America's Presidents - Chester A. Arthur 美國總統(tǒng) — 切斯特·A·阿瑟

VOA Learning English presents America’s Presidents.
美國之音慢速英語介紹美國總統(tǒng)欄目。

Today we are talking about Chester A. Arthur. (The letter “A” is for Alan, his middle name.)
今天，我們來談論下切斯特·A·阿瑟。（字母“A”指Alan，是他的中間名。）

Arthur took office because of an unexpected event. He was sworn in as Vice President in March 1881 under James Garfield.
阿瑟由于一起意外事件而擔任總統(tǒng)。1881年3月，他在詹姆斯·加菲爾德擔任總統(tǒng)時宣誓就任副總統(tǒng)。

But only 100 days into Garfield’s term, the president was shot. He suffered for months.
但僅僅過了100天，加菲爾德總統(tǒng)就被槍擊了。他遭受了幾個月的痛苦。

Arthur was not close to Garfield. The two men belonged to the same party, but they had different ideas on the issues of the day. They publicly disagreed on a number of subjects.
阿瑟與加菲爾德的關系一般。他們兩人屬于同一黨派，但對當時的諸多問題有不同看法。他們在一些問題上公開反對。

If Garfield lived, Arthur would probably not have much power in his administration.
如果加菲爾德一直擔任總統(tǒng)，阿瑟很可能不會有太多權利。

But Garfield eventually died.
但加菲爾德最終還是去世了。

By this time, it was well-established that if the president of the United States dies in office, the vice president becomes the president.
此時，美國已經(jīng)規(guī)定如果總統(tǒng)在任時死亡，副總統(tǒng)將會繼任。

So, in September 1881, Arthur became the country’s chief executive^[1]. He served the remaining three and a half years of Garfield’s term.
所以，阿瑟于1881年9月繼任了美國總統(tǒng)。他履行了加菲爾德剩余的三年半任期。

Historians say that, for the most part, Arthur performed ably and well.
歷史學家認為，阿瑟在很大程度上任期比較成功。

James A. Garfield Republican candidate for president - Chester A. Arthur Republican candidate for vice president. (Library of Congress) 共和黨總統(tǒng)候選人詹姆斯·A·加菲爾德 - 共和黨副總統(tǒng)候選人切斯特·A·阿瑟。（國會圖書館）

Early life 早年生活

Chester Arthur was raised in the northeastern states of Vermont and New York. He was one of eight children in his family. Their father was a religious leader and anti-slavery activist.
切斯特·阿瑟在美國東北部的佛蒙特州和紐約州長大。他是家里的八個孩子之一，父親是一位牧師及反奴隸積極分子。

Arthur attended college in New York, then taught school and studied law. But he never wanted to stay in a small town and live modestly^[2]. He wanted to live in New York City, work as a lawyer and public official, become wealthy, and enjoy the lifestyle of a gentleman.
阿瑟在紐約州上的大學，然后從事教職并自修了法律。但他不想待在小鎮(zhèn)就這樣平凡地度過下去。他想要在紐約市生活，在那里當律師、擔任公職，然后變成有錢人，去享受有錢人的生活方式。

And that is what he did.
他就是這么做的。

Arthur advanced^[3] from an entry-level^[4] job in a law office, to a leadership position in the military during the Civil War. After the fighting stopped, he worked in a good-paying job as a lawyer, and then accepted a top position in the government.
阿瑟首先在律師事務所從事最基礎的工作，直到內戰(zhàn)期間在軍隊里當上了領導的位置。內戰(zhàn)結束后，他從事了一份高薪的律師工作，再后來在政府部門擔任了高級職位。

Chester A. Arthur 切斯特·A·阿瑟

For seven years, Arthur served as the collector of the port of New York. His job involved supervising 1,300 people. They collected large amounts of money that came from taxes on imported goods.
阿瑟擔任了七年（1871~1878年）的紐約港海關監(jiān)督。他的這份工作管理著1300人，征收大量進口物品的關稅。

The job had a political element^[5], too. It was under the control of a U.S. senator from New York, Roscoe Conkling. Conkling was known as a Republican Party chief, who traded political support for financial and other benefits^[6].
這份工作也有政治因素。它由紐約州參議員羅斯科·康克林控制，康克林是共和黨的領袖，他通過政治支持來換取財富和其他利益。

