VOA Learning English presents America’s Presidents.
美国之音慢速英语介绍美国总统栏目。
Today we are talking about Grover Cleveland. When Americans remember him, it is mostly because he makes writing presidential timelines difficult. Cleveland was the nation’s 22nd president, and also its 24th.
今天,我们来谈论格罗佛·克利夫兰。美国人记得他,主要是因为他使得撰写总统时间表变得困难。克利夫兰是美国第22任也是第24任总统。
He remains the only U.S. president to date whose second term did not immediately follow the first.
他仍旧是唯一一位两度当选且任期不连续的美国总统。
Cleveland is also notable because of his personal life, and because he held office during one of the country’s worst economic crises.
克利夫兰也因他的个人生活而出名,以及他担任总统时期,美国正处于最严重的经济危机之一。
Early life 早年生活
Stephen Grover Cleveland was born in the northeastern state of New Jersey and grew up mostly in New York. He was a middle child in a family of nine children. His father was a minister, and the family did not have much money.
斯蒂芬·格罗佛·克利夫兰出生在东北部的新泽西州,成长于纽约州。他是家里九个孩子中的老二。他的父亲是一名牧师,家境比较窘迫。
As a result, Cleveland had little formal education. He was one of the few presidents who did not go to college. But he was able to become a lawyer. He earned enough money and developed a good professional image.
因此,克利夫兰几乎没有受过正规教育,他是少数几个没有受过大学教育的总统之一。但他成为了一名律师,赚取了足够财富并且获得了良好的专业形象。
In time, he became a sheriff, a mayor, and the governor of the state of New York.
后来,他当了(伊利县)警长,(布法罗)市长,以及纽约州州长。
In his early life, Cleveland did not marry and have children. Instead, he had many friends, with whom he enjoyed hunting, fishing, and eating and drinking in restaurants.
早年的时候,克利夫兰没有结婚生子。相反,他结交了许多朋友,一起打猎,钓鱼,吃吃喝喝。
But Cleveland did have a relationship with a widow1 named Maria Halpin. She became pregnant and said Cleveland was the baby’s father.
但实际上克利夫兰与一个叫玛利亚·哈尔平的寡妇有染。她怀孕了,并声称克利夫兰是孩子的父亲。
Cleveland said he was not sure if he was. However, he gave the child some financial support, the name of one of his closest friends, and his own family name. The child was called Oscar Folsom Cleveland.
克利夫兰并不能确定他是否是孩子的父亲。然而,他仍旧给予了这个孩子一些经济支持,其中一个密友的名字,以及他自己的姓。这个孩子叫做奥斯卡·福尔瑟姆·克利夫兰。
Shortly after the boy was born, his mother was sent to an institution for the mentally unstable. Doctors quickly confirmed that her mental health was fine, but her son was taken from her and raised by another family.
小男孩出生后不久,他的母亲被送到了精神病机构。医生很快确定她的精神没有问题,但她的儿子已经被夺走,被另一个家庭抚养。
The story about Halpin and the child became an issue in the election of 1884. The Democratic Party had nominated Cleveland as their candidate for president.
哈尔平和孩子的故事成了1884年大选的一个焦点问题。民主党已经提名克利夫兰为总统候选人。
In general, voters liked his message of limiting federal spending, reducing the power of wealthy interests, and stopping political corruption. Some called him “Grover the Good.”
通常来说,选民比较青睐克利夫兰限制联邦开支,减少富人利益集团的权利,以及打击政治腐败。一些人称他为“好人格罗佛”。
But Cleveland’s opponents said his history with Maria Halpin showed that he was an immoral2 man. At anti-Cleveland rallies, Republicans chanted, “Ma, ma, where’s my Pa?” Pa is another word for father.
但克利夫兰的反对者以他和玛利亚·哈尔平的事情来攻击他是一个不道德的男人。在反克利夫兰阵营,共和党人士唱衰道,“妈,妈,我的爸爸在哪里?”Pa指代父亲这个词。
But Cleveland did not comment much on the matter. His defenders said Cleveland’s honesty as a public official was more important than his bad judgment as a private citizen.
