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 Dwight Eisenhower. He took office in 1953 and was re-elected in 1956.
今天,我们来谈论德怀特·艾森豪威尔。他于1953年就任总统,并在1956年连任。
Eisenhower was famous before he became president of the United States. He was a general in World War II, and led the Allied invasion of Europe. The attack began with the air and sea operation called D-Day.
艾森豪威尔成名于他当总统之前。二战时期他是一名将军,领导了欧洲盟军入侵战争。该战争开始于被称为D-Day的空中和海上行动。
As president, Eisenhower became known for his efforts to keep peace. He tried to have good relations with the Soviet Union especially. He believed one of the best ways to do that was to build America’s military strength.
作为总统,艾森豪威尔以维护和平而闻名,尤其是努力与苏联搞好关系。他坚信最佳的方式之一就是建立美国的军事力量。
When Americans think of Eisenhower, they often note the growth of the U.S. defense industry, and tensions with the Soviet Union. Those tensions became known as the Cold War, and lasted long after Eisenhower left office.
当美国人想到艾森豪威尔时,便会想到美国国防工业的增长,以及与苏联的紧张关系。这些紧张关系被称为冷战,并且在艾森豪威尔离任之后持续了很长时间。
Early life 早年生活
Dwight David Eisenhower was born in Texas, but raised in the state of Kansas. His parents had seven sons. The future president was the third.
德怀特·戴维·艾森豪威尔出生于德州,但在堪萨斯州长大。他父母有七个儿子,这位未来总统排行老三。
Eisenhower’s parents did not have much money. His father worked as a mechanic. His mother was a member of the Mennonite Church, which opposed war and violence for any reason.
艾森豪威尔的父母并不富裕。父亲是一位机修工,母亲是门诺会教徒,该教会反对任何理由的战争和暴力。
But young Dwight – who used the nickname “Ike” – enjoyed reading about military history and doing physical activities. He played football, and liked hunting and fishing.
但年轻的德怀特 — 经常使用昵称“艾克” — 沉迷于阅读军事历史和体育运动。他喜欢踢足球,打猎和钓鱼。
When he finished high school, Eisenhower earned a position at the U.S. Military Academy, better known as West Point.
艾森豪威尔高中毕业后,进入了美国军事学院,它有一个更广为人知的名字叫西点军校。
At first, he did not excel as a soldier. Eisenhower tested some of the Army’s traditional ideas. But in time, military leaders came to value Eisenhower’s ability to think independently and strategically1.
一开始,他并不擅长当兵。艾森豪威尔参加了一些军队传统项目的测验。但最终,军事学院的领导评价他具有独立和战略思考的能力。
He accepted increasingly important positions. In only a few years, Eisenhower took command of Allied troops during World War II. He directed invasions in North Africa, Italy, and finally in Western Europe.
艾森豪威尔一步步获得了重要晋升。仅仅几年时间,在二战期间便指挥了盟军部队。他指挥了北非,意大利以及最终西欧的战役。
His words “Okay, let’s go” launched the invasion of Normandy, France on June 6, 1944.
1944年6月6日,他说了一句“好的,让我们冲”之后,发动了诺曼底登陆战役。
Eisenhower’s personal life changed during his military years. He married a young woman named Mamie Doud in 1916. The following year they had a son named Doud Dwight; however, the boy became sick and died at the age of three.
艾森豪威尔的军事生涯期间,个人生活发生了些许改变。1916年,他与一位年轻的姑娘玛丽·杜德结婚。第二年,他们生了一个儿子取名杜德·德怀特;然而,这个小男孩在3岁的时候就染病死亡了。
In 1922, the Eisenhowers had a second son, named John.
1922年,艾森豪威尔夫妇迎来了第二个儿子,取名约翰。
Mamie and the boy spent many months separated from Dwight. And, even when the family was together, they were often moving from place to place. They moved nearly 30 times during Eisenhower’s military career.
玛丽和儿子与德怀特分开了数月。而且,即使他们一家在一起,也经常搬家。艾森豪威尔的军事生涯期间,他们搬家近30次。
After he retired from active duty2 in the Army, Eisenhower accepted a position as president of Columbia University in New York. Then he returned to the military to lead NATO forces in Europe.
艾森豪威尔退役后,当上了纽约市哥伦比亚大学校长。再之后,回到军队担任北大西洋公约(North Atlantic Treaty Organization)组织最高指挥官。
In the early 1950s, Republican Party officials urged Eisenhower to be their candidate for president. Many Americans approved of Eisenhower’s war record, his efforts to contain communism, and his wide smile. They seemed to agree with his campaign slogan3, “I like Ike,” and decisively elected him into office.
