The 250th Birthday of the United States
美國 250 歲生日
Introduction
The United States will have its 250th birthday soon. Teachers and historians are looking at the Declaration of Independence again.
美國即將迎來 250 歲生日。教師與歷史學家正重新審視《獨立宣言聞》。
Main Body
Thomas Jefferson and other men wrote the Declaration of Independence. They wrote that all people are equal. But some men owned slaves. They removed words about slavery from the paper to keep the colonies together.
湯瑪斯·傑佛遜和其他人撰寫了《獨立宣言》。他們寫道所有人都是平等的。但當時有些人擁有奴隸。為了維持殖民地的團結，他們將文件中關於奴隸制度的文字刪除了。
Some people say the 'Founding Fathers' were not just the men who signed the paper. George Washington was important. Abigail Adams and Black soldiers were also important. They believed the government must help people be free and happy.
有些人認為「國父」不僅僅是指那些在文件上簽名的男性。喬治·華盛頓很重要，艾比蓋爾·亞當斯和黑人士兵也同樣重要。他們相信政府必須幫助人們獲得自由與快樂。
In the beginning, the colonies did not always agree. Some fought about slavery. Later, the US had a big war called the Civil War. For a long time, women and Black people did not have the same rights as others.
起初，殖民地之間並不總是達成共識。有些人因奴隸制度而爭執。後來，美國發生了一場名為內戰的大規模戰爭。在很長一段時間裡，女性和黑人沒有與他人相同的權利。
Conclusion
Today, people say the US had many problems in the past. But the goal of freedom is still important.
今天人們說美國過去有許多問題。但自由的目標依然很重要。
Vocabulary Learning
🕰️ Talking about the Past
To reach A2, you must change action words (verbs) to show something happened before now. Look at these changes from the text:
- Write Wrote
- Are Were
- Have Had
The Pattern: Most words just add -ed (like removed), but the most common words are 'rebels'—they change completely.
Easy Comparison:
- Now: People are equal.
- Past: People were not equal.
👤 Who is it?
Notice how the text uses labels for groups of people. This helps you describe others simply:
- The Founding Fathers The men who started the country.
- Soldiers People who fight in wars.
- Historians People who study the past.