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At the age of 19, Lincoln left his father's farm
未及弱冠之年 19岁的林肯离开了父亲的农场
and made his way to what was then the frontier state of Illinois.
只身一人来到了在后来变为了边境州的伊利诺伊
A young man without money or connections, the route Lincoln took out of poverty was to run for office as a member of the State Legislature.
这个身无分文 孤亲少戚的年轻人林肯 为摆脱贫困 打算去竞选这个州的立法机关成员一角
Politics was a mode of social advancement.
政治是社会进步的一种模式
Politics in the 1830s and '40s was a way for people of modest backgrounds like Lincoln to rise in the social scale.
19世纪30年代到40年代的政治 对于像林肯这样出身卑贱的人们来说 是提升社会地位的有效途径
It was a way to make connections. It was a way to influence the world around you, of course,
它可以帮你建立人际关系 当然 通过这种途径来影响你身处的世界
but at a time when there weren't that many professions open to people,
但是在那样一个并未有多少职业可供人们选择的年代
politics was one that anybody could get ahead in if they had drive,
政治确实人人都可以参与的工作 只要他们有干劲
if they had the right personality, the right ability to communicate their ideas.
只要他们有优秀的品德和高超的谈话表达技巧
Politics transformed Lincoln's life.
政治改变了林肯的人生
By the early 1850s, the young, poorly-educated frontiersmen was long gone.
那个来自边境地区卑微的小伙子已经不复存在
Lincoln had become a wealthy man.
林肯富了起来
He'd held office four times, been a congressman in Washington DC,
在首都华盛顿 他一共担任了四次国会议员
and between terms of office, he trained as a lawyer.
而在任职期间 他又自学成了一名律师
And as Lincoln's horizons had spread.
慢慢地林肯的视野逐渐开阔
so had those of his nation, as America's great drive westwards had begun.
随着轰轰烈烈的西进运动的展开 他的祖国的版图也开始逐渐清晰开阔了
