Calvin Coolidge:Slient

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 Calvin Coolidge. He was the vice president under Warren Harding. When Harding died suddenly a little more than two years into his term, Coolidge became president.
今天，我们谈论的是卡尔文·柯立芝。他是沃伦·哈定总统时期的副总统。哈定任期两年多后突然死亡，使得柯立芝递补为总统。

Coolidge is linked to two opposing ideas. The first idea is quiet restraint.
柯立芝与两个对立的观点联系在一起。第一个是安静克制。

The president’s nickname was “Silent Cal.” He rarely took part in casual¹ conversation². And as a leader, he often thought the best action was not to take any action.
柯立芝的绰号叫“沉默的卡尔”。他很少参与非正式交流。作为一名领袖，他时常认为最好的行动就是不采取任何行动。

Many voters liked his “cool” style. Coolidge quickly earned a public image as a serious man who did not spend money or words easily.
许多选民喜欢他这种“酷酷的”风格。柯立芝迅速获得了不轻易花钱以及不苟言笑的公众形象。

But Coolidge is also linked to a period in U.S. history known as the Roaring Twenties.
但柯立芝也身处在美国历史上蓬勃发展的二十年代时期。

In those years, the 1920s, the American economy was generally good. Many people spent money on exciting things – such as the still-new automobile – and on entertainment, including alcoholic drinks, cigarettes, and dancing. Creative expression such as jazz and Art Deco architecture became popular.
20世纪20年代，美国经济普遍繁荣。很多人在令人兴奋的事情上投入消费，例如还是新玩意儿的汽车；或者娱乐上，包括酒精饮料，香烟以及跳舞；创造性的表达，比如爵士和艺术装饰风格的建筑变得流行起来。

Calvin Coolidge is often given credit for helping fuel the Roaring Twenties with his pro-business economic policies.
卡尔文·柯立芝因其亲商的经济政策帮助推动了蓬勃发展的20世纪20年代而经常受到称赞。

But some historians caution against remembering Coolidge’s business freedom policies too fondly³. They say he helped create the conditions for the severe economic depression that followed his presidency.
但一些历史学家警告说，不要过于天真地记住柯立芝的商业自由政策。他们认为柯立芝创造了随着他任期结束之后的严重经济萧条的条件。

Early life 早年经历

Calvin Coolidge and his sister were born and raised on a farm in the northeast state of Vermont.
卡尔文·柯立芝和妹妹在东北部佛蒙特州的一处农场出生，并在那里长大。

Coolidge spoke highly of both his parents.
柯立芝对于父母给予了高度赞扬。

His father owned a store, and also held local political offices. He had a public image for honesty, public service, and thrift⁴.
他的父亲拥有一家商店，并担任当地治安法官，在当地是一位诚实，服务公众并且勤俭节约的形象。

Young Calvin Coolidge helped his father in the store, and hoped to be just like him.
年轻时，卡尔文·柯立芝在父亲的商店帮忙，并且希望自己能够就像父亲一样。

Coolidge also admired his mother’s strong character. He was 12 years old when she died, and he wrote that losing her was “the greatest grief⁵ that can come to a boy.”
柯立芝也很钦佩母亲坚毅的性格。母亲在他12岁时去世，他写道，失去母亲对一个男孩来讲是最大的悲痛。

Six years later, his sister also died.
六年后，他的妹妹也去世了。

Their deaths made young Calvin Coolidge even more serious than he already was.
他们的死使得年轻的卡尔文·柯立芝甚至比之前更加严肃寡言了。

But Coolidge was also known for his wit⁶ – a kind of humor that often depends on word play or intelligence. As a student at Amherst College in Massachusetts, Coolidge became known as an able and funny public speaker.
但柯立芝却也因为风趣幽默而为人熟知。作为一名马萨诸塞州安默斯特学院的学生，柯立芝因能力出众并且风趣的演讲而出名。

That skill helped him rise in politics. He began with lower-level offices in Massachusetts, and later served as that state’s governor.
这项能力也助他在政界冉冉升起。他从马萨诸塞州的小职员做起，后来担任了该州州长。

​Along the way, he married Grace Anna Goodhue, a teacher for the deaf. She was known to be warm and social, and the couple were reported to have a loving marriage. They went on to have two sons.
期间，他和一位聋哑人教师格蕾丝·安娜·古德休结婚。格蕾丝性格温和并善于社交，据说这对夫妻拥有一个美满的婚姻。他们后来生育了两个儿子。

In 1920, the Republican Party nominated Coolidge to be its vice presidential candidate. In general, voters liked the Republican ticket⁷. They were ready for a change after the reform policies and international engagement⁸ of Democrat Woodrow Wilson.
1920年，共和党提名柯立芝为副总统候选人。一般而言，选民倾向于共和党候选人，并做好准备来应对民主党总统伍德罗·威尔逊的改革政策以及国际事务的改变。

Sure enough, the Republicans won the election in a landslide.
果然，共和党以压倒性优势赢得了大选。

But Coolidge did not enjoy the office of vice president very much. He had little power in the government. During meetings, he often remained silent.
但柯立芝作为副总统并没有获得多少权利。会议期间，他经常保持沉默。

One summer night he and his wife were on vacation in Vermont. His father, Colonel Coolidge, woke them up in the middle of the night with some dramatic news: President Harding had died.
一个夏天的夜晚，柯立芝和他的妻子正在佛蒙特州度假。他的父亲科罗内尔·柯立芝在午夜时分将他叫醒，并告诉他一则惊人的消息：哈定总统去世了。

