VOA慢速英语2010年-THE MAKING OF A NATION - American Hist

Welcome to THE MAKING OF A NATION -- American history in VOA Special English.

The war between the United States and Spain in eighteen ninety-eight was one of the shortest in American history. The fighting lasted about three months.

Yet that short war led to long-term changes for America. Victory made the United States an increasingly important world power.

This week in our series, Larry West and Shep O’Neal tell about those developments.

LARRY WEST: The United States received several of Spain's island colonies as part of the peace agreement. The most important was the Philippines.

Many Americans thought the United States should not have overseas territories. But President William McKinley thought the Philippines were unprepared for independence. He decided¹ to keep the islands and prepare the people for self-government in the future.

A Filipino nationalist group led by Emilio Aguinaldo rejected American control. Aguinaldo declared the formation of a Philippine republic. And he started a guerrilla war against the occupying forces.

SHEP O'NEAL: The rebellion in the Philippines became a major issue in America's presidential election of nineteen hundred.

The Battle of Manila in 1899 help push public opinion in America toward taking possession of the Philippines

The Republican Party renominated William McKinley as president. And it nominated a hero of the Spanish-American War, New York Governor Theodore Roosevelt, as vice² president. The Democratic Party, for the second time, nominated Congressman³ William Jennings Bryan as president. It nominated a former vice president, Adlai Stevenson, as vice president again.

LARRY WEST: William Jennings Bryan campaigned against the American takeover of the Philippines. He received support from a new group, the Anti-Imperialist League. Members included leading American politicians, businessmen, and writers.

President McKinley did not campaign much. He let vice presidential candidate Theodore Roosevelt do it. Roosevelt spoke⁴ of America's success as a new economic and political power in the world. He said the Republican Party was responsible.

The majority of voters liked what Roosevelt said. They elected the Republican candidates.

SHEP O'NEAL: The Republican victory destroyed the hopes of many nationalists in the Philippines. With William McKinley in the White House again, they saw little chance of gaining independence. Nationalist leader Emilio Aguinaldo, however, refused to surrender. As long as he remained free, the guerrilla war would continue.

For months, American forces tried without success to find him. Finally, with the help of a tribe of Filipino mercenary soldiers called the Maccabebe Scouts⁵, they captured him. Aguinaldo signed an agreement to support the United States.

With this agreement, the rebellion ended on the island of Luzon. But it continued for more than a year in the southern Philippines. Hostilities⁶ ended officially on July fourth, nineteen-oh-two.

LARRY WEST: American occupation of the Philippines made the United States a major power in the Far East. As such, it began to develop new policies toward Asia. Especially a new policy toward China.

Americans had been trading with China for years, but not heavily. As the American economy grew, however, businessmen saw China -- with a population of four hundred million people -- as a great market for American products.

Other countries were interested in this market, too. Britain, France, Germany, Japan, and Russia all claimed special rights in parts of China. They began to divide the country into areas called spheres of influence. It seemed these areas could become foreign colonies. Then the United States would be cut off from trading directly with China.

To prevent that from happening, American Secretary of State John Hay proposed what became known as the "Open Door" policy.

SHEP O'NEAL: Secretary Hay asked the nations involved to agree to equal trading rights for all countries in all parts of China. No nation, he said, should interfere⁷ with the rights or powers of any other nation in China.

No one welcomed the proposal. But no one rejected it, either. Most of the nations involved said they agreed with the idea. But they said they could not approve it unless everyone else did.

Secretary Hay refused to wait for them to act. So in May, nineteen hundred, he announced that all the nations involved had given their approval to the "Open Door" policy.

The new policy was tested very soon. Within a month of Hay's announcement, violence broke out against foreigners in China.

LARRY WEST: The attacks were led by a secret group called Righteous, Harmonious⁸ Fists. Foreigners called its members Boxers¹⁰.

Boxers hated all foreign influence in China. They organized in areas where foreign influence was strongest. They killed Christian¹¹ missionaries¹² and Chinese who had accepted the Christian religion. They also destroyed foreign industries, especially railroads.

The Chinese government in Beijing supported the Boxer⁹ Rebellion. It permitted the Boxers to occupy the capital.

The rebellion lasted about two months. It ended when an allied¹³ force of American, British, French, German and Japanese soldiers reached Beijing and ended the Boxer occupation.

SHEP O'NEAL: The foreign powers began to negotiate with China on paying for damages. The United States was worried about the results. It believed some of the nations involved would use the Boxer Rebellion as a way to gain more control over Chinese territory.

Secretary of State Hay quickly announced America's policy on the issue. The United States, he said, wanted a settlement which would bring peace and safety to China. The settlement must protect China's territorial¹⁴ rights so it would not be divided into foreign colonies.

Britain and Germany agreed. With their help, Secretary Hay got the others to accept money -- not territory -- as payment for damages.

The final settlement forced China to pay three hundred thirty-three million dollars. The United States used some of its share to pay for the education of Chinese students in America.

LARRY WEST: The results of the Boxer Rebellion and the Spanish-American War made clear that the new century would have a new world power: the United States. And this new power had a president with the political skills to do the job: William McKinley.

In September, nineteen-oh-one, President McKinley made a major foreign policy speech at the Pan-American Fair in Buffalo¹⁵, New York. He spoke about the importance and the promise of America's new position in the world.

The next day, President McKinley went to the fair's temple of music. He planned to spend several hours meeting the public and shaking hands.

SHEP O'NEAL: A young man waited in line to see him. When the young man stepped in front of McKinley, McKinley reached out to shake his hand. Two shots rang out from a gun the man had hidden under a cloth. One of the bullets struck McKinley in the stomach.

