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 Warren Harding. He was the 29th president of the United States.
今天，我们谈论的是沃伦·哈定，他是美国第29任总统。
Harding was very different from the 28th president, Woodrow Wilson.
哈定与第28任总统伍德罗·威尔逊截然不同。
Wilson supported change; Harding promised “a return to normalcy.”
威尔逊支持改变；哈定却承诺“回归常态”。
Wilson took steps to protect American workers; Harding often worked to protect business owners.
威尔逊采取措施保护工人；哈定却经常保护企业主。
Wilson was slow in supporting voting rights for women, and in accepting African-American people as equal to whites. Harding supported women’s suffrage and civil rights for African-Americans.
威尔逊在支持妇女选举权，以及接受黑人与白人平等方面行动迟缓。哈定支持妇女选举权和黑人民权。
Yet both men were popular during their years in office.
然而，两位总统在任内都很受欢迎。
Today, however, historians usually think of Wilson as one of America’s best presidents. But Harding is remembered as one of the worst.
不过，当今历史学家通常认为威尔逊是最伟大的总统之一，而哈定是最差的总统之一。
Early life 早年生活
Warren Harding was the eighth president from the state of Ohio. His parents were both doctors.
沃伦·哈定是来自俄亥俄州的第八位总统，父母都是医生。
Harding spoke about having a happy childhood, growing up on a farm with his brothers and sisters. Some of his favorite early activities were performing in a band.1
哈定说他拥有一个快乐的童年，和兄弟姐妹在农场长大。早年一些最爱的活动就是在乐队里演奏。
Later, Harding – along with two friends – bought a newspaper. The paper became successful for several reasons.
后来，哈定和两位朋友集资购买了一家报纸，这家报纸因为许多原因获得成功。
Harding was kind to his employees and shared the company’s profits with them. He also tried not to publish stories that criticized politics or politicians from any party. Finally, he married a woman who had an excellent head for business.
哈定对员工很好，把公司的利润分给他们。并且，他会试图不去发表那些来自任何党派批评政治或政治家的文章。最后，他和一位拥有杰出商业头脑的女人结了婚。
Florence Kling Harding led the newspaper’s circulation2 department. She also helped to direct her husband’s political career.
弗洛伦斯·克林·哈定领导了报业的发行部门，还帮助主导了丈夫的政治生涯。
In time, Warren Harding became a state senator, a lieutenant governor of Ohio, and then a member of the U.S. Senate. He especially liked being a senator – and many of the other lawmakers liked him.
后来，沃伦·哈定担任过州参议员，俄亥俄州副州长，以及参议院议员。他尤其喜欢参议员职位，许多其他议员也都喜欢他。
One reason is because Harding rarely took a controversial position on any issue.
一个原因是因为哈定在任何事情上很少会发表有争议性的言论。
Instead, he accepted most of the ideas of the Republican Party. He was also good-looking and had an excellent speaking voice.
相反，他认同共和党的大多数意见，而且，他英俊潇洒，声线迷人。
These qualities helped earn him the Republican presidential nomination in 1920. A few months later, he easily won the national election.
这些特质助他赢得了1920年的共和党总统提名，几个月后，他轻松赢得了大选。
Presidency 总统任期
President Harding took office shortly after World War I ended. He promised to make Americans feel calm again, and also improve the nation’s prosperity3. Two of Harding’s goals were to support business and to limit immigration.
哈定是在一战结束后不久就任总统的，他承诺让美国再次恢复平静，提高国内经济繁荣。哈定的两个目标是支持商业和限制移民。
He succeeded on both issues. His administration reduced taxes for big businesses and wealthy people. It also increased tariffs – taxes on foreign imports.
这两个问题都很成功。哈定政府削减了大企业和富人的税收，提高了关税。
And the Harding administration put in place4 new rules on immigration. The rules made it easier for immigrants from northern Europe to enter the country, but harder for immigrants from Russia, eastern and central Europe.
并且，实施了新的移民法案，该法案更便于北欧的移民，而对于俄国，东欧和中欧的移民更加困难。
Harding also took steps to improve the effectiveness of the federal government.
哈定还采取措施来提高联邦政府的运行效率。
But his administration is remembered mostly for its problems.
但他的政府部门更多是因为它的问题而被人熟知。
At the beginning of his term, Harding reportedly told friends that the job of being president was too much for him. He appeared to want to do well, and he worked hard. But he turned over most of the responsibility to his friends in the cabinet.
在哈定任期开始时，据说他曾告诉朋友当总统对他来说意味着很多，他似乎是想要做好这份工作，并且很努力去做。但他把他的大部分责任都交给了内阁中的朋友。
A few were very able. But some were dishonest. They abused their positions to gain wealth for themselves and their families.
一些人很有能力，但一些人不够忠诚。他们滥用职位来为自己和家人谋取私利。
One of the most famous examples of corruption during Harding’s administration is known as the Teapot Dome Scandal.
哈定执政期间一个最为臭名昭著的腐败事件就是茶壶堡丑闻案。
The name “Teapot Dome” comes from a rock in the state of Wyoming. The rock looked like a teapot. Scientists correctly believed that oil could be found in the ground underneath it.