但克利夫兰没有对此事作过多回应。他的支持者认为克利夫兰作为一名政府官员的诚实比他作为一名普通公民的糟糕评判来得更为重要。
Voters seemed to agree. Cleveland narrowly won the election. His supporters answered the Republicans’ chants of “where’s my Pa?” by saying, “Gone to the White House, ha, ha, ha!”
选民们似乎也同意。克利夫兰勉强赢得了这次大选。他的支持者回应了共和党人的“我的爸爸在哪里?”,说道,“去了白宫,哈哈哈!”
First presidential term 第一次总统任期
Grover Cleveland’s presidency was unusual because he did not want to use the office to propose laws. Instead, he mostly aimed to keep the federal government operating efficiently. He also wanted to limit lawmakers’ power to help special interest groups.
格罗佛·克利夫兰的总统任期并不寻常,他不想在任期内提出什么法案。相反,他的主要目标是保持联邦政府的高效运行。他还想限制议员有助于特殊利益集团的权利。
As a result, Cleveland vetoed many bills in his first term. He set a record at that time for saying no to proposals from Congress.
结果,克利夫兰在他的第一届任期否决了很多法案。他在那时否决的国会提案创造了记录。
One of the few ideas that he supported was reducing tariffs3.
在他支持的少部分观点当中的一个是降低关税。
Many of his fellow Democrats liked that idea, too. But a number of Republicans did not. In the next election, their candidate, Benjamin Harrison, defeated Cleveland.
他的许多民主党同僚也很支持这个观点,但很多共和党人反对。在下一届大选中,共和党候选人本杰明·哈里森击败了克利夫兰。
Cleveland returned to being a lawyer in New York.
克利夫兰返回纽约继续当了律师。
In 1892, Cleveland was chosen to run against Benjamin Harrison again. The tariff issue returned: the Republicans’ protective tariffs had hurt some industries, and voters answered this time by voting Harrison out of office.
1892年,克利夫兰再一次被选中与本杰明·哈里森竞选总统。关税问题再次重现:共和党的关税保护已经损害了一些产业,这次选民投票让哈里森出局。
Cleveland returned to the White House. But this time he was not alone.
克利夫兰返回了白宫,但这次他不是一个人。
White House Wedding 白宫婚礼
Two years into his first term as president, Cleveland married the daughter of his close friend, Oscar Folsom.
在克利夫兰第一次总统任期的两年后,他和密友奥斯卡·福尔瑟姆的女儿结了婚。
The bride’s name was Frances Folsom. She was 21 years old at the time. The president was 49.
新娘的名字叫弗朗西丝·福尔瑟姆。当时,她21岁,总统49岁。
Cleveland was not the first president to get married while in office. But he was the first one to be married in the White House.
克利夫兰不是第一位任期内结婚的总统,但他是第一位在白宫结婚的总统。
The event captivated4 the public. What’s more, Americans adored the new first lady. She was known for being social, charming, and beautiful. Historians conclude that she was the most popular first lady since Dolley Madison. She remains the youngest.
婚礼吸引了众人。更重要的是,美国民众都很仰慕这位新任第一夫人。她因善于社交、富有魅力以及美丽迷人而为人所知。历史学家总结认为,她是自多利·麦迪逊以来最受欢迎的第一夫人,也是最年轻的。
Second presidential term 第二次总统任期
When the Clevelands returned to the White House, the country was entering a severe economic recession. Some of the country’s biggest businesses were failing, including a railroad and many banks.
克利夫兰返回白宫时,国家正进入了一场严重经济衰退当中。一些国家的最大资本倒闭了,包括铁路和许多银行。
As a result, investors withdrew their money from the stock market. The withdrawal caused many other businesses to fail. The series of events is known as the Panic of 1893.
结果,投资者从股票市场抽出资金,挤兑引起了许多其他资本倒闭。这一系列事件称之为1893年大恐慌。
Soon, more and more Americans were out of work. Many could not afford houses or food. Some begged President Cleveland to intervene. But he declined. He did not think it was the role of the federal government to create jobs in order to reverse the depression.
