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VOA Learning English presents America’s Presidents. 美国之音慢速英语介绍美国总统栏目。

Today we are talking about Franklin Delano Roosevelt. He was related to an earlier president with same last name, Theodore Roosevelt. Many Americans call Franklin Roosevelt by the first letter of each word in his full name: FDR. 今天，我们谈论的是富兰克林·德拉诺·罗斯福。他与之前的总统 西奥多·罗斯福 有着相同的姓。大多数美国人称富兰克林·罗斯福全名的英文缩写：FDR。

When FDR took office, the United States was in a severe economic depression. The previous president, Herbert Hoover , had tried to improve the economy, but his efforts had failed. 罗斯福就任总统时，美国正处于严重的经济萧条当中。前任总统 赫伯特·胡佛 尝试过去改善经济，但失败了。

FDR defeated Hoover in the election of 1932. He won, in part, by promising what he called a “new deal” for Americans. 罗斯福在1932年大选中击败了胡佛。从某种程度上来讲，他赢得大选是因为他承诺美国民众实施他所谓的“新政”。

Voters did not know what FDR’s “new deal” meant exactly, but many liked his message of hope. 选民其实并不完全理解罗斯福的“新政”，但许多人喜欢他所传达的希望。

Voters also did not know how much FDR would change the country. He remained in office for 12 years – the longest of any U.S. president – and led the country through the Great Depression and most of World War II. 选民也不知道罗斯福将会改变这个国家多少。罗斯福连任了12年总统，是所有美国总统当中任期最长的，并且带领美国度过了大萧条和二战的大部分时间。

Along the way, he changed the way government affected Americans’ lives, and the job of the U.S. president. 一路走来，他改变了美国政府影响人民生活的方式，以及美国总统的工作方式。

Franklin Roosevelt was born on a large estate [1] in New York, about 140 kilometers outside New York City. He was the only child of wealthy parents. 富兰克林·罗斯福出生于纽约市以外约140公里处的一个大庄园里。他是这个富裕家庭里唯一的孩子。

His mother and father made sure he had an excellent education. As a young man he attended a private high school, and then Harvard College in Massachusetts. He also studied law at Columbia University in New York. 父母保证了罗斯福接受了良好的教育。青年时期，他上了一所私立高校，后来进入了位于马萨诸塞州的哈佛大学。他还在纽约州的哥伦比亚大学学习了法律。

Young FDR was not an excellent student, however. He was interested in many things outside the classroom, including politics and girls. 然而，罗斯福年轻的时候并不是一位优秀的学生。他对很多课外的事情感兴趣，比如政治和女孩。

Two of FDR’s interests came together in a young woman named Anna Eleanor Roosevelt, who went by the name Eleanor. She was the niece [2] of a politician FDR greatly respected: President Theodore Roosevelt. 罗斯福对一位名叫安娜·埃莉诺·罗斯福的年轻女子产生了浓厚兴趣，人们通常叫她埃莉诺。她是罗斯福非常敬仰的一位政治家西奥多·罗斯福总统的侄女。

On the day when Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt were married, Theodore Roosevelt attended the ceremony. In fact, he walked with his niece in front of the guests to her future husband. 富兰克林和埃莉诺·罗斯福大婚当日，西奥多·罗斯福参加了婚礼。事实上，是他挽着侄女在众多客人面前走向未来丈夫的。

Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt went on to have six children, although one died as a baby. 富兰克林和埃莉诺·罗斯福共有六个孩子，其中一个早夭。

While Eleanor Roosevelt raised the children, Franklin Roosevelt directed his attention to politics. 埃莉诺·罗斯福抚养孩子的时候，富兰克林·罗斯福的注意力都扑在了政治上。

He left a job in a law office to serve in the New York state senate. In time, he was offered a job in the federal government as an assistant secretary of the Navy. 他辞去了律师事务所的工作，担任了纽约州的参议员。后来，他被联邦政府任命为海军助理部长。

