PEOPLE IN AMERICA - Ronald Reagan

PEOPLE IN AMERICA - Ronald Reagan
By Caty Weaver¹

Broadcast: Sunday, June 13, 2004

Jack² Reagan worked at a general store. The family was poor. Yet, in a book about his life, Ronald Reagan wrote that he never felt poor. He was good at sports, especially football. During the summers, he was a lifeguard at a local swimming pool. He reportedly rescued many people from drowning. Ronald Reagan said there was a feeling of security throughout his childhood. But it was not perfect. His father was dependent on alcohol.

VOICE TWO:

Ronald Reagan studied at Eureka College in Illinois. After seeing a play at college, he said, "More than anything in the world, I wanted to speak the actor's words."

But Ronald Reagan did not have enough money to go to New York or Hollywood to become an actor. So, after college he found a job as a sports broadcaster for a radio station in Iowa. Later he moved to a bigger radio station in Chicago, Illinois. He announced the action of baseball games. This work took him on a trip to California. He took a screen test to become an actor. Warner Brothers Studios offered him a job.

Ronald Reagan moved to Hollywood and became a movie star. He appeared in many movies. "Knute Rockne – All American," is probably his most famous. It is where he got the nickname "The Gipper."

Mister Reagan played George Gipp, one of the greatest college football players ever. In the movie, he speaks of the school's football team as he is dying.

(SOUND)

"...ask them to go in there with all they got, win just one for the Gipper."

VOICE ONE:

Those words, "win one for the Gipper," later became a political battle cry for Ronald Reagan. In nineteen-forty, he married actress Jane Wyman. They had two children, Maureen and Michael. But the marriage ended in nineteen-forty-nine.

Ronald Reagan became president of the main labor³ group for movie actors in nineteen-forty-eight. He served six terms. He met actress Nancy Davis through the union. They married in nineteen-fifty-two. They later had two children, Patti and Ron.

At this time, Ronald Reagan was a member of the Democratic party who described himself as a liberal. But, he became increasingly conservative as his worries about communism grew. He opposed anyone in the movie industry who supported communism.

(MUSIC)

VOICE TWO:

In the early nineteen-fifties, Ronald Reagan began to appear on television. He presented dramatic shows produced by the General Electric company. He became a spokesman for the company. Mister Reagan learned a lot about public speaking. He began to campaign for Republican party political candidates a few years later. Reagan developed the ability to reach people through his speeches. He later became known as "The Great Communicator."

 
Graphic⁵ Image
Nancy Reagan supported her husband's political interests. Political experts say she was always his most important advisor⁶.

In nineteen-sixty-six, Ronald Reagan announced his own candidacy for governor of California. Democrats⁷ in the state did not think he was a serious candidate. However, Mister Reagan was elected governor by almost one-million votes.

Ronald Reagan received mixed public opinion as governor of the nation's most populated state. He was praised for lowering California's debt, yet criticized for raising taxes. Voters re-elected him as governor in nineteen-seventy.

VOICE ONE:

Ronald Reagan was unsuccessful in his first two attempts to win the Republican nomination⁸ for president. Then, in nineteen-eighty, he became the Republican Party's presidential candidate. His opponent was President Jimmy Carter.

The two men debated on national television. Ronald Reagan spoke⁴ directly and simply to the American people and asked them some questions:

(SOUND)

"Are you better off than you were four years ago? Is it easier for you to go and buy things in the stores than it was four years ago? Is there more or less unemployment in the country than there was four years ago?"

VOICE TWO:

 
Ronald Reagan delivers his inaugural⁹ address after being sworn in at the Capitol on January 20, 1981
Ronald Reagan won the United States presidential election by a huge majority. He and his vice-president, George Herbert Walker Bush, were sworn into office in January, nineteen-eighty-one. Many people called the change in political power "The Reagan Revolution."

President Reagan immediately began to work to honor a major campaign promise. He called on Congress to lower taxes. But only two months later, tragedy struck. A mentally sick man shot the president and three other people outside a hotel in Washington. President Reagan and his press secretary, James Brady, were severely¹⁰ wounded.

Mister Reagan had a bullet in his left lung, close to his heart. But, he showed his sense of humor at the hospital. As the president was taken into the operating room he said he hoped all the doctors were Republicans. Ronald Reagan recovered from the shooting and returned to work within two weeks.

VOICE ONE:

The President now began work on his main goal to reduce the size of the federal government. He had campaigned on the idea that the government was too costly¹¹ and interfered¹² too much in the lives of Americans.

Mister Reagan and Congress reduced taxes and cut spending for social programs. The administration argued that these actions would create economic growth.

Extremely high inflation rates did begin to fall. But, the United States' debt rose sharply. This was partly from big increases in military spending.

The Reagan economic policy became known as "Reaganomics." It had, and still has, supporters and opponents. Some people argued that the cuts in social programs greatly hurt poor people. Others said the policy improved the economy.

President Reagan sought re-election in nineteen-eighty-four. His Democratic opponent was former Vice-President Walter Mondale. Again Mister Reagan won the election by a large amount.

