【每日阅读训练第二期——速度越障3系列】【3-13】

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American History: Nixon Goes to China
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STEVE EMBER: Welcome to THE MAKING OF A NATION -- American history in VOA Special English. I'm Steve Ember.
Today, we continue the story of the thirty-seventh president of the United States, Richard Nixon.
(MUSIC)
The year is nineteen sixty-nine. Richard Nixon, a Republican, is in the first year of his first term in office. His biggest foreign policy problem is the continuing war in Vietnam. During the election campaign, Nixon had promised to do something to end the war.
The question was: what?
Some Americans want him to withdraw troops from Vietnam immediately. Bring the soldiers home, they say. Others believe the United States should take whatever measures are necessary to win. Expand the ground war, they say, or even use nuclear weapons.
Withdrawing troops would leave South Vietnam alone to resist communist North Vietnam. Yet that was the reason the United States had entered the conflict -- to prevent the communists from capturing the south.
Expanding the war would not be an easy decision either. Already, by nineteen sixty-nine, more Americans had died in Vietnam than had died during the Korean War.
For Richard Nixon, the war is a terrible test. If he fails, his presidency could end the way Lyndon Johnson's presidency ended. Johnson decided not to run for re-election after he lost public and political support for his war policies.
Presidents have advisers, and Nixon's most important adviser was Henry Kissinger. Kissinger was an expert on foreign relations. He later served as Nixon's secretary of state. Together, they tried many ways to settle the conflict in Vietnam. It took several years before the involvement of the United States would finally end.
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The American efforts were both diplomatic and military. Peace talks were taking place in Paris. But the Nixon administration started secret peace talks in Paris at the same time. The administration also withdrew some troops from Vietnam. Yet -- secretly -- it sent other troops into Cambodia. And it began bombing Laos.
AUDIO: Bombing
The Nixon administration also started bombing North Vietnam again. Lyndon Johnson had stopped the raids a few years earlier.
(MUSIC)
Efforts to end American involvement in Vietnam did not begin immediately. For his first eight months in office, President Nixon made no major policy changes. Then, in October nineteen sixty-nine, he ordered the withdrawal of sixty thousand troops.
He said he acted to speed the peace talks. He also ordered American commanders to give the South Vietnamese most of the responsibility for fighting.
Americans were happy that fewer troops would be involved. But many were unhappy that the withdrawal was not complete. Huge anti-war demonstrations took place in the United States in the autumn of nineteen sixty-nine. On November fifteenth, several hundred thousand people protested in Washington.
Nixon tried to explain to the American people why he was not ordering an immediate withdrawal. In his words: "It is not the easy way. It is the right way."
In the spring of nineteen seventy, American and South Vietnamese troops invaded Cambodia.
RICHARD NIXON: "Tonight, American and South Vietnamese units will attack the headquarters for the entire communist military operation in South Vietnam."
Nixon described to the American public why he had decided to order the actions in Cambodia.
NIXON: "This key control center has been occupied by the North Vietnamese and Viet Cong for five years, in blatant violation of Cambodia's neutrality. This is not an invasion of Cambodia. The areas in which these attacks will be launched are completely occupied and controlled by North Vietnamese forces. Once enemy forces are driven out of these sanctuaries, and once their military supplies are destroyed, we will withdraw."
(MUSIC)
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Early in nineteen seventy-one, the Nixon administration decided to provide air and artillery support for a South Vietnamese invasion of Laos. The goal was to stop supplies from reaching North Vietnam through that neighboring country.
South Vietnamese forces destroyed many enemy weapons. But they also suffered heavy losses, and many American planes were shot down. After six weeks, the South Vietnamese were forced to withdraw.
Many members of the United States Congress were angry. They said the invasion of Laos was another in a long series of failures. Nixon's administration had said the United States was winning the war. Opposition Democrats in Congress said the administration was lying. Criticism by the American public grew louder, as well.
Demonstrations took place across the country, including on college campuses.
AUDIO: Kent State shooting
On May fourth, nineteen seventy, National Guard troops shot and killed four students during protests at Kent State University in Ohio.
This is what Neil Young means when he sings of "four dead in Ohio" in a famous protest song that he wrote in reaction to the killings.
(MUSIC: "Ohio"/Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young)
President Nixon said again that the United States must not permit North Vietnam to take over South Vietnam. Lyndon Johnson had said the same thing when he was president.
Many Americans had accepted the war, but as it continued, and as more Americans died in Vietnam, public opinion changed.
In nineteen sixty-five, sixty-one percent of those questioned said they approved of the war. By nineteen seventy-one, sixty-one percent said they did not approve of it.
The official peace talks in Paris offered little hope of a negotiated settlement. Over a period of several years, each side made proposals, only to have the other side reject them.
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President Nixon wanted to address the public's anger over the war. So he announced that Henry Kissinger had held twelve secret meetings with North Vietnamese officials. But those secret meetings made no more progress than the official talks.
