VOA慢速英语20060406b
时间：2019-01-30 作者：英语课 分类：2006年慢速英语（四）月
THE MAKING OF A NATION - Technology Helps the Allied 1 Forces Win World War OneBy Frank Beardsley
Broadcast: Thursday, April 06, 2006
(MUSIC)
VOICE ONE:
THE MAKING OF A NATION -- a program in Special English by the Voice of America.
(MUSIC)
I'm Maurice Joyce. Today, Larry West and I continue the story of American involvement in World War One. The nation's president at that time was Woodrow Wilson.
VOICE TWO:
Nineteen eighteen was the final year of the most terrible war the world had ever known. But World War One did not end quickly or easily. The German Army made a final effort to defeat the Allies. The United States had entered the conflict. And Germany wanted a victory before large numbers of American troops could get to Europe.
Germany's effort became easier after it signed a peace treaty with the new Bolshevik government in Russia. The treaty made it possible for Germany to use all its forces against the Allies on its western border. In the end, however, Germany's plan failed.
Americans and their captives in the Battle of Belleau Woods
Allied troops pushed back the German attack in a series of bloody 2 battles. The addition of American soldiers greatly increased Allied strength.
VOICE ONE:
The leader of American forces in Europe was General John J. Pershing. General Pershing used a weapon new to the world of war: air power.
Airplanes were used first simply as 'eyes in the sky'. They discovered enemy positions so ground artillery 3 could fire at them. Then they were used as fighter planes. They carried guns to shoot down other planes. Finally, planes were built big enough to carry bombs.
World War One American pilot seated in his plane behind a machine gun
General Pershing also used another new weapon of war: tanks. He put these inventions together for his battle plan against Germany.
VOICE TWO:
Pershing's target was the Argonne Forest. It was a tree-covered area Germany had held since nineteen fourteen.
General John J. Pershing
The forest was protected by barbed wire and by defensive 4 positions built of steel and concrete. It was the strongest part of the German line. It also was the most important part. If Argonne fell, Germany's final lines of defense 5 would fall.
The fighting in the Argonne Forest was fierce. Thousands of men died. Sometimes, troops got lost because the forest was so thick with trees. But day by day, the Allies pushed the Germans back.
VOICE ONE:
Germany's leaders were losing hope. In September, nineteen eighteen, they met with German ruler Kaiser Wilhelm. The army chief reported that the war was lost. Germany had no choice, he said. It must give back all the territory it had seized and try to negotiate a peace agreement.
Other officials told the Kaiser that the situation at home was bad, too. People were starving. Revolutionaries were plotting to overthrow 6 the government.
Kaiser Wilhelm agreed it might be best to seek peace now. . . Before Germany was destroyed completely. He asked his foreign secretary to send a secret message to American President Woodrow Wilson. The message would propose immediate 7 negotiations 8 to end the war.
Woodrow Wilson
VOICE TWO:
President Wilson received it. He did not tell the other Allied leaders. Instead, he returned a message to Germany. Wilson asked if Germany was willing to accept the peace proposals he had offered many months earlier.
Germany's Chancellor 9 answered that his government did accept the proposals. However, the events of war ended the secret exchange of messages between Germany and the United States. German submarines had increased attacks on Allied shipping 10. Two passenger ships were sunk. Eight hundred twenty persons were killed. Many were women and children.
President Wilson was shocked. He told Germany there could be no peace negotiations with such an inhuman 11 enemy.
VOICE ONE:
In late October, nineteen eighteen, Wilson sent a final message to Germany. He wanted a settlement that would make it impossible for Germany to fight again. Germany, Wilson said, must promise to withdraw its forces from all Allied territory. It also must close its weapons factories.
Wilson added that the Allies would negotiate only with a government that truly represented the people of Germany. . . not with military rulers.
The new German Chancellor was Maximilian, Prince of Baden. Prince Max received President Wilson's message. He succeeded in getting Kaiser Wilhelm to dismiss the man responsible for German military policy. But he failed to get the Kaiser himself to give up power.
VOICE TWO:
Not all allied leaders supported President Wilson's plan to end World War One. They could not agree on some parts of it.
Britain, for example, opposed the part about freedom of the seas. Britain said it would prevent the kind of naval 12 blockade which had been so effective against Germany. France and Italy opposed the part about creating a new international organization. Wilson had called it a league of nations.
To solve these differences, Wilson sent his closest adviser 13 to Europe to meet with Allied leaders. The discussions were long and sometimes bitter. Many of the Allies thought Wilson was being too kind to the defeated enemy. But in the end, they all agreed to accept the plan as a starting point for peace talks.
VOICE ONE:
By this time, in early November, the situation in Germany was growing worse. Communists and Socialists 14 were calling for a rebellion. The navy was ordered to go to sea. Sailors refused, and killed some officers. Reports told of rebellion in parts of the German army, too.
