VOA慢速英语2011--American History: The Election of 1960

THE MAKING OF A NATION - American History: The Election of 1960

STEVE EMBER: Welcome to THE MAKING OF A NATION – American history in VOA Special English. I’m Steve Ember.
(MUSIC)
DWIGHT EISENHOWER: "Three days from now, after half a century in the service of our country, I shall lay down the responsibilities of office as, in traditional and solemn ceremony, the authority of the presidency² is vested in my successor. This evening, I come to you with a message of leave-taking and farewell, and to share a few final thoughts with you, my countrymen."
Dwight Eisenhower was elected president in nineteen fifty-two. The following year, the Korean War ended with an armistice³, a ceasefire agreement.
During his presidency, Eisenhower began a tradition of meetings between the leaders of the United States and the Soviet⁴ Union. He met with Soviet leaders Nikolai Bulganin and Nikita Khrushchev. These meetings may have helped reduce the threat of a nuclear war between the two countries during the Cold War.
By nineteen sixty, Eisenhower had served two terms. The Constitution was changed to prevent presidents from being elected more than twice, after Franklin Roosevelt won four times.
DWIGHT EISENHOWER: "We now stand ten years past the midpoint of a century that has witnessed four major wars among great nations. Three of these involved our own country. Despite these holocausts⁵, America is today the strongest, the most influential⁶, and most productive nation in the world. Understandably proud of this pre-eminence, we yet realize that America's leadership and prestige depend not merely upon our unmatched material progress, riches and military strength, but on how we use our power in the interests of world peace and human betterment. ...
"Now this conjunction of an immense military establishment and a large arms industry is new in the American experience. The total influence -- economic, political, even spiritual -- is felt in every city, every statehouse, every office of the Federal government. We recognize the imperative⁷ need for this development. Yet, we must not fail to comprehend its grave implications. Our toil⁸, resources, and livelihood⁹ are all involved. So is the very structure of our society.
"In the councils of government, we must guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the military-industrial complex. The potential for the disastrous¹⁰ rise of misplaced power exists and will persist. We must never let the weight of this combination endanger our liberties or democratic processes. We should take nothing for granted. Only an alert and knowledgeable¹¹ citizenry can compel the proper meshing¹² of the huge industrial and military machinery¹³ of defense¹⁴ with our peaceful methods and goals, so that security and liberty may prosper¹⁵ together."
At the end of Eisenhower's first term, he was still very popular. He had suffered a heart attack, but the Republican president felt strong enough to campaign again in nineteen fifty-six.
His Democratic Party opponent was Adlai Stevenson. They had been the candidates in the presidential election four years earlier. This time, Eisenhower won almost ten million more votes than Stevenson -- an even bigger victory than in nineteen fifty-two.
Eisenhower's second term, however, presented problems. The Soviet Union launched the space age by putting the first satellite into orbit around Earth. Fidel Castro established a communist government in Cuba. Many white Americans were fighting the Supreme¹⁶ Court's decision to end racial separation in schools. And the American economy suffered a recession.
Eisenhower's popularity dropped during his second term. This would make it more difficult for the Republican Party's next candidate for president.
The delegates who attended the presidential nominating convention in the summer of nineteen-sixty feared that their party would lose the election in November. They had to find the strongest candidate possible. Many believed that Richard Nixon was the strongest.
Nixon had been a senator and a member of the House of Representatives. He had been Eisenhower's vice¹ president for eight years. When Eisenhower suffered several serious illnesses, Nixon had a chance to show his abilities to lead the nation. He showed great strength while facing an angry crowd during a trip to South America. He also gained support when he defended the United States to Khrushchev during a trip to the Soviet Union.
Nixon's closest opponent for the Republican nomination¹⁷ was Nelson Rockefeller. Rockefeller was the governor of New York state. He came from one of the richest families in America.
Richard Nixon easily won the support of the party. The delegates nominated him on the first vote. He accepted the nomination. And he called for new efforts for peace and freedom around the world.
The race for the Democratic nomination was much more difficult. The Democratic Party thought it would have no problem winning the presidential election. Many candidates entered the race for the nomination. One was Senator Hubert Humphrey of Minnesota. Another was Senator John Kennedy of Massachusetts.
