【美国精神】第8期

Explanation:

    On July 4, 1776, a group of men convened¹ (or met) in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and signed a document called the Declaration² of Independence. To declare means to announce or let other people know about something, so a declaration is an announcement of some important event or action. The Declaration of Independence declared that the United States was independent (or free) from the control of the government of Great Britain. Once the Declaration of Independence was signed, the colonists³ became revolutionaries (or people who want to change the government). Their goal was to end British rule (or power and leadership) in America.

    Why did the American colonists want to become independent from Great Britain and create their own country? The British had spent a lot of money fighting the French and Indian War in America from 1754 to1763. When the War was over, the British government was poor. To make money, Great Britain began taxing its people, so that citizens had to pay more money to the government. The people the government taxed the most were those living in overseas (or foreign) colonies⁴, including America.

    Great Britain passed a series of acts (or laws) to put taxes on common things such as sugar, stamps, and tea. The acts made the colonists very angry, because they didn’t want to pay so much for the things they needed. So they boycotted⁵ (or did not buy) many of these things. However, some colonists did not feel this was enough and wanted to do more, much more. What they wanted was to get rid of (or to not have any longer) the British government’s power over their land.

    After years of these unfair taxes, the American colonists decided⁶ to do something about it. Thomas Jefferson wrote the Declaration of Independence, and divided it into three sections. The first part included the reasons that America had the right to be independent. The second part had a list of things that the British King had done to hurt America. The third part was the actual declaration of independence.

    The Declaration of Independence was signed by many famous people, including Thomas Jefferson and John Adams, who both later became U.S. presidents. Benjamin Franklin, the important thinker and writer, also signed the Declaration of Independence.

 

 

问题：

What did the Declaration of Independence do?

Answer:

• Announced our independence from Great Britain

• Declared our independence from Great Britain

• Said that the United States is free (from Great Britain)

1 convened   

召开( convene的过去式 )； 召集； （为正式会议而）聚集； 集合

参考例句：

• The chairman convened the committee to put the issue to a vote. 主席召集委员们开会对这个问题进行表决。
• The governor convened his troops to put down the revolt. 总督召集他的部队去镇压叛乱。

2 declaration   

n.宣布，宣告，宣言，声明（书），申报

参考例句：

• We read the declaration posted on the bulletin board.我们读了贴在布告板上的声明。
• At the recent convention a declaration was adopted.在最近举行的大会上通过了一项宣言。

3 colonists   

n.殖民地开拓者，移民，殖民地居民( colonist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Colonists from Europe populated many parts of the Americas. 欧洲的殖民者移居到了美洲的许多地方。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Some of the early colonists were cruel to the native population. 有些早期移居殖民地的人对当地居民很残忍。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 colonies   

n.殖民地( colony的名词复数 )；（侨民等）聚居区；（动植物的）群体；（来自同一地方，职业或兴趣相同的）聚居人群

参考例句：

• They amassed huge wealth by plundering the colonies. 他们通过掠夺殖民地聚敛了大笔的财富。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• But throughout the colonies, people relied primarily on small farms and self-sufficiency. 但就整个殖民地来说，人们主要依靠小型农场，过着自给自足的生活。 来自英汉非文学 - 政府文件

5 boycotted   

抵制，拒绝参加( boycott的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Athletes from several countries boycotted the Olympic Games. 有好几国的运动员抵制奥林匹克运动会。
• The opposition party earlier boycotted the Diet agenda, demanding Miyaji's resignation. 反对党曾杯葛国会议程，要宫路下台。

6 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。