VOA慢速英语2011--American History: As War in Europe Expan

THE MAKING OF A NATION - American History: As War in Europe Expands, US Continues the Policy of Neutrality

STEVE EMBER: Welcome to THE MAKING OF A NATION – American history in VOA Special English. I’m Steve Ember.
(MUSIC)
Germany's attack on Poland and the start of World War Two in Europe presented a problem for Americans in September of nineteen-thirty-nine. The United States -- by law -- was neutral. And few Americans had any desire to fight in another world war. But most Americans did not like Germany's Nazi¹ leader, Adolf Hitler. They hoped for victory for Britain, France and the other Allied² powers.
President Franklin Delano Roosevelt made this clear in a radio broadcast to Americans soon after the war began.
PRESIDENT ROOSEVELT: “The overwhelming masses of our people seek peace. Peace at home, and the kind of peace in other lands, which will not jeopardize³ our peace at home. We have certain ideas, and certain ideals, of national safety, and we must act to preserve that safety today and to preserve the safety of our children in future years. That safety is, and will be, bound up with the safety of the Western Hemisphere and of the seas adjacent thereto. We seek to keep war from our own firesides by keeping war from coming to the Americas.”
STEVE EMBER: He praised the British and other allies. Finally, the president called on Congress to change the neutrality laws that prevented him from sending arms to the allies to help them fight Germany. Congress agreed to change the laws so foreign nations could buy American arms.
(MUSIC)
In the months that followed, Hitler and his allies claimed one victory after another. German and Soviet⁴ troops captured Poland quickly in September of nineteen thirty-nine. Then Soviet forces invaded the small Baltic nations of Latvia, Estonia and Lithuania.
In late November, they attacked Finland. Fighting between Finland and the Soviet Union continued through the winter, until Finland accepted Russia's demands.
Fighting grew even more fierce the following spring, in nineteen forty. Germany attacked Denmark and Norway, defeating them easily. In May, German forces struck like lightning through Belgium and Holland. Within one day, they were in France.
British and French forces were unable to stop the Germans from moving deep into northern France. The British finally had to flee from the European continent. They sailed back to Britain from the French town of Dunkirk.
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German soldiers marched through France. And Italian forces joined them by invading France from the south. Soon, Paris fell.
(SOUND)
These are German newsreel narrators describing German troops entering Paris and the fall of the French government.
A German supporter, Marshal Petain, took control of the French government. And France -- beaten and crushed -- was forced to sign a peace treaty with Hitler.
Now it was just Britain alone against Hitler and his Axis⁵ allies. Only the English Channel separated the British people from a German army that seemed unbeatable.
British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain was forced to resign. The British people turned to a new leader, Winston Churchill.
WINSTON CHURCHILL: “I speak to you for the first time as Prime Minister in a solemn hour for the life of our country, of our empire, of our allies, and, above all, of the cause of freedom. A tremendous battle is raging in France and Flanders. The Germans, by a remarkable⁶ combination of air bombing and heavily armored tanks, have broken through the French defenses north of the Maginot Line, and strong columns of their armored vehicles are ravaging⁸ the open country, which for the first day or two was without defenders⁹. They have penetrated¹⁰ deeply and spread alarm and confusion in their track.”
STEVE EMBER: Churchill would prove to be strong and brave in the long months ahead.
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The British would need strong leadership.
Hitler wasted no time in launching a fierce air attack on Britain. Throughout the summer, German and British planes fought above the English Channel.
All this military action had an important effect on American popular opinion. War and neutrality were no longer just ideas to be discussed and debated. Now they were real concerns, real events. Fascist¹¹ troops led by a dictator in Berlin were defeating one friendly democracy after another. And Soviet forces were on the march, too.
Most Americans still wanted neutrality. But how long could America remain at peace? And was peace worth the cost of just sitting by and watching friends like France and Britain being bombed and invaded?
Other issues melted away as Americans began to consider what to do about the darkening world situation.
Some Americans, led by newspaper publisher William Allen White, called for the United States to help Britain immediately. But other groups, like the America First Committee, demanded that the United States stay out of another bloody¹² European conflict.