The president was taken to an emergency hospital on the fairgrounds. He was not conscious. The bullet had damaged his stomach, pancreas, and one kidney. But doctors did not believe he was in danger of dying.

LARRY WEST: The man who shot McKinley was Leon Czolgosz.

Czolgosz was an anarchist¹⁶. He believed all rulers were enemies of the people. He believed the people had the right to kill them.

Czolgosz also was mentally ill. He had tried to join several anarchist groups. They refused to accept him, however, because of his mental condition.

After shooting President McKinley, Czolgosz explained why he had done it. He said it was not right for one man to receive so much public honor, while he received none.

SHEP O'NEAL: For two days, the president remained in a coma¹⁷. Then his condition changed. He regained¹⁸ consciousness and was able to talk. He rested and became stronger.

Then the president's condition changed again. An infection developed in his wound. It spread throughout his body. In another few days, he was dead.

LARRY WEST: Vice President Roosevelt hurried to Buffalo. He went to the house where the president's body lay. Then he went to another house to be sworn in as president. He was forty-two years old -- the youngest man ever to hold the office.

Roosevelt declared that the administration would go on as before. "It is my aim," he said, "to continue unbroken the policy of President McKinley for the peace, the prosperity, and the honor of our beloved country."

(MUSIC)

ANNOUNCER: Our program was written by Frank Beardsley. The narrators were Larry West and Shep O’Neal. You can find our series online with transcripts¹⁹, MP3s, podcasts and images at voaspecialenglish.com. You can also follow us on Facebook and Twitter at VOA Learning English. Join us again next week for THE MAKING OF A NATION -- an American history series in VOA Special English
 

1 decided   

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。

2 vice   

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。

3 Congressman   

n.（美）国会议员

参考例句：

• He related several anecdotes about his first years as a congressman.他讲述自己初任议员那几年的几则轶事。
• The congressman is meditating a reply to his critics.这位国会议员正在考虑给他的批评者一个答复。

4 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

5 scouts   

侦察员[机，舰]( scout的名词复数 )； 童子军； 搜索； 童子军成员

参考例句：

• to join the Scouts 参加童子军
• The scouts paired off and began to patrol the area. 巡逻人员两个一组，然后开始巡逻这个地区。

6 hostilities   

n.战争；敌意(hostility的复数)；敌对状态；战事

参考例句：

• Mexico called for an immediate cessation of hostilities. 墨西哥要求立即停止敌对行动。
• All the old hostilities resurfaced when they met again. 他们再次碰面时，过去的种种敌意又都冒了出来。

7 interfere   

v.(in)干涉，干预；(with)妨碍，打扰

参考例句：

• If we interfere, it may do more harm than good.如果我们干预的话，可能弊多利少。
• When others interfere in the affair,it always makes troubles. 别人一卷入这一事件，棘手的事情就来了。

8 harmonious   

adj.和睦的，调和的，和谐的，协调的

参考例句：

• Their harmonious relationship resulted in part from their similar goals.他们关系融洽的部分原因是他们有着相似的目标。
• The room was painted in harmonious colors.房间油漆得色彩调和。

9 boxer   

n.制箱者，拳击手

参考例句：

• The boxer gave his opponent a punch on the nose.这个拳击手朝他对手的鼻子上猛击一拳。
• He moved lightly on his toes like a boxer.他像拳击手一样踮着脚轻盈移动。

10 boxers   

n.拳击短裤；（尤指职业）拳击手( boxer的名词复数 )；拳师狗

参考例句：

• The boxers were goaded on by the shrieking crowd. 拳击运动员听见观众的喊叫就来劲儿了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The boxers slugged it out to the finish. 两名拳击手最后决出了胜负。 来自《简明英汉词典》

11 Christian   

adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒

参考例句：

• They always addressed each other by their Christian name.他们总是以教名互相称呼。
• His mother is a sincere Christian.他母亲是个虔诚的基督教徒。

12 missionaries   

n.传教士( missionary的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Some missionaries came from England in the Qing Dynasty. 清朝时，从英国来了一些传教士。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The missionaries rebuked the natives for worshipping images. 传教士指责当地人崇拜偶像。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

13 allied   

adj.协约国的；同盟国的

参考例句：

• Britain was allied with the United States many times in history.历史上英国曾多次与美国结盟。
• Allied forces sustained heavy losses in the first few weeks of the campaign.同盟国在最初几周内遭受了巨大的损失。

14 territorial   

adj.领土的，领地的

参考例句：

• The country is fighting to preserve its territorial integrity.该国在为保持领土的完整而进行斗争。
• They were not allowed to fish in our territorial waters.不允许他们在我国领海捕鱼。

15 buffalo   

n.(北美)野牛；(亚洲)水牛

参考例句：

• Asian buffalo isn't as wild as that of America's. 亚洲水牛比美洲水牛温顺些。
• The boots are made of buffalo hide. 这双靴子是由水牛皮制成的。

16 anarchist   

n.无政府主义者

参考例句：

• You must be an anarchist at heart.你在心底肯定是个无政府主义者。
• I did my best to comfort them and assure them I was not an anarchist.我尽量安抚他们并让它们明白我并不是一个无政府主义者。

17 coma   

n.昏迷，昏迷状态

参考例句：

• The patient rallied from the coma.病人从昏迷中苏醒过来。
• She went into a coma after swallowing a whole bottle of sleeping pills.她吃了一整瓶安眠药后就昏迷过去了。

18 regained   

复得( regain的过去式和过去分词 )； 赢回； 重回； 复至某地

参考例句：

• The majority of the people in the world have regained their liberty. 世界上大多数人已重获自由。
• She hesitated briefly but quickly regained her poise. 她犹豫片刻，但很快恢复了镇静。

19 transcripts   

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