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(单词翻译:双击或拖选)
Welcome to THE MAKING OF A NATION – American history in VOA Special English. I'm Steve Ember. The Second World War ended with the surrender of Japan in August nineteen forty-five. Americans looked to their new president, Harry1 Truman, to lead them into a new time of peace. Truman was vice2 president until President Franklin Roosevelt died suddenly in the closing months of the war. Almost no one expected President Truman to be as strong a leader as Roosevelt had been. And, at first, they were right. Truman had one problem after another during his first months in the White House. Truman's first big problem was the economy. Almost two million Americans lost their jobs as factories ended wartime production. Americans everywhere worried about what would happen next. Only a few years before, the nation had suffered through the worst economic crisis in its history. No one wanted to return to the closed banks, hungry children and other sad memories of the Great Depression.
欢迎收听VOA慢速英语之建国史话节目，我是史蒂夫·恩伯。第二次世界大战在1945年8月，以日本投降为结束。美国人期待他们的新总统杜鲁门，带领他们进入一个新的和平时期。富兰克林·罗斯福总统在战争的最后几个月突然去世，在此之前杜鲁门一直出任副总统。几乎没人料到杜鲁门总统会像罗斯福那样坚强。一开始，他们是对的。杜鲁门入主白宫的头几个月里，问题接踵而来。杜鲁门碰到的第一个大问题是经济。近200万美国人因工厂停止战时生产而失业，全世界的美国人都在担心接下来会发生什么。就在几年前，美国经历了历史上最严重的经济危机。没有人想回到银行闭门营业，孩子们饥肠辘辘等大萧条时期其它的悲伤记忆。
In some ways, the economy did better after the war than many experts had predicted. Many Americans still had money that they saved during the war. And Congress passed a law designed to help people keep their jobs. The situation could have been much worse than it was. However, the economy could also have been better. Much better. Almost overnight, the price of almost everything began to rise. President Truman tried to stop the increases through a special price control agency that had been created during the war. However, thousands of business people refused to follow the government price control rules. Instead, they set their own prices for goods. Store owners would tell government officials that they were obeying the price controls. But often they charged whatever they wanted for the goods they sold. Businesses were not the only ones who were refusing to obey government price controls. Organized labor3 did the same thing. President Truman had always been a friend of labor unions. But during the first months of his administration, he became involved in a fierce struggle with coal miners and railroad workers.
在某些方面，战后的经济状况比许多专家预测的要好。许多美国人仍然拥有他们在战争期间攒下的钱，国会通过了一项旨在帮助人们保住工作的法律。情况本可能比现在更糟糕。然而，经济状况本可以更好，比现在好更多。几乎一夜之间，所有物品的价格都开始上涨。杜鲁门总统试图通过在战争期间建立的一个特殊的价格控制机构，来阻止价格上涨。然而，成千上万的商人拒绝遵守政府的价格控制规则，他们自己为商品制定价格。店主告诉政府官员，他们正在遵守价格控制。但他们常常对所售商品，收取任何他们想要的费用。并非只有企业拒绝遵守政府的价格管制，有组织的劳工也拒绝遵守。杜鲁门总统一直是工会的朋友，但在他执政的头几个月里，与煤矿工人和铁路工人展开了激烈的斗争。
The first sign of trouble came in September nineteen forty-five. A group of auto4 workers closed down factories at the Ford5 Motor Company. Then, workers at General Motors went on strike. Soon there were strikes everywhere -- the oil industry, the clothing industry, the electrical industry and more. The strikes made Truman angry. He believed the striking workers were threatening the economy and security of the United States. He became even angrier when union representatives came to the White House and refused to accept a compromise wage offer. Truman ordered the Army to take over the railroads and the coal mines. Within a short time, the striking coal miners returned to work. However, the president had less success with the railroad workers. He became so angry with the unions representing them that he asked Congress to give him the power to draft all striking railroad workers into the armed forces. The rail strike finally ended. But millions of Americans lost faith in Truman's ability to lead the country and to bring people together. By late nineteen forty-six, most Americans believed that the man in the White House did not know what he was doing. Truman seemed weak and unable to control events.