Arthur was never found guilty of accepting money or gifts in exchange for the help of his office. But he was closely linked to Conkling’s political machine.
阿瑟從未通過錢財交易來獲取職位幫助，但是他與康克林的政治機器關系密切。

When Rutherford B. Hayes became president in 1878, he tried to fight corruption in government jobs. He targeted Conkling and Arthur.
1878年拉瑟福德·B·海斯擔任總統(tǒng)后，試圖打擊政府部門的腐敗。他的目標鎖定了康克林和阿瑟。

Election of 1880 1880年大選

Arthur’s position as the collector of the port of New York was one of the issues in the election of 1880.
1880年大選中，阿瑟的紐約港海關監(jiān)督職位是眾多議題中的一個。

President Hayes had suspended Arthur from the job. To get it back, Arthur and Conkling supported an effort to re-elect former president Ulysses S. Grant.
海斯總統(tǒng)之前將阿瑟從該職位撤職。為了重獲該職位，阿瑟和康克林支持重新選擇前總統(tǒng)尤利西斯·S·格蘭特。

But another candidate won the Republican Party’s presidential nomination: James Garfield.
但另一位共和黨人詹姆斯·加菲爾德贏得了共和黨的總統(tǒng)提名。

Ellen Herndon Arthur 埃倫·赫恩登·阿瑟

Garfield and Arthur were not natural allies. Although they were both Republicans, they represented different points of view.
加菲爾德和阿瑟不是自然盟友。盡管他們都是共和黨人，但代表不同政見。

Political leaders hoped to unite the party. So, when Garfield was chosen as the presidential candidate, they added Arthur as the vice presidential nominee.
政治領袖希望黨派團結。所以，黨內選擇了加菲爾德作為總統(tǒng)候選人，同時也選擇了阿瑟作為副總統(tǒng)候選人。

The effort to unite the party worked well enough to win the election. But relations between the two men were uneasy.
團結黨派的努力使得共和黨贏得了大選，但兩人之間關系并沒有見好。

One of Garfield’s first acts was to appoint someone for Arthur’s old job in New York. The new president wanted someone who was not loyal to Conkling. So he gave the position to one of his supporters, instead.
加菲爾德上任后的第一個舉措就是任命一個人來接替阿瑟之前在紐約州的工作。新總統(tǒng)想要一個不依附于康克林的人，所以任命了一個他的支持者。

In protest, Conkling resigned from the Senate.
康克林從參議院辭職以示抗議。

But then events took an unexpected turn. Garfield was shot by a mentally unbalanced man who believed the president owed him a government job.
但隨后發(fā)生了意想不到的事情。加菲爾德被一個精神失常者槍擊，該槍擊者認為總統(tǒng)欠他一個政府職位。

And Chester A. Arthur became president.
因此，切斯特·A·阿瑟繼任了總統(tǒng)。

Presidency 總統(tǒng)任期

When Arthur took office, he had the public image of being an experienced political operator. Most people believed he cared only about supporting the aims of a small part of the Republican Party.
阿瑟擔任總統(tǒng)后，顯示出了一位經(jīng)驗豐富的政治家形象。大多數(shù)人認為他只關心一小部分共和黨人的目標。

Instead, President Arthur took an independent position on several issues. In opposition to most of his party, Arthur supported legislation to reform the country’s civil service^[7]. It aimed to clean up corruption in government and took away some of the ability of politicians to give government jobs to their supporters.
然而，阿瑟總統(tǒng)在很多事情上都采取了獨立的立場。與黨內多數(shù)人相左，阿瑟支持立法改革國家文官制度。該制度致力于清除政府腐敗，部分剝奪了政客們?yōu)槠渲С终咛峁┱毼坏哪芰Α?/p>

(To be fair, in the short term, the act helped Arthur’s party.)
(公平地說，短期內，這項舉措有助于阿瑟所在的黨派。)

Arthur also broke with the Republican Party leadership to support a reduction in tariffs^[8]. And he strongly argued to limit spending federal money on projects that helped only a few areas or businesses. Instead, he wanted to cut taxes so more people would profit from the government’s surplus.
阿瑟支持降低關稅，因此也與共和黨領袖交惡。并且，他強烈主張限制將聯(lián)邦資金用于只對少數(shù)領域或企業(yè)有幫助的項目。相反，他希望降低稅收，以便更多的人能從政府的盈余中獲益。

