The Constitution was written during the summer of 1787 at a meeting called the Constitutional Convention in the city of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
该宪法撰写于1787年夏宾夕法尼亚州费城的一次称为“制宪会议”的会议上。
It was a long, hot summer that year when the 55 delegates (or representatives) met to write this new set of laws.
那年的夏天漫长而又炎热,与会的55位代表一起撰写这套新法律。
Everyone had a different opinion (or thought or belief) about how the new government should be organized.
对于新政府该如何组织起来,每个人意见各异。
This is not surprising, since the delegates had many different experiences and backgrounds.
这并不奇怪,因为每位代表的经历和背景都不相同。
They were lawyers, teachers, doctors, and military men, and more.
他们当中有律师、教师、医生、军人等等。
The delegates also had some things in common:
但这些代表也有一些共同之处:
they were all white men (no women or non-whites were allowed to participate in the Constitutional Convention),
他们都是白人男士(女士或非白种人都不被允许参加制宪会议),
and they were all wealthy (or had a lot of money) and owned land.
都很富有并拥有自己的土地。
The president (or leader) of the Convention was the famous military general, George Washington, who later became the first president of the United States.
该会议的会长是当时著名的乔治·华盛顿将军,他后来成为美国第一任总统。
The delegates discussed and argued for many weeks, but they finally agreed on a set of laws that would form (or create) their new government.
代表们商议和争论了数周,但他们最后一致同意了这套形成他们新政府的法律。
The document they produced (or made) is what we call the Constitution.
他们创造的这个文件就是我们所说的宪法。