World War One began. He led troops on very dangerous attacks against the enemy. He won many honors for his bravery and leadership. After that war, he served as head of the West Point Military Academy.

He became a general. During the nineteen thirties, President Herbert Hoover appointed him chief of staff of the Army, one of the most important jobs in the American military.

In nineteen thirty-five, General MacArthur was appointed military advisor² to the Philippines. He was to help the government build an army for defense³ purposes as the Philippines began planning for independence. He had retired⁴ from the army. He was the chief military advisor to the Philippine military forces when the United States entered World War Two in December, nineteen forty-one.

VOICE ONE:

Japanese aggression⁵ in the Pacific developed very quickly. Japanese troops began arriving in the Philippines on December eleventh, nineteen forty-one. The fighting was extremely fierce.

The Japanese were defeating the Philippine and American forces. General MacArthur had been recalled to active duty by President Franklin Roosevelt. President Roosevelt ordered MacArthur to leave the Philippines to command American forces in the South Pacific. General MacArthur finally agreed to leave for Australia before the Philippines surrendered to Japan. But he made a promise to the Philippine people. He said, "I shall return."

VOICE TWO:

Military history experts continue to study General MacArthur's decisions during World War Two. He won battle after battle in the South Pacific area. Often, he would pass islands with strong enemy forces, cut off their supplies and leave them with no chance to fight. In nineteen forty-four, he returned to the Philippines with an army that defeated the Japanese.

VOICE ONE:
　
General MacArthur accepts the Japanese surrender ending the war in the Pacific

MacArthur was chosen to accept the Japanese surrender in September, nineteen forty-five. He was appointed Supreme⁶ Commander of the Allied⁷ Powers, the leader of the occupation forces that would rule Japan. As an American soldier, he had to follow the orders of the government in Washington. But in Japan, General MacArthur ruled like a dictator⁸.

VOICE TWO:

The Japanese expected severe punishment. They saw MacArthur as a very conservative⁹ ruler who would make Japan suffer.

MacArthur did charge some Japanese leaders with war crimes. But he did not try to punish the Japanese people.

General MacArthur told the Japanese they must change, both politically and socially. He began with education. Before the war, female children in Japan received little if any education. MacArthur said education would be for everyone, including girls and women.

He said women must have the right to vote in elections, and be permitted to hold political office. He said Japanese women would now have the same legal rights as men. And he said that every person had the same legal protection under the law.

VOICE ONE:

General MacArthur told the Japanese people they were now free to form political parties. And he ended the idea of an official government religion. Religion would be a matter of individual choice. He also said the Japanese government would no longer be controlled by a few powerful people.

MacArthur told Japan it would now be ruled by a parliament that was freely elected by the people. He helped the people of Japan write a new constitution for a democratic form of government.

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VOICE TWO:

On June twenty-fifth, nineteen fifty, North Korean troops invaded South Korea. Within two days, the United States decided¹⁰ to send armed forces to aid South Korea.

Douglas MacArthur was appointed commander of the United Nations forces in South Korea. As the weeks passed, the North Korean army forced the South Korean army and its allies¹¹ to retreat to the southern city of Pusan.

Many military experts said South Korea was lost. General MacArthur did not agree. He wanted to attack from the sea, deep behind the enemy troops at the city of Inchon. MacArthur said the enemy would not be prepared. Most other military leaders believed this would be extremely dangerous. American Marines did attack Inchon September fifteenth. It was a complete success. MacArthur had been right.

VOICE ONE:
　
General MacArthur and President Truman meet for the first time on Wake Island in 1950

General MacArthur often disagreed with political leaders. President Truman warned him several times not to disagree with government policy. General MacArthur continued to disagree and told reporters when he did. He often gave orders that were not approved by the president.

MacArthur called for a total victory in Korea. He wanted to defeat communism in East Asia. He wanted to bomb Chinese bases in Manchuria and block Chinese ports. President Truman and his military advisers¹² were concerned World War Three would start.

In April, nineteen fifty-one, President Truman replaced MacArthur as head of the U.N. forces in Korea. Douglas MacArthur went home to the United States. It was the first time he had been there in more than fifteen years. He was honored as a returning hero. He was invited to speak before Congress. There was a huge parade to honor him in New York City.

VOICE TWO:

General MacArthur retired again. Some political leaders wanted him to compete for some political office, perhaps for president. Instead, he lived a quiet life with his wife and son. He died at the age of eighty-four on April fifth, nineteen sixty-four.

Today, many Americans have forgotten Douglas MacArthur. However, the people of the Philippines built a statue to honor him for keeping his promise to return. And, many Japanese visitors go to General MacArthur's burial place in Norfolk, Virginia to remember what he did for Japan.

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ANNOUNCER:

This Special English program was written by Paul Thompson. Your narrators were Rich Kleinfeldt and Sarah Long. I'm Shirley Griffith. Listen again next week for another PEOPLE IN AMERICA program on the Voice of America.

1 colonel   

n.(英国陆军、美国陆空军及海军陆战队)上校

参考例句：

• It's a pity we didn't mend our fences with the colonel.可惜我们还没有和上校先生调整好关系。
• An army major ranks between a captain and a colonel.陆军少校的军阶在上尉与中校之间。

2 advisor   

n.顾问，指导老师，劝告者

参考例句：

• They employed me as an advisor.他们聘请我当顾问。
• The professor is engaged as a technical advisor.这位教授被聘请为技术顾问。

3 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

4 retired   

adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的

参考例句：

• The old man retired to the country for rest.这位老人下乡休息去了。
• Many retired people take up gardening as a hobby.许多退休的人都以从事园艺为嗜好。

5 aggression   

n.进攻，侵略，侵犯，侵害

参考例句：

• So long as we are firmly united, we need fear no aggression.只要我们紧密地团结，就不必惧怕外来侵略。
• Her view is that aggression is part of human nature.她认为攻击性是人类本性的一部份。

6 supreme   

adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的

参考例句：

• It was the supreme moment in his life.那是他一生中最重要的时刻。
• He handed up the indictment to the supreme court.他把起诉书送交最高法院。

7 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。

8 dictator   

n.独裁者，爱发号施令的人

参考例句：

• We felt quite impotent to resist the will of the dictator.我们感到无力抗拒独裁者的意志。
• A dictator must have a firm hand.独裁者的手段是很厉害的。

9 conservative   

adj.保守的，守旧的；n.保守的人，保守派

参考例句：

• He is a conservative member of the church.他是一个守旧教会教友。
• The young man is very conservative.这个年轻人很守旧。

10 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

11 allies   

联盟国，同盟者； 同盟国，同盟者( ally的名词复数 )； 支持者； 盟军

参考例句：

• The allies would fear that they were pawns in a superpower condominium. 这个联盟担心他们会成为超级大国共管的牺牲品。
• A number of the United States' allies had urged him not to take a hasty decision. 美国的一些盟友已力劝他不要急于作决定。

12 advisers   

顾问，劝告者( adviser的名词复数 )； （指导大学新生学科问题等的）指导教授

参考例句：

• a member of the President's favoured circle of advisers 总统宠爱的顾问班子中的一员
• She withdrew to confer with her advisers before announcing a decision. 她先去请教顾问然后再宣布决定。