高中英语人教版高二下课文04

[12:27.55]In 1772,slavery was abolished in England,
[12:33.71]which started a large public opinion movement.
[12:38.26]The news soon spread the world over and gave slaves in many countries hope.
[12:44.42]On the 14th of July,1789,the citizens of Paris started the French Revolution,
[12:52.96]but the slaves in the French colonies
[12:57.33]were disappointed that slavery was not abolished.
[13:02.18]Coloured people were also angry,
[13:06.34]because they were not recognised as full citizens.
[13:11.07]They were still subject to a number of discriminating laws
[13:16.21]regarding choice of jobs,dress,
[13:20.78]and where they could sit in public places.
[13:24.91]So despite the French Revolution,
[13:28.88]they were not given the same rights as white people.
[13:33.32]On 22 of August 1791 a revolution broke out among the slaves and lower classes.
[13:42.60]Hundreds fo miles of fields and crops went up in flames.
[13:48.24]The event is known as the "Night of Fire".
[13:53.80]In order to continue the revolution,the slaves needed a leader.
[13:59.37]Toussaint L'Ouverture grew up as a slave.
[14:04.72]As Toussaint proved to be very intelligent,his owner,
[14:10.18]who was a good man,gave him the opportunity to learn to read and study,
[14:17.34]and in the end made him a free man.
[14:22.30]At the time of the Night of Fire,
[14:26.38]Toussaint was already 48 years old and he had a good life.
[14:32.44]He did not take part in he revolution.
[14:36.51]Instead,he saved the family of his former owner
[14:42.08]and helped them to leave the country.
[14:45.92]After that,he joined the slaves in their struggle for freedom,
[14:51.19]and soon became their leader.
[14:54.75]On April4,1792,the French government in Paris signed a law
[15:02.11]giving all people of colour and all free black people
[15:07.68]the same political rights as the white people in French.
[15:13.03]Toussaint quickly recognised
[15:16.87]that the new law did not improve the situation of the slaves.
[15:22.04]So he decided to continue the fight for the rights of the black slaves.
[15:28.57]With Toussaint as their leader,
[15:31.92]the black army defeated both the Spanish and the French armies.
[15:37.48]In 1801 they created an independent republic
[15:43.15]with Toussaint as their first president.
[15:47.10]The new society was different from the old.
[15:51.46]Black people were no longer slaves,but became free workers,
[15:57.13]who worked normal hours and were paid for all labour.
[16:02.46]Men who had once been slaves now held the highest positions in the country.
[16:08.80]The revolution ahd created a new,proud and confident race of men.
[16:14.97]Toussaint proved not only to be a great freedom fighter and soldier,
[16:20.74]but also a great statesman.he built up the state and the country,
[16:26.59]repairing roads,opening schools and restoring agriculture all over the island.
[16:34.25]He even built a monument to remember that slavery was abolished.