This week in our series, we continue to discuss the events of the nineteen thirties, and American foreign policy during that time.
For much of its history, the United States was not involved in world disputes. Only in the twentieth century did it become a powerful and influential nation.
自建国以来，美国绝大部分时间里都没有卷入国际争端。直到二十世纪，美国才成为世界上一个强大的，有影响的国家。
President Theodore Roosevelt was the first president to see America as a great power. A few years later, President Woodrow Wilson wanted the United States to become more involved in the world.
西奥多.罗斯福是第一个把美国视为这种大国的总统。几年后，伍德罗.威尔逊总统想让美国进一步介入国际事务。
Many Americans disagreed. They wanted to stay out of international conflicts. The presidents after Wilson stayed informed about world events. But they were much less willing to involve the United States than Roosevelt or Wilson had been. The great economic depression that began in nineteen twenty-nine reduced Americans' interest in the world even more.
许多美国人持反对意见。他们想置身于国际冲突之外。威尔逊之后的几任美国总统始终关心国际事务，但他们不像罗斯福或威尔逊那样愿意参与到这些事务中去。1929年经济大萧条开始后，美国人对国际事务更加缺少兴趣了。
Now, here are Doug Johnson and Shirley Griffith.
SHIRLEY GRIFFITH: Franklin Roosevelt became president in nineteen thirty-three. Franklin Roosevelt was not like most Americans. He knew the international situation well from his own experience.
富兰克林.罗斯福1933年就任总统，他和大多数美国人不同，他通过亲身经历对世界局势十分了解。
Like Theodore Roosevelt and Woodrow Wilson, he wanted to expand America's foreign policies. The terrible crisis of the depression, however, forced him to spend most of his time on national economic issues. He was able to deal with international issues only very slowly.
他和西奥多.罗斯福、伍德罗.威尔逊一样，想让美国的对外政策更活跃，影响更广泛。然而，可怕的经济大萧条使他不得不集中精力解决国内的经济问题，对国际问题，只能慢慢来。
One of his most important first efforts was to improve relations with Latin American nations.
罗斯福最早采取的重要对外行动之一是改善美国与拉丁美洲各国之间的关系。
DOUG JOHNSON: Thirty years earlier, President Theodore Roosevelt said the United States had the right to intervene in Latin America. In the years that followed, the United States sent troops to several Latin American countries.
三十年前，西奥多.罗斯福总统曾经说过，美国有权干涉拉丁美洲各国的事务。此后，美国曾先后向多个拉美国家派过兵。
Many political leaders in the area accused the United States of treating them like children. Leaders throughout Latin America criticized the United States bitterly at a conference in nineteen twenty-eight.
拉美国家的许多政治领导人指责美国像对孩子一样对待他们的国家。在1928年的一次国际会议上，拉美各地领导人猛烈批评美国。
When Franklin Roosevelt became president, he promised to treat Latin American nations as friends. He called this his "Good Neighbor" policy.
富兰克林.罗斯福当选总统后，承诺要把拉美各国当朋友看待，并称其为他的“友邦”政策。
FRANKLIN ROOSEVELT (FIRST INAUGURAL ADDRESS): "I would dedicate this nation to the policy of the Good Neighbor, the neighbor who resolutely respects himself and, because he does so, respects the rights of others. The neighbor who respects his obligations and respects the sanctity of his agreements, in and with a world of neighbors."
富兰克林.罗斯福在第一次就职演说中讲到：“我将让美国致力于奉行友好邻邦的政策，做一个决心自重并因此而尊重它国的国家。做一个履行义务，尊重与世界各友邦所签协议神圣性的国家。”
SHIRLEY GRIFFITH: Roosevelt's new policy had an unfriendly beginning. His administration refused to recognize a government in Cuba that opposed the United States. Instead, it helped bring to power a new government that showed more support for the United States.
然而，罗斯福的新政策却有个不友好的开端。美国政府拒绝承认反美的古巴政府，反而帮助一个亲美的古巴新政府上台。
After that, however, President Roosevelt was able to prove that he wanted to improve relations with the countries of Latin America.
然而，自那以后，罗斯福总统开始遵照诺言，改善与拉美各国的关系。
For example, his administration speeded up plans to withdraw American troops from Haiti. It rejected old treaties that gave the United States the right to intervene in Cuba. It recognized a revolutionary government in El Salvador. It recognized the right of Panama to help operate and protect the Panama Canal. And it helped establish the Export-Import Bank to increase trade throughout the Americas.
