第1集 - 《建国史话》系列节目概况

以下文字资料是由(历史新知网www.lishixinzhi.com)小编为大家搜集整理后发布的内容，让我们赶快一起来看一下吧！

 第1集 - 《建国史话》系列节目概况

　　VOICE ONE:

　　Welcome to THE MAKING OF A NATION -- American history in VOA Special English. I'm Shirley Griffith.

　　VOICE TWO:

　　The Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C.

　　The Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C.

　　And I'm Steve Ember. Today history repeats itself. We start our series over again. The last time we were at the beginning was in February of two thousand three.

　　（MUSIC）

　　VOICE ONE:

　　THE MAKING OF A NATION has a loyal following. In fact, listener research finds it the most popular weekly program in VOA Special English.

　　It started in May of nineteen sixty-nine. Some people can remember when THE MAKING OF A NATION was on the radio two times a week. People who grew up listening to it are old enough now to listen with their own children, or even their grandchildren.

　　The series tells a story. You can think of it not just as a series of programs about the history of America and its people, but a series of lessons. The subjects include exploration, revolution, civil war, social and political change, the rise of industry and modern technology, and more.

　　建国史话讲述了一个关于美国历史和人民的故事，从探索新大陆，到独立战争、南北战争、再到社会政治变迁，以及工业和现代科技的兴起。

　　VOICE TWO:

　　We ended last week at program number two hundred thirty-eight. The subject was the presidential election of two thousand four. As time adds to the story, we add new programs to the series.

　　In a sense, THE MAKING OF A NATION is a living history. Yet some of the announcers are no longer even alive after all these years.

　　Here and there, too, the language may sound a little dated. For example, some of the programs call black people Negroes. The use of that term may be historically correct, but today the socially accepted name is African-American.

　　Technology has also changed. Today THE MAKING OF A NATION is not just on radio but also on the Internet. At www.unsv.com, you can download MP3 files and transcripts. That way you can listen anytime or anyplace -- and read along. The site also includes archives, in case you ever miss a program.

　　（MUSIC）

　　VOICE ONE:

　　So how was the nation made? Why did loyal citizens rebel against one nation and start their own, with different laws? THE MAKING OF A NATION answers these and other questions about American history.

　　We tell the story of how a group of farmers, busines ... en and lawyers wrote a document they called the Constitution of the United States. On September seventeenth, seventeen eighty-seven, delegates to the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia met one last time to sign it.

　　我们要介绍美国独立战争的前因后果，讲述一群农民、商人和律师是如何拟定美国宪法，以及1787年9月17号宪法大会代表在费城签署宪法的故事。

　　We explain why that document is still extremely important today -- and not just to Americans. Other governments have used it as a guide to creating a modern democracy.

　　我们要解释美国宪法为什么至今依旧十分重要，成为很多国家建设现代民主的样本。

　　VOICE TWO:

　　U.S. Constitution

　　U.S. Constitution

　　We explore why the writers of the Constitution included guarantees of freedom of speech and religion, and the right to a fair and public trial.

　　我们要分析美国宪法的起草者为什么要把言论自由、宗教自由和接受公开公正审判的权利写进宪法里。

　　We also talk about the reasons for the American Revolution. One of the most important was the idea that citizens of a country should have a voice in its decisions.

　　British citizens in the American colonies paid taxes but had no representatives in the British Parliament. Taxation without representation led to growing anger in the American colonies.

　　我们还要讨论美国独立战争的原由。当时，美国殖民地上的英国公民虽然交税，但在英国议会里却没有代表席位。"纳税无代表"的状况引起了公愤。

　　The leaders of the revolt made important changes. They decided that any free citizen could be a candidate for public office. And they made sure that all free men who owned land and paid taxes were permitted to vote.

　　美国独立战争的领导人们做出重大变动，规定凡是自由人都可以参加公职的选举，而且拥有土地并且纳税的自由人都有权投票。

　　Not until nineteen twenty did the Constitution give women the right to vote. Later, another change lowered the voting age for Americans from twenty-one to eighteen.

　　但直到二十世纪二十年代，宪法才给予妇女投票 权。后来的一项修正案又把美国投票的法定年龄从21岁降低到了18岁。

　　Our programs explain the thinking behind these and other rights. They also tell the story of each presidential election and presidency in American history.

　　（MUSIC）

　　VOICE ONE:

　　THE MAKING OF A NATION explores the good and the bad in American history. For example, how could slavery exist in a nation whose people declared that "all men are created equal" and with a right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness?

　　建国史话并不回避美国历史上负面的东西。比如说，在一个宣称"人人生而平等"，有生存、自由和追求幸福的权利的国家里，怎么又会容忍奴隶的存在呢？

　　Many programs tell about the ideas and issues that have shaped the United States. But most importantly, they tell about the people.

　　建国史话主要讲的是美国人民。

　　George Washington

　　George Washington

　　For example, George Washington was a farmer before he became a military commander. He became president because the citizens of the new country wanted him as their first leader.

　　After two terms, he gave up power by his own choice. He once again became a farmer and a private citizen. In his farewell address in seventeen ninety-six, he warned Americans about the dangers of political parties.

