历届美国总统介绍:第2任总统 约翰亚当斯

 　　John Adams was the second President of the United States. He was born in Massachusetts in 1735. He studied law at Harvard and became identified with the movement for independence. During the Revolutionary War he served in France and Holland in diplomatic roles, and helped negotiate the peace treaty with France. He returned from Europe and was elected Vice¹ President under George Washington.

　　约翰·亚当斯是美国的第二任总统。1735年，他出生在美国的马萨诸塞州。他曾在哈佛大学学习法律，并因参加独立运动而闻名。革命战争期间，他作为外交官服务于法国和荷兰之间，并且协助谈判和平条约。从欧洲归来后，他被选为副总统，辅助乔治·华盛顿总统。

　　Adams served two terms as Vice President. The White House describes them as being "frustrating² experiences for a man of his vigor³, intellect, and vanity". He complained to his wife Abigail about his frustrations⁴ with his sense of a lack of power in his position. He said: "My country has in its wisdom contrived⁵ for me the most insignificant⁶ office that ever the invention of man contrived or his imagination conceived."亚当斯连任了两届副总统。白宫评论说：“对一个男人来说，这是一个令人沮丧的经历，它消磨了一个人的活力、智慧以及虚荣。”亚当斯曾向他的妻子阿碧格尔抱怨他所拥有的权利实在太少了。他说道：“我们的国家自做聪明，拿那个最不起眼的职位给我，那个职位简直就像某个人的即兴作品或其凭空捏造出来的东西。”

　　约翰·亚当斯.jpgWhen Adams first became President, the war between the French and British was causing great difficulties for the United States. It disrupted trade and shipping⁷ to the USA and caused fierce rivalries⁸ between Americans loyal to each of the European powers. His decision to send a peace mission to France badly divided American politics and he lost the 1801 election to Thomas Jefferson.

　　亚当斯第一次担任美国总统时，英法战争给美国带来了许多困扰。该战争阻碍了美国的船舶贸易，导致追随不同欧洲势力的美国人之间进行激烈抗争。后来，他决定与法国进行和平谈判，这一决定严重分裂了美国政坛。在1801年的美国总统大选中，亚当斯败给了托马斯·杰斐逊。

　　Adams retired⁹ from political life and returned to his farm. He will be remembered as being one of the key Founding Fathers of the United States and for the first U.S. politician to start a political dynasty – his son John Quincy became America's sixth President. Adams died on July 4, 1826. His most memorable¹⁰ words are: "People and nations are forged in the fires of adversity."亚当斯退出政坛后，回到了他的农场。他被视为美国最重要的开国元勋之一，开启美国政治王朝的第一人——他的儿子约翰·昆西·亚当斯被选为美国第6任总统。1826年7月4日，亚当斯逝世。他的名言是：“人民与国家都是在烈火中涅槃重生的。”

1 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。

2 frustrating   

adj.产生挫折的，使人沮丧的，令人泄气的v.使不成功( frustrate的现在分词 )；挫败；使受挫折；令人沮丧

参考例句：

• It's frustrating to have to wait so long. 要等这么长时间，真令人懊恼。
• It was a demeaning and ultimately frustrating experience. 那是一次有失颜面并且令人沮丧至极的经历。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 vigor   

n.活力，精力，元气

参考例句：

• The choir sang the words out with great vigor.合唱团以极大的热情唱出了歌词。
• She didn't want to be reminded of her beauty or her former vigor.现在，她不愿人们提起她昔日的美丽和以前的精力充沛。

4 frustrations   

挫折( frustration的名词复数 )； 失败； 挫败； 失意

参考例句：

• The temptation would grow to take out our frustrations on Saigon. 由于我们遭到挫折而要同西贡算帐的引诱力会增加。
• Aspirations will be raised, but so will frustrations. 人们会产生种种憧憬，但是种种挫折也会随之而来。

5 contrived   

adj.不自然的，做作的；虚构的

参考例句：

• There was nothing contrived or calculated about what he said.他说的话里没有任何蓄意捏造的成分。
• The plot seems contrived.情节看起来不真实。

6 insignificant   

adj.无关紧要的，可忽略的，无意义的

参考例句：

• In winter the effect was found to be insignificant.在冬季，这种作用是不明显的。
• This problem was insignificant compared to others she faced.这一问题与她面临的其他问题比较起来算不得什么。

7 shipping   

n.船运（发货，运输，乘船）

参考例句：

• We struck a bargain with an American shipping firm.我们和一家美国船运公司谈成了一笔生意。
• There's a shipping charge of ￡5 added to the price.价格之外另加五英镑运输费。

8 rivalries   

n.敌对，竞争，对抗( rivalry的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The new government was torn by rivalries. 新政府由于各派对立而四分五裂。 来自辞典例句
• Rivalries could bring about pain and hatred or give rise to fighting. 竞争会带来痛苦、仇恨，或者引起争斗。 来自互联网

9 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。

10 memorable   

adj.值得回忆的，难忘的，特别的，显著的

参考例句：

• This was indeed the most memorable day of my life.这的确是我一生中最值得怀念的日子。
• The veteran soldier has fought many memorable battles.这个老兵参加过许多难忘的战斗。