Humphrey had been elected to the Senate three times. He was a strong activist¹⁸ for civil rights and peace. Kennedy was a Navy hero in World War Two. He was handsome and only forty-three years old. He was also Roman Catholic. No Catholic had ever been elected president of the United States.
Kennedy and Humphrey began to compete in state primary elections, the first step in the nominating process. Kennedy won an important primary in Wisconsin. But voters in Protestant areas of that state did not support him. The question then became: could he win in another state, West Virginia. Most of the voters in that state were Protestant.
On the last night of the primary campaign in West Virginia, Kennedy spoke¹⁹ about his religion. He said the president of the United States promises to defend the Constitution. And that, he said, includes the separation of the government from any religion or church.
Kennedy won a big victory in West Virginia. He then went on to win many votes in other primaries. He received the nomination on the first vote at the Democratic convention.
In his acceptance speech, he said he would ask Americans to help their country and sacrifice for their country.
After the party conventions, the two candidates -- Kennedy and Nixon -- began to campaign around the country. Nixon charged that Kennedy was too young to be president. He said Kennedy did not know enough about governing. Kennedy attacked the Republican record of the past eight years. He said President Eisenhower and Vice President Nixon had not done enough to bring progress to the nation.
Protestant groups expressed concerns about Kennedy's religion. They wondered if he would be influenced by the pope. They wondered if the leader of the Roman Catholic Church would try to make policy for the United States. Kennedy answered by repeating his strong support for the constitutional separation of church and state.
Public opinion surveys showed the election campaign to be very close. Then the candidates agreed to hold four debates on television.
In the first debate, the candidates showed they did not differ too widely on major issues. Kennedy appeared calm and sure. But Nixon did not feel well. He appeared thin and tired. Many people who had not considered voting for Kennedy now began to change their minds. To them, he looked more presidential.
Most people seemed to feel that Kennedy won the first debate. Nixon probably won the second one. And both men did about the same in the last two.
In the fourth debate, they expressed widely different opinions about whether the United States was making progress. Kennedy believed there had been little progress under Eisenhower and Nixon.
JOHN KENNEDY: "Franklin Roosevelt said in nineteen-thirty-six that that generation of Americans had a rendezvous²⁰ with destiny. I believe in nineteen-sixty and sixty-one and two and three, we have a rendezvous with destiny. And I believe it incumbent²¹ upon us to be defenders²² of the United States and the defenders of freedom. And to do that, we must give this country leadership. And we must get America moving again."
Nixon disagreed. He believed the United States had not been standing²³ still, but there was more to be done.
RICHARD NIXON: "It is essential with the conflict that we have around the world that we not just hold our own, that we not keep just freedom for ourselves. It is essential that we extend freedom, extend it to all the world. And this means more than what we've been doing. It means keeping America even stronger militarily than she is. It means seeing that our economy moves forward even faster than it has. It means making more progress in civil rights than we have, so that we can be a splendid example for all the world to see."
Another issue in the nineteen sixty presidential debates was the Chinese attack on the islands of Quemoy and Matsu in the Taiwan Strait. And another was how to deal with Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev.
After the debates, the presidential candidates campaigned around the country again. Nixon proposed that if he were elected, he would travel to Eastern Europe and meet with Khrushchev.
Kennedy proposed the Peace Corps²⁴, a program to send Americans to developing countries to provide technical aid and other help.
On Election Day in November, the voters chose John Kennedy as their thirty-fifth president. His victory, however, was a close one. Almost sixty-nine million people voted. Kennedy won by fewer than one hundred twenty thousand votes. The beginning of his presidency will be our story next week.
You can find our series online with transcripts²⁵, MP3s, podcasts, and pictures at voanews.cn. And you can follow us on Facebook and Twitter at VOA Learning English. I’m Steve Ember, inviting²⁶ you to join us again next week for THE MAKING OF A NATION -- American history in VOA Special English.
___
Contributing: Jeri Watson
This was program #209. For earlier programs, type "Making of a Nation" in quotation²⁷ marks in the search box at the top of the page.