(MUSIC)

VOICE TWO:

President Reagan dealt with many serious foreign issues while in office. He sent American Marines to Lebanon to stop the fighting among several opposing groups. But more than two-hundred Marines were killed in an extremist bomb attack.

The so-called "Reagan Doctrine¹³" was the administration's most famous foreign policy. That policy was to support anti-communist forces anywhere in the world. Under the policy, American forces invaded the Caribbean island nation of Grenada. The policy also led to secret United States support for rebels in Nicaragua.

President Reagan met with Soviet¹⁴ Leader Mikhail Gorbachev several times in an effort to reduce nuclear weapons. He gave a famous speech at the Berlin Wall that divided Soviet-controlled East Germany from West Germany on June twelfth, nineteen-eighty-seven.

(SOUND)

"General Secretary Gorbachev, if you seek peace, if you seek prosperity for the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe, if you seek liberalization: Come here to this gate! Mister Gorbachev, open this gate! Mister Gorbachev, tear down this wall!"

VOICE ONE:

Some historians say Ronald Reagan helped cause the fall of the Soviet Union. They say his military spending forced the Soviets¹⁵ to spend more, too. They say this led to the Communist nation's economic failure.

President Reagan enjoyed very high public approval ratings throughout his presidency¹⁶. Many Americans considered him a friendly leader, a "man of the people," filled with hope for America.

VOICE TWO:

Ronald and Nancy Reagan returned to California after his second term ended in nineteen-eighty-nine. In nineteen-ninety-four, Mister Reagan wrote an open letter to the American people. He informed them that he had the brain disease Alzheimer's. The former president expressed his love for the country and thanked Americans for letting him serve. And, he wrote, "I know that for America there will always be a bright dawn ahead." Ronald Reagan died at his home in California on June fifth. He was ninety-three.

(MUSIC)

VOICE ONE:

This program was written by Caty Weaver. Mario Ritter was the producer. I'm Gwen Outen.

VOICE TWO:

And I'm Steve Ember. Listen again next week for another People in America in VOA Special English.

1 weaver   

n.织布工；编织者

参考例句：

• She was a fast weaver and the cloth was very good.她织布织得很快，而且布的质量很好。
• The eager weaver did not notice my confusion.热心的纺织工人没有注意到我的狼狈相。

2 jack   

n.插座，千斤顶，男人；v.抬起，提醒，扛举；n.（Jake）杰克

参考例句：

• I am looking for the headphone jack.我正在找寻头戴式耳机插孔。
• He lifted the car with a jack to change the flat tyre.他用千斤顶把车顶起来换下瘪轮胎。

3 labor   

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

参考例句：

• We are never late in satisfying him for his labor.我们从不延误付给他劳动报酬。
• He was completely spent after two weeks of hard labor.艰苦劳动两周后，他已经疲惫不堪了。

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 graphic   

adj.生动的，形象的，绘画的，文字的，图表的

参考例句：

• The book gave a graphic description of the war.这本书生动地描述了战争的情况。
• Distinguish important text items in lists with graphic icons.用图标来区分重要的文本项。

6 advisor   

n.顾问，指导老师，劝告者

参考例句：

• They employed me as an advisor.他们聘请我当顾问。
• The professor is engaged as a technical advisor.这位教授被聘请为技术顾问。

7 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》

8 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。

9 inaugural   

adj.就职的；n.就职典礼

参考例句：

• We listened to the President's inaugural speech on the radio yesterday.昨天我们通过无线电听了总统的就职演说。
• Professor Pearson gave the inaugural lecture in the new lecture theatre.皮尔逊教授在新的阶梯讲堂发表了启用演说。

10 severely   

adv.严格地；严厉地；非常恶劣地

参考例句：

• He was severely criticized and removed from his post.他受到了严厉的批评并且被撤了职。
• He is severely put down for his careless work.他因工作上的粗心大意而受到了严厉的批评。

11 costly   

adj.昂贵的，价值高的，豪华的

参考例句：

• It must be very costly to keep up a house like this.维修这么一幢房子一定很昂贵。
• This dictionary is very useful,only it is a bit costly.这本词典很有用，左不过贵了些。

12 interfered   

v.干预( interfere的过去式和过去分词 )；调停；妨碍；干涉

参考例句：

• Complete absorption in sports interfered with his studies. 专注于运动妨碍了他的学业。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• I am not going to be interfered with. 我不想别人干扰我的事情。 来自《简明英汉词典》

13 doctrine   

n.教义；主义；学说

参考例句：

• He was impelled to proclaim his doctrine.他不得不宣扬他的教义。
• The council met to consider changes to doctrine.宗教议会开会考虑更改教义。

14 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。

15 soviets   

苏维埃（Soviet的复数形式）

参考例句：

• A public challenge could provoke the Soviets to dig in. 公开挑战会促使苏联人一意孤行。
• The Soviets proposed the withdrawal of American ballistic-missile submarines from forward bases. 苏联人建议把美国的弹道导弹潜艇从前沿基地撤走。

16 presidency   

n.总统(校长，总经理)的职位(任期)

参考例句：

• Roosevelt was elected four times to the presidency of the United States.罗斯福连续当选四届美国总统。
• Two candidates are emerging as contestants for the presidency.两位候选人最终成为总统职位竞争者。