胡楊

Abraham Lincoln （February 12， 1809～April 15， 1865） was the 16th President1 of the United States of America. He served as President from March 4， 1861， until April 15， 1865 （he was re-elected in 1864）. He is the first republican President， but also a statesman2 who belongs among the great.

亞伯拉罕·林肯（1809年2月12日—1865年4月15日），美國第16任總統(tǒng)，任期為1861年3月4日至1865年4月15日（他在1864年再次當(dāng)選）。他是首位共和黨籍總統(tǒng)，也是一位應(yīng)歸入偉人之列的政治家。

Abraham Lincoln is known as one of the greatest American presidents， but at that time his family was very poor. They lived in a log cabin3 in the wood near Hodgenville， Kentucky. Abraham had very little formal schooling and was mostly self-educated. His formal schooling was limited to three brief periods in local schools， as he had to work constantly4 to support his family. He had to walk about five miles to school but he loved to study late after working hard all day. He grew to be a wise man and eventually became a lawyer and a Republican politician.

亞伯拉罕·林肯是美國歷史上最偉大的總統(tǒng)之一，但是當(dāng)時(shí)他的家里十分貧窮，他和家人住在美國肯塔基州霍奇維爾的一個(gè)小木屋里面。亞伯拉罕由于家境貧窮，受正規(guī)學(xué)校教育的程度不高，主要靠他自己自學(xué)。他有過三段短暫的在當(dāng)?shù)貙W(xué)校學(xué)習(xí)的經(jīng)歷，當(dāng)時(shí)他不得不中斷學(xué)習(xí)去工作來貼補(bǔ)家用。他需要步行大約五英里去上學(xué)，但是在辛苦工作一天之余，他樂于學(xué)習(xí)到深夜。他成為了一個(gè)充滿智慧的人，并最終成了一名律師和一位共和黨的政治家。

Lincoln won election to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1846 and began serving his term the following year. Then Lincoln， a self-taught Illinois lawyer and legislator with a reputation as an eloquent5 opponent6 of slavery， shocked many people and overcame several more prominent contenders to win the Republican Partys nomination for president in 1860.

林肯1846年當(dāng)選為美國眾議員，第二年開始了他的任期。接著，林肯，這位自學(xué)成才的伊利諾斯州律師、有著雄辯口才的奴隸制反對(duì)者震驚了很多人，并且戰(zhàn)勝了一些杰出的競(jìng)爭(zhēng)者，贏得了共和黨的1860年總統(tǒng)候選人提名。

In the general election， Lincoln won most of the North and carried the Electoral College. After years of sectional tensions， he was elected President of the United States. Lincoln was inaugurated7 in March 4， 1861， and the Civil War began barely a month later.

在大選中，林肯贏得了大多數(shù)的北方（選民）和選舉團(tuán)的支持。經(jīng)過多年的派系之間的斗爭(zhēng)，他被選為美國總統(tǒng)。1861年3月4日，林肯宣誓就職，僅僅一個(gè)月后就爆發(fā)了南北戰(zhàn)爭(zhēng)。

During Lincolns presidency， the people of the South wanted to own slaves， but those of the North thought that it was wrong to own slaves. Then the Southern states seceded from the Union because Lincoln and the Northern states were against slavery.

在林肯擔(dān)任總統(tǒng)期間，南方各州支持奴隸制度，而北方各州認(rèn)為蓄奴是不對(duì)的。接著南方各州因?yàn)榱挚虾捅辈扛髦莘磳?duì)奴隸制而脫離了聯(lián)邦。

Contrary to expectations， Lincoln proved to be a shrewd military strategist and a savvy8 leader during what became the costliest conflict ever fought on American soil. During the Civil War， Lincoln gave many speeches. His Emancipation Proclamation， issued in 1863， freed all slaves in the rebellious states and paved the way for slaverys eventual abolition. The Gettysburg Address （Nov. 1863）， a short speech in which he stated how a country must be dedicated to human freedom in order to survive. It is considered as one of the most famous and influential pieces of speech in American history.

與預(yù)期相反，在這場(chǎng)最昂貴的美國本土戰(zhàn)爭(zhēng)中，林肯被證明了是一個(gè)精明的軍事戰(zhàn)略家和精明的領(lǐng)導(dǎo)者。在內(nèi)戰(zhàn)期間，林肯做過許多次演講。1863年他發(fā)表了《解放奴隸宣言》，宣布了釋放所有反叛州的奴隸并且為最終廢除奴隸制度鋪平了道路。他在葛底斯堡演說（1863年11月）這場(chǎng)簡(jiǎn)短的演說中提出一個(gè)國家為了生存需要致力于追求人類的自由。它被認(rèn)為是美國歷史上最著名和最具影響力的演講。

The Civil War lasted from 1861 until 1865， and at last the North won and the slaves were set free.

美國內(nèi)戰(zhàn)從1861年到1865年持續(xù)了四年，最終北方贏得勝利，所有奴隸得以解放。

In April 14， 1865， with the Union on the brink of victory， Lincoln had been attending a play at Fords Theater in Washington， D.C. He was shot and killed by John Wilkes Booth.

1865年4月14日，聯(lián)邦勝利在即的時(shí)候，林肯被邀請(qǐng)去觀看華盛頓特區(qū)福特劇院的一場(chǎng)戲劇的時(shí)候，被約翰·威爾克斯·布斯槍殺。

Lincoln died the next morning. Andrew Johnson （Lincolns Vice-President） became the next US President.

林肯第二天早上去世。安德魯·約翰遜（林肯的副總統(tǒng)）成為美國下一任總統(tǒng)。

Lincoln was the first US president ever assassinated9. His death made him a martyr10 to the cause of liberty11 and Union. Over the years Lincolns mythic stature has only grown， and he is widely regarded as one of the greatest presidents in the nations history.

林肯是第一位遭到刺殺的美國總統(tǒng)，他的早逝使他成為自由事業(yè)和聯(lián)邦的烈士。多年來，林肯的神話地位一直在攀升，他是公認(rèn)的美國歷史上最偉大的總統(tǒng)之一。