第一个麻烦事的迹象出现在1945年9月，一群汽车工人关闭了福特汽车公司的工厂。接着，通用汽车公司的工人举行罢工。很快，各地的工人都开始举行罢工——石油工业、服装工业、电气工业等等。罢工使杜鲁门很是气愤，他认为罢工工人正在威胁美国的经济和安全。工会代表来到白宫，拒绝接受妥协的工资提议时，他恼羞成怒。杜鲁门命令军队接管铁路和煤矿。不一会儿，罢工的煤矿工人又重新开始工作。然而，总统在处理铁路工人的问题时却没有那么成功。他对代表他们的工会非常愤怒，要求国会授权他把所有罢工的铁路工人都征召入伍。铁路罢工终于结束了，但是数以百万计的美国人对杜鲁门领导国家和团结人民的能力失去了信心。到1946年底，大多数美国人认为，总统不知道他在做什么。杜鲁门似乎不够强大，无法控制事态。
Union members disliked him because of his strong opposition6 to the coal and rail strikes. Farmers opposed Truman because of the administration's effort to keep meat prices low. Conservatives did not trust the reforms that Truman promised in his speeches. And liberal Democrats7 watched with concern as many of Franklin Roosevelt's old advisers8 left the government because they could not work with Truman. In November of nineteen forty-six, the people voted in congressional and state elections. The results showed they were not satisfied with Truman and his Democratic Party. Republicans won control of both houses of Congress for the first time in eighteen years. And Republicans were elected governor in twenty-five states. The election was a serious defeat for the Democrats -- but a disaster for Truman. Some members of his party even called on him to resign. Few people gave Truman much chance of winning the next presidential election in nineteen forty-eight. However, Harry Truman began to change in the months that followed the nineteen forty-six congressional elections. He became a stronger speaker. He showed more understanding of the powers of the presidency9. And in matters of foreign policy, he began to act more presidential. This was especially so in Truman's reaction to Soviet10 aggression11 in Germany.
工会成员不喜欢他，因为他强烈反对煤炭和铁路罢工。农民反对杜鲁门，是因为政府努力压低肉类价格。保守派不相信杜鲁门在演讲中承诺的改革。而自由民主党则忧心忡忡地看着富兰克林·罗斯福的许多老顾问因无法与杜鲁门合作而离开政府。1946年11月，人民参与国会和州选举的投票。结果显示，他们对杜鲁门及其民主党并不满意。共和党18年来首次赢得了国会两院的控制权，共和党人在25个州当选为州长。这次选举对民主党来说是惨败，但对杜鲁门来说却是一场灾难。党内的一些成员甚至要求他辞职。没有人再给杜鲁门机会赢得1948年的下一届总统选举。然而，在1946年国会选举之后的几个月里，杜鲁门开始改变。他变成了一位强有力的演说家。他表现出对总统的权力有了更多的了解。在外交政策方面，他开始更像位总统。杜鲁门对苏联侵略德国的反应尤其如此。
Truman wanted to rebuild Germany, as well as the other war-torn countries of Western Europe. As we heard last week, his administration worked closely with western European leaders to rescue their broken economies through the Marshall Plan. But the Soviets12 did not want to see Germany rebuild, at least not so quickly. At first, they flooded Germany with extra German currency in an effort to destroy its value. They walked out of economic conferences. And, finally, in early nineteen forty-eight, they blocked all the roads to West Berlin. West Berlin was in communist East Germany, but not under communist control as was East Berlin. After the war, the Allies had divided Germany in half. West Germany had a democratic government. East Germany was communist, under Soviet control. The Soviet actions in Berlin were a direct threat to the west. Truman had three difficult choices. If he did nothing, the world would think the United States was weak and unable to stop Soviet aggression. If he fought the blockade with force, he might start a third world war. But there was another choice.
