美国学生历史 第62期:制定宪法(2)

 　　180. Other Fathers of the Constitution. 180．制定宪法的其他人

　　George Washington was chosen President of the Convention. 乔治·华盛顿当选为国会总统，

　　He made few speeches. But the speeches that he made were very important. 他很少做演讲，但是他的演讲非常重要，

　　And the mere¹ fact that he approved the Constitution had a tremendous influence throughout the country. 单单他批准宪法这个事实就在全国产生了巨大影响。

　　The oldest man in the Convention was Benjamin Franklin. 本杰明·富兰克林是参加大会人员中年龄最大的，

　　His long experience in politics and in diplomacy² with his natural shrewdness had made him an unrivaled manager of men. 他有与生俱来的机敏，漫长的政治和外交生涯使得他在人事管理方面无以匹敌。

　　From all the states came able men. 各州都派来了有才干的人，

　　In fact, with the exception of John Adams, Samuel Adams, Patrick Henry, and Thomas Jefferson, the strongest men in political life were in the Federal Convention. 实际上，除了约翰·亚当斯、萨缪尔·亚当斯、帕特里克·亨利和托马斯·杰斐逊，处在政治生涯巅峰的人都在参加联邦大会。

　　Never in the history of the world have so many great political leaders, learned students of politics, and shrewd business men gathered together. 在世界历史上从来没有这么多伟大的领袖、政治新锐和商界巨子聚集到一起，

　　The result of their labors³ was the most marvelous product of political wisdom that the world has ever seen. 他们共同完成的是一项最了不起的政治智慧结晶，这一点举世公认。

　　181. Plans for a National Government. 181．国民政府计划

　　As soon as the Convention was in working order, Governor Randolph of Virginia presented Madison's plan for a "national" government. 大会进入日程，弗吉尼亚的理事就立刻提出麦迪逊建设"国民"政府的计划。

　　Charles Pinckney of South Carolina also brought forward a plan. 南卡罗莱纳的查理斯·平克尼也提出一个计划，

　　His scheme was more detailed⁴ than was Madison's plan. 他的计划方案比之麦迪逊计划要更加详细，

　　But, like it, it provided for a government with "supreme⁵ legislative⁶, executive, and judicial⁷ powers." 但是与麦迪逊计划相似，这个计划提出一个有"最高立法权、行政权和司法权"的政府。

　　On May 30 the Convention voted that a "national government ought to be established, consisting of a supreme Legislative, Executive, and Judiciary." 5月30日，大会投票决定"应该建立一个国民政府，它以最高立法权、行政权和司法权"为主要特征，

　　It next decided⁸ that the legislative department should consist of two houses. 接着，大会决定立法机关应该由两个议院构成，

　　But when the delegates began to talk over the details, they began to disagree. 但是，当开始具体讨论时，代表们也开始意见不一。

1 mere   

adj.纯粹的；仅仅，只不过

参考例句：

• That is a mere repetition of what you said before.那不过是重复了你以前讲的话。
• It's a mere waste of time waiting any longer.再等下去纯粹是浪费时间。

2 diplomacy   

n.外交；外交手腕，交际手腕

参考例句：

• The talks have now gone into a stage of quiet diplomacy.会谈现在已经进入了“温和外交”阶段。
• This was done through the skill in diplomacy. 这是通过外交手腕才做到的。

3 labors   

v.努力争取(for)( labor的第三人称单数 )；苦干；详细分析；（指引擎）缓慢而困难地运转

参考例句：

• He was tiresome in contending for the value of his own labors. 他老为他自己劳动的价值而争强斗胜，令人生厌。 来自辞典例句
• Farm labors used to hire themselves out for the summer. 农业劳动者夏季常去当雇工。 来自辞典例句

4 detailed   

adj.详细的，详尽的，极注意细节的，完全的

参考例句：

• He had made a detailed study of the terrain.他对地形作了缜密的研究。
• A detailed list of our publications is available on request.我们的出版物有一份详细的目录备索。

5 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。

6 legislative   

n.立法机构，立法权；adj.立法的，有立法权的

参考例句：

• Congress is the legislative branch of the U.S. government.国会是美国政府的立法部门。
• Today's hearing was just the first step in the legislative process.今天的听证会只是展开立法程序的第一步。

7 judicial   

adj.司法的，法庭的，审判的，明断的，公正的

参考例句：

• He is a man with a judicial mind.他是个公正的人。
• Tom takes judicial proceedings against his father.汤姆对他的父亲正式提出诉讼。

8 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。