The struggle between those who wanted to help Britain and those who wanted to remain neutral did not follow traditional party lines. Some of the strongest supporters of Roosevelt's foreign policies were Republicans. Some members of his own Democratic Party opposed his policies.
Even so, foreign policy was one of the main issues in the presidential election campaign of nineteen forty. The Democrats¹³ once again nominated Franklin Roosevelt for president.
The Republicans had several popular candidates who were interested in campaigning against Roosevelt. At first, it seemed that these candidates would fight it out in a bitter nominating convention in Philadelphia. But to everyone's surprise, a little-known candidate named Wendell Willkie suddenly gained a great deal of support and won the nomination¹⁴.
WENDELL WILKIE: “…building of an adequate defense⁷, so that no dictator, however strong, may seek the strife¹⁵ or the unity¹⁶ of our people. We’re calling America again to its great tradition of progress. I pledge myself to you, and I ask each of you to join with me in this great crusade.”
STEVE EMBER: Willkie was a tough candidate.
He was friendly, a good businessman, and a strong speaker. He seemed honest. And he seemed to understand foreign policy. Most importantly, Willkie had a progressive record on many social issues. He was not the kind of traditional conservative Republican that Roosevelt had defeated so easily in his first two campaigns.
Instead, Willkie could claim to represent the average American just as well as Roosevelt. And he offered the excitement of a change in leadership.
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STEVE EMBER: While Roosevelt and Willkie began their campaign battles with words, German and British planes were fighting real battles with bullets over the English Channel. Winston Churchill sent a desperate message to Roosevelt. The British prime minister said Britain could not fight alone much longer. It needed help immediately.
Roosevelt did not want to take steps toward war just before an election. But neither could he refuse such an urgent appeal from the British leader.
Roosevelt and Willkie discussed the situation. Willkie agreed not to criticize Roosevelt when the president sent fifty ships to the British navy. He also supported Roosevelt's order for American young men to give their names to army officials so they could be called up if fighting began.
In this way, Roosevelt and Willkie tried to keep America's growing involvement in the war from becoming a major political issue in the election.
President Roosevelt won the election of nineteen forty. He won twenty-seven million votes to twenty-two million for Willkie. This made Roosevelt the first and only president in American history to win a third term in the White House. The Constitution was later changed to limit presidents to two terms.
(MUSIC)
Soon after the election, President Roosevelt received a letter from Winston Churchill. The British prime minister wrote that Britain urgently needed more arms and planes to fight Germany.
Roosevelt agreed. He went to the Congress to plead for more aid to Britain. He said the United States should change its neutral policy, because Britain was fighting a common enemy of democracy. Roosevelt also said the United States could avoid war if Britain was strong enough to defeat Germany by itrself.
Congress agreed, after a fierce debate, to increase aid to Britain. And in the weeks and months that followed, the United States moved closer and closer to open war with Germany.
In March of nineteen forty-one, Roosevelt allowed British ships to come to American ports to be repaired. In June, the United States seized ships under German control. It also took over German and Italian funds in American banks.
(MUSIC)
Open fighting could not be prevented with this increase in tension between Germany and the United States. In September nineteen forty-one, a German submarine fired at an American ship. The ship was not damaged. But a number of American troops were killed in other naval¹⁷ incidents that followed.
By the end of nineteen forty-one, the United States and Germany were almost at war. Even so, most Americans continued to hope for peace. In fact, few Americans could guess that war was just days away. The first blow would come -- not from Germany, however, but from Japan.
RADIO ANNOUNCER: “We interrupt this program to bring you a special news bulletin: The Japanese have attacked Pearl Harbor, Hawaii by air, President Roosevelt has just announced.”
STEVE EMBER: That will be our story next week.
(MUSIC)
Our program was written by David Jarmul. You can find our series online with transcripts¹⁸, MP3s, podcasts and pictures at voaspecialenglish.com. You can also follow us on Facebook and Twitter at VOA Learning English. I’m Steve Ember inviting¹⁹ you to join us again next week for THE MAKING OF A NATION – American history in VOA Special English.
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This was program number 188

