1 Chapter 0 Who Was George Washington

Who Was George Washington? By Roberta Edwards Illustrated by True Kelley

乔治·华盛顿是谁? 罗伯塔·爱德华兹(Roberta Edwards)，特鲁·凯利(True Kelley)

Who Was George Washington? 1783 After seven long years of fighting, the war was finally over. American soldiers had beaten the mighty British army. The thirteen colonies were independent now.

乔治·华盛顿是谁? 1783年，经过七年漫长的战斗，战争终于结束了。 美国士兵打败了强大的英国军队。 现在十三个殖民地都独立了。

Ships full of British soldiers sailed back to England. From here on in, nobody in America had to obey King George. There was going to be a brand-new country with thirteen united states. And in 1789 when it came time to elect the first president, who was the number-one choice? George Washington, of course. George Washington had been the top general throughout the war. He was not the kind of general who just gave orders and then watched soldiers do the fighting; he was often in the thick of battle. Yet Washington was never wounded, not once! Besides being brave, he was also smart, loyal, honest, and fair—everything a leader should be. Would the war have been won without him? Many people didn't think so. It was no surprise that he won the first election for president. But when he learned the news, he was not happy. Oh, no. He wasn't happy at all. He loved being back in Virginia, at Mount Vernon, his beautiful home. He was fifty-seven years old and hoped to spend the rest of his life there with his

满载英国士兵的船只驶回英国。 从这里开始，美国没有人必须服从乔治国王。 一个由13个州组成的全新国家即将诞生。 1789年，当选举第一任总统时，谁是第一选择? 当然是乔治·华盛顿。 乔治·华盛顿在整个战争期间一直是最高将领。 他不是那种只下命令，然后看着士兵们战斗的将军;他经常参加激烈的战斗。 然而华盛顿从未受伤，一次也没有!除了勇敢之外，他还聪明、忠诚、诚实、公平——一个领导者应该具备的一切。 如果没有他，战争会胜利吗? 很多人不这么认为。 他在第一次总统选举中获胜并不奇怪。 但当他得知这个消息时，他并不高兴。 哦,不。他一点也不高兴。 他喜欢回到弗吉尼亚，回到他美丽的家弗农山。 他已经五十七岁了，希望能在那里和他的妻子一起度过余生

wife, Martha, and her two youngest grandchildren. As the very first president, so much would be expected of him. And strange as it may seem to us, George Washington worried that he wasn't up to the job.

妻子玛莎和她最小的两个孙子。 作为美国第一任总统，人们对他寄予厚望。 乔治·华盛顿(George Washington)担心自己无法胜任这项工作，这在我们看来可能有些奇怪。

No, the job of president was not at all to his liking. But many people said they would only support the new government if George Washington were president. And more than anything, he wanted the new government to work. So he said yes and started off for New York, where he would take the oath of office.

不，总统一职根本不合他的胃口。 但是，许多人说，只有乔治·华盛顿当选总统，他们才会支持新政府。 最重要的是，他希望新政府能够运作。 于是他答应了，并动身前往纽约，在那里他将宣誓就职。

At every stop along the way, there were parties and parades for him. Just what George didn't want. Today politicians may spend years planning to run for president. Millions of dollars are spent on campaigns. Yet the man who is known as "the father of our country" felt like "a criminal going off to his execution." All he wanted was to stay home and go fox hunting!

沿途每一站都有为他举行的聚会和游行。 这正是乔治不想要的。 如今，政客们可能会花费数年时间计划竞选总统。 竞选活动花费了数百万美元。 然而，这位被称为“我们国家之父”的人感觉就像“一个即将被处决的罪犯”。 他只想呆在家里，去打狐狸!