美国纪念内战50周年一托福阅读机经背景.docxVIP

智课网TOEFL备考资料 美国纪念内战150周年一托福阅读机经背景   This month marks the 150th anniversary of the beginning of the U.S. Civil War - a conflict that nearly tore the United States apart. Eleven southern states seceded from the Union and formed the Confederate States of America, vowing to maintain their economic system based on agriculture and slavery.  4月12日是美国内战打响150周年的日子。这场冲突几乎使美国分裂。11个南方州最终脱离合众国，建立了邦联国，并且誓言要维持以农业和奴隶制为基础的经济制度。  On April 12, 1861, Confederate soldiers fired on Union troops at Fort Sumter in South Carolina. It was the first act of open aggression by the South against the North. After four years of bloody battles, the Confederates surrendered.  Today, the war between the states still resonates with Americans, and in some ways, the nation is still healing from that division.  今天，美国人心中仍在对这场战争进行反思，战争带给整个国家的创伤仍在弥合之中。  Record casualties  Well over a half million Americans died during the Civil War, the equivalent of losing 2 percent of the population. You can imagine the impact that this would have on whole communities throughout the country, says Ray Brown, chief of interpretation for Manassas National Battlefield Park, site of one of the war’s first battles.  马纳萨斯国家战场公园的讲解员雷.布朗介绍说，共有62万美国人在内战中丧生，相当于美国总人口的百分之2。他说：“你能想象这场战争给整个国家人民带来的巨大影响。”  Brown believes that loss is responsible for passions that have been passed on from generation to generation even at the remove of 150 years.  “而且为什么人们会把他们对这场战争的激情一代一代传承下去，即便是战争已经结束150年了。”  On a recent visit to Manassas, there is little evidence of that passion, but there is a desire to connect to the past. Park superintendent Ed Clark says the battlefield is a good place to do that.  马纳萨斯是内战初期的几个战场之一。今天在这个战场上，人们感受不到那种激情了，但希望能够通过来到这里拾起过去的记忆。  You can actually stand out here on the fields, see what they saw. But I think there is also an emotional connection that can be made on battlefields. This is a place where Americans fought. T