　　比如说，美国开国总统乔治·华盛顿领导独立战争之前是农场主，连任两届总统后，他主动放弃权力，又回去做他的农场主。他在1796 年的告别演说里，对美国政党政治的危险提出了警告。

　　Thomas Jefferson wrote the Declaration of Independence. It told the world that the people of this new country would no longer answer to a European ruler.

　　VOICE TWO:

　　Abraham Lincoln

　　Abraham Lincoln

　　Some of the people who formed the United States into a nation during the seventeen hundreds were well educated and wealthy. Abraham Lincoln was not. Still, he grew up to become president.

　　美国很多开国元勋都是有钱人，受过良好教育，但美国南北战争期间的总统林肯却并非出生在富有的家庭。

　　Abraham Lincoln became president during the eighteen sixties when several southern states decided they no longer wanted to be part of the United States. We tell how President Lincoln dealt with the terrible Civil War that almost split the country apart.

　　他十九世纪六十年代任职期间，南部的几个州决定脱离出去，差点儿造成国家的分裂，我们要回顾林肯是如何处理这场内战的。

　　VOICE ONE:

　　One of our programs deals with a speech he gave in the little town of Getty ... urg, Pennsylvania. A great battle had been fought there. President Lincoln had been asked to come to Getty ... urg to say a few words at the dedication of a military burial place.

　　我们将在节目中介绍林肯著名的盖茨堡演说。

　　The speech was short. President Lincoln honored the young men who had died on that bloody battlefield. He also told the world why the terrible war was being fought and why it was so important.

　　"Four score and seven years ago, our fathers brought forth on this continent a new nation, conceived in liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal."

　　演说一上来是，"八十七年前，我们的父辈在这个大陆上创建了一个新国家，它孕育于自由之中，奉行人人生而平等的原则。"

　　Those words were just the first sentence. After President Lincoln wrote the speech, he felt sad. He considered it a failure. In fact, his words earned the respect of history. You can hear the full Getty ... urg Address in our programs about the life and presidency of Abraham Lincoln.

　　林肯写完这篇演说稿后，觉得很伤心，认为写得很失败，但是这篇讲话却经住了历史的考验，一直传颂到今天。

　　（MUSIC）

　　VOICE TWO:

　　THE MAKING OF A NATION touches on many different subjects. One of them is social change. For example, we tell about the changes that took place in the nineteen twenties, known as the Roaring Twenties.

　　Many young people decided they no longer needed to follow the conservative traditions of their parents and grandparents. This was the age of jazz.

　　建国史话涉及美国历史的方方面面，其中一个重要领域是社会的变革。例如，我们要介绍二十世纪二十年代所谓"喧闹的二十年代"，那时候，很多年轻人觉得自己不必再遵循父母、祖父母保守的传统观念了，这也是爵士年代。

　　（MUSIC）

　　VOICE ONE:

　　But music and social values were not the only things changing. The Roaring Twenties were also a time of fast-moving economic change. Productivity grew sharply. At the same time, the divide between rich and poor Americans grew wider.

　　那个年代的变化并不局限于音乐和社会价值观念，"喧闹的二十年代"同时也是经济巨变的时代，生产效率显著提高，贫富分化也日益严重。

　　By the end of the Roaring Twenties, the economy was ready to collapse. Then, in October of nineteen twenty-nine, the stock market crashed. What followed was an economic disaster worse than any the modern world has ever known.

　　到"喧闹的二十年代" 结束前，美国经济已经走到了崩溃的边缘。1929年10月，股市 ... ，引发了大萧条--现代社会最严重的一次经济灾难。

　　We examine the causes of the Great Depression and how it affected Americans and the rest of the world. We tell the story of people who lost their jobs, their homes and their hope for the future.

　　VOICE TWO:

　　Franklin Roosevelt was elected with a promise to bring the country out of the Depression. On March fourth, nineteen thirty-three, he was inaugurated to his first of four terms. He served longer than any other president in American history. We discuss Roosevelt's New Deal programs and his leadership during World War Two.

　　弗兰克林·罗斯福竞选总统时，承诺要带领美国走出大萧条。1933年3月4号，罗斯福宣誓就职，后来成为美国历史上任期最长的一位总统。我们要介绍著名的罗斯福新政的内容，以及他在第二次世界大战中发挥的领导作用。

　　But not all of the subjects on THE MAKING OF A NATION are so serious. We also look at the history of American popular culture and subjects like the rise of high technology. Something for everyone.

　　不过，建国史话也不全是严肃的话题。我们也要回顾美国文化的历史变迁。

　　（MUSIC）

　　VOICE ONE:

　　Today's news is not only tomorrow's history, it will also become part of THE MAKING OF A NATION.

　　今天的新闻不仅是明天的历史，也会成为建国史话的一部分。

　　But for now, we start again from the beginning. I'm Shirley Griffith.

　　VOICE TWO:

　　And I'm Steve Ember. Join us at this time next week and every week as we go back in time. Listen on radio or online at www.unsv.com as we bring you THE MAKING OF A NATION in VOA Special English.