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Zachary Taylor was the United States' 12th President. He was born in Virginia in 1784 and taken as an infant to Kentucky to be raised on a plantation. He lived in a small wood cabin, before moving to a brick house as a result of his family's increased prosperity. He shared the house with seven brothers and sisters. Since there were no schools on the Kentucky frontier, Taylor had only a basic education.
扎卡里·泰勒是美国第12任总统。1784年，泰勒出生在弗吉尼亚州，不久，由于举家搬迁，泰勒来到了肯塔基，并在父亲的种植园里长大。随着泰勒家族的日益繁荣，他们搬进了砖房，在此之前，泰勒住的是小木屋。泰勒和七个兄弟姐妹住在一起。由于肯塔基边境没有学校，泰勒只接受过基础教育。
Taylor joined the U.S. Army in 1808. He was promoted to captain in 1810 and in 1812, he successfully defended Indiana's Fort Harrison from attack by Native Americans. He spent the next three decades winning major military victories, including the Battle of Buena Vista in 1847 during the Mexican-American War. This last battle elevated him to being a national hero and compared with George Washington.
1808年，泰勒加入了美国军队。1810年和1812年，他被提升为上尉，并在印第安纳州的哈里逊堡成功击退了印第安人的进攻。在接下来的30年里，他赢得了重大的军事胜利，其中包括1847年美墨战争中的维斯塔战役。最后一场战役——维斯塔战役使他成为了美国的民族英雄，堪比乔治·华盛顿。
Taylor decided to enter politics in 1848. With his reputation as a war hero and his straight talking, he won the 1848 presidential election. The slavery issue dominated much of Taylor's term in office, especially because he owned 100 slaves. He advised California and New Mexico to apply for statehood. Southern leaders threatened to break away from the Union as the new states would reject bills allowing slavery.
1848年，泰勒决定从政。因为他既是战神，说话又直言不讳，于是被选为了1848年美国总统。泰勒在任期间的主导问题是奴隶制问题——他当时拥有100个奴隶。他主张给予加利福尼亚和新墨西哥州的地位。南方领导人威胁要脱离联邦，成立一个无奴隶制的新国家。
Taylor stood firm against the possible rebellion. He said he would personally lead the Army in a fight against them and hang "persons taken in rebellion…with less reluctance than…hanged deserters and spies in Mexico". He never wavered, but events took an unexpected turn. He died in 1850 as a compromise was being drafted. The conflict he warned of started eleven years later – the American Civil War.
泰勒坚决抵制这潜在叛乱。他说他会亲自带领军队攻打他们，还要绞杀“叛兵……以比绞杀墨西哥逃兵和间谍……更不容懈怠的精神。”对此，他从未动摇过，然而事情又发生了意想不到的变化。1850年，正当和解协议起草期间，泰勒逝世了。11年后，这场泰勒警示过的冲突又重新燃起——美国内战爆发。
译文属可可英语原创，未经允许，不得转载。