1 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。

2 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。

3 armistice   

n.休战，停战协定

参考例句：

• The two nations signed an armistice.两国签署了停火协议。
• The Italian armistice is nothing but a clumsy trap.意大利的停战不过是一个笨拙的陷阱。

4 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。

5 holocausts   

n.大屠杀( holocaust的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• They have been able to keep on cheerfully plotting their holocausts right into their senescene. 他们都还能津津有味地继续策划他们的大暴动，直至他们的垂暮之年。 来自辞典例句
• The down sides to our inventions-the wars, weapons, holocausts, pollution-these too define our being. 发明的阴暗面——战争、武器、屠杀、污染——同样也定义了我们。 来自互联网

6 influential   

adj.有影响的，有权势的

参考例句：

• He always tries to get in with the most influential people.他总是试图巴结最有影响的人物。
• He is a very influential man in the government.他在政府中是个很有影响的人物。

7 imperative   

n.命令，需要；规则；祈使语气；adj.强制的；紧急的

参考例句：

• He always speaks in an imperative tone of voice.他老是用命令的口吻讲话。
• The events of the past few days make it imperative for her to act.过去这几天发生的事迫使她不得不立即行动。

8 toil   

vi.辛劳工作，艰难地行动；n.苦工，难事

参考例句：

• The wealth comes from the toil of the masses.财富来自大众的辛勤劳动。
• Every single grain is the result of toil.每一粒粮食都来之不易。

9 livelihood   

n.生计，谋生之道

参考例句：

• Appropriate arrangements will be made for their work and livelihood.他们的工作和生活会得到妥善安排。
• My father gained a bare livelihood of family by his own hands.父亲靠自己的双手勉强维持家计。

10 disastrous   

adj.灾难性的，造成灾害的；极坏的，很糟的

参考例句：

• The heavy rainstorm caused a disastrous flood.暴雨成灾。
• Her investment had disastrous consequences.She lost everything she owned.她的投资结果很惨，血本无归。

11 knowledgeable   

adj.知识渊博的；有见识的

参考例句：

• He's quite knowledgeable about the theatre.他对戏剧很有心得。
• He made some knowledgeable remarks at the meeting.他在会上的发言颇有见地。

12 meshing   

结网，啮合

参考例句：

• The modification of gear is a principal method for improving performance meshing. 齿面修形是提高齿轮副啮合性能的重要手段。
• Exact modeling of gear teeth is based on meshing theory. 摘要根据齿轮啮合原理，建立了轮齿的精确齿形。

13 machinery   

n.(总称)机械，机器；机构

参考例句：

• Has the machinery been put up ready for the broadcast?广播器材安装完毕了吗？
• Machinery ought to be well maintained all the time.机器应该随时注意维护。

14 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

15 prosper   

v.成功，兴隆，昌盛；使成功，使昌隆，繁荣

参考例句：

• With her at the wheel,the company began to prosper.有了她当主管，公司开始兴旺起来。
• It is my earnest wish that this company will continue to prosper.我真诚希望这家公司会继续兴旺发达。

16 supreme   

adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的

参考例句：

• It was the supreme moment in his life.那是他一生中最重要的时刻。
• He handed up the indictment to the supreme court.他把起诉书送交最高法院。

17 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。

18 activist   

n.活动分子，积极分子

参考例句：

• He's been a trade union activist for many years.多年来他一直是工会的积极分子。
• He is a social activist in our factory.他是我厂的社会活动积极分子。

19 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。

20 rendezvous   

n.约会，约会地点，汇合点；vi.汇合，集合；vt.使汇合，使在汇合地点相遇

参考例句：

• She made the rendezvous with only minutes to spare.她还差几分钟时才来赴约。
• I have a rendezvous with Peter at a restaurant on the harbour.我和彼得在海港的一个餐馆有个约会。

21 incumbent   

adj.成为责任的，有义务的；现任的，在职的

参考例句：

• He defeated the incumbent governor by a large plurality.他以压倒多数票击败了现任州长。
• It is incumbent upon you to warn them.你有责任警告他们。

22 defenders   

n.防御者( defender的名词复数 )；守卫者；保护者；辩护者

参考例句：

• The defenders were outnumbered and had to give in. 抵抗者寡不敌众，只能投降。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• After hard fighting,the defenders were still masters of the city. 守军经过奋战仍然控制着城市。 来自《简明英汉词典》

23 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

24 corps   

n.(通信等兵种的)部队；(同类作的)一组

参考例句：

• The medical corps were cited for bravery in combat.医疗队由于在战场上的英勇表现而受嘉奖。
• When the war broke out,he volunteered for the Marine Corps.战争爆发时，他自愿参加了海军陆战队。

25 transcripts   

n.抄本（ transcript的名词复数 ）；转写本；文字本；副本

参考例句：

• Like mRNA, both tRNA and rRNA are transcripts of chromosomal DNA. tRNA及rRNA同mRNA一样，都是染色体DNA的转录产物。 来自辞典例句
• You can't take the transfer students'exam without your transcripts. 没有成绩证明书，你就不能参加转学考试。 来自辞典例句

26 inviting   

adj.诱人的，引人注目的

参考例句：

• An inviting smell of coffee wafted into the room.一股诱人的咖啡香味飘进了房间。
• The kitchen smelled warm and inviting and blessedly familiar.这间厨房的味道温暖诱人，使人感到亲切温馨。

27 quotation   

n.引文，引语，语录；报价，牌价，行情

参考例句：

• He finished his speech with a quotation from Shakespeare.他讲话结束时引用了莎士比亚的语录。
• The quotation is omitted here.此处引文从略。