VOA慢速英语:American History: Kennedy and the Cuban Missile Crisis

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STEVE EMBER: Welcome to THE MAKING OF A NATION – American history in VOA Special English. I'm Steve Ember

STEVE EMBER:欢迎收听VOA慢速英语建国史话节目，本期主题是美国史话。 我是主持人史蒂夫·恩伯。

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This week in our series, we continue the story of President John Fitzgerald Kennedy.

这周，我们将继续讲述关于美国总统约翰·菲茨杰拉德·肯尼迪的故事。

Kennedy, a Democrat, defeated Republican Vice President Richard Nixon in one of the closest elections in United States history. He took office in January nineteen sixty-one.

肯尼迪是民主党人，在美国历史上不久之前的一次总统选举中战胜了共和党的副总统理查德·尼克松。 他于1961年一月上任。

After three months, Kennedy faced a major foreign policy failure.

上任三个月之后，肯尼迪面临了一次重要的外交失败。

On April seventeenth, armed Cuban exiles tried to invade Cuba, less one hundred fifty kilometers from the American state of Florida. They had been trained by the Central Intelligence Agency. Their goal was to overthrow the island's communist leader, Fidel Castro. In nineteen fifty-nine he and his guerrilla forces had overthrown Fulgencio Batista, the president who was supported by the United States.

1961年4月17号，武装的古巴流亡部队企图攻击古巴政府，而古巴距离美国的佛罗里达州只有近一百五十公里。 他们接受了美国中央情报局的训练。 他们的目的是要推翻这个岛上的共产党领袖—菲德尔·卡斯特罗。 1959年，卡斯特罗和他的游击队推翻了受美国支持的古巴总统—富尔亨西奥·巴蒂斯塔。

The exiles came ashore at Cuba's Bay of Pigs. Most were killed or captured.

流亡分子登入了古巴的“猪湾”。 但是其中大多数人都被古巴政府杀死或俘虏了。

The last administration, under President Dwight Eisenhower, had planned the invasion. But Kennedy had approved it. After the failure, some Americans again wondered if the forty-three-year-old president had enough experience to lead the nation.

在总统艾森豪威尔的领导下，（肯尼迪）之前的那一届美国政府策划了这次入侵。 但是肯尼迪批准了这个入侵计划。 在入侵失败之后，一些美国人又开始质疑这位43岁的年轻总统是否有足够的经验来领导这个国家。

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In May nineteen sixty-one, Kennedy went to Paris and met with French President Charles de Gaulle. Kennedy visited France with his wife Jacqueline, who spoke French and had studied there.

1961年5月，肯尼迪到巴黎会见法国总统夏尔·戴高乐。 此次访问，肯尼迪带上了他的妻子杰奎琳，她曾经在法国留学而且会说法语。

In June, Kennedy met in Vienna, Austria, with Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev. Khrushchev did not want to compromise on any issue. He threatened to have the East Germans block all movement into and out of the Allied-controlled western half of Berlin.

同年6月，肯尼迪在奥地利的维也纳会见了苏联总理赫鲁晓夫。 赫鲁晓夫表示不愿意在任何问题上做出让步。 他还威胁说要让德国东部的人们阻挡所有在柏林西半部的联盟统治区进行的行动。

In November, the East Germans, with Soviet support, started building the Berlin Wall to separate east and west. President Kennedy quickly announced a large increase in American military forces in Germany.

11月，德国东部在苏联的支持下开始修建“柏林墙”，把东部和西部分离开。 肯尼迪总统很快便发表声明，宣布将大规模地增加美国在德国的兵力。

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Less than a year later came the Cuban missile crisis. On October twenty-second, nineteen sixty-two, President Kennedy made an announcement to the American people.

在那之后不到一年，古巴导弹危机就发生了。 1962年10月22号，总统肯尼迪向美国人民发表了一篇声明。

JOHN KENNEDY: "This government, as promised, has maintained the closest surveillance of the Soviet military buildup on the island of Cuba. Within the past week, unmistakable evidence has established the fact that a series of offensive missile sites is now in preparation on that imprisoned island. The purpose of these bases can be none other than to provide a nuclear strike capability against the Western Hemisphere.

JOHN KENNEDY ：我们的政府，将履行承诺，对苏联在古巴岛上的军事建设进行密切的监视。 在过去的这一周里，我们得到清晰的证据证明了这样一个事实：在这个被封锁的岛上，有一系列的攻击性导弹场地正在筹备中。 这些导弹基地的目的就是为反对西半球而提供核攻击能力。

"Upon receiving the first preliminary hard information of this nature last Tuesday morning at nine a.m., I directed that our surveillance be stepped up. And having now confirmed and completed our evaluation of the evidence and our decision on a course of action, this government feels obliged to report this new crisis to you in fullest detail.

