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VOA慢速英语2013 建国史话:国旗在1812年战争中诞生

时间:2013-08-04 14:01:55

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A National Anthem1 Is Born During War of 1812 - The Making of a Nation No.38 国旗在1812年战争中诞生

From VOA Learning English, welcome to The Making of a Nation, our weekly program of American history for people learning English. I’m Steve Ember.

Today, we tell the story of how a British attack on Fort McHenry in the port of Baltimore led to "The Star-Spangled Banner," America's national anthem.

In the summer of 1814, British forces attacked Washington, DC. They burned the Capitol building, the White House and other public buildings. Then they withdrew to their ships in the Chesapeake Bay.

British General Robert Ross and Admiral George Cockburn led the attack on Washington. Next they planned to attack Baltimore. But the people of Baltimore expected the attack, and began to prepare for it. Fifty thousand of them built defenses around the city.

The port of Baltimore was protected by Fort McHenry. The guns and cannon2 of the fort could prevent British ships from reaching the city.

The British began with a land attack against Baltimore. General Ross, Admiral Cockburn and about 4,000 British soldiers landed at North Point, a finger of land reaching into the Chesapeake Bay.

From North Point, it was a march of about 22 kilometers to Baltimore. The British began marching at about seven in the morning. General Ross and Admiral Cockburn stopped their men after an hour. The two commanders and several of their officers rode to a nearby farmhouse3 and forced the family living there to give them breakfast.

When the British officers finished eating, the farmer asked General Ross where the British were going. "To Baltimore," he answered. The farmer told Ross that he might have some difficulty getting there, because of the city's defenses. But the British general replied, "I will eat supper in Baltimore -- or in hell."

When they returned to the march, Ross and Cockburn moved far in front of the British forces. A group of several hundred Americans opened fire on the British officers. Ross was hit. He died soon afterward4.

The Americans retreated, but they slowed the progress of the British soldiers. It was late the next day before the British force arrived to face the army of Americans near Baltimore. The Americans were on high ground and had about 100 cannon to fire down on the British.

The British commander ordered his men to rest for the night. He sent a message to the British warships6 to attack the city with guns and mortars7. Such an attack, he felt, might cause the Americans to fall back. But the British ships had already been firing at Fort McHenry since early morning. The British guns were more powerful than those of the fort. The strength of their guns let the ships fire from so far away that the American guns could not hit them.

Shells and bombs from British mortars fell like rain over Fort McHenry. But few Americans in the fort were hurt or killed. Most of the rockets and shells exploded in the air or missed. Many of them failed to explode.

At the center of the fort flew a large American flag. The flag could be seen by the soldiers defending the city and by the British warships. The flag was also seen by a young American named Francis Scott Key.

Key was a lawyer who had once thought of a life of religious work. He was also a poet and writer. He opposed war. But he loved his country and joined the army in Washington to help defend it.

When the British withdrew from Washington, they took an American doctor named William Beanes with them. Francis Scott Key knew the doctor and asked President Madison to request the British commander to release him. President Madison wrote the request, and Key agreed to carry it to Admiral Cockburn. Key also carried letters from wounded British soldiers in American hospitals. In one of the letters, a British soldier told of the excellent medical care he was being given.

Cockburn agreed to free the doctor after he read the reports that his wounded men were receiving good medical care. But Cockburn would not permit the doctor or Key or a man who came with him to return to land until after the attack.

So Francis Scott Key watched from a British warship5 as the shells and rockets fell on Fort McHenry.

Years later, he said: "I saw the flag of my country waving over a city — the strength and pride of my native state — a city devoted8 to plunder9 and desolation by its assailants. I witnessed the preparation for its assaults. I saw the array of its enemies as they advanced to the attack. I heard the sound of battle; the noise of the conflict fell upon my listening ear, and told me that 'the brave and the free' had met the invaders10."

All through the rainy day, the attack continued. Dr. Beanes, watching with Key, had difficulty seeing the flag. He kept asking if the "stars and stripes" still flew above the fort. Until dark, Key could still see it. After that, he could only hope.

Britain tried to land another force of men near the fort. But the Americans heard the boats and fired at them. The landing failed. Shells and rockets continued to rain down on Fort McHenry. At times, the fort's cannon answered. That told Key that the Americans had not surrendered.

The British troops east of Baltimore spent most of the night trying to keep dry. Commanders could not decide if they should attack or retreat. Finally, orders came from the admiral: "Withdraw to your ships." A land attack against Baltimore’s defenses would not be attempted.

At first light of morning, British shells were still bursting in the air over the fort. The flag had holes in it from the British shells. But it still flew. The British shelling stopped at seven o'clock. Key took an old letter from his pocket, and on it he wrote a poem about what he had seen.

Oh, say can you see by the dawn's early light

What so proudly we hailed at the twilight's last gleaming?

Whose broad stripes and bright stars, through the perilous11 fight

O'er the ramparts we watched were so gallantly12 streaming?

And the rocket's red glare, the bombs bursting in air,

Gave proof through the night that our flag was still there.

Oh, say does that star-spangled banner yet wave

O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave?

Americans sang these words and remembered the attack on Fort McHenry. Then, in 1931, Congress made the "Star-Spangled Banner" the national anthem of the United States.

The unsuccessful British attack on Baltimore was followed by news that Britain had also suffered a defeat to the north.

British General George Prevost had led 11,000 soldiers south from Montreal to New York. At Plattsburgh, on the western shore of Lake Champlain, his army was opposed by fewer than 4,000 Americans. General Prevost believed he needed to get control of the lake before moving against the American defenders13.