20世纪50年代初,共和党官员敦促艾森豪威尔去竞选该党派总统候选人。许多美国人都很赞赏艾森豪威尔的战争记录,遏制共产主义的努力,以及他的笑容。美国人似乎赞同他的竞选口号,“我爱艾克”,并且果断选他为总统。
His 1952 election brought an end to the Democratic Party’s 20-year control of the White House.
他于1952年成功当选为总统,结束了民主党长达20年对白宫的控制。
Presidency 总统生涯
Although he declared himself a Republican, Eisenhower was a political moderate in many of his ideas. He continued some of the domestic4 policies of former presidents Franklin Roosevelt and Harry Truman.
尽管艾森豪威尔声称自己是共和党人,但他的许多政治观点都倾向于中立。他延续了前任总统富兰克林·罗斯福和哈里·杜鲁门的一些国内政策。
Eisenhower also wanted the government to invest in public works projects. Notably, he approved a bill to build more than 65,000 kilometers of roads. Today the U.S. highway system connects all parts of the country and supports the nation’s economy.
艾森豪威尔还想要政府来投资一些公共工程项目。尤其是,他签署通过了一项建设超过65000公里的高速公路的法案。今天,美国高速公路网连接了国内所有地方,对美国的经济发展发挥着重要作用。
Eisenhower also worked hard to have peaceful relations with other countries. In his first months as president, he signed the agreement that ended fighting in the Korean War.
艾森豪威尔努力与其他国家保持和平关系。上任总统后的几个月之后,他签署了结束朝鲜战争的协议。
He also tried to ease tensions between the United States and Soviet Union. In 1952, the U.S. government tested the first hydrogen bomb. It was even more powerful than the atomic bomb.
他也尝试去缓和美国与苏联之间的紧张关系。1952年,美国政府试验了第一颗氢弹,它的威力甚至比原子弹还强大。
Soon, the Soviet Union carried out a hydrogen bomb test of its own.
很快,苏联也实施了一项氢弹试验。
The two countries became actively involved in an arms race that made many people around the world very, very nervous.
两国积极参与军备竞赛,使得全世界都很紧张。
Eisenhower did not fully trust the Soviet leadership, but made some efforts to achieve5 an agreement on arms control. At the same time, he approved a plan for U.S. airplanes to fly secretly over the Soviet Union to gather information.
艾森豪威尔并不完全信任苏联领导阶层,但还是作了些努力就军备控制与苏联达成了一项协议。同时,他批准了一项计划,即美国空军秘密飞行到苏联去收集情报信息。
In 1959, Eisenhower and the Soviet leader, Nikita Khrushchev, met in the American state of Maryland. Modern presidents use a mountain retreat6 there, which Eisenhower called Camp David, after his grandson.
1959年,艾森豪威尔和苏联领导人尼基塔·赫鲁晓夫在美国马里兰州会晤。两位现代总统在一个名叫戴维度假营的山间别墅度假,它是艾森豪威尔以他孙子的名字命名的。
The U.S. and Soviet officials did not develop a treaty, but they did agree to meet again the following year.
两国领导人没有达成一项协议,但他们承诺来年会再次进行会晤。
However, the agreement collapsed. In 1960, Soviet missiles brought down one of the American spy planes, called a U-2. The pilot was captured.
然而,会晤终止了。1960年,苏联导弹击落了一架美国侦察机U-2,飞行员被抓捕。
At first, Eisenhower’s government denied that the plane was secretly gathering information. Officials said it was only a weather aircraft.
起初,艾森豪威尔政府拒绝承认该飞机是用来秘密搜集情报的,只承认是一架气象飞机。
But then the Soviets produced evidence that the U-2 was, in fact, a spy plane. Khrushchev said he could not trust Eisenhower and his government, and he ended talks on limiting or disarming nuclear weapons.
但后来苏联找到证据表明U-2实际上就是一架侦察机。赫鲁晓夫说他不再相信艾森豪威尔政府,并中止关于限制或解除核武器的会谈。
During his two terms in office, Eisenhower tried many ways to avoid all-out war. He approved other secret actions, especially by the Central Intelligence Agency, or CIA . Eisenhower sent U.S. Marines into Lebanon to try to end unrest there. And he decided against ordering air strikes on Vietminh forces when they surrounded French troops at Dien Bien Phu, Vietnam.
在艾森豪威尔两届任期内,他尝试了许多方法来避免全面战争。他批准了其他一些秘密行动,尤其是来自中央情报局的。派遣美国海军陆战队到黎巴嫩去平定该国的动荡局面。当越南独立同盟军队在越南奠边府包围法国军队时,他决定停止对越盟军队的空袭。
In all these efforts, Eisenhower used the threat of U.S. military power to help achieve his foreign policy goals. But he warned Americans against letting businesses aiding the defense industry become too powerful.