FDR enjoyed the job, but he continued seeking other political positions. He tried unsuccessfully for a seat in the U.S. Senate, but did get nominated by the Democratic Party to be its vice presidential candidate in 1920. 罗斯福很喜欢这份工作，但仍继续寻求其他政治地位。他竞选了美国参议员席位，但失败了。不过，他于1920年被提名为民主党的副总统候选人。

Although he and his partner lost the race, FDR seemed like he was in a good position for major political success. 尽管他和他的竞选搭档失败了，但罗斯福似乎正处于一个重大政治胜利的绝佳位置。

But then something unexpected happened. 然而意外却发生了。

When he was 39 years old, FDR suffered major health problems . One day he started to feel a pain in his back. The following day his legs grew tired. Then his skin became sensitive. 罗斯福39岁的时候，遭遇了重大的健康问题。有一天，他开始感到背部疼痛；然后第二天，双腿感到疲劳；再然后，皮肤变得敏感。

By the end of the week, both his legs were paralyzed [3] . He could not move from the waist down. He remained paralyzed for the rest of his life. 那周结束的时候，他的双腿已经瘫痪，腰部以下都无法动弹。他的余生都处于瘫痪状态。

The next years were difficult for the Roosevelts. Eleanor and the children helped care for FDR. And he worked hard to recover some of his strength and physical abilities , especially by exercising. 接下来的几年对罗斯福一家来说很艰难。埃莉诺和孩子们帮忙照顾罗斯福，他自己也努力去恢复力量和 体能 ，尤其是运动。

While he remained hopeful about his condition, FDR worried about his political career. He did not think the public would accept a leader who could not even walk by himself. So he took several measures. 然而，罗斯福仍然对自己的状况感到乐观，他担忧的是他的政治生涯。他觉得民众不会接受一位甚至不能行走的领导人。所以，他采取了若干措施。

He created a small wheelchair that would not get too much attention. It was made from a dining room chair, with wheels instead of legs. 他制造了一个不会引起太多注意的小型轮椅。该轮椅是从餐厅的椅子改造而来的，只是把椅子的腿改成了轮子。

He refused to let photographers take pictures of him being carried or struggling to move, and he found a way to appear as if he were walking. He used a cane or the arm of a partner to balance, and then he swung [4] his hips to make his legs move forward. 他拒绝被拍到努力挣扎移动的样子，并找到了一种让他看起来好像在行走的方式。他通过手杖或同伴的手臂来保持平衡，然后摆动臀部使腿向前移动。

Using this method, FDR “walked” to the stage [5] at the 1924 Democratic National Convention. He used the event to nominate the governor of New York for president. 通过这种方式，罗斯福“走上”了1924年民主党全国代表大会的舞台，他利用这次大会提名了纽约州州长为总统。

That man’s bid did not succeed. But FDR showed himself to still be an able politician. 尽管这次提名没有成功，但罗斯福展示了他仍是一位有能力的政治家。

Four years later, FDR himself was elected governor of New York. He held the position in the early years of the country’s economic crisis. 四年后，罗斯福当选为纽约州州长。此时，正值国家经济危机的头几年。

In 1932, FDR was a candidate for president. He took the unusual step of appearing in person at the Democratic convention to accept his party’s nomination. 罗斯福于1932年成为总统候选人。他采取了不同寻常的方式 亲自 出现在民主党大会上接受党的提名。

His campaign was such a success that the Democrats took not only the White House, but majorities in both the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives. 他的竞选如此成功，以致于民主党不仅赢得了白宫，而且获得了美国参议院和众议院的多数席位。

The strength of the Democratic Party in Congress would help FDR become one of the most powerful presidents the country had ever seen. 民主党在国会的强大实力将帮助罗斯福成为美国有史以来最有权力的总统之一。

Next week we will continue our story of FDR and his presidency. 下周我们将继续罗斯福和他总统任期的故事。

ering? You can smile like flowers.

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