Presidents of the United States              

      By James C. Humes             

                   
      Some amazing facts about the nation chief executives1.             

      When electing Presidents of the United States, Americans haven't been partial to one type of man.2 Commanders in Chief of all kinds, tall and short, handsome and homely, well-educated and barely schooled, scoundrel3 and saint ?were sent to Washington to serve. Even the most obscure of the bunch(does anyone really know anything about Franklin Pierce4?)has left his mark.             

      The following questions delve behind the formal portraits of the nation's Presidents to reveal their idiosyncrasies, oddities and ironies.5 The answers may challenge your perceptions of the men and the highest office in land they held.             

      Q: Which President was also a King?             

      A: Gerald Ford6. Giving birth to him in 1913 by the name of Leslie L. King, Jr., his mother divorced and remarried. His stepfather informally adopted him, renaming him Gerald R. Ford.             

      Q: Which President's son was personally affected by three Presidential assassinations7?             

      A: Abraham Lincoln's8 oldest son, Robert Todd, was at his father's side after the 16th President was assassinated at Ford's Theatre in 1865. Sixteen years              

      later he was at the Washington rail depot9 where the 20th President, James Garfield10, was shot killed in 1881. In 1901 Lincoln was in Buffalo at the Pan-American Exposition11, where 25th President William McKinley12 was assassinated. Thereafter Lincoln avoided functions where a President was present.13              

      Q: Which President, while living in the White House, regularly skinny-dipped in the Potomac River14?             

      A: Between 1825 and 1829 there was a "moon" on the Potomac around 5 a.m., when John Q. Adams stripped down and took his morning constitutional.15             

      Q: Who were the largest, smallest and tallest Presidents?             

      A: Elected in 1909, the six-foot William Howard Taft16 weighed in at 335 pounds. Once, Chauncey Depew, a renowned turn-of-the-century orator,17 pointed to Taft's massive stomach and asked, "What are you going to name the baby?" Taft replied: "If it's a boy, he will be a junior18. If it's a girl, I'll name her Helen. But if, as I expect, it is only gas, I'll name it Chaucey Depew. "             

      James Madison19 was the smallest leader: 5 feet, 4 inches, 100 pounds. Abraham Lincoln, 6 feet, 4 inches, was the tallest.             

      Q: Which President is credited with20 saving 77 lives?             

      A: Ronald Reagan, as lifeguard in his hometown of Dixon, Ill.21 But some of the rescues may have been young women faking it simply to get the handsome Reagan's attention.22             

      Q: Which two Presidents died on the Fourth of July, 1826?             

      A: Thomas Jefferson and John Adams,23 50 years the day after The Declaration              

      of Independence.             

      Q: Which President was taught by his wife to read and write?             

      A: In 1827, in Greeneville, Tenn., Eliza McCardle, 16, married Andrew Johnson24, 18. He was a tailor who could barely read or write. Yet he was extremely ambitious. In the evening his wife taught him to read and write. And from there his political career took off, from mayor of his town to governor to Vice President and finally President.             

      Q: Who was the first President to play Little League25 baseball?             

      A: George W. Bush, for the Midland, Texas Cubs26 from 1954 to 1958. His coach, Frank Ittner, now 94 years old, recalls Bush as a fine defensive catcher who needed work on his hitting27.-             

      1. chief executive: 最高行政长官。美国总统同时也是美国最高行政长官及三军总司令(即下文的commander in chief)。             

      2. 美国人在选举总统时，并不偏好某一类人。             

      3. scoundrel: 无赖的，卑鄙的。             

      4. Franklin Pierce: 富兰克林·皮尔斯, 美国第14任总统，1853-1857年在任，他在政治上没有什么建树，也不像别的有些总统那样富有个人魅力，故作者有括号中这一问。             

      5. delve: 探索，钻研；idiosyncrasy/;!d!2#s!9kr2s!/：习性，癖好；oddity: 怪癖；irony: 具有讽刺意味的事，令人啼笑皆非的局面。             

      6. Gerald Ford: 杰拉尔德·福特,美国第38任总统，1974-1976年在任。             

      7. assassination: 暗杀，行刺。             

      8. Abraham Lincoln: 亚伯拉罕·林肯，美国第16任总统，1861-1865年在任。             

      9. depot:(美)火车站。             

      10. James Garfield: 詹姆斯·加菲尔德，美国第20任总统,就任总统仅4个月即在华盛顿车站遇刺。             

      11. Pan-American Exposition: 泛美博览会。             

      12. William McKinley: 威廉·麦金莱，美国第25任总统，1897-1901年在任。             

      13. 此后林肯就避免在有总统在场的社会活动中出现。 function: 重大聚会，宴会。             

      14. skinny-dip: 裸泳； Potomac River: 波托马克河，白宫就建在这条河边上。             

      15. moon除了“月亮”之意外，俚语中还可以表示“光腚”，此处谑指裸泳者；John Q. Adams: 约翰·Q·亚当斯，美国第6任总统，1825-1829年在任；strip down: 脱去衣服；take a constitutional:(谑)进行健身散步，这里指游泳。             

      16. William Howard Taft：威廉·霍华德·塔夫脱，美国第27任总统，1909-1913年在任。             

      17. renowned: 著名的；orator: 演说家。             

      18. junior: 父子同名时，用于儿子姓名之后；本文中可理解为小威廉。             

      19. James Madison：詹姆斯·麦迪逊，美国第4任总统，1809-1817年在任。             

      20. credit sb. with: 把……归功于某人。             

      21. Ronald Reagan：罗纳德·里根，美国第40任总统，1981-1988年在任；lifeguard: 救生员；Dixon, Ill：伊利诺斯州的迪克森，里根的故乡。             

      22. 但是他救的人当中也许有一些年轻女性是佯装落水以引起英俊潇洒的里根的注意。fake: 假装，佯装。             

      23. Thomas Jefferson：托马斯·杰斐逊，美国第3任总统，1801-1809年在任；John Adams：约翰·亚当斯，美国第2任总统，1797-1801年在任。             

      24. Greeneville, Tenn: 田纳西州的格林维尔；Andrew Johnson: 安德鲁·约翰逊，美             

      国第17任总统，1865-1869年在任。             

      25. Little League: 少年棒球联赛。             

      26. Cubs: 幼童军。             

      27. 防守接球不错，但击球技术有待加强。              

             
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