The nation's leaders had no choice. They would negotiate a peace treaty. On the morning of November eighth, a German delegation 15 went to Allied military headquarters to discuss terms.
VOICE TWO:
The Germans were met by the Supreme 16 Allied Commander, Marshal Ferdinand Foch of France. Foch greeted them coldly. And he did not offer peace terms until they officially asked for a ceasefire. Germany -- not the Allies -- had to put down its weapons first.
The Germans were shocked when they heard the terms. The list was severe.
Among other things, Germany must withdraw its forces from all occupied territories. It must give up Alsace-Lorraine, a part of France it had held for almost fifty years. It must give up most of its weapons including airplanes, submarines, and battleships. And it must turn over large numbers of trucks, railroad engines, and other supplies.
VOICE ONE:
The German delegation said it could not sign such an agreement. Germany, it said, was not surrendering. It was only asking for a ceasefire. The delegation said it could not accept the peace terms without communicating with the government in Berlin.
But the German government was falling apart. Kaiser Wilhelm had finally resigned and left the country. A new cabinet had been formed. And a new prime minister had declared a German republic. Yet the situation remained unsettled.
Because of this, the German delegation negotiating with the Allies had to decide for itself. After much argument, the men agreed to the Allied terms. They signed the peace treaty. A ceasefire began a few hours later.
VOICE TWO:
News that the shooting had stopped set off wild celebrations throughout the world. People danced in the streets. They cheered the end of the worst war in history.
There were celebrations along the battle lines, too. But these were quiet. Soldiers from both sides climbed out of long trenches 17 dug in the ground. They met the men who, a short while earlier, had been their deadly enemy.
The bloody European conflict was over. The dispute, however, was not. Another fierce battle was ready to begin. This time, the battle would be among diplomats 18. The fight over the peace treaty officially ending World War One was about to begin.
That will be our story next week.
(MUSIC)
VOICE ONE:
You have been listening to THE MAKING OF A NATION -- a program in Special English by the Voice of America. Your narrators were Maurice Joyce and Larry West. Our program was written by Frank Beardsley. The Voice of America invites you to listen again next week at this same time, when we will continue the story of American president Woodrow Wilson.
- Britain was allied with the United States many times in history.历史上英国曾多次与美国结盟。
- Allied forces sustained heavy losses in the first few weeks of the campaign.同盟国在最初几周内遭受了巨大的损失。
- He got a bloody nose in the fight.他在打斗中被打得鼻子流血。
- He is a bloody fool.他是一个十足的笨蛋。
- This is a heavy artillery piece.这是一门重炮。
- The artillery has more firepower than the infantry.炮兵火力比步兵大。
- Their questions about the money put her on the defensive.他们问到钱的问题，使她警觉起来。
- The Government hastily organized defensive measures against the raids.政府急忙布置了防卫措施抵御空袭。
- 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。
- After the overthrow of the government,the country was in chaos.政府被推翻后，这个国家处于混乱中。
- The overthrow of his plans left him much discouraged.他的计划的失败使得他很气馁。
- His immediate neighbours felt it their duty to call.他的近邻认为他们有责任去拜访。
- We declared ourselves for the immediate convocation of the meeting.我们主张立即召开这个会议。
- negotiations for a durable peace 为持久和平而进行的谈判
- Negotiations have failed to establish any middle ground. 谈判未能达成任何妥协。
- They submitted their reports to the Chancellor yesterday.他们昨天向财政大臣递交了报告。
- He was regarded as the most successful Chancellor of modern times.他被认为是现代最成功的财政大臣。
- We struck a bargain with an American shipping firm.我们和一家美国船运公司谈成了一笔生意。
- There's a shipping charge of ￡5 added to the price.价格之外另加五英镑运输费。
- We must unite the workers in fighting against inhuman conditions.我们必须使工人们团结起来反对那些难以忍受的工作条件。
- It was inhuman to refuse him permission to see his wife.不容许他去看自己的妻子是太不近人情了。
- He took part in a great naval battle.他参加了一次大海战。
- The harbour is an important naval base.该港是一个重要的海军基地。
- They employed me as an adviser.他们聘请我当顾问。
- Our department has engaged a foreign teacher as phonetic adviser.我们系已经聘请了一位外籍老师作为语音顾问。
- The socialists saw themselves as true heirs of the Enlightenment. 社会主义者认为自己是启蒙运动的真正继承者。
- The Socialists junked dogma when they came to office in 1982. 社会党人1982年上台执政后，就把其政治信条弃之不顾。
- The statement of our delegation was singularly appropriate to the occasion.我们代表团的声明非常适合时宜。
- We shall inform you of the date of the delegation's arrival.我们将把代表团到达的日期通知你。
- 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。
- life in the trenches 第一次世界大战期间的战壕生活
- The troops stormed the enemy's trenches and fanned out across the fields. 部队猛攻敌人的战壕，并在田野上呈扇形散开。