8.What did the Declaration of Independence do?
8.自由宣言有什么意义？
Answer:
答案：
Announced our independence from Great Britain
●宣布从英国独立出来
Declared our independence from Great Britain
●申明我们与英国是独立的
Said that the United States is free (from Great Britain)
●说明美国自由了
Explanation:
解释：
On July 4, 1776, a group of men convened (or met) in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and signed a document called the Declaration of Independence. To declare means to announce or let other people know about something, so a declaration is an announcement of some important event or action. The Declaration of Independence declared that the United States was independent (or free) from the control of the government of Great Britain. Once the Declaration of Independence was signed, the colonists became revolutionaries (or people who want to change the government). Their goal was to end British rule (or power and leadership) in America.
1776年7月4日，一群美国人聚集在宾夕法尼亚州的费城签署了自由宣言。向某人宣布即告诉某人某事，宣言即是对重要的事件或活动进行申明。自由宣言宣告美国摆脱了英国政府的控制获得独立。自由宣言签署后殖民者们成了革命者们（欲改变政府的人们），他们的目标是结束英国在美国的统治。
Why did the American colonists want to become independent from Great Britain and create their own country? The British had spent a lot of money fighting the French and Indian War in America from 1754 to1763. When the War was over, the British government was poor. To make money, Great Britain began taxing its people, so that citizens had to pay more money to the government. The people the government taxed the most were those living in overseas (or foreign) colonies, including America.
美国殖民者们为什么想要从英国的独立出来组建自己的国家呢？1754到1763年间，英国在美国因法印战争花掉了大量资金。战争结束后，英国国库空虚，为填补赤子，英国提高税收，民众需要向政府纳更多税。纳税最多的即是包括美国在内的海外殖民地居民。
Great Britain passed a series of acts (or laws) to put taxes on common things such as sugar, stamps, and tea. The acts made the colonists very angry, because they didn’t want to pay so much for the things they needed. So they boycotted (or did not buy) many of these things. However, some colonists did not feel this was enough and wanted to do more, much more. What they wanted was to get rid of (or to not have any longer) the British government’s power over their land.
英国通过了一系列成文法对常用的糖，邮票，茶叶等进行征税。法案引起了殖民者们的强烈不满，因他们不愿这些必需品付如此多钱，便联合抵制购买。然而殖民地有些人不想止于此，他们想摆脱英国政府在自己土地上的控制权。
After years of these unfair taxes, the American colonists decided to do something about it. Thomas Jefferson wrote the Declaration of Independence, and divided it into three sections. The first part included the reasons that America had the right to be independent. The second part had a list of things that the British King had done to hurt America. The third part was the actual declaration of independence.
不平等税收征收几年后，美国一些殖民者们忍不住了。托马斯杰斐逊写下自由宣言，共分为三个部分。第一部分包括美国获得自由权利的原因，第二部分列举了英国国王伤害美国人民的行为，第三部分才是真正的自由宣言。
The Declaration of Independence was signed by many famous people, including Thomas Jefferson and John Adams, who both later became U.S. presidents. Benjamin Franklin, the important thinker and writer, also signed the Declaration of Independence.
自由宣言由众多著名人士签署，包括托马斯杰斐逊，后成为美国总统的约翰亚当斯。著名思想家与作家本杰明富兰克林也签署了此宣言。
Glossary
词汇：
8.What did the Declaration of Independence do?
8.自由宣言有什么意义？
to convene - to have everyone meet in a group; to createa meeting andto invite the members or other people to come
To convene—所有人聚于一起；召开会议并召集会员或他人参加
*Let's convene in Dylan's office at 3:15.
*我们3:15在狄伦办公室集合。
to declare - to officially state that something is true; to tellotherpeoplethat something is true or has been decided
To declare—官方宣布某事为真；告知他人已决定某事
*Which president declared June 14 to be Flag Day?
*哪位总统宣布的6月14日为国旗纪念日？
independent - free; with liberty; not controlled by something or someone else
Independent—解放；自由；不受某人或某事控制
*When did this country become independent from Yugoslavia?
*该国什么时候从南斯拉夫获得独立的？
revolutionary - a person who wants to change the government
Revolutionary—想改变政府的人员
*Don’t you know who he was? He was a famous revolutionary in Cuba.
*你不知道他是谁吗？他是古巴著名的革命家。
to tax - to make citizens pay money to the government so that it can pay for services and other things for the country
To tax—民众向政府交钱用来支付国家服务的其他事项
*The United States taxes its citizens to have enough money to pay for the army, education, roads, and many other things.
*美国向民众征的税用来支付军队，教育，公路和其费用开支。
overseas - foreign; related to other countries, especially on the other side of an ocean
Overseas—国外的；与其他国家有关的；尤其是大洋彼岸的
*Have you ever flown overseas?
*你去过国外吗？
act - a written law
Act——成文法
*The National Historic Preservation Act of 1966 protected many old buildings in the United States
*1966年出台的国家历史建筑保护法保护了美国许多古老建筑。
to boycott - to stop using, doing, or buying something as a way to show that one doesn't like the way something is done
To boycott—为体现某人对某事不满而停止使用，做或购买
*In the 1960s, many people boycotted grapes because they didn't like the way that the people who collected grapes were being treated by the people who owned the grape farms.
*20世纪60年代，许多人因不满葡萄庄园主对收集葡萄人的待遇而联合抵制购买葡萄。
to get rid of (something) - to no longer have something; to throw something away; to stop having something
To get rid of(something)—不在拥有某物；扔掉某物；停止拥有某物
*When are you going to get rid of these old clothes that are too small for you?
*你打算什么时候扔掉这些又小又旧的衣服？