“茶壶堡”一词来自怀俄明州的一处岩石，该岩石看起来像一个茶壶，科学家正确预测到该处地下能够探测到石油。
At the time, the U.S. navy depended on oil to fuel its ships. So, the federal government claimed the land in case the navy needed to use the oil in an emergency.
当时，美国海军依赖石油燃料，所以，联邦政府管理了该片区域，防止海军在紧急情况时需要使用石油。
But a cabinet official who was a friend of Harding took control of the land. He gave a private company permission to search for oil on it in exchange for a large amount of money.
但哈定的朋友，同时也是内阁官员，接管了这片区域。他收受了一家私营企业贿赂，以此来交换石油开采权。
Some lawmakers became suspicious. So they opened an investigation.
一些议员也涉事其中，所以他们展开了调查。
In time, lawyers proved the act of corruption. Harding’s friend was the first person to be found guilty of a crime while serving as a cabinet official.
最终，律师证实了这起腐败案。哈定的朋友是第一位在担任内阁官员期间被判定有罪的人。
But President Harding did not live to see his friend go to jail.
但哈定总统没有活着看到他的朋友进监狱。
The investigation was just beginning when Harding took a trip to the West Coast to campaign for his policies.
该项调查是在哈定进行西海岸之旅来为他的政策造势时开始的。
Some say that Harding was also trying to escape the problems in his administration. He reportedly told one reporter that worrying about what his friends were doing kept him awake at nights.
一些人认为哈定也试图逃避他任内的问题。据说，他曾告诉一位记者，担心他朋友做的那些事让他彻夜难眠。
During the trip, Harding showed signs of not being in good health. Doctors thought he could have food poisoning or pneumonia. He was taken to a hotel in San Francisco, California. For a day, he appeared to be feeling better.
在旅途当中，哈定的身体出现了一些状况。医生认为他可能是食物中毒或肺炎，便入住了加州旧金山的一家酒店。一天的时间里，他似乎感觉好多了。
He was sitting up in bed. And then suddenly, his body shook and collapsed. He died instantly5.
他端坐在床上，身体突然休克然后倒下，立刻就死亡了。
Reports at the time differed on the cause of Harding’s death. Some even said that his wife poisoned the president to protect him from being punished for the wrongdoing in his administration.
当时关于哈定的死因众说纷纭。一些人甚至说是他的妻子毒害了他，以此来保护他因任内丑闻而免于责罚。
But most historians think that he had long suffered from heart failure, and was struck by a heart attack. He was 57.
但大部分历史学家认为他长期患有心脏病，是因为心脏病发作死亡的，死的时候57岁。
Legacy 遗产
Millions of Americans mourned over Warren Harding’s death. They stood beside railroad tracks as his body traveled from California back to Washington, DC.
数百万美国民众前来悼念沃伦·哈定，他的遗体从加州运回到华盛顿时，人们站在铁路旁为他送行。
The following year, Florence Harding also died. She and her husband are buried together under a grand6 memorial in their hometown in Ohio.
第二年，弗洛伦斯·哈定也去世了。她和丈夫一起被安葬在家乡俄亥俄州的一处大纪念堂。
But in the years after his death, Harding’s public image worsened. More corruption scandals in his administration came to light. And some historians have criticized him for not having a clear idea about how he wanted to lead the country.
哈定死后的几年里，他的公众形象越来越差。更多关于他任内的腐败丑闻浮出水面。一些历史学家批评说他没有一个关于他想要如何领导国家的清晰理念。
In 1927, a woman published a book saying she had a long, but secret relationship with Harding, both before and during his presidency. She also said he was the father of her daughter. Genetic testing has confirmed her claim.
1927年，一位妇女作家出版了一本书，书中揭露了她与哈定的一段持久秘密的关系，包括总统任内以及之前。她还说哈定就是她女儿的父亲，基因鉴定已经证实了她的说法。
More than 30 years after her book was published, a lawyer discovered love letters from Harding to a different woman. They confirmed that he had a long romantic affair with the wife of one of his friends. Harding had also been married at the time.
该书出版的30多年后，一名律师发现哈定与另外一位女人有情书来往。他们证实了哈定与他的一位朋友的妻子有婚外情，哈定那时候已经结婚。
These reports, as well as the corruption during his administration, damaged Harding’s public image. But he also seemed to know that he would not be remembered as one of the best occupants of the White House.
这些报导以及他任内的腐败事件损害了哈定的公众形象，但他似乎也知道人们不会把他当作是白宫最伟大的主人之一来纪念。
Instead, he tried to be likable and modest. He called himself “a man of limited talents7” who was “not fit for the office” of president.
相反，他努力表现出讨喜和谦逊。他称自己“天赋有限，不适合当总统”。
原文链接
https://learningenglish.voanews.com/a/americas-presidents-warren-harding/4018013.html
-
band- n. a usually small group of musicians who play popular music together - 乐队 ↩
-
circulation - n. the average number of copies of a newspaper that are sold over a particular period - 发行，流通 ↩
-
prosperity - n. the state of being successful usually by making a lot of money - （经济）繁荣 ↩
-
put in place - 落实到位；到位；正在实施；实施 ↩
-
instantly - adv. without delay; immediately - 立刻地 ↩
-
grand - adj. impressive because of size or importance - 宏伟的，豪华的 ↩
-
talents - n. special abilities that allow someone to do something well - 天赋；才能 ↩
