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VOA慢速英语2017--Warren Harding: Damaged

时间:2017-10-02 23:58:47

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VOA Learning English presents America’s Presidents.

Today we are talking about Warren Harding. He was the 29th president of the United States.

Harding was very different from the 28th president, Woodrow Wilson.

Wilson supported change; Harding promised “a return to normalcy.”

Wilson took steps to protect American workers; Harding often worked to protect business owners.

Wilson was slow in supporting voting rights for women, and in accepting African-American people as equal to whites. Harding supported women’s suffrage1 and civil rights for African-Americans.

Yet both men were popular during their years in office.

Today, however, historians usually think of Wilson as one of America’s best presidents. But Harding is remembered as one of the worst.

Early life

Warren Harding was the eighth president from the state of Ohio. His parents were both doctors.

Harding spoke2 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.

Later, Harding – along with two friends – bought a newspaper. The paper became successful for several reasons.

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.

Florence Kling Harding led the newspaper’s circulation department. She also helped to direct her husband’s political career.

In time, Warren Harding became a state senator, a lieutenant3 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.

One reason is because Harding rarely took a controversial position on any issue.

Instead, he accepted most of the ideas of the Republican Party. He was also good-looking and had an excellent speaking voice.

These qualities helped earn him the Republican presidential nomination4 in 1920. A few months later, he easily won the national election.

Presidency5

President Harding took office shortly after World War I ended. He promised to make Americans feel calm again, and also improve the nation’s prosperity. Two of Harding’s goals were to support business and to limit immigration.

He succeeded on both issues. His administration reduced taxes for big businesses and wealthy people. It also increased tariffs6 -- taxes on foreign imports.

And the Harding administration put in place 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.

Harding also took steps to improve the effectiveness of the federal government.

But his administration is remembered mostly for its problems.

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.

A few were very able. But some were dishonest. They abused their positions to gain wealth for themselves and their families.

One of the most famous examples of corruption7 during Harding’s administration is known as the Teapot Dome8 Scandal.

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 underneath9 it.

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.

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.

Some lawmakers became suspicious. So they opened an investigation10.

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.

But President Harding did not live to see his friend go to jail.

The investigation was just beginning when Harding took a trip to the West Coast to campaign for his policies.

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.

During the trip, Harding showed signs of not being in good health. Doctors thought he could have food poisoning or pneumonia11. He was taken to a hotel in San Francisco, California. For a day, he appeared to be feeling better.

He was sitting up in bed. And then suddenly, his body shook and collapsed12. He died instantly.

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.

But most historians think that he had long suffered from heart failure, and was struck by a heart attack. He was 57.

Legacy13

Millions of Americans mourned over Warren Harding’s death. They stood beside railroad tracks as his body traveled from California back to Washington, DC.

The following year, Florence Harding also died. She and her husband are buried together under a grand memorial in their hometown in Ohio.

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.

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. Genetic14 testing has confirmed her claim.

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.

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.

Instead, he tried to be likable and modest. He called himself “a man of limited talents” who was “not fit for the office” of president.

I’m Kelly Jean Kelly.

Words in This Story

band - n. a usually small group of musicians who play popular music together

circulation - n. the average number of copies of a newspaper that are sold over a particular period

prosperity - n. the state of being successful usually by making a lot of money

instantly - adv. without delay; immediately

grand - adj. impressive because of size or importance

talents - n. special abilities that allow someone to do something well


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点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 suffrage NhpyX     
n.投票,选举权,参政权
参考例句:
  • The question of woman suffrage sets them at variance.妇女参政的问题使他们发生争执。
  • The voters gave their suffrage to him.投票人都投票选他。
2 spoke XryyC     
n.(车轮的)辐条;轮辐;破坏某人的计划;阻挠某人的行动 v.讲,谈(speak的过去式);说;演说;从某种观点来说
参考例句:
  • They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
  • The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。
3 lieutenant X3GyG     
n.陆军中尉,海军上尉;代理官员,副职官员
参考例句:
  • He was promoted to be a lieutenant in the army.他被提升为陆军中尉。
  • He prevailed on the lieutenant to send in a short note.他说动那个副官,递上了一张简短的便条进去。
4 nomination BHMxw     
n.提名,任命,提名权
参考例句:
  • John is favourite to get the nomination for club president.约翰最有希望被提名为俱乐部主席。
  • Few people pronounced for his nomination.很少人表示赞成他的提名。
5 presidency J1HzD     
n.总统(校长,总经理)的职位(任期)
参考例句:
  • Roosevelt was elected four times to the presidency of the United States.罗斯福连续当选四届美国总统。
  • Two candidates are emerging as contestants for the presidency.两位候选人最终成为总统职位竞争者。
6 tariffs a7eb9a3f31e3d6290c240675a80156ec     
关税制度; 关税( tariff的名词复数 ); 关税表; (旅馆或饭店等的)收费表; 量刑标准
参考例句:
  • British industry was sheltered from foreign competition by protective tariffs. 保护性关税使英国工业免受国际竞争影响。
  • The new tariffs have put a stranglehold on trade. 新的关税制对开展贸易极为不利。
7 corruption TzCxn     
n.腐败,堕落,贪污
参考例句:
  • The people asked the government to hit out against corruption and theft.人民要求政府严惩贪污盗窃。
  • The old man reviled against corruption.那老人痛斥了贪污舞弊。
8 dome 7s2xC     
n.圆屋顶,拱顶
参考例句:
  • The dome was supported by white marble columns.圆顶由白色大理石柱支撑着。
  • They formed the dome with the tree's branches.他们用树枝搭成圆屋顶。
9 underneath VKRz2     
adj.在...下面,在...底下;adv.在下面
参考例句:
  • Working underneath the car is always a messy job.在汽车底下工作是件脏活。
  • She wore a coat with a dress underneath.她穿着一件大衣,里面套着一条连衣裙。
10 investigation MRKzq     
n.调查,调查研究
参考例句:
  • In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
  • He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。
11 pneumonia s2HzQ     
n.肺炎
参考例句:
  • Cage was struck with pneumonia in her youth.凯奇年轻时得过肺炎。
  • Pneumonia carried him off last week.肺炎上星期夺去了他的生命。
12 collapsed cwWzSG     
adj.倒塌的
参考例句:
  • Jack collapsed in agony on the floor. 杰克十分痛苦地瘫倒在地板上。
  • The roof collapsed under the weight of snow. 房顶在雪的重压下突然坍塌下来。
13 legacy 59YzD     
n.遗产,遗赠;先人(或过去)留下的东西
参考例句:
  • They are the most precious cultural legacy our forefathers left.它们是我们祖先留下来的最宝贵的文化遗产。
  • He thinks the legacy is a gift from the Gods.他认为这笔遗产是天赐之物。
14 genetic PgIxp     
adj.遗传的,遗传学的
参考例句:
  • It's very difficult to treat genetic diseases.遗传性疾病治疗起来很困难。
  • Each daughter cell can receive a full complement of the genetic information.每个子细胞可以收到遗传信息的一个完全补偿物。

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