VOA慢速英语2014 南方在马纳萨斯再度打败北方

 

South Defeats North Again at Manassas 南方在马纳萨斯再度打败北方

From VOA Learning¹ English, this is The Making of a Nation. I’m Kelly Jean Kelly.

And I’m Christopher Cruise². 

The American Civil War started in the spring of 1861. By the summer of 1862, Union forces had not yet won a major battle against the Confederate South in the state of Virginia.    

So President Abraham Lincoln and his chief general created a new northern force called the Army of Virginia. They wanted to join the Army of Virginia with the Army of the Potomac and seize the Confederate capital of Richmond, Virginia.

But Southern generals were determined³ to prevent that from happening.

Robert E. Lee, a Confederate commander, sent General Stonewall Jackson to block the Army of Virginia in central Virginia. 

Jackson and his men marched more than 80 kilometers in two days. They seized a huge northern supply center at the town of Manassas. Then they moved a few kilometers away to a long, low hill northwest of the Bull⁴ Run battleground. Confederate forces had defeated a northern army at Bull Run just a year before. 

Jackson hid his troops in woods and waited for General Lee to arrive with more southern troops. 

But before Lee could get there, thousands of Union troops from the Army of Virginia marched down the road below Jackson. Jackson decided⁵ to attack. 

The fighting was furious⁶. Neither side broke. At the end of the day, Jackson's men moved back to their positions on higher ground. 

From his headquarters⁷ on the hill, Jackson watched the northern forces prepare to battle again. The Army of Virginia was large. But it was poorly organized. The men had been deployed⁸ in a hurry. The order to attack was given before all the troops were ready, and Jackson’s men were able to fight them off. 

But then, more and more northern soldiers joined the fight. The two sides struggled for hours in the hot summer sun. Jackson's men almost broke. Men prayed for the long day to end. The sun seemed to stand still. 

Finally, the battlefield again became dark. The leader of the Army of Virginia, General John Pope⁹, knew that Jackson's army had taken a terrible beating. He was sure that Jackson would try to withdraw¹⁰ the next day, to retreat¹¹ to the west. 

So that night Pope divided his forces. He left thousands in front of Jackson's lines. He moved the others to block Jackson's retreat. 

Pope made a terrible mistake. Jackson was not planning to go anywhere. He was waiting with Lee to smash¹² the northern army. And that is what happened the next day.

The Battle of Second Manassas created bitter anger among the people of the north -- anger against their military leaders. People felt that a year of fighting had been wasted, that thousands had died for no real purpose.

As the facts of the battle became known, cries of anger became even louder. Why did the Army of the Potomac move so slowly to join the Army of Virginia? Why did Pope let Jackson get behind him? Why were 14,000 Union soldiers lost in battle? 

While northerners protested¹³, and Lincoln’s government debated about how to react, the Union army began to rebuild. General Robert E. Lee, however, would not wait. He decided to carry the war to the North. 

Words in This Story

determined - adj. having a strong feeling you are going to do something and you will not let anything stop you

furious - adj. very powerful or violent

wasted - adj. not used in a good or effective way

1 learning   

n.学问，学识，学习；动词learn的现在分词

参考例句：

• When you are learning to ride a bicycle,you often fall off.初学骑自行车时，常会从车上掉下来。
• Learning languages isn't just a matter of remembering words.学习语言不仅仅是记些单词的事。

2 cruise   

v.巡航，航游，缓慢巡行；n.海上航游

参考例句：

• They went on a cruise to Tenerife.他们乘船去特纳利夫岛。
• She wants to cruise the canals of France in a barge.她想乘驳船游览法国的运河。

3 determined   

adj.坚定的；有决心的

参考例句：

• I have determined on going to Tibet after graduation.我已决定毕业后去西藏。
• He determined to view the rooms behind the office.他决定查看一下办公室后面的房间。

4 bull   

n.公牛，买进证券投机图利者，看涨的人

参考例句：

• It's only a hair off a bull's back to them.这对他们来说，不过九牛一毛。
• Many dogs closed around the bull.很多狗渐渐地把那只牛围了起来。

5 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。

6 furious   

adj.狂怒的，暴怒的，强烈的，激烈的

参考例句：

• I was furious at his making such an accusation.我对他的这种责备非常气愤。
• His wife was furious with him.他妻子对他大发雷霆。

7 headquarters   

n.司令部，指挥部；总部，总店

参考例句：

• Several great guns from the headquarters are coming to see us today.总部的几个大人物今天要来看我们。
• The bank has its headquarters in Pairs.这家银行的总行在巴黎。

8 deployed   

（尤指军事行动）使展开( deploy的过去式和过去分词 )； 施展； 部署； 有效地利用

参考例句：

• Tanks have been deployed all along the front line. 沿整个前线已部署了坦克。
• The artillery was deployed to bear on the fort. 火炮是对着那个碉堡部署的。

9 pope   

n.（罗马天主教的）教皇

参考例句：

• The Pope is the spiritual leader of many Christians.教皇是众多基督徒的宗教领袖。
• The Pope is the supreme leader of the Roman Catholic Church.教皇是罗马天主教的最高领袖。

10 withdraw   

vt.收回，撤消，撤退；vi.缩回，退出，撤退

参考例句：

• I want to withdraw a statement I made earlier.我想收回我早些时候发表的一项声明。
• The general decided to withdraw his soldiers.那位将军决定撤军。

11 retreat   

n.休息寓所，撤退，隐居；v.撤退，向后倾

参考例句：

• You cannot retreat from your responsibility in this affair.你不能回避在这一事件中的责任。
• They knew when to attack and when to retreat.他们知道什么时候进攻和什么时候撤退。

12 smash   

v.粉碎，打碎；n.轰动的演出，巨大的成功

参考例句：

• We heard the smash of plates breaking in the kitchen.我们听到厨房里盘子破碎的声音。
• The gifted author wrote one smash after another.这个天才作家创作了一篇又一篇轰动一时的作品。

13 protested   

v.声明( protest的过去式和过去分词 )；坚决地表示；申辩

参考例句：

• He protested he was being cheated of his rightful share. 他提出抗议说他被人骗取了他依法应得的份额。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Amy protested she was being cheated of her rightful share. 艾米提出抗议，说有人骗取了她依法应得的份额。 来自《简明英汉词典》