CHAPTER XXI.

The American people are upon the eve of a Presidential canvass¹ and election. The issues are vital and most important and are clearly defined.

 
Governor of New Jersey², the Honorable Woodrow Wilson, is at this writing—August, 1912—the chosen standard bearer of the Democracy, whose platform of nation-wide issues contain the soundest principles of a true Republican form of government ever devised by mankind. The cardinal³ or main feature of it is the revision of the present tariff⁴ downward; in other words a reduction of the same down to a revenue basis.

The present President, Honorable William H. Taft, is the nominee⁵ of the regular Republican party, which party platform advocates a high protective tariff, which has resulted in building up trusts in nearly everything and advancing greatly the costs of living.

On the 5th day of November, 1912, the election will take place, when the people of the United States of North America will decide whether the theories of the Democracy or those of the Republican party shall be the best for their interests and national welfare. The lines are now clearly drawn⁶ and all good Virginians are deeply interested in the result of the great battle of ballots⁷.

To return in retrospect⁸ and compare the present with the past, the individual then sees the changes made by the passage of time. I well remember when Mr. Cyrus W. Field, the promoter of the Atlantic Cable, was considered a regular crank, or semi-lunatic, for such unpractical ideas as he advanced. Now nearly every part of the globe is connected by submarine cables. Take up the numerous inventions and discoveries of “Edison, the great wizard of electricity,” and regard the chaining of lightning by man, making it a motive⁹ power, and an illuminator¹⁰ for dispelling¹¹ the darkness of the past, as to its many uses for mankind. Take the railroad engines, which were a few years since small affairs, and the small and light
 
wooden cars hauled by them, and contrast them with the palatial¹² trains built of steel and the mammoth¹³ locomotives that now draw them on the heavy 100-pound rails at the rate of sixty miles per hour. Note the buildings in the great cities called “skyscrapers,” which rise almost to the clouds, and the many other improvements in architectural steel structures, as the splendid bridges of that material that span large streams and bridge at dizzy heights ravines and mountain gorges¹⁴. Fifty years ago the total population of Richmond was only about forty thousand souls, while today—1912—it is nearly one hundred and eighty thousand all told.

Thus we see what tremendous changes are produced by the passage of “resistless time,” which even the most far-sighted human being could hardly imagine or predict. Now who can safely foretell¹⁵ what may happen within the next half century? Nearly every day science is bringing to light marvelous inventions in the industrial world, and the swift strides in everything pertaining¹⁶ to the everyday life of the human family is most remarkable¹⁷. Fearful accidents and awful calamities¹⁸, destructive of life and property, follow each other almost equal to views of the kaleidoscope in suddenness and variety. Truly is this a wonderful period of the world’s existence.

A striking feature of the great commercial advance of the United States is its vast increase in the railroad connections, which now penetrate¹⁹ the remotest sections, bringing them into touch with all the large centres of trade and commerce. That great artery²⁰ of business, the union Pacific Railroad stretches from the Atlantic Ocean to the great ocean on the west coast, the Pacific. And now, as I write, in but a short time hence the famous canal, the Panama, which will draw in the tides of the
 
Atlantic and discharge them into the Pacific, for the first time in history, will be in operation, owing to the indomitable energy and skill of Americans. And also regard the wonderful achievements in the aerial world, the art of flying by men…

1 canvass   

v.招徕顾客，兜售；游说；详细检查，讨论

参考例句：

• Mr. Airey Neave volunteered to set up an organisation to canvass votes.艾雷·尼夫先生自告奋勇建立了一个拉票组织。
• I will canvass the floors before I start painting the walls.开始粉刷墙壁之前，我会详细检查地板。

2 jersey   

n.运动衫

参考例句：

• He wears a cotton jersey when he plays football.他穿运动衫踢足球。
• They were dressed alike in blue jersey and knickers.他们穿着一致，都是蓝色的运动衫和灯笼短裤。

3 cardinal   

n.(天主教的)红衣主教；adj.首要的，基本的

参考例句：

• This is a matter of cardinal significance.这是非常重要的事。
• The Cardinal coloured with vexation. 红衣主教感到恼火，脸涨得通红。

4 tariff   

n.关税，税率；(旅馆、饭店等)价目表，收费表

参考例句：

• There is a very high tariff on jewelry.宝石类的关税率很高。
• The government is going to lower the tariff on importing cars.政府打算降低进口汽车的关税。

