VOA慢速英语2010年-THE MAKING OF A NATION - American Hist

BOB DOUGHTY¹: Welcome to THE MAKING OF A NATION – American history in VOA Special English.
On November eleventh, nineteen eighteen, a truce² was signed ending the hostilities³ of World War One. The Central Powers -- led by Germany -- had lost. The Allies -- led by Britain, France and the United States -- had won.
The war lasted four years. It took the lives of ten million people. It left much of Europe in ruins. It was described as "the war to end all wars."This week in our series, Barbara Klein and Doug Johnson tell about President Woodrow Wilson and his part in events after the war.
BARBARA KLEIN: The immediate⁴ task was to seek agreement on terms of a peace treaty. The Allies were filled with bitter anger. They demanded a treaty that would punish Germany severely⁵. They wanted to make Germany weak by destroying its military and industry. And they wanted to ruin Germany's economy by making it pay all war damages. Germany, they said, must never go to war again.
President Woodrow Wilson of the United States did not agree completely with the other Allies. He wanted a peace treaty based on justice, not bitterness. He believed that would produce a lasting⁶ peace.
President Wilson had led negotiations⁷ for a truce to end the hostilities of World War One. Now, he hoped to play a major part in negotiations for a peace treaty. To be effective, he needed the full support of the American people.
Americans at the peace conference, from left: Colonel Edward House, Secretary of State Robert Lansing, President Woodrow Wilson, Henry White and General Tasker Bliss⁸ DOUG JOHNSON: Americans had supported Wilson's policies through most of the war. They had accepted what was necessary to win. This meant higher taxes and shortages of goods. At the time, Americans seemed to forget party politics. Democrats¹⁰ and Republicans worked together.
All that changed when it became clear the war was ending. Congressional elections were to be held in November, nineteen eighteen. President Wilson was a Democrat⁹. He feared that Republicans might gain a majority of seats in Congress. If they did, his negotiating powers at a peace conference in Europe would be weakened. Wilson told the nation:
"The return of a Republican majority to either house of Congress would be seen by foreign leaders as a rejection¹¹ of my leadership."BARBARA KLEIN: Republicans protested. They charged that Wilson's appeal to voters was an insult to every Republican. One party leader said: "This is not the president's private war." The Republican campaign succeeded. The party won control of both the Senate and House of Representatives.
The congressional elections were a defeat for President Wilson. But he did not let the situation interfere¹² with his plans for a peace conference. He and the other Allied¹³ leaders agreed to meet in Paris in January, nineteen nineteen.
(MUSIC)President Woodrow Wilson, left, and French President Raymond Poincare in Paris BARBARA KLEIN: In the weeks before the conference, Wilson chose members of his negotiating team. Everyone expected him to include one or more senators. After all, the Senate would vote to approve or reject the final peace treaty. Wilson refused. Instead, he chose several close advisers¹⁵ to go with him to Paris.
Today, American history experts say Wilson's decision was a mistake. Failure to put senators on the negotiating team, they say, cost him valuable support later on.
In early December, President Wilson sailed to France. The voyage across the Atlantic Ocean lasted nine days. He arrived at the Port of Brest on December thirteenth. Wilson felt very happy. Thirteen, he said, was his lucky number.
DOUG JOHNSON: French citizens stood along the railroad that carried him from Brest to Paris. They cheered as his train passed. In Paris, cannons¹⁶ were fired to announce his arrival. And a huge crowd welcomed him there. The people shouted his name over and over again -- Wilson! Wilson! Wilson! The noise sounded like thunder. French Premier¹⁷ Georges Clemenceau commented on the event. He said: "I do not think there has been anything like it in the history of the world."People cheered President Wilson partly to thank America for sending its troops to help fight against Germany. But many French citizens and other Europeans also shared Wilson's desire to establish a new world of peace. They listened with hope as he made an emotional speech about a world in which everyone would reject hatred¹⁸ -- a world in which everyone would join together to end war, forever.
BARBARA KLEIN: More than twenty-five nations that helped win the war sent representatives to the peace conference in Paris. All took part in the negotiations.
However, the important decisions were made by the so-called "Big Four": Prime Minister David Lloyd-George of Britain, Premier Georges Clemenceau of France, Premier Vittorio Orlando of Italy, and President Woodrow Wilson of the United States.
Wilson hoped the other Allied leaders would accept his plan for a new international organization. The organization would be called the League of Nations.
Wilson believed the league could prevent future wars by deciding fair settlements of disputes between nations. He believed it would be the world's only hope for a lasting peace.
DOUG JOHNSON: Most of the other representatives did not have Wilson's faith in the power of peace. Yet they supported his plan for the League of Nations. However, they considered it less important than completing a peace treaty with Germany. And they did not want to spend much time talking about it. They feared that negotiations on the league might delay the treaty and the rebuilding of Europe.
Wilson was firm. He demanded that the peace treaty also establish the league. So, he led a group at the conference that wrote a plan for the operation of the league. He gave the plan to the European leaders to consider. Then he returned to the United States for a brief visit.
(MUSIC)BARBARA KLEIN: President Wilson soon learned that opposition¹⁹ to the League of Nations existed on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean. Many Americans opposed it strongly. Some Republican senators began criticizing it even before Wilson's ship reached the port of Boston.
The senators said the plan failed to recognize America's long-term interests. They said it would take away too many powers from national governments. Thirty-seven senators signed a resolution saying the United States should reject the plan for the League of Nations. That was more than the number of votes needed to defeat a peace treaty to which, Wilson hoped, the league plan would be linked.
DOUG JOHNSON: The Senate resolution hurt Wilson politically. It was a sign to the rest of the world that he did not have the full support of his people. But he returned to Paris anyway. He got more bad news when he arrived.
Wilson's top adviser¹⁴ at the Paris peace conference was Colonel Edward House. Colonel House had continued negotiations while Wilson was back in the United States.
House agreed with Wilson on most issues. Unlike Wilson, however, he believed the Allies' most urgent need was to reach agreement on a peace treaty with Germany. To do this, House was willing to make many more compromises than Wilson on details for the League of Nations.
BARBARA KLEIN: Wilson was furious when he learned what House had done. He said: "Colonel House has given away everything I had won before I left Paris. He has compromised until nothing remains²⁰. Now I have to start all over again. This time, it will be more difficult." For Woodrow Wilson, the most difficult negotiations still lay ahead.
That will be our story next week.
(MUSIC)BOB DOUGHTY: Our program was written by Frank Beardsley. The narrators were Barbara Klein and Doug Johnson.
You can find our series online with transcripts²¹, MP3s, podcasts and images at voaspecialenglish.com. You can also follow us on Facebook and Twitter at VOA Learning English. Join us again next week for THE MAKING OF A NATION -- an American history series in VOA Special English.