“当我在上周星期二早上九点收到关于这个事情的第一份情报时，我指出，我们的监视工作应该加强。 现在，在对所得到的证据完成了确认和评估之后，我们决定要采取行动了。我们政府觉得，有义务向你们报告这场新危机的所有细节。”

"The characteristics of these new missile sites indicate two distinct types of installations. Several of them include medium range ballistic missiles, capable of carrying a nuclear warhead for a distance of more than one thousand nautical miles. Each of these missiles, in short, is capable of striking Washington, DC, the Panama Canal, Cape Canaveral, Mexico City, or any other city in the southeastern part of the United States, in Central America, or in the Caribbean area."

“这些导弹场地的特点在于有两个不同类型的装置。 有些场地有中等射程导弹，它们可以把弹头发射到一千海里以外的地方。 总而言之，这些导弹都能够袭击华盛顿特区，巴拿马运河，卡纳维拉尔角，墨西哥城，或者美国东南部任何城市,中美洲,或者加勒比地区。”

Kennedy had a warning for the Soviets.

肯尼迪给苏联发出警告

JOHN KENNEDY: "It shall be the policy of this nation to regard any nuclear missile launched from Cuba against any nation in the Western Hemisphere as an attack by the Soviet Union on the United States, requiring a full retaliatory response upon the Soviet Union."

JOHN KENNEDY ：“我们国家将把在古巴发射的针对西半球任何一个国家的任何导弹都当作是苏维埃联盟对美国的攻击，而我们也会对苏维埃联盟采取报复性的回击。”

Kennedy and his national security advisers debated what to do about the Soviet missiles in Cuba. Should the United States launch an air strike and try to destroy them? What if some of the nuclear missiles escaped the attack?

肯尼迪和他的国家安全顾问一起讨论了将要对古巴的苏联导弹采取什么样的行动： 美国是否应该发动空袭来摧毁它们呢？ 如果一些核导弹躲过了这次空袭将会怎么样？

Kennedy decided to use a naval blockade -- he called it a "quarantine" -- to prevent any more Soviet ships from reaching Cuba.

肯尼迪决定进行海上封锁，他称之为“隔离”，以此来阻止苏联舰队抵达古巴。

There were tense negotiations with the Soviets. Khrushchev demanded a promise that the United States would not invade Cuba. Kennedy agreed, and did so publicly. Secretly he also agreed to another demand. He promised that the United States would remove its Jupiter missiles based in Turkey, after the crisis was over.

美国与苏联进行了几轮紧张的磋商。 赫鲁晓夫要求美国保证不会攻击古巴。 肯尼迪公开表示同意此要求。 实际上他还秘密地同意了另外一个要求。 他许诺，在这次危机结束之后美国将撤走安扎在土耳其的木星飞弹。

The Cuban missile crisis lasted thirteen days. It raised fears of a nuclear war. But it ended peacefully when the Soviets agreed to remove their missiles from Cuba, and turned their ships around.

古巴导弹危机持续了13天。 它引起了核战争的恐慌。 而最后，苏联同意将导弹撤离古巴，并让其舰队返回苏联，这场惊慌就此结束了。

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But the Cold War continued.

但是冷战还在继续

In Asia, the Kennedy administration tried to fight communism in Vietnam by increasing the number of American military advisers there.

在亚洲，肯尼迪政府试图通过在越南增加美国军事顾问来反对越南的共产主义。

The United States and the Soviet Union did make some progress on arms control. In nineteen sixty-three, the two countries agreed to ban tests of nuclear weapons except underground.

美国和苏维埃联盟确实在军备管制上面取得了一些进展。 1963年，两国同意只能在地下进行核武器测试。

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Kennedy also had to deal with domestic issues, including discrimination against blacks. His brother Robert was attorney general, the nation's top law enforcement official. The Justice Department took legal action against states in the South that violated laws on voting rights.

肯尼迪同时还面临着处理国内的一些问题，包括政府对黑人的歧视问题。 他的弟弟罗伯特是首席检察官—美国最高的执法官员。 司法部门采取了法律手段来反对那些违反了表决权的南部地区。

The administration also supported a voter registration campaign to sign up more black voters.

该政府还支持了一个选民登记活动让更多的黑人选民也能参加报名。

Robert Kennedy repeatedly called on National Guard troops to protect blacks when they tried to register to vote or attend white schools.

罗伯特·肯尼迪多次呼吁国民警卫部队保护黑人选民参加登记和投票，以及进入白人学校学习。

President Kennedy said the situation was causing a moral crisis in America. He decided it was time to propose a new civil rights law that would guarantee equal treatment for blacks in public places and jobs.

总统肯尼迪认为这个情形正在引发美国的道德危机。 他决定，是时候提出一种新的民权利法律来确保黑人在公共场所和工作中能得到平等对待。

Congress did not pass a wide-reaching civil rights bill until nineteen sixty-four. By then Kennedy was no longer president.

