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11 美国第五大河流--格兰德河
DATE=3-7-01
TITLE=EXPLORATIONS#1942 - Rio Grande, Part 2
BYLINE=Oliver Chanler VOICE ONE:
This is Shirley Griffith.
VOICE TWO:
And this is Steve Ember with the VOA Special English program, (1)EXPLORATIONS. Today, we finish the story of one of the most important rivers in the United States, the Rio Grande. The river flows from the mountains of (2)Colorado south to the Gulf of Mexico. It forms the border between the United States and Mexico for two thousand kilometers.
VOICE ONE:
By the early Fifteen-Hundreds Spanish (3)explorers arrived in the southwest of what is now the United States. They moved up the Rio Grande looking for gold and (4)treasure. They found none. The native Pueblo Indians of New Mexico were friendly until they were treated badly by the Spanish. Then the Indians pushed the (5)invaders out. But the Spanish returned in Sixteen-Ninety-Three. After some fighting, they finally made peace with the (6)Pueblo Indians.
More and more settlers arrived and (7)established new towns along the Rio Grande. Soon people from other countries began arriving. They came from France, England, and, by the end of the Seventeen Hundreds, from the newly formed United States to the east.
VOICE TWO:
By the early Nineteenth Century, Americans had begun settling in the Rio Grande area, especially in the (8)territory of Texas, east of New Mexico. The Spanish government in the American southwest began to lose (9)control as Spain became less powerful in Europe.
Soon more and more people settling near the Rio Grande began to think of themselves as Americans. In Eighteen-Twelve, the Mexican territory of Texas (10)rebelled and declared itself an (11)independent (12)republic. Spain (13)regained control of Texas, but the seeds of (14)revolution had been planted. In Eighteen Twenty-One, Spain withdrew from the Americas.
VOICE ONE:
A new age was beginning in North America. Two young nations, the United States and Mexico, would now decide their own futures and the future of the Rio Grande area. One of the most important questions facing the two countries was who would control Texas.
That was not an easy (15)decision to make. In Eighteen-Twenty-Three, the Mexican government agreed to permit a group of Americans to live in Texas. (16)Mexico said the Americans, led by Stephen Austin, could stay there (17)permanently.
More Americans settled in Texas. Many people wanted to make Texas a part of the United States. At the same time, more (18)Mexicans wanted to push all Americans out of Texas.
((MUSIC BRIDGE))
VOICE TWO:
South of the Rio Grande, there were three revolutions in Mexico's first eight years of (19)independence. North of the river, Americans were more and more unhappy with Mexican rule. In Eighteen-Thirty-Two, Stephen Austin went to Mexico City to ask that Texas become a (20)separate Mexican state.
At this time, General Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna was (21)struggling to gain control of Mexico and become its ruler. He faced a number of (22)rebellions in different parts of the country. (23)General Santa Anna told Stephen Austin he would make Texas a separate Mexican state. Yet events were moving in another (24)direction.
VOICE ONE:
In Texas, demands for change became demands for independence from Mexico. This led to an (25)invasion across the Rio Grande of thousands of soldiers led by General Santa Anna. He planned to quickly (26)crush the rebellion. As Santa Anna moved his army into Texas in Eighteen-Thirty-Six, a group of Texans signed a document (27)declaring Texas an independent nation.
To answer this, General Santa Anna led a strong attack against a group of rebels near the city of San Antonio. The place they attacked was called The Alamo. There were one-hundred-twenty-eight men in the building defending it against the many thousands of soldiers in Santa Anna's army. After many days of fighting, the Mexican army broke through the (28)defenses of the Alamo and killed everyone inside.
VOICE TWO:
Santa Anna and his army began a march across Texas. They (29)burned towns and (30)villages. They (31)chased the small army of Texans but were unable to catch them. The Mexican soldiers were tired. The (32)Texans attacked, shouting "Remember the Alamo". There was a fierce battle. Only forty Mexican soldiers escaped. All the others were killed, wounded or captured. General Santa Anna was among those captured.
General Santa Anna met with Texas (33)leader, General Sam Houston. The Mexican leader agreed that in return for his (34)freedom Texas would become independent from Mexico. He agreed that the Rio Grande would be the border between Texas and Mexico. General Santa Anna went home to Mexico City. The new Republic of Texas looked to the (35)future.