Finally, Arthur vetoed an anti-immigration act from Congress. The measure proposed banning Chinese immigrants for 20 years.
最終，阿瑟否決了國會的一項反移民法案。該法案旨在20年內禁止華人移民。

Arthur argued that the Chinese had improved the American economy by helping build a railroad across the country. He also did not want to hurt potential trade with China.
阿瑟認為華人通過幫助美國建造國家鐵路改善了美國經(jīng)濟，也不想傷害與中國之間的潛在貿易。

However, when Congress offered to ban Chinese immigrants for only 10 years, Arthur agreed. In addition, his administration banned immigrants who were considered poor, criminal, or mentally insane.
然而，阿瑟同意了國會提出的10年禁止華人移民。另外，阿瑟政府禁止貧民，罪犯或者精神病患者移民美國。

Perhaps Arthur’s most memorable act as president, however, was to re-decorate the White House. He did not like its appearance inside. So he asked one of New York’s top designers, Louis Tiffany, to make the home brighter and more stylish^[9].
也許阿瑟作為總統(tǒng)最值得紀念的是重新裝飾了白宮。他不喜歡白宮的內部裝修，所以他請了紐約的一名頂尖設計師路易斯·蒂芙尼，來幫助設計白宮使得它更加明亮和現(xiàn)代。

In the newly remodeled rooms, Arthur held parties, with fine food and drink, for elite^[10] guests. He was known as “The Gentleman Boss.”
在新裝修過的白宮里，阿瑟為精英人士舉辦宴會，配以美酒佳肴。他被稱為“紳士總統(tǒng)”。

Chester A. Arthur (center) and members of his trip to Yellowstone National Park 切斯特·A·阿瑟（中間位置）和他的朋友一起在黃石公園

Legacy 遺產(chǎn)

Observers then and now say that Arthur served well as president. He was a solid leader after the difficult years of the Civil War and Reconstruction^[11].
當時和現(xiàn)在的觀察家們都認為阿瑟的總統(tǒng)生涯比較成功。他是歷經(jīng)內戰(zhàn)和重建的艱難歲月之后的一位堅實領袖。

But Arthur did not live much beyond his presidency. Shortly into his term, he learned he had a serious kidney disease that would likely kill him.
但阿瑟離任后沒過多久就去世了。上任不久，他就得知自己患有嚴重的腎病，很可能會因此而喪命。

As a result, he did not try hard to get re-elected.
所以，他并沒有努力去贏取連任。

Instead, after finishing his term he returned to his home in New York. Arthur tried to work as a lawyer, but he soon became too sick.
相反，他在任期結束后便返回了紐約州的家鄉(xiāng)，重新嘗試著律師工作，但很快就病倒了。

His wife had died of malaria before he became president. And he liked to spend his free time fishing or with friends instead of with his children. But, in his last months, he could not enjoy those activities either.
阿瑟的妻子在他擔任總統(tǒng)之前就因瘧疾而死去。他喜歡閑暇時光去釣魚或者和朋友一起，而不是和孩子們度過。但是，最后幾個月，他也不能享受那些愛好了。

He died at home at the age of 57.
57歲時，阿瑟在家中溘然長逝。

原文鏈接

https://learningenglish.voanews.com/a/americas-presidents-chester-arthur/3950367.html

1. chief executive - n. the president of a country 國家總統(tǒng) ?

2. modestly - adv. not very large in size or amount - 適當?shù)?；適度的 ?

3. advanced - v. moved forward - 前進；發(fā)展 ?

4. entry-level - adj. 入門的；初級的；最低階層的；適合于初學者的 ?

5. element - n. a particular part of something - 元素 ?

6. benefits - n. a good or helpful result or effect - 益處 ?

7. country’s civil service - 國家文官制度；國家公務員；civil 有文職的意思 ?

8. tariffs - n. taxes on goods coming into or leaving a country - [稅收] 關稅（tariff的復數(shù)） ?

9. stylish - adj. following the popular style: fashionable - 時髦的；現(xiàn)代風格的；瀟灑的 ?

10. elite - adj. the people who have the most wealth and status in a society - 精英的 ?

11. Reconstruction - n. the period from 1867 to 1877 when the southern states joined the northern states again after the American Civil War - 重建時期 ?