VOA慢速英语2013 The White House: Center of Power, Home for Families

 

The White House: Center of Power, Home for Families

Welcome to This Is America from VOA Learning English. I’m Steve Ember.

And I'm Kelly Jean Kelly. This week on our program, we look at the history of the White House, the president’s home in Washington, DC.

When America’s first president, George Washington, entered office in 1789, the nation’s capital was in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. But Washington and other lawmakers agreed to move the capital south.

In 1790, Washington signed an act of Congress to establish the federal government in the District of Columbia. The states of Virginia and Maryland donated the areas. 

George Washington and French urban planner Pierre L’Enfant chose the site for the new presidential home.

A competition took place to find a designer. An architect named James Hoban from Ireland won the competition. He proposed a building modeled on a wealthy man’s house in Dublin. Today, that building—called Leinster House—is where the Irish Parliament meets.

James Hoban originally suggested the house be three stories. But George Washington changed the design to two stories. He was worried the government quarry¹ would not have enough stone for both the president’s house and a building for Congress.  

Work on the house started in 1792. At that time, the building was called by names such as the President’s Palace or the Executive² Mansion³. Its walls were not yet white, but grayish sandstone.

George Washington supervised⁴ the building project. Yet he and his wife, Martha, never lived there. The house was completed long after he left office in 1797.

America's second president, John Adams, and his wife, Abigail, were the first to live in the new home. They moved in on November 1, 1800. The inside of the house was still not completed. Abigail Adams was known to have complained about the house’s condition.

Perhaps luckily for her, John and Abigail Adams lived in the president’s house for only four months. John Adams lost re-election to Thomas Jefferson that autumn.

During the following eight years, Jefferson tried to finish work on the home. So did the next president, James Madison.

In 1814, British forces invaded Washington. They burned the president’s home. President Madison's wife, Dolley, tried to save valuable objects from the fire as she fled.

Some say she rescued a painting of George Washington. However, some historians⁵ question that story.

One way or another, the portrait survived. It is perhaps one of the most well-known images of George Washington. The picture —painted by Gilbert Stuart — hangs in the White House to this day.

Here is British Prime Minister David Cameron, talking about the fire of 1814.

“So I am a little embarrassed as I stand here to think that 200 years ago my ancestors tried to burn this place down. Now looking around me I can see you’ve got the place a little better defended today. You’re clearly not taking any risks with the Brits this time.”

After the fire, James Hoban helped rebuild the house he had designed. During this time, it was painted white. Some people began referring to the building informally by its color. Finally, in 1901, President Theodore Roosevelt officially named the residence the White House.

Over the years, the White House has been enlarged and almost totally rebuilt. Today, the White House has 132 rooms and 35 bathrooms. There are also 412 doors, 147 windows, 28 fireplaces⁶, 8 staircases⁷, and 3 elevators.

The White House has an East Wing and a West Wing. The Oval⁸ Office, the large round room where the president works, is in the West Wing. The first family lives in the East Wing.

In case you were wondering, the official home of the vice⁹ president is on the grounds of the Naval¹⁰ Observatory¹¹, about five kilometers away.

First ladies have all added to the White House in some way. Jacqueline Kennedy, for example, created a colorful garden that is named in her honor. 

Michelle Obama created one of the largest vegetable gardens.  She invited schoolchildren to help her plant the vegetables as an educational experience. 

“Today is getting the soil ready. Then we’ll come back in a couple of weeks to actually do the planting. And then sometime in June, right around the time school is over, hopefully we’ll have lots of great vegetables and fruits. We’ll harvest them, and then we’ll bring you guys into the kitchen in the White House.”

Kitchen workers use the vegetables to prepare healthy meals at the White House.

Many presidents have also added features to the White House.  For example, in 1979 President Jimmy Carter had solar panels¹² put on the West Wing to use the energy of the sun to heat water.

President Franklin Roosevelt had a pool built in 1933. Polio had disabled his legs, but President Roosevelt still swam. 

During President Richard Nixon's time in office, the old swimming pool was covered and the room was used for the media. The change permitted more space for television camera equipment. 

The press room was rebuilt in January 2007.  The work included a better look for television, a new electrical system, a  high technology communication system, better air conditioning and more comfortable seats.  President George W. Bush re-opened the room in a ceremony on July 11, 2007.  He joked that the room had been so hot before, he lost weight answering questions.

As visitors enter the White House, they see pictures of past presidents on the walls.

In another hall on the same floor are paintings of first ladies. A room off this hallway contains a collection of fine dishes. Most presidents have added to this collection.

Many first ladies have also followed Jacqueline Kennedy’s goal to collect art of the nation's finest artists.

Presidents and first ladies have also often invited musicians to perform at the White House. In 2010, the Obamas held a civil rights music night. Here Yolanda Adams sings “A Change Is Gonna Come.”

Wide marble steps lead to the next floor of the White House. It is called the State Floor. Presidents use rooms here for official duties and to entertain guests.

The largest room on the State Floor is the East Room. News conferences and music performances take place here. But the room has had other uses over the years.

Abigail Adams hung her family’s clothes to dry from the wash. Mourners filled the room to view President Abraham Lincoln's body there.  And President Obama recently met with wounded warriors¹³ in the East Room. 

Other rooms on the State Floor are named for their colors: the Blue Room, the Green Room and the Red Room. The president meets with diplomats¹⁴ and other guests in these rooms. They are also used for special events.

