DID yu knw that wence had a king？ His name was Gerge.
N， Gerge Washingtn wasn"t a king. This was anther Gerge.
Yu remember the Stuarts in England-James， Charles， and the restf the family wh ruled England fr a hundred years frm 1600 t 1700. Well， abut 1700 England ranutf Stuarts-there were n mre Stuart children.
As England had t have anther king， they asked a distant relativef the ryal familyver frmnef the German states t rule England. Yes， frm Germany t rule England. His name was Gerge， and the English called him Gerge I. Gerge culdn"t even speak English. He was German and lved hiswn cuntry much better than England. Yu can imagine what srtf king he was. His sn， Gerge II ruled after him， althugh he， t， was mre German than English. But when the grandsn， Gerge III， came t the thrne he was a brn and bred Englishman. It was in this grandsn"s reign， in the reignf Gerge III， thatur cuntry， the United States， was brn.
When a wheel turnsver， we call it a revlutin， which is a big name fr a little thing.
When a cuntry turns arund， we als call it a revlutin， which is a big name fr a big thing.
ur cuntry had started with the tw little settlements，r clnies， as they were called，f Jamestwn and Plymuth. It had grwn and grwn until there were a numberf settlements alng the castf the Atlanticcean. Mstf the peple wh had settled here first were English， and the kingf England ruledver them. Sn peple frmther cuntries like Germany， Hlland， Sctland， and Ireland came here. Africans were brught against their will t wrk as slaves. The kingf England ruledver all these peple， t. The king asked these peple t send him mney， which was called taxes. Nw， the mney cllected frm taxes was nt，f curse， fr the king t put in his pcketbk t use as he liked. It was suppsed t be spentn the peple wh were taxed， t be used fr rads， schls， plice， and such things that are fr the gdf all.
These peple alng the cast， wh were paying mneyr taxes t the king farff acrss the water， thught theyught t have a vte t say hw this mney shuld be spent andn what it shuld be spent. But they did nt have a vte， and they thught theyught nt t have t pay taxes t the king awayff in England.
nef the leading citizensf America at this time was a man named Benjamin Franklin. He was the snf a candlemaker， but frm a pr by， wh hadnce walked the streetsf Philadelphia with a laff bread under each arm， he had risen t a very hnred psitin in the cuntry. He had learned t be a printer and had startednef the first and best newspapers in the United States. He was a great thinker and had invented a stve and a lamp and had succeeded in getting electricity frm the lightning in the cluds by flying a kite with a wire during a strm. He wasnef the Wise Menf the West.
Franklin was sentver t England t try t get the king t change his mind abut taxing the clniesr t bring abut sme srtf agreement with him. But King Gerge was hardheaded， and Franklin was unable t stp the kingMapf the thirteenriginal states ( 最初十三个州的地图 )frm ding what he had made up his mind t d.
The peple in America， finding that talking did n gd， started in t fight. They raised an army. Then they tried t find a gd man t cmmand the army. Such a leader must be hnest and brave； he must have a gd mind； he must lve his cuntry； and he must be a gd fighter. They lked arund fr a man wh had all these qualities， and they fundne. The man they picked was hnest and brave. A legend grew up that when this man was a by， he had cut dwn a favrite cherry treef his father"s just t try a new hatchet he had been given. When this by was asked by his angry father if he had dne it， he answered hnestly and bravely， "I cannt tell a lie； I did."f curse， nw yu knw wh it was-Gerge Washingtn. We knw nw that this stry was made up by a man wh wrte a bk abut Gerge Washingtn. It"s nt true， but it makes a gd stry， desn"t it？
Gerge learned t be a surveyr-that is， a man wh measures land-and whennly sixteen yearsld he was emplyed t survey the large farmf Lrd Fairfax in Virginia； that shwed he had a gd mind. He then had been a sldier and had fught bravely and well in the French and Indian War， as the Seven Years" War was called here. That shwed that he lved his cuntry and was a gd fighter. Gerge Washingtn was chsen t lead the American army against the English.
The Americans did nt at first thinkf starting a new cuntry. They simply wanted the same rights that Englishmen in England had. They sn fundut that there wasnlyne way t get thse rights， and that was t start a new cuntry， independentf England. S a man named Thmas Jeffersn wrte a paper which was called a Declaratinf Independence-can yu say it？-Gerge Washingtn surveying Lrd Fairfax"s farm乔治 华盛顿在测量费尔法克斯勋爵的农场because it declared that the clnies were ging t be independentf England. There were fifty-six Americans chsen by the peple t sign it. Eachnef the signers wuld have been put t death as a traitr t England if the United States had nt wn， and each signer knew it， yet he signed it nevertheless. But just signing this paper didn"t make England give up the clnies.h， n！ King Gerge"s armies tried t stp the clnies frm getting away frm the rulef England.
Washingtn had a very small army with which t fight the English army， and very little mney with which t pay the sldiersr t supply them with fdr clthesr pwder and sht.ne winter the sldiers nearly frze and starved t death， fr they had little clthing and hardly any fd but carrts， and it seemed as if the war culd nt gn unless they gt help. Yet Washingtn kept up their spirits.
