VOA新闻杂志2024--A Century of Changes As Jimmy Carter Turns 100

Former president of the United States Jimmy Carter is turning 100 on October 1.

The 39th president is celebrating the century mark at his home in Plains, Georgia, where he was born in 1924. He is currently in hospice care.

Carter's small southern town is much like it was when he was a boy. But America, and the world overall, has seen major changes over his long life.

Changes everywhere, but not Plains

The U.S. population is almost three times larger than it was in 1924. America grew from about 114 million people to about 330 million today. The world population grew even faster, from 1.9 billion to more than 8.1 billion, during the same period.

That great increase has not reached Plains, Georgia, however. The town of 500 people in the 1920s, now has closer to 600. Much of its local economy revolves¹ around Carter, its most famous son.

Red state, blue state

Jimmy Carter first ran for president in 1976 against then-President Gerald Ford². That election marked the first time the television network NBC started using a red-and-blue electoral map to cover the election results.

The colors have since become a permanent part of the American political language. The color blue represents the Democratic Party and red represents the Republican Party.

Shopping

In 1924, there was no Amazon to order goods online. But Americans could order a build-it-yourself house from a Sears catalog for $2,025. That amount was a little below the average worker's yearly earnings³.

There was no superstore like Walmart. But people could buy bread, milk, and other things at small, local general stores.

Prohibition⁴, the ban on making and drinking alcohol, had been national law for four years when Carter was born. He was nine when it ended.

The former president and his late wife Rosalynn were not known as big drinkers. They usually served wine as the single kind of alcoholic⁵ drink at White House state dinners, mainly to save money. Other kinds of alcohol would increase the cost of the events.

But Carter's brother Billy was known for his beer drinking. When Carter became president, Billy sold his name to a beer manufacturer to produce Billy Beer. News sources reported that Billy Carter received a $50,000 yearly payment for use of his name from one brewer⁶. That would be about $215,000 in today's economy.

Voting rights

The 19th Amendment⁷ that extended voting rights to women went into effect in 1920, four years before Carter's birth. And the Voting Rights Act that widened voting rights to Black Americans was passed in 1965.

Now, Carter is set to vote by mail for Vice⁸ President Kamala Harris, says his grandson Jason Carter. He added that his grandfather is excited about the chance to see Harris make history.

If elected, Harris would become the first female and the first person of South Asian ancestry⁹ to lead the United States.

Immigration and isolationism

Jimmy Carter was born in a period of isolationism, protectionism and white Christian¹⁰ nationalism in the U.S.

In 1922, Congress enacted¹¹ taxes on imports, called tariffs¹², to help U.S. manufacturers. After stock market losses in 1929, lawmakers added more tariffs to help farmers.

Five months before Carter was born, President Calvin Coolidge signed the Immigration Act of 1924. The law created the U.S. Border Patrol and sharply limited immigration, permitting mostly just Western Europeans to enter. Asians were barred from the country completely.

Congress said the law was meant to "preserve the ideal of U.S. homogeneity." The militant¹³ white supremacist group Ku Klux Klan held large marches in Washington in 1925 and 1926 to gather support.

A century later, Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump¹⁴ is promising¹⁵ to order the largest deportation¹⁶ effort in U.S. history if he wins office.

Trump is also calling for tariffs on all goods coming to America.

Other presidents

Carter has lived through 40 percent of U.S. history since the Declaration of Independence in 1776. When Carter took office, just one president, John Adams, had lived to be 90. Since then, Ford, Ronald Reagan, Carter and George H.W. Bush all reached at least 93.

Words in This Story

hospice - n. a place that provides care for people who are dying

catalog - n. a book of list of things that you can buy

wine - n. an alcoholic drink made from juice of grapes

excited - adj. enthusiastic and eager

isolationism - n. a belief that country should not be involved with other countries

preserve - v. to keep something in its original state

ideal - n. the idea or standard of excellence¹⁷

homogeneity - n. making up of the same kind of people

deportation - n. forceful removal of non-citizen to leave a country

1 revolves   

v.（使）旋转( revolve的第三人称单数 )；细想

参考例句：

• The earth revolves both round the sun and on its own axis. 地球既公转又自转。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• Thus a wheel revolves on its axle. 于是，轮子在轴上旋转。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 Ford   

n.浅滩，水浅可涉处；v.涉水，涉过

参考例句：

• They were guarding the bridge,so we forded the river.他们驻守在那座桥上，所以我们只能涉水过河。
• If you decide to ford a stream,be extremely careful.如果已决定要涉过小溪，必须极度小心。

3 earnings   

n.工资收人；利润，利益，所得

参考例句：

• That old man lives on the earnings of his daughter.那个老人靠他女儿的收入维持生活。
• Last year there was a 20% decrease in his earnings.去年他的收入减少了20%。

4 prohibition   

n.禁止；禁令，禁律

参考例句：

• The prohibition against drunken driving will save many lives.禁止酒后开车将会减少许多死亡事故。
• They voted in favour of the prohibition of smoking in public areas.他们投票赞成禁止在公共场所吸烟。

5 alcoholic   

adj.（含）酒精的，由酒精引起的；n.酗酒者

参考例句：

• The alcoholic strength of brandy far exceeds that of wine.白兰地的酒精浓度远远超过葡萄酒。
• Alcoholic drinks act as a poison to a child.酒精饮料对小孩犹如毒药。

6 brewer   

n. 啤酒制造者

参考例句：

• Brewer is a very interesting man. 布鲁尔是一个很有趣的人。
• I decided to quit my job to become a brewer. 我决定辞职，做一名酿酒人。

7 amendment   

n.改正，修正，改善，修正案

参考例句：

• The amendment was rejected by 207 voters to 143.这项修正案以207票对143票被否决。
• The Opposition has tabled an amendment to the bill.反对党已经就该议案提交了一项修正条款。

8 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。

9 ancestry   

n.祖先，家世

参考例句：

• Their ancestry settled the land in 1856.他们的祖辈1856年在这块土地上定居下来。
• He is an American of French ancestry.他是法国血统的美国人。

10 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。

11 enacted   

制定（法律），通过（法案）( enact的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• legislation enacted by parliament 由议会通过的法律
• Outside in the little lobby another scene was begin enacted. 外面的小休息室里又是另一番景象。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹

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。

13 militant   

adj.激进的，好斗的；n.激进分子，斗士

参考例句：

• Some militant leaders want to merge with white radicals.一些好斗的领导人要和白人中的激进派联合。
• He is a militant in the movement.他在那次运动中是个激进人物。

14 trump   

n.王牌，法宝；v.打出王牌，吹喇叭

参考例句：

• He was never able to trump up the courage to have a showdown.他始终鼓不起勇气摊牌。
• The coach saved his star player for a trump card.教练保留他的明星选手，作为他的王牌。

15 promising   

adj.有希望的，有前途的

参考例句：

• The results of the experiments are very promising.实验的结果充满了希望。
• We're trying to bring along one or two promising young swimmers.我们正设法培养出一两名有前途的年轻游泳选手。

16 deportation   

n.驱逐，放逐

参考例句：

• The government issued a deportation order against the four men.政府发出了对那4名男子的驱逐令。
• Years ago convicted criminals in England could face deportation to Australia.很多年以前，英国已定罪的犯人可能被驱逐到澳大利亚。

17 excellence   

n.优秀，杰出，(pl.)优点，美德

参考例句：

• His art has reached a high degree of excellence.他的艺术已达到炉火纯青的地步。
• My performance is far below excellence.我的表演离优秀还差得远呢。