The 22nd president, Grover Cleveland, married Frances Folsom in the Blue Room in 1886. The Green Room held the body of President Lincoln’s son Willie, who died in 1862 when he was 11 years old.

And the 19th president, Rutherford Hayes, took his oath¹⁵ of office in the Red Room.  He was sworn in as president in 1877 following a disputed election against Samuel Tilden.

Nearby is the State Dining Room, where big events take place, like official dinners for visiting leaders. It can now seat as many as 140 guests. 

The Treaty Room on the second floor is used for meetings. Important documents have been signed there. On October 7, 1963, President John F. Kennedy signed a limited nuclear-test ban treaty in the room.  At different times, the Treaty Room was the cabinet room or the president's office. 

The next floor of the White House contains bedrooms for guests. One of these is the Lincoln Bedroom, named for the 16th president. But Abraham Lincoln never slept there.

Lincoln used the room as an office while he led the country through the Civil War in the 1860s. President Lincoln was murdered days after the war ended with the surrender of Robert E. Lee, the Southern general. John Wilkes Booth, a stage actor and supporter of the South, shot Lincoln at Ford's Theatre, not far from the White House.

Over the years, presidents and other people have suggested seeing Lincoln's ghost or feeling his presence in the White House.

Long gone are the days when people could simply walk into the White House. In fact, the White House was closed to visitors temporarily after the September 11th terrorist attacks in 2001. 

Information about White House tours – as well as a virtual¹⁶ tour -- can be found at whitehouse.gov.

I'm Steve Ember.

And I'm Kelly Jean Kelly.

1 quarry   

n.采石场；v.采石；费力地找

参考例句：

• Michelangelo obtained his marble from a quarry.米开朗基罗从采石场获得他的大理石。
• This mountain was the site for a quarry.这座山曾经有一个采石场。

2 executive   

adj.执行的，行政的；n.执行者，行政官，经理

参考例句：

• A good executive usually gets on well with people.一个好的高级管理人员通常与人们相处得很好。
• He is a man of great executive ability.他是个具有极高管理能力的人。

3 mansion   

n.大厦，大楼；宅第

参考例句：

• The old mansion was built in 1850.这座古宅建于1850年。
• The mansion has extensive grounds.这大厦四周的庭园广阔。

4 supervised   

v.监督，管理( supervise的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The architect supervised the building of the house. 建筑工程师监督房子的施工。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He supervised and trained more than 400 volunteers. 他指导和培训了400多名志愿者。 来自辞典例句

5 historians   

n.历史学家，史学工作者( historian的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Historians seem to have confused the chronology of these events. 历史学家好像把这些事件发生的年代顺序搞混了。
• Historians have concurred with each other in this view. 历史学家在这个观点上已取得一致意见。

6 fireplaces   

壁炉( fireplace的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The shop was an old converted house with many large, disused fireplaces and tall, narrow chimneys. 那是一座老式的、经过改造的房子，店里有许多废置不用的大壁炉和又高又窄的烟囱。 来自新概念英语第三册
• When the central- heating was installed, the fireplaces were walled up. 安装暖气设备之后，便把壁炉封闭起来了。

7 staircases   

n.楼梯( staircase的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• We have fully functional smoke alarms on all staircases. 我们在各层楼梯都安装有完全可用的烟雾警报器。 来自辞典例句
• A slender superstructure was dictated with gently sloping approaches rather than staircases. 细长的上部结构，带有微缓斜坡接坡，比布置阶梯为优。 来自辞典例句

8 oval   

n. 椭圆，椭圆形跑道；adj. 卵形的，椭圆形的

参考例句：

• She has a lovely oval face.她长着一张可爱的椭圆脸。
• The shape of the earth is an oval.地球的形状是个椭圆形。

9 vice   

n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的

参考例句：

• He guarded himself against vice.他避免染上坏习惯。
• They are sunk in the depth of vice.他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。

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 observatory   

n.天文台，气象台，瞭望台，观测台

参考例句：

• Guy's house was close to the observatory.盖伊的房子离天文台很近。
• Officials from Greenwich Observatory have the clock checked twice a day.格林威治天文台的职员们每天对大钟检查两次。

12 panels   

镶板( panel的名词复数 )； 面； （门、墙等上面的）嵌板； 控制板

参考例句：

• One of the glass panels in the front door was cracked. 前门的一块方玻璃破裂了。
• Make sure the panels are treated with a wood preservative. 确保镶板用木材防腐剂处理过。

13 warriors   

武士，勇士，战士( warrior的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• I like reading the stories ofancient warriors. 我喜欢读有关古代武士的故事。
• The warriors speared the man to death. 武士们把那个男子戳死了。

14 diplomats   

n.外交官( diplomat的名词复数 )；有手腕的人，善于交际的人

参考例句：

• These events led to the expulsion of senior diplomats from the country. 这些事件导致一些高级外交官被驱逐出境。
• The court has no jurisdiction over foreign diplomats living in this country. 法院对驻本国的外交官无裁判权。 来自《简明英汉词典》

15 oath   

n.誓言，誓约，咒骂，诅咒语

参考例句：

• They swore an oath to carry out their duties faithfully.他们宣誓忠实履行自己的职责。
• They swore an oath of loyalty to the country.他们宣誓要报效祖国。

16 virtual   

adj.实质上的，事实上的，实际上的

参考例句：

• This reply is a virtual acceptance of our offer.这一回答实质上是接受了我们的建议。
• At that time the East India Company was the virtual ruler of Bengal.那时东印度公司是孟加拉的实际统治者。