Lincoln Portrait
Americans celebrate Presidents' Day each year on the third Monday of February But they did not always do so They used to observe the birthdays of two of the greatest American presidents George Washington and Abraham Lincoln Both men were born in the month of February Abraham Lincoln's birthday is February twelfth George Washington's is February twentysecond
In NineteenSeventyOne Congress approved a law that affected some national holidays It changed the official celebration of the holiday to the Monday closest to the real date The birthdays of the two Presidents were celebrated on one day the third Monday in February Later Congress said the holiday would honor all American presidents
VOICE TWO
Abraham Lincoln was the sixteenth American president He is considered one of the greatest leaders of all time Abraham Lincoln was born in Kentucky in EighteenOhNine He grew up in Illinois His family was poor and had no education Abraham Lincoln taught himself what he needed to know He became a lawyer He served in the 1)Illinois state 2)legislature and in the United States Congress In EighteenSixty he was elected to the country's highest office
VOICE ONE
President Lincoln led the United States during the Civil War between the northern and southern states This was the most serious crisis in American history President Lincoln helped end slavery in the nation And he helped keep the American union from splitting apart during the war President Lincoln believed that he proved to the world that democracy can be a lasting form of government
VOICE TWO
In EighteenSixtyThree President Lincoln gave what became his most famous speech Union armies of the north had won two great victories that year They defeated the Confederate armies of the south at Vicksburg Mississippi and at Gettysburg Pennsylvania Ceremonies were held to honor the dead soldiers at a burial place on the Gettysburg battlefield
President Lincoln spoke at Gettysburg for only about two minutes But his speech has never been forgotten Historians say the speech defined Americans as a people who believed in freedom democracy and equality
Abraham Lincoln wrote some of the most memorable words in American history He was murdered a few days after the Civil War ended in EighteenSixtyFive Yet his words live on
VOICE ONE
In NineteenFortyTwo 3)orchestra conductor Andre Kostelanitz asked composer Aaron Copland to write a piece of music about Abraham Lincoln Copland was one of the best modern American composers He wrote many kinds of music His music told stories about the United States
Aaron Copland wrote Lincoln Portrait to honor the president Copland's music included parts of American folk songs and songs popular during the Civil War Here is the Seattle 4)Symphony playing part of Lincoln Portrait
(TAPE CUT ONE LINCOLN PORTRAIT)
VOICE TWO
Aaron Copland added words from President Lincoln's speeches and letters to his Lincoln Portrait It has been performed many times in the United States Many famous people have read the words To celebrate Presidents' Day here is actor James Earl Jones reading part of Aaron Copland's Lincoln Portrait
(TAPE CUT TWO JAMES EARL JONES LINCOLN PORTRAIT) Fellow citizens we cannot escape history That is what he said That is what Abraham Lincoln said Fellow citizens we cannot escape history We of this Congress and this administration will be remembered in spite of ourselves No personal significance or insignificance can spare one or another of us The 5)fiery (22)trial through which we pass will light us down in honor or (23)dishonor to the latest generation We even we here hold the power and bear the responsibility… Lincoln was a quiet man Abe Lincoln was a quiet and melancholy man But when he spoke of 6)Democracy this is what he said
He said As I would not be a slave so I would not be a master This expresses my idea of Democracy Whatever differs from this to the extent of the difference is no democracy
Abraham Lincoln sixteenth President of these United States is (24)everlasting in the memory of his countrymen for on the battleground at Gettysburg this is what he said
He said that from these honored dead we take increased (25)devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain and that this nation under God shall have a new birth of freedom and that government of the people by the people and for the people shall not perish from the earth
VOICE ONE
This program was written by Shelley Gollust It was produced by Lawan Davis I'm Shirley Griffith
(LINCOLN PORTRAIT INSTEAD OF CLOSING THEME)
VOICE TWO
And I'm Rich Kleinfeldt Join us again next week for another report about life in the United States on the VOA Special English program THIS IS AMERICA
注释:
1) Illinois n 伊利诺斯州 (美国州名)
2) legislaturen 立法机关立法机构
3) orchestra] n 弦乐队乐队演奏处
4) symphony n 交响乐交响曲
5) fiery adj 火火焰炽热热烈暴躁眼睛炯炯神
6) democracy n 民政治民义
2 迈克尔 乔丹
Michael Jordan
Ten years ago Michael Jordan retired from the Chicago Bulls At the time he said he might consider returning to basketball one day Michael Jordan did return to the gamenot once but twice Last month he retired for the third time Shep ONeal reports