He requested the support of four British ships and about 10 gunboats. A similar sized group of American ships also entered the lake. In a fierce battle, the American naval14 force sank the British ships. The army decided15 not to attack without naval support. The 11,000 British soldiers turned around and marched back to Montreal.

By the time of these battles, the United States and Britain had already agreed to discuss peace. The peace talks began in the summer at Ghent, in Belgium.

At first the British were in no hurry to sign a peace treaty. They believed their forces would be able to capture parts of the United States.

Britain demanded as a condition for peace that the United States give large areas of its northwest to the Indians. It also said America must give Canada other areas along the border. And Britain would not promise to stop seizing American sailors and putting them in the British navy.

But British policy at the peace talks changed after the battles of Baltimore and Plattsburgh.

The end of the War of 1812 will be our story next week. 

You can find our series online with transcripts16, MP3s and podcasts at learningenglish.voanews.com. You can also follow us on Facebook and Twitter at VOA Learning English. I’m Steve Ember, inviting17 you to join us again next week for The Making of a Nation. 


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点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 anthem vMRyj     
n.圣歌,赞美诗,颂歌
参考例句:
  • All those present were standing solemnly when the national anthem was played.奏国歌时全场肃立。
  • As he stood on the winner's rostrum,he sang the words of the national anthem.他站在冠军领奖台上,唱起了国歌。
2 cannon 3T8yc     
n.大炮,火炮;飞机上的机关炮
参考例句:
  • The soldiers fired the cannon.士兵们开炮。
  • The cannon thundered in the hills.大炮在山间轰鸣。
3 farmhouse kt1zIk     
n.农场住宅(尤指主要住房)
参考例句:
  • We fell for the farmhouse as soon as we saw it.我们对那所农舍一见倾心。
  • We put up for the night at a farmhouse.我们在一间农舍投宿了一夜。
4 afterward fK6y3     
adv.后来;以后
参考例句:
  • Let's go to the theatre first and eat afterward. 让我们先去看戏,然后吃饭。
  • Afterward,the boy became a very famous artist.后来,这男孩成为一个很有名的艺术家。
5 warship OMtzl     
n.军舰,战舰
参考例句:
  • He is serving on a warship in the Pacific.他在太平洋海域的一艘军舰上服役。
  • The warship was making towards the pier.军舰正驶向码头。
6 warships 9d82ffe40b694c1e8a0fdc6d39c11ad8     
军舰,战舰( warship的名词复数 ); 舰只
参考例句:
  • The enemy warships were disengaged from the battle after suffering heavy casualties. 在遭受惨重伤亡后,敌舰退出了海战。
  • The government fitted out warships and sailors for them. 政府给他们配备了战舰和水手。
7 mortars 2ee0e7ac9172870371c2735fb040d218     
n.迫击炮( mortar的名词复数 );砂浆;房产;研钵
参考例句:
  • They could not move their heavy mortars over the swampy ground. 他们无法把重型迫击炮移过那片沼泽地。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • Where the hell are his mortars? 他有迫击炮吗? 来自教父部分
8 devoted xu9zka     
adj.忠诚的,忠实的,热心的,献身于...的
参考例句:
  • He devoted his life to the educational cause of the motherland.他为祖国的教育事业贡献了一生。
  • We devoted a lengthy and full discussion to this topic.我们对这个题目进行了长时间的充分讨论。
9 plunder q2IzO     
vt.劫掠财物,掠夺;n.劫掠物,赃物;劫掠
参考例句:
  • The thieves hid their plunder in the cave.贼把赃物藏在山洞里。
  • Trade should not serve as a means of economic plunder.贸易不应当成为经济掠夺的手段。
10 invaders 5f4b502b53eb551c767b8cce3965af9f     
入侵者,侵略者,侵入物( invader的名词复数 )
参考例句:
  • They prepared to repel the invaders. 他们准备赶走侵略军。
  • The family has traced its ancestry to the Norman invaders. 这个家族将自己的世系追溯到诺曼征服者。
11 perilous E3xz6     
adj.危险的,冒险的
参考例句:
  • The journey through the jungle was perilous.穿过丛林的旅行充满了危险。
  • We have been carried in safety through a perilous crisis.历经一连串危机,我们如今已安然无恙。
12 gallantly gallantly     
adv. 漂亮地,勇敢地,献殷勤地
参考例句:
  • He gallantly offered to carry her cases to the car. 他殷勤地要帮她把箱子拎到车子里去。
  • The new fighters behave gallantly under fire. 新战士在炮火下表现得很勇敢。
13 defenders fe417584d64537baa7cd5e48222ccdf8     
n.防御者( defender的名词复数 );守卫者;保护者;辩护者
参考例句:
  • The defenders were outnumbered and had to give in. 抵抗者寡不敌众,只能投降。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • After hard fighting,the defenders were still masters of the city. 守军经过奋战仍然控制着城市。 来自《简明英汉词典》
14 naval h1lyU     
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。
15 decided lvqzZd     
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。
16 transcripts 525c0b10bb61e5ddfdd47d7faa92db26     
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
17 inviting CqIzNp     
adj.诱人的,引人注目的
参考例句:
  • An inviting smell of coffee wafted into the room.一股诱人的咖啡香味飘进了房间。
  • The kitchen smelled warm and inviting and blessedly familiar.这间厨房的味道温暖诱人,使人感到亲切温馨。

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