杜鲁门想重建德国，以及其他饱受战争蹂躏的西欧国家。正如我们上周讲述的那样，他领导的政府与西欧领导人密切合作，通过《马歇尔计划》拯救破碎的经济。但是苏联不想看到德国重建，至少不想进行得这么迅速。起初，他们向德国注入过多的德国货币，以破坏货币的价值。他们退出经济会议。最后，在1948年初，封锁了通往西柏林的所有道路。西柏林位于共产主义的东德，但不像东柏林那样处于共产主义的控制之下。战后，盟国把德国一分为二。西德设立了民主政府，东德则是共产主义，受控于苏联。苏联在柏林采取的行动是对西方世界的直接威胁。杜鲁门有三个艰难的选择，如果他什么也不做，全世界都会认为美国软弱无力，无法阻止苏联的侵略。如果他用武力抵抗封锁，可能会发动第三次世界大战。但还有另一个选择。
The Allies proposed the idea of flying tons of food, fuel and other supplies into West Berlin. Not just once, but every day, as long as the Russians continued their blockade. It would be a difficult job. West Berlin was home to two and a half million people. No one had ever before tried to supply so large a city by air. Planes would have to take off every three and a half minutes, day and night, to supply the people with enough food, medicine, clothing, and badly needed coal. The operation involved American C-47 and larger C-54 transport planes, along with British Lancaster, York, and Hastings aircraft. On June twenty-sixth, the first C-47s landed at Tempelhof Airport – the beginning of the great operation that was to come. Plans called for the operation to last just a few weeks. The planes landed in the blockaded city and local volunteers provided support on the ground. Former mechanics of the Luftwaffe, the German air force, joined Americans in servicing the aircraft. More than twenty thousand Berliners worked day and night to build an additional landing field for the American and British planes. It became Tegel, now Berlin's major airport. As part of the supply effort, the British Royal Air Force even landed Sunderland Flying Boats on a Berlin lake. Brigadier General Joseph Smith was appointed task force commander of the American part of the airlift. General Smith called the mission "Operation Vittles," using an American slang term for food.
盟军提出了向西柏林空运大量粮食、燃料和其他物资的想法。不仅是运输一次，只要俄国人继续封锁，就每天都运输。那将是一项困难的工作。西柏林有250万人口，从未有人试图用航空方式向这么大的城市供应物资。为了给人民提供足够的食物、药品、衣物和急需的煤炭，飞机必须夜以继日的每隔三分半钟起飞一次。这次行动包括美国的C-47和更大的C-54运输机，以及英国的兰开斯特、约克和黑斯廷斯飞机。6月26日，第一架C-47飞机降落在坦佩尔霍夫机场，这是即将到来的伟大行动的开始。要求行动的计划只持续了几周。飞机降落在被封锁的城市，当地志愿者在地面提供支持。德国空军曾是德国空军的机修工，与美国人一起为这架飞机提供服务。两万多柏林人日夜工作，为美英两国的飞机建造额外的降落场。它变成了泰格尔机场，即现在柏林的主要机场。作为供应物资的一部分，英国皇家空军甚至将桑德兰飞艇降落在柏林湖上。约瑟夫·史密斯准将被任命为美国部分空运的特遣部队指挥官，史密斯将军称这次任务为“维特尔斯行动”，用美国俚语来形容食物。
"Operation Vittles" also led to "Operation Little Vittles" for the dropping of chocolates and other treats to children. The pilots who did this became known as "Candy Bombers13." Appreciative14 German children called them "Die Schokoladen Flieger" – the chocolate pilots. "They wanted to know which airplane I was in. I said, ‘you can tell my airplane – I'll wiggle the wings and you'll know it's me – Watch just that airplane.' They said ‘That's good. Wunderbar [wonderful].' "I came back the next day and I put little parachutes for the Kaugummi [chewing gum] and the Schokoladen [chocolates], so they could see it and so it wouldn't hit them hard in the head, slow it down. And so I wiggled the wings and they waved their hands, and I pushed it out of the airplane. And that's how it started." It was the idea of Gail Halvorsen, a pilot in the United States Air Force. Lieutenant15 Halvorsen became known as "Mister Wiggly Wings." From his plane, he would drop chewing gum and chocolates attached to tiny parachutes made from handkerchiefs. Soon, many of the Airlift pilots were dropping candy from their planes, including into Soviet-controlled areas that they flew over. Americans back home supplied the handkerchiefs and the US chocolate industry supplied the treats.
