在线英语听力室

VOA慢速英语2014 美国内战暴发于萨姆特堡

时间:2014-09-13 15:46:24

搜索关注在线英语听力室公众号:tingroom,领取免费英语资料大礼包。

(单词翻译)

 

First Shots of the Civil War Fired at Fort Sumter 美国内战暴发于萨姆特堡

From VOA Learning English, this is The Making of a Nation. I’m Kelly Jean Kelly.

And I’m Christopher Cruise.

In late 1860 and early 1861, South Carolina and other southern states withdrew from the Union. They formed a new nation called the Confederate States of America.

But Abraham Lincoln, the president of the United States, said the southern states did not have right to secede1. And he said he would not accept the South’s demand to remove U.S. soldiers from South Carolina. The soldiers defended a base in Charleston Harbor called Fort Sumter.

So, Confederate leaders ordered an attack. Just before sunrise on April 12, 1861, a shell exploded above Fort Sumter. It was the first shot fired in the American Civil War.

Major Robert Anderson led the small force of U.S. soldiers at Fort Sumter. Anderson could not use his most powerful cannons2 to answer the Confederate attack. The cannons were in the open at the top of the fort, where the gunners were not protected. Too many of his men would be lost if his force tried to fire these guns.  

So Anderson had his men fire smaller cannons from better-protected positions. These, however, did not do much damage to the Confederate guns. A big cloud of smoke rose high in the air over Fort Sumter.

U.S. Navy sailors could see the smoke a few miles outside Charleston Harbor. They were protecting a ship bringing food for the men at Sumter.

But neither the sailors nor the food could reach the fort to help Major Anderson. Confederate boats blocked the entrance to the harbor. And powerful Confederate guns could destroy any ship that tried to enter.

Confederate shells continued to smash into Sumter throughout the night and into the morning of a second day. The fires burned higher. Smoke filled the rooms where U.S. soldiers attempted to fire their cannons.

About noon, three men arrived at the fort in a small boat. One of them was Louis Wigfall, a former United States senator from Texas, now a Confederate officer. He asked to see Major Anderson.

“I come from General Beauregard," Wigfall said. Beauregard commanded the Confederate troops in Charleston.

"It is time to put a stop to this. The flames are raging all around you. And you have defended your flag bravely. Will you leave, sir?"

Anderson was ready to stop fighting. His men had done all that could be expected of them. They had fought well against a much stronger enemy. Anderson said he would surrender if he and his men could leave with honor.

Wigfall agreed. He told Anderson to lower his country’s flag and the firing would stop.

Down came the United States flag. And up went the white flag of surrender. The battle of Fort Sumter was history.

More than 4,000 shells had been fired during the 33 hours of fighting. But no one on either side had been killed – yet.


分享到:


点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 secede iEwyt     
v.退出,脱离
参考例句:
  • They plotted to make the whole Mississippi Valley secede from the United States.他们阴谋策划使整个密西西比流域脱离美国。
  • We won't allow Tibet to secede from China and become an independent nation.我们决不允许西藏脱离中国独立。
2 cannons dd76967b79afecfefcc8e2d9452b380f     
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》

本文本内容来源于互联网抓取和网友提交,仅供参考,部分栏目没有内容,如果您有更合适的内容,欢迎 点击提交 分享给大家。