Vocabulay

1. engraving:  print made from engraved plate.         eg:   Several  documents and engravings held by the National Archives
2.  frustration:  discontened  .    eg:  Americans tried to express   their frustrations at being treated differently from  other British citizens of the king’s empire.
3. insufficient:  not enough.         eg:Supplies for the Continental army were often insufficient.
4. rebel: person who resists authority or contorl.    eg:  In June, American rebels seized a point of high ground in Boston
5. casualty: person killed or injured in war or accident.     eg:The  British took enormous casualties.
6. established:  achieve  permanent  acceptance for; place beyond dispute.   eg:although the government established by the Articles was limited in power.
7. subsequent:  following specified or implied event.    eg: A subsequent  British invasion of the colonies was turned back,
8. skirmish: minor battle.       eg:  who fought  small, delaying skirmishes.
9. desperately: extremely dangerous .     eg: Cornwallis desperately hoped to be evacuated by sea
10. negotiate: in order to reach agreement        eg:  Colonial negotiators began to assemble in  Paris.

    

 

The Lewis and Clark Expedition   

 

1.In 1803 President Thomas Jefferson guided a splendid piece of foreign diplomacy through the U.S.   

 

splendid: magnificent,glorious,dignified.   

 

2.Jefferson chose his personal secretary, Meriwether Lewis,an intelligent and literate man who also possessed skills as a frontiersman.   

 

frontiersman:border between settled and unsettled country.   

 

 3.Together they collected a diverse military Corps of Discovery that would be able to undertake a two-year journey to the great ocean.   

 

military,characteristic od soldiers or armedforces   

 

4.thus giving the new western land access to port markets out of the Gulf of Mexico and to eastern cities along the Ohio River and its minor tributaries.   

 

tributary: stream ect. that flows into larger stream or lake   

 

5.Clark Trail up the Missouri several miles to the trapper headquarters at Fort Mandan   

 

headquarters : organization’s administrative centre.   

 

6.They traveled up the Missouri to present-day Three Forks, Montana, wisely choosing to follow the western-most tributary   

 

traveled : experienced in travelling   

 

7.the Corps of Discovery shaped canoe-like vessels that transported them swiftly downriver to the mouth of the Columbia.   

 

vessel: duct or canal holding or conveying; ship or boat ,esp.large one ; hollow receptacle,esp.for liquid   

 

swift: quick; prompt   

 

8., they continued to trade what few goods they still had with the Indians and set up diplomatic relations with the Indians    

 

diplomatic:involved in diplomacy; tract ful   

 

9.William Clark drew a series of maps that were remarkably detailed, noting and naming rivers and creeks, significant points in the landscape   

 

remarkable: worth notice; exceptional , striking    

 

10.This wave of development would significantly transform virgin forests and grasslands into a landscape of cities,   

 

significant: having or conveying meaning; important   

 

    

 

THE CIVIL WAR  

 

1. The states o f the southern United States broke away from the federal union that had existed since the ratification of the constitution.  

 

Federal: system of government in which self-governing states unite for certain function; of such a federation.  

 

2.  But it held several that would pose great threats to attempts by their Northern neighbors to end the rebellion  

 

Rebellion: open resistance to authority, esp. organized armed resistance to established government  

 

3.  Actions by the North to promote this fear included the Emancipation Proclamation, Which ended slavery in all territories held by Union troops, but not in all areas of the North, such as loyal, but slave-owning.  

 

Troop: private soldier in cavalry or armored unit;   mounted or State police officer.  

 

4.  The war simply by continuing to exist after the hostilities ended later. 

 

 Hostility: being hostile; enmity; warfare.  

 

5.  Control of the Mississippi River had to be secured to allow unimpeded movement of needed Western goods.  

 

secure: untroubled by danger or fear; make secure or safe curely.  

 

6.  Second, the South had to be cut off from international traders and smugglers that could aid the Southern war effort  

 

Smuggle: import or export illegally, esp. without paying duties.  

 

7.  the South had to counter with their own plans to capitalize on early victories that weakened the Northern resolve to fight, 

 

 Capitalize: covert into or provide with capital; write as capital.  

 

8.  To attain international recognition as a sovereign state, and to keep Union forces from seizing Confederate territory.  

 

Attain: gain, accomplish; reach; arrive to goal. 

 

 Sovereign: supreme ruler, esp. monarch; self-governing; royal.  

 

9.  The divisive, destructive conflict cast a shadow on the successes of the United States during the 19th century, 

 

 Divisive: causing disagreement  

 

Destructive: destroying or tending to destroy; negatively critical.  

  Unit 3.  part one  

  1.At the time of the Articles of Confederation, the major controversy related to land measurement and pricing.   

  Controversy: dispute, argument  

  

2.The investment needed to purchase these large plots and the massive amount of physical labor required to clear the land  for agriculture were often

 insurmountable obstacles     

Investment: the act of investing money in sth   

  

3.Eastern economic interests opposed this policy as it was feared that the cheap labor base for the factories would be drained.  

  Drained： very tired and without energy  

  

4.Southern states worried that rapid settlement of western territories would give rise to new states populated by small  farmers opposed to slavery    

Populate: to live in an area and form its population  

  

5.The new law established a three-fold homestead acquisition process: filing an application, improving the land, and filing for deed of title. 

Acquisition: the act of getting sth, especially knowledge, a skill,etc. 

 

6.Title could also be acquired after a 6-month residency and trivial improvements, provided the claimant paid the government $1.25 per acre.  