很快,越来越多美国民众失业,没有住房和食物。一些人乞求克利夫兰总统干预,但他拒绝了。他认为联邦政府的角色不是去生产工作来扭转经济萧条。
However, Cleveland did use the power of the federal government to intervene during a famous labor strike. In that event, workers in Chicago who helped keep the trains operating walked out of their jobs. They were protesting a major decrease in their pay that did not include a decrease in their living expenses.
然而,克利夫兰确实使用了联邦政府的权利干预了一场著名的工人罢工。在这场罢工中,芝加哥铁路工人离开了工作岗位,以抗议薪水大幅下降,但生活开支却没有降低。
Since the owner of the company also controlled the price of housing and food, workers appealed to him to treat them more fairly. But the company owner refused even to meet with the workers.
由于铁路公司的老板也控制着住房和食物的价格,工人们恳求他对待他们能够公平一点。然而,公司老板甚至拒绝和工人们见面。
Soon, the workers’ boycott grew. Workers at other railyards stopped working. Farmers could not get their goods to market, and others could not get the supplies they needed. Even the mail stopped being delivered.
很快,工人们联合抵制。其他铁路站场的工人们也举行罢工。农场的商品不能运到市场,其他人不能得到所需物品,甚至信件也停止了投递。
So Cleveland sent federal troops to break the strike.
所以,克利夫兰派遣了联邦军队来介入罢工。
In the short term, Cleveland’s actions worked. The trains moved again, and both the courts and most of the public agreed with the president’s decision.
克利夫兰的行动短期内收到了成效,火车又运作起来,法院和大部分民众都赞成总统的决策。
But in the long term, Cleveland’s handling of the panic, depression, and workers’ strike lost the support of many voters. At the next opportunity, they voted him out of the White House again.
但长期来看,克利夫兰对于恐慌、经济萧条、以及工人罢工的处理让他失去了许多选民的支持。下一届总统选举中,选民们再次投票让他离开了白宫。
Cleveland’s Legacy 克利夫兰的遗产
Cleveland returned to New York, and later settled in a large house in Princeton, New Jersey.
克利夫兰返回了纽约,不久便在新泽西的普林斯顿购置了一处豪宅。
There, he wrote, made speeches, sat on corporate boards, became a trustee5 of Princeton University and enjoyed the respect of the people who lived in the town.
在那里,他从事写作,发表演讲,进入董事会,成为普林斯顿大学的董事,享受小镇上人民的敬仰。
He died at age 71 of problems with his stomach, heart, and kidneys. Several people said his final words were, “I have tried so hard to do right.”
克利夫兰71岁时死于胃部、心脏以及肾脏问题。一些人说他的临终之言是,“我很努力地去做了正确的事情。”
Then and now, many people agreed with that idea. Cleveland was generally an honest man who worked hard and tried to act independently as president.
当时和现在的很多人都赞成他的想法。总的来说,克利夫兰是一位努力工作且作为总统行事独立的诚实之人。
But he is not considered one of America’s best leaders. He did not have a clear idea about how to guide the country.
但他并没有被认为是最伟大的总统之一。他没有一个清晰的理念来指导国家。
Yet the opposing party, at least, may have considered Cleveland’s presidency a success. After Cleveland’s final election defeat, six of the next seven presidents were Republicans.
然而,至少反对党认为克利夫兰的总统任期是成功的。在克利夫兰最后一次选举失利后,接下来的七任总统中有六任是共和党人。
原文链接
https://learningenglish.voanews.com/a/americas-presidents-grover-cleveland/3960447.html
-
widow - n. a woman whose husband has died - 寡妇 ↩
-
immoral - adj. not morally good or right : morally evil or wrong - 不道德的 ↩
-
tariffs - n. a tax on goods coming into or leaving a country - 关税 ↩
-
captivate - v. to attract and hold the attention of someone by being interesting or pretty - 迷住,迷惑 ↩
-
trustee - n. a member of a group that manages the money of an organization - 受托人;信托文件;董事;信托人 ↩