美国英语听力80篇4 Lesson72

[00:08.52]In 1850,the congress of the United States debated

[00:18.44]an importtan compromise proposal.

[00:22.78]The compromise dealt mostly with the national dispute over slavery.

[00:29.99]The dispute threatened to split 1 the northern

[00:35.63]and southern parts of the country.There was a danger of war.

[00:41.56]Many leaders in the north and south supported the compromise.

[00:48.90]But President Zachary Taylor did not.

[00:54.15]Taylor did not think there was a crisis 2.

[01:00.87]He did not belive the dispute over slavery was as serious as others did

[01:08.81]He had his own plan to settle one part of the dispute.

[01:17.14]He would make the new territory of California a free state.

[01:23.77]Slavery there would be banned.

[01:28.92]Taylor's plan did not,however,settle other parts of the dispute.

[01:35.69]It said nothing about laws on escaped slaves.

[01:41.83]It said nothing about slavery in the nation's capital

[01:47.18]the District of Columbia.

[01:50.52]It said nothing about the border dispute between Texas and New Mexico.

[01:58.26]The congressional compromise was an attempt to settle all these problems

[02:06.30]Senator Henry Clay of Kentucky,who had written the compromise

[02:14.14]questioned the president's limited proposal.

[02:18.58]Clay said:"Now what is the plan of the President?

[02:26.31]Here are five problems...five wounds that are bleeding

[02:33.23]and threatening the life of the republic .

[02:37.28]What is the President's plan?

[02:41.12]Is it to heal all these wounds?

[02:46.37]No such thing.It is to heal one of the five and to leave the other four

[02:56.22]to bleed more than ever."

[03:00.85]While the debate continued in Washington,the situation in Texas

[03:08.79]and New Mexico got worse.

[03:12.34]Texas claimed a large part of New Mexico,

[03:17.77]including the capital,Santa Fe.

[03:22.79]Early in 1850,Texas sent a representative to Santa Fe to take control

[03:31.51]of the government.

[03:33.76]The United States military commander in  New Mexico advised the people

[03:41.60]not to recognize the man.

[03:45.33]The governor of Texas was furious 3.

[03:50.69]He decided 4 to send state soldiers to enforce Texas's claims in New Mexico

[03:59.83]He said if trouble broke out,the United States Government would be to blame

[04:08.79]President Taylor rejected Texas's claims.

[04:15.32]He told his secretary of war to send an order

[04:20.96]to the military commander in New Mexico.

[04:24.91]The commander was to use force to oppose any attempt

[04:31.67]by Texas to seize the territory.

[04:35.62]The secretary of war said he would not send such and order.

[04:43.17]He believed that if fighting began

[04:48.31]southerners would hurry to the aid of Texas.

[04:52.75]And that,he thought,might be the start of a southern struggle

[04:58.79]against the federal government.

[05:02.03]In a short time,the north and south would be at war.

[05:08.35]When the secretary of war refused to sign the order,

[05:14.49]President Taylor answered sharply 5."Then I will sign the order myself!"

[05:22.04]Taylor had been a general before becoming president.

[05:27.78]He said he would take command of the army himself to enforce the law.

[05:34.42]And he said he was willing to hang anyone who rebelled against the union

[05:42.15]President Taylor began writing a message to congress on the situation.

[05:50.77]He never finished it.

[05:54.61]On the afternoon of July 4,1850,Taylor attended

[06:01.82]an outdoor Independence Day ceremony.

[06:06.79]The ceremony was held at the place

[06:10.63]where a monument to America's first president,George Washington

[06:16.37]was being built.The day was very hot

[06:22.41]and Taylor stood for a long time in the burning sun.

[06:28.15]That night,he became sick with pains in his stomach.

[06:35.08]Doctors were called to the White House.

[06:39.70]But none of their treatments worked.

[06:43.44]Five days later,President Taylor died.

[06:49.26]Vice President Millard was sworn-in as president.