ANNCR
Michael Jordan is widely considered basketball’s best player ever He became known as Air Jordan He seemed to fly through the air with the ball He also gained wide notice by helping to sell products Businesses paid him tens of millions of dollars
Michael Jordan attended the University of 1)North Carolina He joined the Chicago Bulls in nineteeneightyfour He led the Bulls to six world championships during his thirteen years with the team
Michael Jordan first retired from the Bulls in nineteenninetythree He played baseball for a short time but returned to the team in nineteenninetyfour He retired again five years later He said it was time to do something else But he could not end his relationship with basketball
Michael Jordan became president of operations for the Washington Wizards the team in the nation’s capital But the Wizards were not a very good team So Michael Jordan decided to help by playing again
His 2)involvement as a player brought more people to watch the games But the Wizards did not reach the 3)playoffs in the two years that Michael Jordan played with them
He plans to continue as president of basketball operations for the Wizards He says his experience playing with the team will help him in that job For example he is in a better position to decide who should play on the team in the future
Michael Jordan is forty years old now He says it was fun to be around the young players He says playing again helped him understand how the game has changed
注释:
1) North Carolina] n 美国北卡罗纳州
2) Involvement n 连累包含
3) playoff (双方分相等时) 决赛
3 尔 克林顿
Bill Clinton
VOICE ONE
This is Mary Tillotson
VOICE TWO
And this is Steve Ember with THE MAKING OF A NATION a VOA Special English program about the history of the
United States Today we continue telling about America’s fortysecond president Bill Clinton He became only the second American president to be charged and tried for wrongdoing by Congress
VOICE ONE
For years critics of Bill Clinton had accused him of financial wrongdoing before he became president Some critics also accused his wife Hillary Rodham Clinton The Clintons denied any dishonest actions However unconfirmed reports repeatedly said that they were involved in illegal business activities in Arkansas during the nineteeneighties
In January of nineteenninetyfour the president asked Attorney General Janet Reno to appoint an independent lawyer to lead an investigation Mizz Reno named a Republican lawyer However some people said this man was too friendly to the Clinton administration He was replaced by Kenneth Starr also a Republican
VOICE TWO
Congress also investigated the president during his two terms in office For example the Senate Judiciary Committee began an investigation in nineteenninetyfive The majority of Judiciary Committee members reported that the evidence did not show Mister Clinton responsible for a crime But the majority belonged to his political party the Democrats 1)Suspicion of the president continued
The main cause of the suspicion developed from a financial investment made years earlier Bill and Hillary Clinton had bought land in Arkansas in nineteenseventyeight The Clintons formed the Whitewater Development Corporation with Susan and James McDougal The goal was to sell holiday homes on a river However the company did poorly
VOICE ONE
James McDougal also owned a loan company Hillary Clinton a lawyer did legal work for this company The company failed during the nineteeneighties James McDougal and Susan McDougal were found guilty of wrongdoing in connection with the loan company
Bill and Hillary Clinton’s business connection to the McDougals in the Whitewater Company helped make the Clintons targets of suspicion
VOICE TWO
A former judge also became linked to legal questions about the Whitewater Corporation David Hale owned a savings and loan company that received public money In nineteenninetysix Mister Hale said Bill Clinton had pressured him to loan money to Susan McDougal about eleven years earlier The Whitewater Development Corporation received some of that money Mister Clinton was governor of Arkansas at the time So such an action would have been illegal Bill Clinton denied the 2)accusation
(MUSIC)
VOICE ONE
Investigators asked Missus Clinton several times for records of her legal work for James McDougal during the nineteeneighties Officials wanted to know how much time she had spent on legal advice for his loan company She said she could not find the records Then in January of nineteenninetysix the records appeared in the White House Missus
Clinton could not explain their presence
Bill and Hillary Clinton continued to deny wrongdoing Some Americans did not believe them Others however said Kenneth Starr was wasting millions of dollars on his investigation They said Mister Starr was acting against the president for political reasons