Benjamin Franklin was sent acrss thecean， nt t England this timef curse， but t France t see if he culdn"t get sme help frm that cuntry. France hated England， because France had lst partf America， Canada， in the Seven Years" War， but at first France wuld nt help. France tk little interest in the fight， fr Washingtn"s army had lst a numberf battles against the English， and peple dn"t like t back a lser. The year after the Declaratinf Independence， the American army beat the English badly at a place called Saratga in New Yrk State. The kingf France then became mre interested， and then he sent help t the clnies t carryn the war. A yung French nbleman named Lafayette hurriedver frm France and fught under General Washingtn and did s well that he made a great name fr himself.
England， seeing that things were ging against her， nw wanted t make peace with the Americans and give them the same rights that English citizens had， but it was then t late. At the beginningf the war， the Americans wuld have agreed t this and been glad t agree， but nw they wuld agree t nthing less than cmplete independence frm England； and s the war wentn， fr England wuld nt let the clnies g.
The English had been beaten by the Yankees， as they called them， in the Nrth， at Saratga. Then they sent their general， Lrd Crnwallis， t the suthfur cuntry t see if he culd beat the peple there. General Greene was put in cmmandf the suthern American sldiers. Lrd Crnwallis tried t fight Greene， but Greene led Crnwallis a merry chase arund the cuntry until he was all tiredut and finally went int a little place called Yrktwnn the castf Virginia. Here， Crnwallis and his army were caught fast s that they culd nt getut.n the sidef the land was the American army， andn thecean side were the French warships that had been sentver t help. Crnwallis had t surrender.
King Gerge then said， "Let us have peace"； and in 1783 the war was ended by a treatyf peace， eight years after it had started， and the clnies were independentf England. This was called the Revlutinary War， and after it wasverur cuntry was called the United States.
There were just thirteenf theseriginal clnies that jined as partners in this Unin. That is why there are just thirteen stripes inur flag. Sme peple think thirteen is an unlucky number； butur flag with its thirteen stripes still wavesver the land， and it has brught us gd luck； dn"t yu think s？
Washingtn was made the first President， and s he is called the Fatherf his Cuntry； the First in War， the First in Peace， and the First in the Heartsf his Cuntrymen.
【中文阅读】
你知道美国曾经有过一个国王吗 ？
他的名字叫乔治。
不，乔治 华盛顿不是国王。 这是另一个乔治。
你还记得英国的斯图亚特王朝--从公元 1600 年到 1700 年詹姆斯、查理以及这个家族的其他成员统治着英国。大约在公元 1700 年英国把斯图亚特这个家族的人 用完了--斯图亚特家族已经绝后了。