Residency: spends working for a particular institution; the state of living in a particular place. 

Trivia: not important or serious; not worth considering.  

  

7.As a result, overworked and underpaid investigators were often susceptible to bribery。  

 Investigator: a person who examines a situation such as an accident or a crime to find out the truth.   

Bribery: to giving or taking of bribes   

  

8.the site commemorates the changes to the land and the nation brought about by the Homestead Act of 1862. 

  Commemorate: to remind people of an important person or event from the past with a special action or object.  

  

9.it was simply not enough to sustain agriculture on the dry plains, and scarce natural vegetation made raising livestock on  the prairie difficult.    

Livestock: the animals kept on a farm. 

      

 

   

 

Unit 3 part 2

1.Exploration and settlement of the western United States by Americans and Europeans wreaked havoc on the Indian peoples living there.  

 

exploration: the act of travelling through a place in order to find out about it or look for  sth in it.  

 

2.In the 19th century the American drive for expansion clashed violently with the Native American resolve to preserve their lands, sovereignty, and ways of life.   

 

 sovereignty:  complete power tp govern a country.  

 

3.From the 1860s through the 1870s the American frontier was filled with Indian wars and skirmishes.   

 

skirmishes: a short fight between small groups of soldiers ; a short argument, especially between political opponents.  

 

4. This treaty was to bring peace between the whites and the Sioux who agreed to settle within the Black Hills reservation in the Dakota Territory.   

 

 treaty: a formal agreement between two or more countries. 

 

  5.the United States recognized the Black Hills as part of the Great Sioux Reservation, set aside for exclusive use by the Sioux people. 

 

 exclusive: only to be used by one particular person or group.  

 

6.miners were soon moving into the Sioux hunting grounds and demanding protection from the United States Army  

 

miners: a person who works in a mine taking out coal, gold,diamonds, ect.  

 

7. the Army was ordered to move against wandering bands of Sioux hunting on the range in accordance with their treaty rights  

 

accordance: in conformity to  

 

8.encountered the encampment of Sioux and Cheyenne at the Little Bighorn River.  

 

encounter: to experience sth, especially sth unpleasant or difficult, while you are trying to do sth else.  

 

encampment: a group of tents, where people live together, usually for only a short period of time. 

 

 9.Custer’s detachment was annihilated, 

 

  annihilate: to destroy sb/sth completely;  to defeat sb/sth completely 

 

10.the United States would continue its battle against the Sioux in the Black Hills until the government confiscated the land in 1877. 

 

confiscate: to officially take sth  away from sb, especially as a  punishment.      

 

Unit 4 part one

1.  What does the Constitution sanction? What does it prohibit?

 

 sanction: offical permission or appoval for an action or a change. 

 

prohibit: to stop sth from being done or used especially by law; to make sth impossible to do 

 

2. The Lever Act of 1917 represents both the normal working of American government and the extraordinary circumstances of World War I. 

 

circumstances: the conditions and facts that are connected with and affect a situation, an event or an action. 

 

3.various interests of members of Congress in supporting or opposing the legislation 

 

opposing: playing, fighting, working, etc. aginst each other;  very different from each other. 

 

4.In this, the legislative dance seemed typically American: proposed legislation, support or opposition from special interest groups, legislative revision, and congressional hearings. 

 

congressional: related to or belonging to a congress or the Congress in the US. 

 

5.implementation, the stage of policy- making between the establishment of a policy and the consequences of the policy for the people it affects. 

 

inplement: to make sth that has been officially decided start to happen or be used. 

 

6.Facilitate transportation of food and prevent monopolies and hoarding,

 

 facilitate: to make an action or a process possible or easier. 

 

7.As head of the U. S. Food Administration, Hoover, given the authority by Wilson, 

 

authority: to power to give orders to people.

 

 8.Through it all he called for patriotism and sacrifices that would increase production and decrease food consumption 

 

patriotism: love of your conntry and willingness to defend it

 

 consumption: the act of using ener, food or materials; the amount used        

 

Unit 4  part two

1.In August 1945 the United States unleashed a new weapon of mass destruction against the Japanese at Hiroshima and Nagasaki

 

and brought an end to World War II. 

 

unleash: to suddenly let a strong force, emotion, ect. be felt or have an effect 

 

2.They killed by sheer magnitude of the blast and the resulting firestorm, and they killed by means of nuclear fallout. 

 

sheer : used to emphasize the size, degree or amount of sth; complete and not mixed with anything else. 

 

magnitude：the great siza or importance of sth; the drgree to which sth is large or important

 

 firestorm: a very large fire, usually started by bombs, that is not under control and is made worse by the winds that it causes 

 

3.The exclusiveness was short-lived, however. In 1949 the Soviet Union exploded its first atomic bomb.

 

 exclusive：only to be used by one particular person or group;  

 

exploded： showing the parts of sth separately but also showing how they are connected to each other 

 

4.both nations embarked on an arms race while at the same time preparing their citizens in the event that nuclear weapons were deployed. 

 

embark on : to start to do sth new or difficult.

 

 5. a Cold War was being waged, and civilian populations could no longer be shielded from the violence of war. 

 

shield from: to protect sb/sth from danger, harm or sth unpleasant 

 

6.With each incremental increase in the level of hostility between the two superpowers, 

 

superpower: one of the countries in the world that has very great military or economic power and a lot of influence. 

 

7.techniques to defend against radiation poisoning resulting from nuclear fallout had the only real possibility of success. 

 

poisoning: the fact or state of having swallowed or absorbed poison.