((MUSIC BRIDGE))
VOICE ONE:
The future was not all good. (36)President Santa Anna declared war on Texas eight years after his defeat by the Texan army. However, he never carried out his threat of war. He was removed from office. And the next year, Eighteen-Forty-Five, the United States government invited Texas to become a state.
This was not acceptable to Mexico. War began. In Eighteen-Forty-Six, Mexican soldiers (37)crossed the Rio Grande. The Americans quickly defeated the invading army and began moving into Mexico, toward Mexico City. Other American soldiers began moving west into New Mexico. The government in Santa Fe quickly (38)surrendered.
VOICE TWO:
In February Eighteen-Forty-Eight, Mexico surrendered to the American army. The Treaty of Guadelupe Hidalgo (39)declared the border between the United States and Mexico to be along the Rio Grande and then west to the Pacific Ocean. The new land belonging to the United States included New Mexico, Arizona and Upper California. For all this territory, the United States paid Mexico fifteen-million dollars.
Becoming a part of the United States (40)presented both political and social problems for Texas. The state of Texas permitted slavery. (41)Governor Sam Houston opposed joining the Confederate states that also permitted slavery and were seeking to separate from the United States. He was removed from office. Texas joined the southern states in the Civil War. After the northern forces won the long war and the country united, Texas was re-admitted as a state.
At this time, the expanding population of the Rio Grande country faced other problems. (42)Criminals from both sides of the Rio Grande attacked the people. Also, Indian tribes such as the Apache and Comanche resisted the spread of white (43)settlers into their lands. The settlers were destroying the Indians' way of life. The Indians attacked and killed many white settlers. By Eighteen Seventy Four, government troops had forced many Indian tribes out of their traditional lands.
VOICE ONE:
The United States army also was ordered to take action to stop criminal activities along the Rio Grande. It was given permission to chase criminals across the river into Mexico. Also, the army acted to stop Indian attacks.
Over time, fighting ended in the Rio Grande Valley and the surrounding territory. The United States and Mexico developed friendly relations.
Yet tensions continue along the border between the two countries today. One problem is illegal immigrants. The other is (44)illegal drugs. No one knows for sure how many people cross the border from Mexico to the United States. Officials have (45)estimated that the number is in the millions. The illegal immigrants come from Mexico, and from Central and South America. Most come to the United States for economic or political reasons. A few come to sell illegal drugs. Many of the illegal drugs in the United States are transported across the border.
VOICE TWO:
The river itself can create problems too. The Rio Grande flows where it wants to flow. Dams, (46)canals and other man-made devices cannot always control it.
Most of the water from the upper Rio Grande does not flow into the (47)Gulf of Mexico. Almost all of the water is completely used for agriculture and by cities and towns along the upper part of the river.
VOICE ONE:
Down the river, many springs and several other rivers flow into the Rio Grande, renewing the water supply. Two major dams create electric power and provide water for agriculture and other needs of people living along the lower part of the river. Yet man-made controls do not prevent changes in the path the river takes in many places. Some changes make it difficult to know exactly where the border is between the United States and Mexico. The great river, the Rio Grande, continues to flow across the land and through the history of two countries.
((THEME))
VOICE TWO:
This Special English program was written by Oliver Chanler and produced by Paul Thompson. This is Steve Ember.
VOICE ONE:
And this is Shirley Griffith. Listen again next week for another EXPLORATIONS program on the Voice of America.
