在线英语听力室

VOA慢速英语2017--Lyndon Johnson: Complicated

时间:2017-11-06 16:56:59

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)

 

VOA Learning English presents America’s Presidents.

Today we are talking about Lyndon Johnson. He was the vice1 president under John F. Kennedy.

Many Americans recognize Johnson from a photograph of his swearing-in on November 22, 1963.

Kennedy had just been shot during a visit to Dallas, Texas. Johnson and his wife also were visiting the city.

After doctors announced that Kennedy had died, the Johnsons were taken to the presidential airplane. There, Johnson took the oath of office as president.

Men wearing suits look on, while three women stand around him. His wife, Lady Bird Johnson, is at one side. Former first lady Jackie Kennedy is at the other. She is still wearing clothing covered with her husband’s blood. The judge who is administering the oath, Sarah Hughes, stands in front of Lyndon Johnson. She holds a prayer book on which Johnson places one hand and swears to follow the Constitution.

The photograph showed the American people that the federal government could and would continue in an orderly way.

But Johnson’s position was difficult. Many people were shocked and in mourning for the assassinated3 president.

But as the conflict in Vietnam increased, and some Americans rejected Johnson’s reforms, he found his position difficult again.In the next election, Johnson was elected president in his own right.

Early life

Lyndon Baines Johnson was born in Texas, where his family had lived for generations. A town called Johnson was even named after his relatives.

Lyndon was the oldest of five children. His mother was a teacher and writer, and his father was a farmer and political leader.

In time, the Johnson family experienced financial difficulties. They had little money to give their children much of an education, but Lyndon was able to attend a teaching college.

Johnson excelled as a teacher. He also learned from his students. Many were even poorer than he was. They also faced discrimination because they came from Mexican families. Johnson promised to help them.

But he found he could do more to improve people’s lives as a politician than as a teacher.

He volunteered for some political campaigns, became an aide to a member of the United States Congress, and in time became a member of Congress himself.

Along the way, he married a woman named Claudia Taylor. But everyone called her Lady Bird. They went on to have two daughters.

Johnson served for 12 years in the U.S. House of Representatives. In 1948, he was narrowly elected to the Senate, becoming one of the two senators from the state of Texas.

From there, Johnson rose quickly. He took on increasingly important jobs in the Senate. By 1954, he was the Senate majority leader – the Democratic Party’s top spokesman in the Senate.

The Senate website notes that the person with that job needs to be able to work well with others, especially members of other parties.

Historians also note that Johnson worked very hard, and was always prepared.

A well-known biography of Johnson is called “Master of the Senate.” The book describes Johnson as extremely ambitious, sometimes cruel, and often willing to praise others to get what he wanted. At the same time, he could be very concerned about other people’s well-being4.

In other words, the picture of Johnson is a complicated one.

In 1960, he competed against John F. Kennedy for the Democratic presidential nomination5. Johnson lost that race – but the party asked him to be their vice presidential candidate instead.

Johnson agreed, not knowing that in a little more than three years, he would enter the White House as president.

Presidency6

After being sworn-in, Johnson used his political experience in the Senate to pass a number of reforms. They were aimed at carrying on, in his words, a “War on Poverty.”

The new laws created healthcare and education programs. They also used federal money to make food less costly7 for some people, and to train workers for jobs.

Johnson also continued the work Kennedy began by signing the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The act made segregation8 because of race, religion, or national origin illegal.

The Civil Rights Act also made it illegal for employers to discriminate9 against someone because of race, religion, national origin, or gender10.

The reforms had their critics, then and today. But in the presidential election of 1964, Johnson won “by the widest margin11 of popular votes in American history.” Historian Kent Germany says that vote gave the Democrats12 a rare opening “to pass a comprehensive liberal program.”

Presidency after 1964

Johnson had a name for such a program. He called it the “Great Society.” He said the United States should aim not only to be a rich and powerful society, but also to “end poverty and racial injustice13.”

Johnson followed his earlier reforms with others. They sought to prevent crime, reduce pollution, support the arts, make roads safer, and protect American consumers against bad products. His administration also created an immigration policy that valued family members, skilled workers, and refugees.

Johnson also signed the Voting Rights Act of 1965. It sought to lift the barriers that had long prevented African-American men and women from exercising their right to vote.

Later, Johnson removed legal discrimination in the process of buying and renting homes.

Together, these actions have linked Johnson to the civil rights movement in the minds of many Americans. Yet Johnson is also strongly linked to another part of U.S. history, often known simply as “Vietnam.”