1 Nazi   

n.纳粹分子，adj.纳粹党的，纳粹的

参考例句：

• They declare the Nazi regime overthrown and sue for peace.他们宣布纳粹政权已被推翻，并出面求和。
• Nazi closes those war criminals inside their concentration camp.纳粹把那些战犯关在他们的集中营里。

2 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。

3 jeopardize   

vt.危及，损害

参考例句：

• Overworking can jeopardize your health.工作过量可能会危及你的健康。
• If you are rude to the boss it may jeopardize your chances of success.如果你对上司无礼，那就可能断送你成功的机会。

4 Soviet   

adj.苏联的，苏维埃的；n.苏维埃

参考例句：

• Zhukov was a marshal of the former Soviet Union.朱可夫是前苏联的一位元帅。
• Germany began to attack the Soviet Union in 1941.德国在1941年开始进攻苏联。

5 axis   

n.轴，轴线，中心线；坐标轴，基准线

参考例句：

• The earth's axis is the line between the North and South Poles.地轴是南北极之间的线。
• The axis of a circle is its diameter.圆的轴线是其直径。

6 remarkable   

adj.显著的，异常的，非凡的，值得注意的

参考例句：

• She has made remarkable headway in her writing skills.她在写作技巧方面有了长足进步。
• These cars are remarkable for the quietness of their engines.这些汽车因发动机没有噪音而不同凡响。

7 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

8 ravaging   

毁坏( ravage的现在分词 )； 蹂躏； 劫掠； 抢劫

参考例句：

• It is believed that in fatigue there is a repeated process of ravaging the material. 据认为，在疲劳中，有一个使材料毁坏的重复过程。
• I was able to capture the lion that was ravaging through town. 我能逮住正在城里肆虐的那头狮子。

9 defenders   

n.防御者( defender的名词复数 )；守卫者；保护者；辩护者

参考例句：

• The defenders were outnumbered and had to give in. 抵抗者寡不敌众，只能投降。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• After hard fighting,the defenders were still masters of the city. 守军经过奋战仍然控制着城市。 来自《简明英汉词典》

10 penetrated   

adj. 击穿的，鞭辟入里的 动词penetrate的过去式和过去分词形式

参考例句：

• The knife had penetrated his chest. 刀子刺入了他的胸膛。
• They penetrated into territory where no man had ever gone before. 他们已进入先前没人去过的地区。

11 fascist   

adj.法西斯主义的；法西斯党的；n.法西斯主义者，法西斯分子

参考例句：

• The strikers were roughed up by the fascist cops.罢工工人遭到法西斯警察的殴打。
• They succeeded in overthrowing the fascist dictatorship.他们成功推翻了法西斯独裁统治。

12 bloody   

adj.非常的的；流血的；残忍的；adv.很；vt.血染

参考例句：

• He got a bloody nose in the fight.他在打斗中被打得鼻子流血。
• He is a bloody fool.他是一个十足的笨蛋。

13 democrats   

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》

14 nomination   

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。

15 strife   

n.争吵，冲突，倾轧，竞争

参考例句：

• We do not intend to be drawn into the internal strife.我们不想卷入内乱之中。
• Money is a major cause of strife in many marriages.金钱是造成很多婚姻不和的一个主要原因。

16 unity   

n.团结，联合，统一；和睦，协调

参考例句：

• When we speak of unity,we do not mean unprincipled peace.所谓团结，并非一团和气。
• We must strengthen our unity in the face of powerful enemies.大敌当前，我们必须加强团结。

17 naval   

adj.海军的，军舰的，船的

参考例句：

• He took part in a great naval battle.他参加了一次大海战。
• The harbour is an important naval base.该港是一个重要的海军基地。

18 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

19 inviting   

adj.诱人的，引人注目的

参考例句：

• An inviting smell of coffee wafted into the room.一股诱人的咖啡香味飘进了房间。
• The kitchen smelled warm and inviting and blessedly familiar.这间厨房的味道温暖诱人，使人感到亲切温馨。