(1) exploration[ 7eksplC:5reiFEn ]n.探险, 踏勘, 探测, [医](伤处等的)探查, 探察术
(2) Colorado[ 7kClE5rB:dEu ]美国科罗拉多州(位于美国西部)
(3) explorer[ iks5plC:rE, eks- ][计]Windows资源管理器n.探险家, 探测者, 探测器
(4) treasure[ 5treVE ]n.财宝, 财富, 珍品, 财产vt.珍爱, 珍惜, 储藏, 珍藏
(5) invader[ in5veidE ]n.侵略者
(6) Pueblo[ pju:5eblEu ]普韦布洛(美国科罗拉多州中部一城市)
(7) establish [ is5tAbliF ]vt.建立, 设立, 安置, 使定居, 使人民接受, 确定v.建立
(8) territory[ 5teritEri ]n.领土, 版图, 地域
(9) control[kEn5trol]n.控制, 支配, 管理, 调节, 抑制, 控制器, 调节装置vt.控制, 支配, 管理
(10) rebelrebel[ 5rebEl ]n.造反者, 叛逆者, 反抗者, 叛乱者adj.造反的, 叛逆的,
(11) independent[ indi5pendEnt ]n.中立派, 无党派者adj.独立自主的, 不受约束的
(12) republic[ ri5pQblik ]n.共和国, 共和政体adj.共和的
(13) regain[ ri5^ein ]v.收回, 恢复, 重到, 重新夺得
(14) revolution[ 7revE5lu:FEn ]n.革命, 旋转
(15) decision[ di5siVEn ]n.决定, 决心, 决议, 结果, 果断, 坚定
(16) Mexico[5meksIkEJ]n.墨西哥(拉丁美洲国家)
(17) permanently[5p:mEntlI]adv.永存地, 不变地
(18) Mexican[5meksIkEn]adj.墨西哥的n.墨西哥人
(19) independence[ 7indi5pendEns ]n.独立, 自主
(20) separate[ 5sepEreit ]adj.分开的, 分离的, 个别的, 单独的v.分开, 隔离, 分散, 分别
(21) struggling[ 5strQ^liN ]adj.奋斗的, 努力的, 苦斗的
(22) rebellion[ ri5beljEn ]n.谋反, 叛乱, 反抗, 不服从
(23) general[ 5dVenErEl ]n.普通, 将军, 概要adj.一般的, 普通的, 综合的, 概括的,
(24) direction[ di5rekFEn, dai5rekFEn ]n.方向, 指导, 趋势, (常用复数)指示, 用法
(25) invasion[ in5veiVEn ]n.入侵
(26) crush[ krQF ]vt.压碎, 碾碎, 压服, 压垮, 粉碎, (使)变形
(27) declare[ di5klZE ]vt.断言, 宣称, 宣布, 宣告, 声明, (向海关)中报进口应纳税之货物
(28) defense[ di5fens ]n.(D-)(美国)国防部, 防卫, 防卫物vt.谋划抵御
(29) burn[ bE:n ]v.烧, 烧焦, 点(灯), 使感觉烧热n.烧伤, 灼伤
(30) village[ 5vilidV ]n.乡村, 村庄adj.村庄的
(31) chase[ tFeis ]n.追赶, 追击vt.追赶, 追逐, 雕镂
(32) Texan[ 5teksEn ]adj.德克萨斯(人)的
(33) leader[ 5li:dE ]n.领导者, 社论n.[计]前导字符n.[机]导杆
(34) freedom[ 5fri:dEm ]n.自由, 自主, 直率, 特权
(35) future[ 5fju:tFE ]n.未来, 将来, 前途, 远景adj.未来的, 将来的
(36) president[ 5prezidEnt ]n.总统, 会长, 校长, 行长
(37) cross[ krCs ] n.十字, 交叉, 十字架, 十字形物adj.交叉的, 相反的, 乖戾的v.使交叉,
(38) surrender[ sE5rendE ]vt.交出, 放弃, 使投降, 听任vi.投降, 自首n.交出, 放弃,
(39) declare[ di5klZE ]vt.断言, 宣称, 宣布, 宣告, 声明, (向海关)中报进口应纳税之货物
(40) present[ pri5zent ]n.赠品, 礼物, 现在, 瞄准adj.现在的, 出席的, 当面的vt.介绍, 引见,
(41) governor[ 5^QvEnE ]n.统治者, 管理者, 地方长官, 主管人员
(42) criminal[ 5kriminl ]n.罪犯, 犯罪者adj.犯罪的, 犯法的, 罪恶的
(43) settler[ 5setlE ]n.移民者, 殖民者, [律]财产赠予者, 托管财产者
(44) illegal[ i5li:^El ]adj.违法的, 不合规定的
(45) estimate[ 5estimeit ]v.估计, 估价, 评估n.估计, 估价, 评估
(46) canal[ kE5nAl ]n.运河, 小道, 导管, 槽, 沟渠vt.开运河
(47) gulf[ ^Qlf ]n.海湾, 深渊, 漩涡, 隔阂vt.吞没, 使深深卷入
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