5 nominee   

n.被提名者；被任命者；被推荐者

参考例句：

• His nominee for vice president was elected only after a second ballot.他提名的副总统在两轮投票后才当选。
• Mr.Francisco is standing as the official nominee for the post of District Secretary.弗朗西斯科先生是行政书记职位的正式提名人。

6 drawn   

v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的

参考例句：

• All the characters in the story are drawn from life.故事中的所有人物都取材于生活。
• Her gaze was drawn irresistibly to the scene outside.她的目光禁不住被外面的风景所吸引。

7 ballots   

n.投票表决( ballot的名词复数 )；选举；选票；投票总数v.（使）投票表决( ballot的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• They're counting the ballots. 他们正在计算选票。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The news of rigged ballots has rubbed off much of the shine of their election victory. 他们操纵选票的消息使他们在选举中获得的胜利大为减色。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 retrospect   

n.回顾，追溯；v.回顾，回想，追溯

参考例句：

• One's school life seems happier in retrospect than in reality.学校生活回忆起来显得比实际上要快乐。
• In retrospect,it's easy to see why we were wrong.回顾过去就很容易明白我们的错处了。

9 motive   

n.动机，目的；adv.发动的，运动的

参考例句：

• The police could not find a motive for the murder.警察不能找到谋杀的动机。
• He had some motive in telling this fable.他讲这寓言故事是有用意的。

10 illuminator   

n.照明者

参考例句：

• But on the low position illuminator becomes another questionable point to be. 而低位反光板上成为另一个疑点所在。 来自互联网
• The Illuminator must find his sister in the dark. 点灯人需要在黑暗中找到他的妹妹。 来自互联网

11 dispelling   

v.驱散，赶跑( dispel的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• He succeeded in dispelling our suspicious and won our confidence. 他终于消除了我们的怀疑，得到了我们的信任。 来自辞典例句
• Truth is a torch, which can pierce the mist without dispelling it. 真理是一个火炬，不用驱散大雾，其火炬即能透过。 来自互联网

12 palatial   

adj.宫殿般的，宏伟的

参考例句：

• Palatial office buildings are being constructed in the city.那个城市正在兴建一些宫殿式办公大楼。
• He bought a palatial house.他买了套富丽堂皇的大房子。

13 mammoth   

n.长毛象；adj.长毛象似的，巨大的

参考例句：

• You can only undertake mammoth changes if the finances are there.资金到位的情况下方可进行重大变革。
• Building the new railroad will be a mammoth job.修建那条新铁路将是一项巨大工程。

14 gorges   

n.山峡，峡谷( gorge的名词复数 )；咽喉v.（用食物把自己）塞饱，填饱( gorge的第三人称单数 )；作呕

参考例句：

• The explorers were confronted with gorges(that were)almost impassable and rivers(that were)often unfordable. 探险人员面临着几乎是无路可通的峡谷和常常是无法渡过的河流。 来自辞典例句
• We visited the Yangtse Gorges last summer. 去年夏天我们游历了长江三峡。 来自辞典例句

15 foretell   

v.预言，预告，预示

参考例句：

• Willow trees breaking out into buds foretell the coming of spring.柳枝绽青报春来。
• The outcome of the war is hard to foretell.战争胜负难以预卜。

16 pertaining   

与…有关系的，附属…的，为…固有的(to)

参考例句：

• Living conditions are vastly different from those pertaining in their country of origin. 生活条件与他们祖国大不相同。
• The inspector was interested in everything pertaining to the school. 视察员对有关学校的一切都感兴趣。

17 remarkable   

adj.显著的，异常的，非凡的，值得注意的

参考例句：

• She has made remarkable headway in her writing skills.她在写作技巧方面有了长足进步。
• These cars are remarkable for the quietness of their engines.这些汽车因发动机没有噪音而不同凡响。

18 calamities   

n.灾祸，灾难( calamity的名词复数 )；不幸之事

参考例句：

• They will only triumph by persevering in their struggle against natural calamities. 他们只有坚持与自然灾害搏斗，才能取得胜利。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• One moment's false security can bring a century of calamities. 图一时之苟安，贻百年之大患。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

19 penetrate   

v.透(渗)入；刺入，刺穿；洞察，了解

参考例句：

• Western ideas penetrate slowly through the East.西方观念逐渐传入东方。
• The sunshine could not penetrate where the trees were thickest.阳光不能透入树木最浓密的地方。

20 artery   

n.干线，要道；动脉

参考例句：

• We couldn't feel the changes in the blood pressure within the artery.我们无法感觉到动脉血管内血压的变化。
• The aorta is the largest artery in the body.主动脉是人体中的最大动脉。