例如，罗斯福政府加快了从海地撤军的速度，否决了原先签订的允许美国干涉古巴事务的条约，承认了萨尔瓦多的革命政府，认可巴拿马有权帮助经营和保护巴拿马运河，并且帮助建立了进出口银行，以促进整个美洲的贸易发展。
DOUG JOHNSON: All of these actions did much to improve the opinion of Latin American leaders about the United States. However, the most important test of Franklin Roosevelt's new policies was in Mexico.
罗斯福政府所采取的这些行动改善了拉美各国领导人对美国的看法。然而，富兰克林.罗斯福新的对外政策所面临的最大考验在墨西哥。
The Mexican government seized control of oil companies owned by investors in the United States. A number of influential Americans wanted the president to take strong action. He refused. He only agreed to urge the Mexican government to pay American investors for the value of the oil companies.
墨西哥政府夺取了美国投资者所拥有的石油公司的控制权。一些很有影响力的美国人要求总统采取强硬措施，但罗斯福拒绝了。他只同意敦促墨西哥政府赔偿美国投资者在石油公司中的股份金额。
SHIRLEY GRIFFITH: As United States relations with Latin America improved, its relations with Britain got worse.
随着美国和拉美国家关系的改善，它与英国的关系却变得更糟了。
Britain blamed Franklin Roosevelt for the failure of an international economic conference in nineteen thirty-three. It also felt the United States Congress was unwilling to take a strong position against international aggression by other nations.
英国认为，富兰克林.罗斯福应该为1933年一次国际经济会议的失败负责。英国还觉得，美国国会对一些国家的国际侵略行为不愿采取强硬立场。
Some British leaders had so little faith in Roosevelt that they proposed seeking cooperation with Japan instead of the United States. New leaders in Japan, however, soon ended this possibility. They presented Britain with such strong military demands that the British government gave up any idea of cooperation with Japan.
有些英国领导人丝毫不信任罗斯福，他们希望抛开美国，同日本合作。然而，日本的新领导人很快就让英国人打消了念头。日本人提出，如果要合作，英国必须满足日本非常苛刻的军事要求，英国政府只好放弃了一切同日本合作的念头。
SHIRLEY GRIFFITH: One big question in American foreign policy in the nineteen thirties concerned the Soviet union.
上个世纪三十年代，美国对外政策上的一个重大问题是如何处理与苏联的关系。
The United States had refused to recognize the government in Moscow after the Bolsheviks took control in nineteen seventeen. Yet Franklin Roosevelt saw the Soviet Union as a possible ally, if growing tensions in Europe and Asia burst into war.
1917年布尔什维克掌权后，美国拒绝承认莫斯科政府。然而，富兰克林.罗斯福认识到，如果欧亚的紧张局势引发战争的话，苏联可能成为美国的盟友。
For this reason, he held talks in Washington with a top Soviet official. In nineteen thirty-three, he officially recognized the Soviet government.
基于这个原因，他在华盛顿与苏联一位高级官员举行会谈。1933年，正式承认苏联政府。
DOUG JOHNSON: President Roosevelt hoped recognition would lead to better relations. But the United States and the Soviet Union did not trust each other. They immediately began arguing about many issues.
罗斯福希望这么做能改善两国关系，但美国与苏联互不信任，很快开始在许多问题上发生争执。
Within two years, the American ambassador to Moscow urged President Roosevelt to cut diplomatic relations with the Soviets. Roosevelt refused. Relations between the two countries became even worse. Yet Roosevelt believed it was better to continue relations in case of an emergency. That emergency -- World War Two -- was just a few years away.
不到两年，美国驻苏联大使就敦促罗斯福断绝与苏联的外交关系。但罗斯福拒绝这么做。此后，美国与苏联的关系进一步恶化，但是罗斯福坚持保持两国关系，以备不时之需，而不时之需----第二次世界大战──几年后真的发生了。
SHIRLEY GRIFFITH: Economic issues played an important part in American foreign policy during the early nineteen thirties. In nineteen thirty-three, a major international economic conference was held in London.