Reporters quickly gathered at the small farmhouse. Colonel Coolidge had not put electricity in the house. So everyone watched by the light of an oil lamp.
记者很快聚集到这间小农舍。科罗内尔·柯立芝没有给这间农舍通电，所以每个人都在煤油灯的灯光下注视着宣誓过程。

Colonel Coolidge was a public official. He used the family Bible and a copy of the Constitution to swear in his son as the 30^th U.S. president.
科罗内尔·柯立芝是一位公务人员。他使用了家庭圣经以及一份宪法副本来让儿子宣誓成为美国第30任总统。

Then the country’s new leader did a very sensible⁹ thing: he went back to bed.
然后这位新国家领导人干了一件非常明智的事情：回到床上继续睡觉了。

Presidency 总统任期

President Coolidge believed in limited government, especially limited federal government. He permitted state and Cabinet officials to decide as many issues as they could.
柯立芝总统相信受限政府，尤其是受限的联邦政府。他允许州和内阁官员来决定尽可能多的事务。

Coolidge used his authority to focus mostly on the country’s economy.
柯立芝将手中的权力大部分都聚焦于国家经济。

At the time he took office, the U.S. was at the start of an economic boom. Coolidge tried to maintain that prosperity. He did not regulate businesses too much, and he sharply reduced taxes, especially on the wealthy.
柯立芝上任之初，美国正处于经济开始腾飞的时刻。他尝试去平衡该繁荣，没有过多干预商业，并且大大削减了税收，尤其是对于富人。

By nearly every measure, the economy grew.
由于这些措施，经济逐渐繁荣。

But the policies also widened the divide between rich and poor Americans, and put the country’s economy in a risky situation.
但这些政策也使得美国贫富差距逐渐扩大，并使国家经济处于危险境地。

More and more people began to invest their money in the stock market. Some put their dollars in dangerous investments.
越来越多的人开始投资股票市场。一些人甚至投资危险项目。

And business owners produced more goods than most members of the public could really afford. Increasingly, people borrowed money on credit to pay for luxury goods.
商人生产了更多大众无法真正买得起的商品，人们逐渐通过借贷来购买奢侈品。

At the same time, the economic situation of many American farmers was getting worse. The weather had been unusually dry in some places. And the price of food was falling.
同时，许多美国农民的经济状况也每况愈差。一些地方气候反常干燥，食物的价格持续下跌。

Farmers asked the federal government for assistance. But Coolidge rejected several bills that might have helped them. The bills had other problems, Coolidge reasoned, and he did not think that the federal government should intervene in the situation.
农民们请求联邦政府的帮助。但柯立芝拒绝了几项有助于农民的法案。柯立芝认为这些法案会有其他问题，认为联邦政府不应该干预。

So the farmers continued to suffer.
结果，农民们一直遭受困境。

But most voters remained supportive of Coolidge. Even though the president was considered a quiet person, he spoke often on the radio, appeared in a talking film, met with reporters regularly, and posed in funny costumes for photographers.
但大多数选民仍然支持柯立芝。尽管柯立芝总统被认为是一位沉默寡言之人，但他经常通过电台讲话，出现在有声电影当中，定期接受记者采访，并穿着滑稽的服装对着摄影师摆姿势。

He easily won elected in 1924. Historians believe he could have won another term, too, in 1928. But Coolidge chose not to seek office.
他轻松赢得了1924年大选。1928年，历史学家认为柯立芝还能够连任一届，但他选择不去寻求连任。

Some believed he was too saddened by the death of his teenaged son. Shortly after Coolidge became president, the boy had been playing tennis and slightly wounded his toe. The wound became infected. The infection spread to the boy’s blood. A few days later, he died.
有人认为他是因为十几岁儿子的死而过度悲伤。柯立芝当上总统后不久，有一次他的儿子打网球，脚趾受了轻伤，伤口感染了，逐渐扩散到血液里，没过几天就死了。

Although Coolidge continued his presidency, he later said the joy had gone from the job.
尽管柯立芝后来一直任职于总统职位，但他说当总统的乐趣已经没有了。

But when he decided not to seek re-election, he did not talk about his feelings. Instead, he simply wrote a note to reporters saying: “I do not choose to run for President in 1928.”
当他决定不去寻求连任时，他没有谈论自己的感受。相反，他仅仅写了一张便条给记者：“我选择不去竞选1928年总统。”

His secretary of commerce, Herbert Hoover, was elected instead. Coolidge retired to his home in Massachusetts and led a quiet private life.
他的商业部长赫伯特·胡佛当选为该届总统。柯立芝退休回到了马萨诸塞州的家中，过上了宁静的私人生活。

Legacy 遗产

President Coolidge was well-liked by most Americans. Later presidents – including Ronald Reagan – sought to follow some of his economic policies.
柯立芝总统深受大多数美国人喜爱。后来的总统，包括罗纳德·里根，都遵循了他的一些经济政策。

But many historians have questioned those policies. They say that Coolidge did not pay enough attention to the situation of farmers. And they say the stock market was rising too fast.
但很多历史学家对那些政策存疑。他们认为柯立芝对农民没有足够重视，股票市场增长过快。

Seven months after Coolidge left office, the U.S. economy collapsed.
柯立芝卸任七个月后，美国经济崩溃了。

The country was still deep in the Great Depression when Coolidge passed away. He died – quietly, of course – during an afternoon nap at the age of 60.
柯立芝去世后美国仍深深处在经济大萧条当中。他在60岁时死于一次午觉，当然，走得很安详。

His will was but a single sentence.
他的遗嘱只有一句话。

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https://learningenglish.voanews.com/a/americas-presidents-calvin-coolidge/4027250.html

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