历届美国总统简介：威廉·霍华德·塔夫脱

威廉·霍华德·塔夫脱是美国第二十七任总统，他在总统任期内虽然政绩平平，但一直勤勤恳恳，做了不少工作，如：逐步采取年度预算，建立邮政储蓄体系，鼓励保护自然资源，大力推行反托拉斯法等等。塔夫脱还曾任过律师、地方检察官、州高级法院法官、司法部副部长、法庭庭长、法学教授、美国第一任菲律宾总督等职位。

William Howard Taft was the 27th President of the United States, serving between 1909 and 1913. He was also the tenth Chief Justice of the United States and the only person to have served in both offices. He was born in 1857, the son of a distinguished¹ judge. He graduated from Yale and practiced law in Cincinnati. He quickly rose in politics via judiciary appointments made by the Republicans.

 

Taft was appointed a federal circuit judge at 34. From 1901 to 1903, he served as the first civilian² Governor-General of the Philippines. While in this opposition³ he turned down the offer of a seat on the Supreme⁴ Court. In 1904, President Roosevelt appointed Taft as Secretary of War, which meant he could remain involved in the Philippines. He also dealt with a revolt in Cuba in 1906.

 

In 1908, the Republican Convention nominated him as their presidential candidate. He won the first election of his career by a comfortable margin⁵. As President, he initiated⁶ 80 anti-trust suits; amendments⁷ for a federal income tax; the direct election of senators; and a postal⁸ savings⁹ system. He also pursued "Dollar Diplomacy¹⁰" in the less-developed nations of Latin America and Asia.

 

Despite Taft’s hard work, he alienated¹¹ many in his party. He defended an act which continued high tariffs¹²; a trade agreement with Canada failed, and his team was accused of failing to carry out Roosevelt's conservation policies. He lost the next election and became Chief Justice of the USA. He was so happy with this post that just before he died in 1930, he wrote: "I don't remember that I ever was President."

 

1 distinguished   

adj.卓越的，杰出的，著名的

参考例句：

• Elephants are distinguished from other animals by their long noses.大象以其长长的鼻子显示出与其他动物的不同。
• A banquet was given in honor of the distinguished guests.宴会是为了向贵宾们致敬而举行的。

2 civilian   

adj.平民的，民用的，民众的

参考例句：

• There is no reliable information about civilian casualties.关于平民的伤亡还没有确凿的信息。
• He resigned his commission to take up a civilian job.他辞去军职而从事平民工作。

3 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

4 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。

5 margin   

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。

6 initiated   

n. 创始人 adj. 新加入的 vt. 开始，创始，启蒙，介绍加入

参考例句：

• He has not yet been thoroughly initiated into the mysteries of computers. 他对计算机的奥秘尚未入门。
• The artist initiated the girl into the art world in France. 这个艺术家介绍这个女孩加入巴黎艺术界。

7 amendments   

（法律、文件的）改动( amendment的名词复数 )； 修正案； 修改； （美国宪法的）修正案

参考例句：

• The committee does not adequately consult others when drafting amendments. 委员会在起草修正案时没有充分征求他人的意见。
• Please propose amendments and addenda to the first draft of the document. 请对这个文件的初稿提出修改和补充意见。

8 postal   

adj.邮政的，邮局的

参考例句：

• A postal network now covers the whole country.邮路遍及全国。
• Remember to use postal code.勿忘使用邮政编码。

9 savings   

n.存款，储蓄

参考例句：

• I can't afford the vacation,for it would eat up my savings.我度不起假，那样会把我的积蓄用光的。
• By this time he had used up all his savings.到这时，他的存款已全部用完。

10 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。

11 alienated   

adj.感到孤独的，不合群的v.使疏远( alienate的过去式和过去分词 )；使不友好；转让；让渡（财产等）

参考例句：

• His comments have alienated a lot of young voters. 他的言论使许多年轻选民离他而去。
• The Prime Minister's policy alienated many of her followers. 首相的政策使很多拥护她的人疏远了她。 来自《简明英汉词典》

12 tariffs   

关税制度； 关税( tariff的名词复数 )； 关税表； （旅馆或饭店等的）收费表； 量刑标准

参考例句：

• British industry was sheltered from foreign competition by protective tariffs. 保护性关税使英国工业免受国际竞争影响。
• The new tariffs have put a stranglehold on trade. 新的关税制对开展贸易极为不利。