“维特尔斯行动”还引发了“小维特尔斯行动”，即向儿童投放巧克力和其他食物。完成该任务的飞行员被称为“糖果轰炸机”。有鉴赏力的德国孩子称他们为“巧克力飞行员”。“他们想知道我在哪架飞机上，我说，‘你能分辨出我的飞机——我会摆动机翼，你就知道那是我的飞机了——看，就是那架飞机。’他们说‘那很好，棒极了。’“第二天我回来了，给口香糖和巧克力放上小型降落伞，这样他们就能看到飞机了，这样他们的头就不会受到重创，放慢速度。于是我摆动机翼，他们挥舞双手，我把它推出了飞机。就这样开始了。”这是美国空军飞行员盖尔·哈沃森的主意。哈沃森中尉被称为“摇摆机翼先生”。从他的飞机上，他会把口香糖和巧克力系在用手帕做成的小降落伞上。很快，许多空运飞行员从飞机上扔下糖果，包括他们飞过的苏联控制区。美国本土的美国人提供手帕，美国的巧克力行业提供糖果。
Years later, in Berlin, Gail Halvorsen told German interviewer Ralf Gruender how he got the idea. "I dropped chocolate because of gratitude16. I met thirty children at the fence at Tempelhof, and not one put out their hand and said give me more than flour, give me more than coal, give me chocolate. They had no chocolate. They had no gum. But they would not be a beggar. They were so grateful for flour and I said wow, they were thankful. And when people are thankful, good things happen." It soon became clear to the Soviets that the Berlin Airlift would succeed. In May of nineteen forty-nine, almost one year after they had started their blockade, they ended it. The crisis in Berlin changed the way many Americans saw their president. Harry Truman no longer seemed so weak or unsure of himself. Instead, he was acting17 as a leader who could take an active part in world affairs. Truman's popularity increased. However, most Americans did not expect him to win the election in nineteen forty-eight. Almost everyone believed that the Republican candidate, New York Governor Thomas Dewey, would capture the office. The election campaign that year turned out to be one of the most exciting and surprising in the history of the nation. That will be our story next week.
几年后，在柏林，盖尔·哈沃森告诉德国记者拉尔夫·格鲁恩德，他是如何产生这个想法的。 “出于感恩，我扔下巧克力。我在坦普尔霍夫的篱笆边遇见30个孩子，没有一个伸出手来对我说，给我面粉、给我煤、给我巧克力。他们没有巧克力，没有口香糖。但他们不会是乞丐。他们很感激给他们的面粉，我说哇，他们很感激。当人们心存感激时，就会发生好事。”苏联人很快就清楚了，柏林空运会成功。1949年5月，在开始封锁近一年后，他们结束了封锁。柏林危机改变了许多美国人对总统的看法，哈里·杜鲁门似乎不再那么懦弱，也不再对自己没有信心。相反，他是一位能够积极参与世界事务的领导人。杜鲁门的声望提高了。然而，大多数美国人没有想到他会在1948年的选举中获胜。几乎所有人都相信共和党候选人、纽约州州长托马斯·杜威会获得这一职位。那一年的竞选活动是美国历史上最激动人心、最令人惊讶的一次选举，这将是我们下期节目要讲述的故事。
收听单词发音 |
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harry
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| vt.掠夺，蹂躏，使苦恼 | |
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vice
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| n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的 | |
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labor
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| n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦 | |
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auto
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| n.(=automobile)(口语)汽车 | |
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Ford
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| n.浅滩，水浅可涉处；v.涉水，涉过 | |
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opposition
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| n.反对，敌对 | |
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democrats
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| n.民主主义者，民主人士( democrat的名词复数 ) | |
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advisers
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| 顾问，劝告者( adviser的名词复数 )； （指导大学新生学科问题等的）指导教授 | |
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presidency
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| n.总统(校长，总经理)的职位(任期) | |
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Soviet
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| adj.苏联的，苏维埃的；n.苏维埃 | |
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aggression
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| n.进攻，侵略，侵犯，侵害 | |
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soviets
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| 苏维埃（Soviet的复数形式） | |
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bombers
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| n.轰炸机( bomber的名词复数 )；投弹手；安非他明胶囊；大麻叶香烟 | |
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appreciative
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| adj.有鉴赏力的，有眼力的；感激的 | |
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lieutenant
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| n.陆军中尉，海军上尉；代理官员，副职官员 | |
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gratitude
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| adj.感激，感谢 | |
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acting
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| n.演戏，行为，假装；adj.代理的，临时的，演出用的 | |
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