美国国会直到1964年才通过了普遍执行的民权法案， 而这时在任的总统已经不是肯尼迪了。

In November nineteen sixty-three, he traveled to Texas. He hoped to settle a dispute in the Democratic Party in that state. The dispute might have affected his chances for re-election in nineteen sixty-four.

1963年11月，肯尼迪去了德克萨斯州。 他希望能够解决本地人民对民主党的一些争议。 因为这些争议可能将会影响他在1964年再次竞选美国总统。

Kennedy arrived in Dallas in the late morning of November twenty-second. The president and his wife were seated in the back of an open-topped car as his motorcade drove through the city. Suddenly, there were gunshots.

11月22号上午晚些时候，肯尼迪抵达达拉斯。 这位总统和他的夫人坐在一辆敞篷车的后排，和他的车队一起在这座城市穿梭。 突然，传来了枪声。

WALTER CRONKITE: "Here is a bulletin from CBS news. In Dallas, Texas, three shots were fired at President Kennedy's motorcade in downtown Dallas. The first reports say that President Kennedy has been seriously wounded by this shooting."

WALTER CRONKITE:“现在是来自哥伦比亚广播公司的一条新闻。 在德克萨斯州的达拉斯市中心，有三枚子弹射向了肯尼迪总统的车队。 第一份报告称，肯尼迪总统在这次枪击中受伤非常严重。”

The motorcade raced to Parkland Memorial Hospital. But doctors could do little to save his life. This was how television newsman Walter Cronkite reported the news:

车队在他受到枪击之后，火速开往帕克兰纪念医院。 但是医生们几乎无法挽救他的生命。 以下是电视新闻记者沃尔特·克朗凯特报道的新闻：

WALTER CRONKITE: "From Dallas, Texas -- the flash apparently official -- President Kennedy died at one p.m., Central Standard Time."

WALTER CRONKITE: “闪耀于世界的肯尼迪总统于中央标准时间的一个下午在德克萨斯州的达拉斯市去世。”

Police quickly arrested a suspect. Lee Harvey Oswald worked in a building near where Kennedy had been shot. People had seen him leave the building with a gun. Lee Harvey Oswald was a man with a strange past. He was a former United States Marine. He was also a communist. He had lived for a while in the Soviet Union and had tried to become a Soviet citizen. He worked for a committee that supported the communist government in Cuba.

警方很快便逮捕了一名嫌疑犯。 李·哈维·奥斯瓦尔德在肯尼迪被射击的案发地点附近的一座大楼里工作。 人们曾看见他带着枪离开大楼。 李·哈维·奥斯瓦尔德的身世非常奇怪。 他曾是美国海军的一员， 同时也是共产主义者。 他曾在苏维埃联盟居住过一段时间，还试图成为苏联公民。 他曾为一个支持共产主义政府的古巴委员会工作。

Police questioned Oswald about the shooting of President Kennedy. He told them he did not do it. After two days, officials decided to move him to a different jail.

警方怀疑奥斯瓦尔德参与了此次枪击肯尼迪总统的行动。 他向警方否认此事。 两天后，官员决定将他转移到一个特别的监狱里。

Oswald was being led by two police officers. Suddenly, a man stepped forward. There was a shot. Oswald fell to the ground. Television cameras broadcast the events live.

奥斯瓦尔德由两名警官监管着送往特殊监狱。 突然，一名男子冲上来 用枪射击他们。 奥斯瓦尔德倒在了地上。 广播电视摄像机拍下了并实况转播了这一事件。

The man who killed Oswald was Jack Ruby. He was a nightclub owner in Dallas. He said he shot Oswald to prevent the Kennedy family from having to live through a trial.

杀死奥斯瓦尔德的这名男子叫杰克·鲁比 。 他是达拉斯的一位夜总会业主。 他说他开枪杀死奥斯瓦尔德是为了让他免遭肯尼迪家族的严刑拷打。

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A commission investigated the assassination of John F. Kennedy. The chief justice of the United States, Earl Warren, led the investigation. In its report, the Warren commission said that Lee Harvey Oswald had acted alone. It said there was no plot to kill the president.

委员会对约翰·肯尼迪遇刺这一事件做了调查。 美国的首席法官厄尔．沃伦领导这个调查组。 在沃伦委员会的报告中称，奥斯瓦尔是单独行动的。 刺杀事件背后没有阴谋。

Many Americans never accepted that finding. Some blamed Fidel Castro or the Central Intelligence Agency. Others blamed organized crime.

许多美国人一直不能接受这个事实。 一些人指责菲德尔?卡斯特罗（古巴领导人）或中央情报机构。 而其他人则谴责这次事件案的组织者。

President Kennedy was buried in Arlington National Cemetery, across the Potomac River from Washington. An Eternal Flame burns night and day by his grave.

肯尼迪总统被葬在横跨华盛顿波托马克河的阿林顿国家公墓。 永恒的火焰将昼夜不停地在他的坟墓中燃烧着。

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You can find our series online with transcripts, MP3s, podcasts, and pictures at hxen.net. And you can 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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