Earlier presidents had ordered U.S. military action in the conflict between North and South Vietnam. Since 1950, Presidents Truman, Eisenhower, and Kennedy had slowly increased the American intervention14. Their goal was to prevent the spread of communism in Southeast Asia.

President Johnson continued Kennedy’s policies. He also received the support of Congress to do whatever was necessary to protect U.S. forces and “prevent further aggression” by North Vietnam’s communist government.

Yet, when he was a presidential candidate in 1964, Johnson promised not to increase U.S. involvement and send young Americans to fight in Vietnam.

The opposite happened.

Over the next four years, Johnson called on hundreds of thousands of additional U.S. troops to fight on the ground and in the air. The North Vietnamese fought back, both on the battle field and politically.

In time, the American public withdrew their support of the struggle and their support for the president.

By early 1968, Johnson had become deeply unpopular with voters. His party lost seats in Congress, and Johnson lost his ability to persuade lawmakers to support the measures he proposed.

In addition, the U.S. economy was showing signs of weakness, partly because of the costs of the conflict in Vietnam and government spending at home.

As the presidential nominating process began in early 1968, Johnson was permitted to seek another four-year term. But he announced that he would not seek or accept his party’s nomination.

Shortly after, civil rights leader Martin Luther King, Jr. was shot and killed. Angered by his murder, people in more than 100 cities rioted.

Then, in June, John Kennedy’s brother, Robert Kennedy, was also assassinated. Kennedy had been competing for the Democrats’ nomination for president.

His death, and Johnson’s withdrawal15, added to the divisions in the Democratic Party. Several groups gathered to protest at the party’s nominating convention in Chicago. The meeting ended in violent clashes between protesters and police.

By the time Johnson left office in January 1969, his party had lost control of the White House, and many Americans believed the country was in disarray16.

Legacy17

After he left the presidency, Johnson returned to his home in Texas. He wrote his memories about his White House years, and made preparations for his presidential library.

But he did not live much longer. He died in 1973, hours before the U.S. involvement in Vietnam officially came to a close.

Johnson was a complex person, and his image in the mind of many Americans is just as complicated. His policies opened new paths for many people, but also led to years of death and destruction in Vietnam.

As a president, he acted powerfully and often independently, and succeeded in passing an unusually large number of reforms. But he also failed to persuade many Americans to accept some of those measures.

Supporters of the free market especially strongly rejected the government controls Johnson enacted18.

Even some in his Democratic Party, which Johnson had controlled for years, lost faith in him. In 1964, anti-war activists19 changed his campaign slogan, “All the way with LBJ.” Instead, they said, “Part of the way with LBJ.”

And by 1968, they were saying, “Hey, Hey, LBJ. How many kids did you kill today?”

I’m Kelly Jean Kelly.

Words in This Story

assassinate2 - v. to kill (someone, such as a famous or important person) usually for political reasons

ambitious - adj. having a desire to be successful, powerful, or famous

cruel - adj. causing or helping20 to cause suffering

segregation - n. the practice or policy of keeping people of different races, religions, etc., separate from each other

gender - n. the state of being male or female

consumer - n. a person who buys goods and services

disarray - n. a lack of order; a confused or messy condition


分享到:


点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 vice NU0zQ     
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 assassinate tvjzL     
vt.暗杀,行刺,中伤
参考例句:
  • The police exposed a criminal plot to assassinate the president.警方侦破了一个行刺总统的阴谋。
  • A plot to assassinate the banker has been uncovered by the police.暗杀银行家的密谋被警方侦破了。
3 assassinated 0c3415de7f33014bd40a19b41ce568df     
v.暗杀( assassinate的过去式和过去分词 );中伤;诋毁;破坏
参考例句:
  • The prime minister was assassinated by extremists. 首相遭极端分子暗杀。
  • Then, just two days later, President Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas. 跟着在两天以后,肯尼迪总统在达拉斯被人暗杀。 来自辞典例句
4 well-being Fe3zbn     
n.安康,安乐,幸福
参考例句:
  • He always has the well-being of the masses at heart.他总是把群众的疾苦挂在心上。
  • My concern for their well-being was misunderstood as interference.我关心他们的幸福,却被误解为多管闲事。
5 nomination BHMxw     
n.提名,任命,提名权
参考例句:
  • John is favourite to get the nomination for club president.约翰最有希望被提名为俱乐部主席。
  • Few people pronounced for his nomination.很少人表示赞成他的提名。
6 presidency J1HzD     
n.总统(校长,总经理)的职位(任期)
参考例句:
  • Roosevelt was elected four times to the presidency of the United States.罗斯福连续当选四届美国总统。
  • Two candidates are emerging as contestants for the presidency.两位候选人最终成为总统职位竞争者。
7 costly 7zXxh     
adj.昂贵的,价值高的,豪华的
参考例句:
  • It must be very costly to keep up a house like this.维修这么一幢房子一定很昂贵。
  • This dictionary is very useful,only it is a bit costly.这本词典很有用,左不过贵了些。
8 segregation SESys     
n.隔离,种族隔离
参考例句:
  • Many school boards found segregation a hot potato in the early 1960s.在60年代初,许多学校部门都觉得按水平分班是一个棘手的问题。
  • They were tired to death of segregation and of being kicked around.他们十分厌恶种族隔离和总是被人踢来踢去。
9 discriminate NuhxX     
v.区别,辨别,区分;有区别地对待
参考例句:
  • You must learn to discriminate between facts and opinions.你必须学会把事实和看法区分出来。
  • They can discriminate hundreds of colours.他们能分辨上百种颜色。
10 gender slSyD     
n.(生理上的)性,(名词、代词等的)性
参考例句:
  • French differs from English in having gender for all nouns.法语不同于英语,所有的名词都有性。
  • Women are sometimes denied opportunities solely because of their gender.妇女有时仅仅因为性别而无法获得种种机会。
11 margin 67Mzp     
n.页边空白;差额;余地,余裕;边,边缘
参考例句:
  • We allowed a margin of 20 minutes in catching the train.我们有20分钟的余地赶火车。
  • The village is situated at the margin of a forest.村子位于森林的边缘。
12 democrats 655beefefdcaf76097d489a3ff245f76     
n.民主主义者,民主人士( democrat的名词复数 )
参考例句:
  • The Democrats held a pep rally on Capitol Hill yesterday. 民主党昨天在国会山召开了竞选誓师大会。
  • The democrats organize a filibuster in the senate. 民主党党员组织了阻挠议事。 来自《简明英汉词典》
13 injustice O45yL     
n.非正义,不公正,不公平,侵犯(别人的)权利
参考例句:
  • They complained of injustice in the way they had been treated.他们抱怨受到不公平的对待。
  • All his life he has been struggling against injustice.他一生都在与不公正现象作斗争。
14 intervention e5sxZ     
n.介入,干涉,干预
参考例句:
  • The government's intervention in this dispute will not help.政府对这场争论的干预不会起作用。
  • Many people felt he would be hostile to the idea of foreign intervention.许多人觉得他会反对外来干预。
15 withdrawal Cfhwq     
n.取回,提款;撤退,撤军;收回,撤销
参考例句:
  • The police were forced to make a tactical withdrawal.警方被迫进行战术撤退。
  • They insisted upon a withdrawal of the statement and a public apology.他们坚持要收回那些话并公开道歉。
16 disarray 1ufx1     
n.混乱,紊乱,凌乱
参考例句:
  • His personal life fell into disarray when his wife left him.妻子离去后,他的个人生活一片混乱。
  • Our plans were thrown into disarray by the rail strike.铁路罢工打乱了我们的计划。
17 legacy 59YzD     
n.遗产,遗赠;先人(或过去)留下的东西
参考例句:
  • They are the most precious cultural legacy our forefathers left.它们是我们祖先留下来的最宝贵的文化遗产。
  • He thinks the legacy is a gift from the Gods.他认为这笔遗产是天赐之物。
18 enacted b0a10ad8fca50ba4217bccb35bc0f2a1     
制定(法律),通过(法案)( enact的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句:
  • legislation enacted by parliament 由议会通过的法律
  • Outside in the little lobby another scene was begin enacted. 外面的小休息室里又是另一番景象。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹
19 activists 90fd83cc3f53a40df93866d9c91bcca4     
n.(政治活动的)积极分子,活动家( activist的名词复数 )
参考例句:
  • His research work was attacked by animal rights activists . 他的研究受到了动物权益维护者的抨击。
  • Party activists with lower middle class pedigrees are numerous. 党的激进分子中有很多出身于中产阶级下层。 来自《简明英汉词典》
20 helping 2rGzDc     
n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的,辅助的
参考例句:
  • The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
  • By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

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。