因为英国必须再找一位国王，所以他们从德国一个州请了一位王室的远亲来统 治英国。是的，从德国过来，统治英国。他的名字是乔治，英国人称他为"乔治一 世"。乔治甚至不会说英语。他是德国人，热爱自己的国家远远胜过英国。你可以想 象到他是什么样的国王了。他的儿子乔治二世后来继任，不过他也算不上是英国人， 还是德国人。但是当他的孙子乔治三世即位时，他就是一个土生土长的英国人了。 正是在他孙子的统治时期，即在乔治三世的统治时期，美国诞生了。
当轮子转动时，我们称之为"旋转"，这是一个大词在表示一件小事。 一个国家发生巨变时，我们也称之为"革命"，这是一个大词在表示一件大事。1 美国从两个小定居点或按当时的叫法"殖民地"--詹姆斯敦和普利茅斯发展而来。它逐渐发展直到大西洋沿岸有了许多定居点。一开始在这里定居的大多数人 是英国人，受英国国王统治。不久，其他国家的人像德国人、荷兰人、苏格兰人、 爱尔兰人也来到这里。非洲人被强迫带到这里当奴隶。英国国王也统治着所有的这 些人。国王要求这些人送钱给他，也就是所谓的"纳税"。征收来的税款当然不是让 国王放进自己的钱包，想怎么花就怎么花。它应该花在纳税人身上，用于道路建设、 学校教育、社会治安以及公共福利方面等等。
1 英语"revlutin"一词既可表示"革命"也可表示"旋转"--译者注。
在大西洋海岸的这些人，交钱纳税给远在大洋另一边的国王，他们认为自己应 该有投票权来决定这些钱应该怎么花和花在什么方面才对。但是他们没有投票权， 于是就认为不必再给远在英国的国王纳税了。
那时美国领头人中有一个名叫本杰明 富兰克林的公民。他是一个蜡烛工人的 儿子，小时候是个穷孩子，曾经每只胳膊下各夹着一条面包在费城穿街走巷。但是 后来他飞黄腾达，成为在美国备受尊敬的人。他在印刷厂当过学徒，后来创办了美 国最早也是最好的一份报纸。他是伟大的思想家，还发明过炉子和灯。有一次他在 暴风雨中用一根金属线放风筝，成功地从云层中的闪电引导出电。他是西方哲人 之一。
富兰克林被派往英国，试图说服国王在殖民地征税这一问题上改变想法，或者 和国王达成某种协议。但是国王乔治很顽固，富兰克林无法阻止国王去做他打定主 意要做的事情。
美国人民发现谈判没有用，就开始斗争。他们招募了一支军队。这时他们想找 个合适的人来率领这支军队。这样一位领导者必须诚实勇敢，他必须有敏锐的头脑， 他必须热爱自己的国家，他必须是个优秀的战士。他们四处寻找具备所有这些品质 的人，最后他们找到了一个。他们选中的这个人既诚实又勇敢。还产生了一个传说， 据说这个人还是个小男孩时，他只是为了试试自己得到的新斧子是不是锋利便砍倒 了他父亲钟爱的一棵樱桃树。当生气的父亲问这个男孩是否是他干的，他诚实勇敢 地回答："我不能撒谎，是我砍的。"当然，现在你知道他是谁了--乔治 华盛顿。 如今我们知道这个故事是一个写乔治 华盛顿传记的人编的，不是真事。但是这算是 一个好故事，不是吗？
乔治学过当测量员--就是测量土地的人--当他只有 16 岁的时候，他被雇去 测量费尔法克斯勋爵在弗吉尼亚的大农场；这说明他有聪明的头脑。后来，他当了 兵，在法国和印第安人的战争中作战勇敢，表现突出。这场战争也被称为"七年战 争"。这表明他很爱国，而且英勇善战。乔治 华盛顿被选出来，领导美国军队反抗 英国人。
美国人民一开始并没想到要成立一个新的国家。他们只想获得和住在英国的英 国人同样的权利。很快他们发现要想得到那些权利，只有一条路可走，那就是建立 一个新国家，脱离英国而独立，于是一个叫托马斯 杰斐逊的人起草了一份称为《独 立宣言》的文件--你能把这题目念出来吗？--因为文件宣布殖民地将脱离英国， 成为一个独立的国家。五十六个美国人被人民推选出来签署这份宣言。如果美国不 能取得胜利，每一个签名者都要作为英国的叛国者被处死，每一个签名者心里都清 楚这一点，但是他们还是义无反顾地签了名。不过仅仅签署这份文件无法让英国放 弃这些殖民地。嗨，他们绝对不会！国王乔治的军队对殖民地要摆脱英国的统治进 行了阻止。
华盛顿只有一支小军队同英军对抗，军费少得可怜，没有军饷发给士兵，粮食、 衣物供应不足，炸药和子弹匮乏。有一个冬天，士兵们差一点冻死、饿死，因为他 们没有什么衣着，除了胡萝卜，也几乎没有吃的了，当时的情形看起来好像这场战争无法继续下去了，除非他们能得到援助。但是华盛顿激励他们，保持士气。
本杰明 富兰克林被派到大洋彼岸，这次当然不是去英国，而是去法国探一探， 看看能否从那里得到一些援助。法国痛恨英国，因为在七年战争中，法国失去了美 洲的那部分土地--加拿大，但是最初法国不愿意帮忙。法国对打仗没什么兴趣， 因为华盛顿的军队在和英军的交战中，吃了好几次败仗，人们通常不愿支持失败者。
《独立宣言》发表后的第二年，美国军队在纽约州一个叫萨拉托加的地方大败英国 人。法国国王这时对这场战争才有点兴趣了，于是他向殖民地提供援助，让这场战 争继续打下去。一个名叫拉菲德的法国年轻贵族从法国匆匆赶来，在华盛顿将军手 下作战，他作战英勇，打出了很大的名气。
英国眼看局势对自己越来越不利，现在想和美国人民讲和，同意给予他们与英 国公民同样的权利，但是已经太迟了。战争刚开始时，美国人民可能会同意讲和， 而且会高高兴兴地同意，但是他们现在除了彻底从英国独立出来，其他什么都不会 同意；于是战争继续，因为英国不愿放弃这些殖民地。
英国人在北方的萨拉托加被他们所称的"北方佬"打败后，又派他们的将军康 华里勋爵去南方寻找取胜的战机。格林将军被任命指挥南方的美军。康华里勋爵想 和格林正面作战，但是格林东躲西闪带着康华里在各地兜圈子，直到康华里的军队 完全累垮了，最后来到了弗吉尼亚海岸边一个叫约克镇的小地方。康华里和他的军 队在那里深陷重围，无法逃脱。陆地这边是美国军队，海洋那边是派来增援的法国 军舰。康华里只得投降。
于是国王乔治说："让我们讲和吧"；在 1783 年双方达成合约，结束了打了八年 之久的战争，美国殖民地脱离英国而独立。这次战争被称为"独立战争"，战争结束 后，这个获得独立的国家被称为美国。
这个联邦国家仅由十三个原先的殖民地合伙组成。这就是为什么美国国旗上仅 有十三道彩条。有些人认为十三是个不吉利的数字；但是有着十三道彩条的美国国 旗依然在这片土地上飘扬，它已经给美国人带来了好运；你不这样认为吗？
华盛顿被任命为美国第一任总统，所以他被称为"国父"；他是战争时期的第一 人，和平时期的第一人，美国国民心目中的第一人。
公元 1776 年