在所有这些努力当中,艾森豪威尔都动用了美国军事力量的威慑来达成他的外交目的。但他警告美国人不要让帮助国防工业的企业变得过于强大。
In his final speech as president, Eisenhower spoke of the dangers of what he called the military-industrial complex. He did not want the country to depend only on war to resolve conflicts. And, he did not want the U.S. government to spend so much on weapons that it could not provide other services to Americans.
艾森豪威尔作为总统的最后一次公开演讲中提到了他称之为军工联合体的危险。他不希望美国只依赖战争来解决冲突。并且,他不希望美国政府在武器研发上投入太多,以致于无法向美国民众提供其他服务。
Shortly after that speech, Eisenhower retired to a home he and his wife had bought in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. Many Americans were sad to see him go.
那次演讲后不久,艾森豪威尔便退休回到了他和妻子早年在宾夕法尼亚州葛底斯堡购买的房子。许多美国人看到他离去后都很伤心。
Legacy 遗产
Eisenhower’s presidency lasted most of the 1950s. During that time, the American economy was, for the most part, strong. Many Americans had enough money to buy homes and televisions.
艾森豪威尔担任总统是在20世纪50年代的大部分时期。该时期是美国经济最繁荣的时候。许多美国民众都能够购买房产和电视机。
At the same time, Eisenhower’s presidency was a time of unease. Racial discrimination was intense. In 1954, the U.S. Supreme Court declared that states could no longer have separate public schools for white and black students. Some whites strongly objected to the decision. They tried to block black students from entering schools, sometimes using violence.
同时,艾森豪威尔的总统任期也是一段不安时期。种族歧视非常严重。1954年,美国联邦最高法院宣布,各州不再允许分别为白人和黑人学生设立公立学校。一些白人强烈反对这项规定。他们试图阻止黑人学生进入学校,有时甚至诉诸暴力。
Eisenhower sent troops to enforce the federal law to desegregate7 public schools.
艾森豪威尔派遣了军队去执行联邦法律,废除公立学校的种族隔离制度。
Later, Eisenhower used the power of his office to enforce other desegregation and voting rights laws. But he did not speak up strongly in support of civil rights. He thought both those who blocked civil rights legislation and those who demanded it were extreme.
后来,艾森豪威尔通过总统权力来废除了其他种族隔离制度以及执行了投票权的法律。但他并没有强力支持公民权利。他认为那些阻止民权立法的人和那些要求民权立法的人都是极端的。
Eisenhower also did not publicly criticize Senator Joseph McCarthy, who accused the U.S. government of protecting Soviet spies. Eisenhower strongly disliked McCarthy, but he permitted the “Red Scare” to continue until the lawmaker could discredit himself.
艾森豪威尔也没有公开批评参议员约瑟夫·麦卡锡,后者指控美国政府保护苏联间谍。艾森豪威尔非常不喜欢麦卡锡,但他允许“红色恐怖”继续下去,直到这位议员败坏了自己的名声。
Finally, despite Eisenhower’s efforts, the Cold War did not end; in fact, tensions between the U.S. and Soviet Union increased. Although Eisenhower succeeded in keeping the country out of war, many events during his presidency created the conditions for later conflicts.
最后,即使艾森豪威尔做出了努力,冷战也并没有结束;事实上,美国和苏联之间的紧张局势反而加深了。尽管艾森豪威尔成功让美国远离了战争旋涡,但他总统任期内的许多事件为后来的冲突埋下了伏笔。
Nevertheless, Eisenhower was a popular president, both before, during, and after his time in office.
然而,艾森豪威尔还是一位受欢迎的总统,无论是他执政之前,执政期间,还是执政之后。
During his final years, he wrote several books about his life, traveled, and advised later presidents. He had suffered a heart attack during his first term in office, and eventually suffered another one.
晚年期间,他写了几本有关他生活的书,旅行以及当继任总统的顾问。在他第一届任期内,他曾患过一次心脏病,最后又患了一次。
He died at the age of 78 with his family by his side.
78岁时,他在家人的陪伴下与世长辞。
原文链接
https://learningenglish.voanews.com/a/americas-presidents-dwight-eisenhower/4076083.html
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strategically - adv. creating and using plans to reach a goal - 战略性地 ↩
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active duty - n. employment as a full-time member of the military - 现役军人 ↩
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slogan - n. a word or phrase that is easy to remember and is used to attract attention - 口号 ↩
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domestic - n. of, relating to, or made in your own country - 国内的;国货 ↩
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achieve - v. to get or reach (something) - 获得;实现 ↩
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retreat - n. a place that is quiet and private - 度假村 ↩
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desegregate - v. to end a policy that keeps people of different races apart - 废除种族隔离制度 ↩