上个世纪三十年代初期，经济问题在美国对外政策走向上扮演了重要角色。1933年，一个重要的国际经济会议在伦敦举行。
France and Italy led a movement to link the value of every nation's money to the price of gold. American delegates to the conference rejected the idea. They argued that it would slow America's recovery from the great depression. As a result, the London conference failed.
法国和意大利挑头，主张将所有国家的货币都与黄金价格挂钩，参加会议的美国代表反对。他们说，这么做会减缓美国经济从大萧条中复苏的速度。结果，伦敦会议以失败告终。
Although President Roosevelt opposed linking the value of the American dollar to the price of gold, he did not oppose international trade. During the nineteen thirties, his administration negotiated new trade agreements with more than twenty countries.
尽管罗斯福反对将美元与黄金价格挂钩，但他并不反对国际贸易。上个世纪三十年代，他领导下的政府与二十多个国家签订了新的国际贸易协定。
DOUG JOHNSON: The nineteen thirties saw major political changes in Asia and Europe. President Roosevelt watched these developments with great interest. In Japan, military leaders gained control of the government. Their goal was to make Japan Asia's leading power.
上个世纪三十年代，欧亚政治出现重大变化，罗斯福以极大的兴趣注视着这些事态的发展。在日本，军方领导人掌控了政府，他们的目标是要让日本成为亚洲头号强国。
In Italy, the government was headed by fascist Benito Mussolini. Another fascist, Francisco Franco, seized power in Spain. And, most important, Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party increased their strength in Germany. Franklin Roosevelt understood much sooner than most western leaders the threat that these new leaders represented.
在意大利，法西斯头子墨索里尼成为政府首脑，而另一个法西斯分子弗朗西斯科.佛朗哥则夺取了西班牙政权。更为重要的是，阿道夫.希特勒和他的纳粹党在德国的力量日益强大。富兰克林.罗斯福比大多数西方国家领导人更早地看出了这些新的领导层意味着怎样的威胁。
SHIRLEY GRIFFITH: Most Americans shared Roosevelt's dislike for the new fascist movements. However, Americans felt another emotion much more strongly. It was their desire to stay out of war.
大多数美国人与罗斯福同样不喜欢这一新的法西斯浪潮，然而，美国人的另一种情绪占了上风，那就是他们渴望置身于战争之外。
World War One had ended just fifteen years earlier. It was still fresh in the minds of many Americans. A majority of the population opposed any policy that could involve the United States in another bloody conflict.
第一次世界大战才结束15年，许多美国人对一战记忆犹新。绝大多数美国人反对任何可能将美国卷入另一场血腥冲突的政策。
DOUG JOHNSON: A public opinion study was made in nineteen thirty-seven. The study showed that seventy-one percent of Americans believed it had been a mistake for the United States to fight in World War One.
1937年美国一项民意调查发现，百分之71的美国人认为美国参加第一次世界大战是一个错误。
So, President Roosevelt was not surprised when Congress passed a law ordering the administration to remain neutral in any foreign conflict. Congress also refused an administration proposal that the United States join the World Court.
所以，当国会通过立法，要求美国政府在世界冲突面前保持中立的时候，罗斯福并不感到惊讶。美国国会还否决了政府建议加入国际法庭的提案。
Franklin Roosevelt shared the hope that the United States would stay out of foreign conflicts. However, Adolf Hitler and other fascists continued to grow more powerful. The situation forced Americans to begin to consider the need for military strength.
富兰克林.罗斯福和其他美国人一样，也希望美国能置身于外国冲突之外。然而，阿道夫.希特勒和其他法西斯势力不断强大，形势发展迫使美国开始考虑加强其军事力量的必要性。
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STEVE EMBER: Americans did not want to become involved in another world war. They called on President Roosevelt and their representatives in Congress to remain neutral in world affairs. But aggression by Germany and Japan would force Americans to choose between their desire for democracy and their desire for peace. That will be our story next week.
美国人不想卷入另一场世界大战，他们呼吁罗斯福总统和国会议员在国际事务中保持中立。但德国和日本的侵略将迫使美国人在要民主还是要和平中做出选择。
Our program was written by David Jarmul. The narrators were Shirley Griffith and Doug Johnson. 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. Join us again next week for THE MAKING OF A NATION -- an American history series in VOA Special English. I'm Steve Ember.
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This is program #186
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