10 Chapter 9 A Brand-New Country

Chapter 9 A Brand-New Country George Washington was living again in his beloved Virginia. He was still the most famous man in America, just as he had been all through the war. A constant stream of visitors arrived at Mount Vernon. Everyone wanted to meet "His Excellency."

乔治·华盛顿重新生活在他心爱的弗吉尼亚。 他仍然是美国最有名的人，就像他在整个战争期间一样。 游客络绎不绝地来到弗农山庄。 每个人都想见见“阁下”。

What brought Washington out of retirement? The country was floundering. The government was weak. It didn't have the power to raise taxes or control trade or mark state boundaries. Washington said it was "as clear to me as the ABC," that the new country needed a much stronger system. In 1787, at a convention held in Philadelphia, the Constitution was written. It mapped out the kind of government George Washington hoped for. There would be three

是什么让退休的华盛顿重出江湖? 这个国家正在苦苦挣扎。 政府很软弱。它没有权力提高税收或控制贸易或标记州边界。 华盛顿说，“我和美国广播公司一样清楚”，这个新国家需要一个更强大的体系。 1787年，在费城举行的一次会议上，宪法被起草。 它勾勒出了乔治·华盛顿所希望的那种政府。 会有三个

branches of power—a strong president, a Congress to pass laws, and a Supreme Court to rule on whether laws were fair. No one branch would have too much power. Even before the first election for president was held, everyone knew George Washington would win.

一个强有力的总统，一个通过法律的国会，以及一个裁决法律是否公正的最高法院。 任何一个分支都不会有太多的权力。 甚至在第一次总统选举举行之前，每个人都知道乔治·华盛顿会赢。

The election system then was different from the way it is now. Electors from the different states were chosen. Each had two votes. Everyone voted for Washington. So he became president. John Adams came in second, with thirty-four votes. So he became vice president. George Washington received the news on April 14, 1789. Two days later he set out for the temporary capital, New York City. There he would take the oath of office. He said there were no "words to express" how anxious he felt. He was

当时的选举制度与现在不同。 来自不同州的选举人被选出。 每人有两票。大家都把票投给了华盛顿。 于是他当上了总统。约翰·亚当斯以34票位居第二。 于是他当上了副总统。 乔治·华盛顿在1789年4月14日收到了这个消息。 两天后，他动身前往临时首都纽约。 他将在那里宣誓就职。 他说，没有“语言来表达”他的焦虑。 他是

walking "on untrodden ground." He meant there was no path for him to follow, because no one had ever been president before.

走在“人迹罕至的土地上”。 他的意思是他没有路可走，因为之前没有人当过总统。