In late March nineteen seventy-two, North Vietnam launched a major offensive. In May, Nixon ordered increased bombing against roads and railways in the north. By the end of August, the communist offensive had been stopped. Yet many lives had been lost. The pressure to withdraw American forces grew stronger.
For the next five months, the Nixon administration continued a policy of official talks, secret meetings and increased military action. Finally, the president announced that an agreement had been reached at the peace talks in Paris. There would be a ceasefire, and negotiators from the United States, South Vietnam, North Vietnam and the Viet Cong would sign the agreement.
Under the terms of the agreement, all American and allied forces would withdraw from South Vietnam. The north and south would be free to settle their conflict without interference from other countries.
President Nixon announced the news from the White House.
RICHARD NIXON: "At twelve-thirty Paris time today, January twenty-three, nineteen-seventy-three, the agreement on ending the war and restoring peace in Vietnam was initialed by Dr. Henry Kissinger on behalf of the United States and special adviser Le Duc Tho on behalf of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam. The agreement will be formally signed by the parties participating in the Paris conference on Vietnam on January twenty seven, nineteen-seventy-three, at the international conference center in Paris. ... The United States and the Democratic Republic of Vietnam express the hope that this agreement will insure stable peace in Vietnam and contribute to the preservation of lasting peace in Indochina and Southeast Asia."
Yet the fighting continued -- and would continue even after Nixon resigned from office in nineteen seventy-four.
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(SOUND) Fall of Saigon: Automatic weapons fire
April thirtieth, nineteen seventy-five, marked the fall of Saigon, the South Vietnamese capital, after the withdrawal of American troops. The North Vietnamese had planned a two-year campaign to take Saigon; it would take them just fifty-five days.
(MUSIC Transition)
Another foreign policy issue for the Nixon administration was China. Here was Nixon's chance to shine as a statesman.
Communists took power in China in nineteen forty-nine. The United States, however, did not recognize the Communist Party government on the mainland. Instead, it recognized the Nationalist Chinese government in Taiwan.
In the early nineteen seventies, the Nixon administration began trying to improve relations. It eased restrictions on travel to China. And it supported a visit to China by the United States table-tennis team -- so-called "ping-pong diplomacy."
Then President Nixon made a surprise announcement. He himself would visit China.
(MUSIC)
The historic event took place in February nineteen seventy-two. Chinese Premier Zhou Enlai and Party Chairman Mao Zedong greeted the American president. Nixon and Zhou held talks that opened new possibilities for trade. The next year, Nixon sent a representative to open a diplomatic office in Beijing. After more than twenty years, the two countries were communicating again.
They would not establish full relations, however, until nineteen seventy-nine, when the United States stopped recognizing Taiwan.
Many Americans were happy at the easing of tensions with China, even as the Cold War with the Soviet Union continued.
(MUSIC)
Many were proud to see their president standing at the Great Wall of China. Historians would later it call it the greatest moment in the presidency of Richard Nixon.
In fact, Nixon might have been remembered as one of America's greatest presidents, if not for a break-in at Democratic Party headquarters. It led to a history-changing series of events that came to be known as Watergate.
That will be our story next week.
(MUSIC)
You can find our series online with transcripts, MP3s, podcasts and pictures at 51voa.com. You can also follow us on Facebook and Twitter at VOA Learning English. I'm Steve Ember, inviting you to join us again next week for THE MAKING OF A NATION -- American history in VOA Special English.
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Visiting the Beautiful Missions Along California's Coast
FAITH LAPIDUS: I'm Faith Lapidus.
STEVE EMBER: And I'm Steve Ember with EXPLORATIONS in VOA Special English. Today, we tell about the first attempts to settle what is now the western state of California. These attempts began with Spanish settlers who built twenty-one Catholic churches called missions. Our report is about those churches -- the missions of California.
(MUSIC)
FAITH LAPIDUS: Our story begins in seventeen sixty-eight in Madrid, Spain. The king of Spain, Charles the Third, had recently received reports that worried him. The reports said Russian explorers were in the northern part of the territory called California. Spain had claimed most of that area more than two hundred years earlier. But Spain had no settlements in California. King Charles knew if the Russians began to settle the area, Spain might lose control of California forever.
STEVE EMBER: King Charles decided the best way to keep the Spanish claim to California was to build settlements there. California had good harbors for Spanish ships, good weather and good farmland.
King Charles decided to order the creation of a series of small farming communities along the Pacific Ocean coast of California. The settlements would provide trade and grow into larger cities. Spanish citizens might want to settle there. Then the Spanish claim to California would be safe.
FAITH LAPIDUS: But there was no one on the coast of California to begin the work. King Charles and his advisors decided that the farming settlements would begin with churches called missions. Missions were places where Roman Catholic religious leaders converted people to the Christian religion. They taught the religion to people who wanted to become members of the church.
King Charles decided Roman Catholic priests would build the missions and settlements with the help of Native American Indians. The priests would teach the native people the Christian religion, the Spanish language and how to farm.
