【美国精神】第71期

(green part is The Louisiana Territory¹)

Explanation:

  In the late 1700s, New Orleans was one of the United² States’ most important ports, since it was a city next to the water where ships or large boats could come and go. The United States used New Orleans to transport (or move) food and other products, but the city didn’t belong to the U.S. New Orleans first belonged to Spain and then to France. This was a problem for the United States, because if those other countries decided³ to block (or not allow) America’s access to New Orleans, the country wouldn’t be able to send and receive the things it wanted to buy and sell.

  So, when Thomas Jefferson was president, the United States negotiated⁴ (or reached an agreement) with France to buy New Orleans. The negotiators were prepared (or ready) to buy New Orleans for $10 million. Imagine how surprised they were when the French government offered to sell the entire (or whole) area, a much, much bigger area than just New Orleans known⁵ as the Louisiana Territory, for just $15 million. This area was almost 830,000 square miles! This was much more land than the U.S. had intended (or planned) to buy, but the opportunity was too good to pass up (or not buy).

  The territory was bought in 1803 and the transaction⁶ (or sale) became known as the Louisiana Purchase. The Louisiana Territory was larger than the whole United States at that time. Today the area is almost one-fourth (or 25%) of the United States, covering 15 states and part of Canada.

  Most of the Louisiana Territory was uncharted land when it was bought, meaning that it was land that no one had explored (or traveled to and knew very much about). It was also home for many Native Americans who were not involved in the transaction and did not even know about the purchase. The United States and France had agreed that the U.S. would own the land, but the U.S. would spend the next years fighting the Native Americans there to decide who would actually get to use the land.

 

问题：

What territory did the United States buy from France in 1803?

Answer:

• The Louisiana Territory

• Louisiana

1 territory   

n.领土，领地，版图，地区，活动范围

参考例句：

• Resources in plenty can be found in this territory.这一地区能找到大量自然资源。
• Our country has a vast territory and abundant resources.我国土地辽阔，资源丰富。

2 united   

adj.和谐的；团结的；联合的，统一的

参考例句：

• The whole nation is closely united.全国人民紧密团结。
• The two men were united by community of interests.共同的利益使两个人结合在一起。

3 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。

4 negotiated   

谈判，协商，议定( negotiate的过去式和过去分词 )； 兑现（支票等）； 通过，越过（险要路段）

参考例句：

• The government negotiated with the opposition party over the new law. 政府就新法与反对党进行了协商。
• By careful strategy she negotiated a substantial pay rise. 她精心策划后，谈妥了大幅增加工资的事。

5 known   

adj.大家知道的；知名的，已知的

参考例句：

• He is a known artist.他是一个知名的艺术家。
• He is known both as a painter and as a statesman.他是知名的画家及政治家。

6 transaction   

n.处理，交易，相互作用

参考例句：

• He was twenty dollars in pocket by the transaction.他在这笔生意中赚了20美元。
• He left the transaction of the matter to his secretary.他把这件事交给秘书办理。