Media reports said Mister Starr had offered shorter prison sentences to David Hale and others involved with Whitewater if they cooperated with his investigation Defenders of the president said this meant these people had good reason to lie
Investigators said such offers are common Other media reports said David Hale had received large amounts of money from a conservative organization that had strongly criticized Mister Clinton
(MUSIC)
VOICE TWO
The president was threatened with removal from office after a sexual relationship with a young woman became public
It started when a former Arkansas state employee named Paula Corbin Jones took legal action against President Clinton in nineteenninetyfour She charged that he had asked her for sex while he was governor of Arkansas A federal judge dismissed her case for lack of evidence But Missus Jones 3)appealed the case
Her lawyers wanted to prove that Mister Clinton had had sex with several female workers They suspected these included a young woman Monica Lewinsky who had worked as a White House assistant They believed Mizz Lewinsky had sexual relations with President Clinton between nineteenninetyfive and nineteenninetyseven
VOICE ONE
Kenneth Starr was still investigating the Whitewater case early in nineteenninetyeight He received permission to include Mizz Lewinsky in his investigation
A former friend of Mizz Lewinsky had given Mister Starr tape recordings of her telephone calls with the young woman On the recordings Monica Lewinsky talked about her relationship with the president
Earlier Mizz Lewinsky and Mister Clinton had separately answered questions from lawyers representing Paula Jones Both Mister Clinton and Mizz Lewinsky denied having a sexual relationship In January of nineteenninetyeight Mister Clinton also denied publicly that he had a sexual relationship with Mizz Lewinsky
VOICE TWO
Six months later Mister Clinton agreed to answer questions before a federal investigating jury He told the grand jury about his relationship with Mizz Lewinsky This meant he had lied during earlier official questioning That night the president admitted on national television that he had had a relationship with Monica Lewinsky that was wrong He told the nation his actions were a personal failure But he denied trying to get her to lie about the relationship
Kenneth Starr sent his final report to the House of Representatives The report suggested that Mister Clinton may have committed impeachable crimes in trying to hide his relationship with the young woman
VOICE ONE
In December the House of Representatives impeached President William Jefferson Clinton This meant the Senate would hold a trial and decide if he was guilty If found guilty Mister Clinton would be removed from office as required by the Constitution
Only one other president had ever been 4)impeached In eighteensixtyeight the House of Representatives had brought charges against President Andrew Johnson The Senate had failed by one vote to remove him from office
VOICE TWO
The House of Representatives approved two charges against President Clinton to send to the Senate One charge accused him of lying during the official investigation of his relationship with Mizz Lewinsky The other accused him of trying to hide evidence
Mister Clinton still had two years left to serve as president Opinion studies showed the American public wanted him to finish his term Twothirds of the people asked said they opposed removing him from office
VOICE ONE
The Senate decided Mister Clinton’s future in February of nineteenninetynine The onehundred senators held a trial to consider the charges and decide if Mister Clinton should be removed from office The trial required sixtyseven votes for a judgment of guilt on each charge
The Senators voted Mister Clinton not guilty on one charge They evenly divided their votes on the other charge
Bill Clinton remained president of the United States But the fortysecond president had hoped to be remembered for his leadership and the progress made during his administration Instead many people said he will be remembered for the charges against him
In October nineteenninetynine Kenneth Starr resigned as the independent investigator An assistant Robert Ray completed a final report on the Whitewater investigation He issued his report in September twothousand No charges were brought against the Clintons The report said there was not enough evidence to prove any wrongdoing by President or Missus Clinton
Political experts disagree about what place in history William Jefferson Clinton will occupy But the experts agree that Mister Clinton’s influence on the United States will be debated for many years to come
VOICE TWO
This program of THE MAKING OF A NATION was written by Jerilyn Watson and produced by George Grow This is Steve Ember
VOICE ONE
And this is Mary Tillotson Join us again next week for another VOA Special English program about the history of the United States
注释:
1) suspicion [s[s5pIF[n] n 猜疑怀疑
2) accusation [Akju()5zeIF[n] n 谴责指控
3) appeal [[5pil] vt 控诉
4) impeach [Im5pitF] vt 控告弹劾
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