A religious group within the Catholic Church called the Franciscans would build the settlements. The Franciscans chose a young priest named Junipero Serra to begin the work.
STEVE EMBER: Many history experts say the Spanish government and the Catholic Church could not have chosen a better person for the task than Junipero Serra.
Junipero Serra was born in seventeen thirteen on the island of Mallorca, Spain. After he became a Franciscan priest, he taught at a university in Mallorca.
Father Serra had always wanted to be a missionary. In seventeen forty-nine he sailed to Mexico to begin his life as a missionary. He spent several years studying the languages and customs of native people in Mexico.
In seventeen sixty-eight he was given the job of building the first of the California missions near the present day city of San Diego.
(MUSIC)
FAITH LAPIDUS: Mission San Diego de Alcala began on July sixteenth, seventeen sixty-nine. But before the mission was completed, Father Serra decided to move it. He did not like the way Spanish soldiers mistreated the Native Americans. He wanted to keep them separate. He moved the mission to an area that is still called Mission Valley.
The design of Mission San Diego de Alcala was similar to each of the missions that were built later. There was a large church building. A long wall formed a large square to the side and behind the church. Large rooms inside and along the wall served as bedrooms, cooking areas, workshops, and classrooms.? Usually, the center of the large square was left open. A garden with flowers was planted there.
STEVE EMBER: Junipero Serra's plan for the missions along the California coast was simple. Each would be about the same distance from each other. Members of the Franciscan religious group did not ride horses or travel in wagons. They walked. The missions were built about one day's long walk from each other. This made it easier to travel, trade goods and share information.
The missions begin with San Diego de Alcala in the south. They end with San Francisco Solano about one thousand fifty kilometers to the north.? In time, the road from mission San Diego de Alcala to mission San Francisco Solano was given a name.
The Spanish name is still used today. It is "El Camino Real." It means the "The Royal Highway" or "The King's Highway."? Most of that old road is now part of the California highway system. Millions of people use the road every day as they drive from San Diego to San Francisco.
(MUSIC)
FAITH LAPIDUS: Many people have criticized the mission system of settlement because it changed the way of life for the Native Americans in California.? Critics say many Native Americans were forced to work at the missions.
They say many were forced to become members of the Christian religion. And many were treated badly by Spanish soldiers and died because of mistreatment or disease.
However, other experts say that Junipero Serra demanded that the priests and soldiers treat the Native Americans with respect. Many of the Native Americans accepted the Christian religion, learned to farm and helped the missions become valuable settlements.
Many other Native Americans did not. Some did not want to change the way they lived so they moved away from the missions. Many Native Americans believed they would be forced into a new way of life. In seventeen seventy-six, a group of Indians attacked the San Diego mission and burned it. Eight months later, the mission was rebuilt where it still stands today.
STEVE EMBER: King Charles's plan was a success. Settlements grew from the missions along the California coast. Some of those along El Camino Real became major cities -- San Diego, Los Angeles, Santa Barbara, San Jose, and San Francisco, to name only a few.
Junipero Serra was responsible for building nine of the missions. One of these was Mission San Carlos Borromeo del Rio Carmelo in the present city of Carmel.
It became his headquarters and the headquarters for all of the California missions. In seventeen eighty-four, Junipero Serra died of tuberculosis at mission San Carlos. He was buried in the floor of the Mission San Carlos Church.
(MUSIC)
FAITH LAPIDUS: The missions of California faced difficult times during the eighteen hundreds. In eighteen twenty-two, California became part of Mexico, which had just won its independence from Spain. But the Mexican government could not pay the cost of keeping the missions.
In eighteen thirty-four, the Mexican government sold much of the mission land and some of the buildings. Several missions remained part of the communities they helped to build. But many became little more than ruins. Some of the land and the missions were returned to the Catholic Church.
In the eighteen forties, Mexico had trouble controlling the American settlers in California. In eighteen forty-six, the settlers declared California a republic. Less than two years later, the United States gained control of California during the Mexican War.
During this period, the Catholic Church tried to keep control of the missions. They were only partly successful. However, in eighteen sixty-three President Abraham Lincoln signed a law that said all twenty-one missions in California would be returned to the Catholic Church. They have remained so ever since.
STEVE EMBER: Today, the people of California consider the missions a treasure. Eighteen of the twenty-one are still active Catholic churches.
All of the missions are museums that teach the early history of California. Many visitors come to the missions to see the beautiful buildings. Several of the missions have become famous. One example is the Mission San Juan Capistrano. It was planned and built by Junipero Serra.
Each year, on the same day, at almost the same hour, thousands of birds called swallows return to the mission. They return from their winter homes thousands of kilometers to the south. The swallows arrive on March nineteenth. They build nests and raise their young in the old mission.? They leave on October twenty-third.
One story says the birds have been late only once because of a storm at sea. Everyone agrees that Junipero Serra would have loved the beautiful swallows of Capistrano.
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Poetry