1 doughty   

adj.勇猛的，坚强的

参考例句：

• Most of successful men have the characteristics of contumacy and doughty.绝大多数成功人士都有共同的特质：脾气倔强，性格刚强。
• The doughty old man battled his illness with fierce determination.坚强的老人用巨大毅力与疾病作斗争。

2 truce   

n.休战，(争执，烦恼等的)缓和；v.以停战结束

参考例句：

• The hot weather gave the old man a truce from rheumatism.热天使这位老人暂时免受风湿病之苦。
• She had thought of flying out to breathe the fresh air in an interval of truce.她想跑出去呼吸一下休战期间的新鲜空气。

3 hostilities   

n.战争；敌意(hostility的复数)；敌对状态；战事

参考例句：

• Mexico called for an immediate cessation of hostilities. 墨西哥要求立即停止敌对行动。
• All the old hostilities resurfaced when they met again. 他们再次碰面时，过去的种种敌意又都冒了出来。

4 immediate   

adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的

参考例句：

• His immediate neighbours felt it their duty to call.他的近邻认为他们有责任去拜访。
• We declared ourselves for the immediate convocation of the meeting.我们主张立即召开这个会议。

5 severely   

adv.严格地；严厉地；非常恶劣地

参考例句：

• He was severely criticized and removed from his post.他受到了严厉的批评并且被撤了职。
• He is severely put down for his careless work.他因工作上的粗心大意而受到了严厉的批评。

6 lasting   

adj.永久的，永恒的；vbl.持续，维持

参考例句：

• The lasting war debased the value of the dollar.持久的战争使美元贬值。
• We hope for a lasting settlement of all these troubles.我们希望这些纠纷能获得永久的解决。

7 negotiations   

协商( negotiation的名词复数 )； 谈判； 完成（难事）； 通过

参考例句：

• negotiations for a durable peace 为持久和平而进行的谈判
• Negotiations have failed to establish any middle ground. 谈判未能达成任何妥协。

8 bliss   

n.狂喜，福佑，天赐的福

参考例句：

• It's sheer bliss to be able to spend the day in bed.整天都可以躺在床上真是幸福。
• He's in bliss that he's won the Nobel Prize.他非常高兴，因为获得了诺贝尔奖金。

9 democrat   

n.民主主义者，民主人士；民主党党员

参考例句：

• The Democrat and the Public criticized each other.民主党人和共和党人互相攻击。
• About two years later,he was defeated by Democrat Jimmy Carter.大约两年后，他被民主党人杰米卡特击败。

10 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》

11 rejection   

n.拒绝，被拒，抛弃，被弃

参考例句：

• He decided not to approach her for fear of rejection.他因怕遭拒绝决定不再去找她。
• The rejection plunged her into the dark depths of despair.遭到拒绝使她陷入了绝望的深渊。

12 interfere   

v.(in)干涉，干预；(with)妨碍，打扰

参考例句：

• If we interfere, it may do more harm than good.如果我们干预的话，可能弊多利少。
• When others interfere in the affair,it always makes troubles. 别人一卷入这一事件，棘手的事情就来了。

13 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。

14 adviser   

n.劝告者，顾问

参考例句：

• They employed me as an adviser.他们聘请我当顾问。
• Our department has engaged a foreign teacher as phonetic adviser.我们系已经聘请了一位外籍老师作为语音顾问。

15 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。

16 cannons   

n.加农炮，大炮，火炮( cannon的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Cannons bombarded enemy lines. 大炮轰击了敌军阵地。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• One company had been furnished with six cannons. 某连队装备了六门大炮。 来自《简明英汉词典》

17 premier   

adj.首要的；n.总理，首相

参考例句：

• The Irish Premier is paying an official visit to Britain.爱尔兰总理正在对英国进行正式访问。
• He requested that the premier grant him an internview.他要求那位总理接见他一次。

18 hatred   

n.憎恶，憎恨，仇恨

参考例句：

• He looked at me with hatred in his eyes.他以憎恨的眼光望着我。
• The old man was seized with burning hatred for the fascists.老人对法西斯主义者充满了仇恨。

19 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

20 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

21 transcripts   

n.抄本（ transcript的名词复数 ）；转写本；文字本；副本

参考例句：

• Like mRNA, both tRNA and rRNA are transcripts of chromosomal DNA. tRNA及rRNA同mRNA一样，都是染色体DNA的转录产物。 来自辞典例句
• You can't take the transfer students'exam without your transcripts. 没有成绩证明书，你就不能参加转学考试。 来自辞典例句