居然是……沙发？！
【越障】
1. Introduce the origin of the missions
 i. 1768, the King of Spain claimed to build settlement at California -> By ... but failed ->By building churches called missions and doing missionary work to native Americans
 ii. A young priest called J.Serras was chosen. (Introduce his experience...) He decided to move the San Diego Mission because he didn't like the way Spain soldiers mistreating Indians... his plan to move the missions was simple: the distance between every two churches was equal. -> easier to exchange infornation
2. Discussions about  J. Serras
 Some experts: didn't praise him ... Many Indians were died of mistreatment by Spain Soldiers..
 Other experts: he made contribution by preaching the Catholic to Indians and teaching them to cultivate...
 Many native Americans: they didn't want to become Christian at all
3. Subsequent tales of the misssions:
   i. The missions faced difficulties for several times: 1822, the territory was gained by Mexicans; 1834, some were sold out, some were little more than ruined; 1840, gained by U.S. ... protected by President Lincoln's law
  ii. Status quo: teaching history; became tourist attraction.. swallows-> associate swallows to J. Serras

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the settlement of Spain in California~~~
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187167055

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呵呵，谢谢楼主的好文章~！~ San Diego 的同学致谢。我说San Diego 的站牌上怎么这么多西班牙语的翻译呢~

balapupu

GO~

呵呵，谢谢楼主的好文章~！~ San Diego 的同学致谢。我说San Diego 的站牌上怎么这么多西班牙语的翻译呢~

-- by 会员 187167055 (2011/12/9 11:12:44)

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linhan50

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