HW lng is a piecef string？ That"s a silly questin and prbably wuld get a silly answer.
Hw lng is twenty years？ That sunds like a silly questin t， but it"s nt as silly as it sunds. T a dg twenty years is a lng time， mre than a lifetime. T a man， twenty years is nt s lng. In the histryf the wrld， twenty years is just a tiny mment.
It was twenty years-twenty years and a few mnths-between the endf Wrld War I and the startf Wrld War II. Nw， twenty years between tw huge wrld wars is a very shrt time. Mst cuntries had nt fully recvered frm Wrld War I befre Wrld War II began. This chapter is abut thse twenty yearsf peace.
When Wrld War I ended， peple everywhere hped and prayed that there wuld be n mre wars. Wrld War I was even called the "War t End All Wars." When Wrld War I ended， the leadersf the Allied gvernments met at Versailles in France and drew up a peace treaty knwn as the Treatyf Versailles.
The treaty said that Germany shuld have a little army big enugh t keeprder in Germany but nt big enugh t make war with. There were t be n armyr navy airplanes in Germany， n army tanks， and n submarines. The treaty als said that Germany wuld have t pay large sumsf mney t the Allied natins t help pay fr what it had destryed in the war.
Then t try t keep the peace， a Leaguef Natins was set up with headquarters in Switzerland. The greatest inventin I can thinkf wuld be sme thingr sme way t keep wars frm starting. Peple hped the Leaguef Natins wuld be the great inventin that wuld keep wars frm breakingut. Each cuntry was t send men t act fr that cuntry at the meetingsf the League. When war threatened， the League wuld warn the warlike cuntry and ask it t bring its case befre the judgesf a Wrld Curt and let them settle the truble there insteadf having the questin decided by war.
The Leaguef Natins tried， but it didn"t succeed. There were several reasns fr this.ne was that the United States decided nt t jin the League.
The United States did nt want the League t be able t say when the United States wuld have t send sldiers t help stp anther cuntry frm making war， in case war started in spitef the Wrld Curt"s decisin.
Anther reasn that the League didn"t wrk was that there was n way it culd make natins d what it tld them. It culdnly ask that the natins d what it wanted them t d. It culd nt make them d it.
A sign may say "KEEPFF THE GRASS." If yu walkn the grass in spitef the sign， the sign can"t stp yu， but a nearby pliceman can. The Leaguef Natins was like a "KEEPFF" sign withut a pliceman.
Never befre， I suppse， did s many peple hpe and pray that wars culd be stpped.ther ways t stp wars， besides the Leaguef Natins， were tried， t.
Peple thught that if natins were nt s heavily armed， it might help. The cuntries with the biggest navies held a cnference in Washingtn and agreed t limit the sizef their navies. Peple thught， t， that if all the cuntriesf the wrld slemnly prmised nt t make war， it might help. S an anti-war treaty was made. Mre than fifty cuntries signed this treaty and prmised t give up war.
Yet wars did breakut again， in spitef the Leaguef Natins， in spitef limiting the navies， in spitef the anti-war treaty. There was n frce in the wrld that culd be used t stp a war whenne started. When a building catches fire in a city， smene calls the fire department. Firemen cme rushing with their fire engines and put the fireut. When a fist fight starts in a city， smene calls the plice department， and plicemen are sent t stp the fight.
But there was n fire departmentr plice department t putut a war when it started. Befre lng， wars started again. Even the twenty yearsf peace between wrld wars were nt free frm wars. The first new war was in Asia.
After Cmmdre Perry hadpened Japan t freign trade， Japan had quickly becme an industrial natin. Japan had learned the bad things as well as the gd thingsfur civilizatin. It had built a large war-making mdern army and navy. In 1931， Japan used that army t take the nrthern partf China， called Manchuria， away frm China. Later the Japanese started t takever allf China.f curse the Chinese fught t keep the Japanese frm ding this.ther cuntries wrte letters t the Japanese gvernment saying they did nt like t see Japan using its armies against China.
"What abut that anti-war treaty yu signed？" thesether cuntries said t Japan.
But as nther cuntry tried t stp the Japanese by frce， the war cntinued. The Chinese fught hard， but they had very few army supplies and sn Japanhad taken all the eastern castf China and driven the Chinese gvernment int western China. The Leaguef Natins didn"t knw hw t stp the war， and this war was still gingn when Wrld War II started.
While this was gingn in Asia， anther war had started in Africa. The Italian army marched int the ancient cuntryf Ethipia. Ethipia was the same cuntry as the ancient Axum. D yu remember Axum"s famus king， wh became a Christian in 350 A.D.？ That"s right. His name was Ezana.
Since the timef King Ezana， Ethipia had always been independent and ruled by a king. Italy had tried t cnquer Ethipia fifty years earlier and had failed. Nw the Ethipian king"s army had a few guns， but his sldiers were mstly armed with spears. The Italian army used airplanes， bmbs， artillery， and even pisn gas， and s it sn cnquered the Ethipians.
Then a civil war brkeut in Spain， in Eurpe.ne setf Spaniards fught anther setf Spaniards abut which grup wuld gvern Spain. Insteadf trying t stp the war， Russia sent sldiers t helpne side， and Germany and Italy sent sldiers t help thether side.
ne， tw， three-war， war， war-China， Ethipia， Spain. The LeaguefNatins hadn"t been able t stp the Japanese frm attacking China. It culdn"t keep Italy frm taking Ethipia thugh it tried t punish Italy by stppingther cuntries frm sending supplies t Italy. But Italy tk Ethipia anyway. The League had nt stpped the war in Spain. As an inventin fr stpping wars， the Leaguef Natins hadn"t wrked.
There werether imprtant happenings besides wars in this twenty yearsf peace. Fr the first ten yearsf the peace， peple were busy making and selling and buying and using the peacetime things that they culd nt enjy while Wrld War I was gingn. In the United States， almst everyne wh wanted t wrk culd get a jb. Factries were busy turningut everything frm autmbiles t clthes-pins. Business was bming. Peplewere making mney and spending it. ManyPresident Rsevelt abut t address thenatinn the radi罗斯福总统正要发表全国广播讲话peple thught these bming times wuld gn frever. But they were wrng. Thebm didn"t last. What businessmen call a depressin fllwed the bm. Gd jbs became scarce. Millinsf peple culd nt get jbs at all. Factries culd nt sell as many things as they culd make. Many factries had t clse. This caused mre peple t be withut jbs. Hw can a manr wman get mney t buy fdr clthesr anything if her she can"t find a jb？ Thus the last ten yearsf the peace were a trubled timef depressin.
The depressin had been gingn fr several years and peple were getting desperate when a new president， Franklin Delan Rsevelt， was elected. He became president just when the depressin seemed hpeless， when everything lked black and glmy. Peple were afraidf what wuld happen t them. The first day he was president， Rsevelt said， "Thenly thing we have t fear is fear itself." Rsevelt seemed t knw what t d. He asked that laws be passed s mney culd be given t peple wh culd nt find wrk.
Then the gvernment hired thusandsf peple t wrk in any way they culd. Artists painted pictures， musicians gave cncerts， writers wrte bks， labrers raked leaves， dug ditches， built parks， and did manyther kindsf wrk； and all these peple were paid fr their wrk by the gvernment. Rsevelt triedut many new waysf running the cuntry. His wayf being president became knwn as the New Deal.
Rsevelt helped the pr peple at the expensef the rich peple. And yet Rsevelt"s family had always been rich， and Rsevelt himself was a rich man. When he was thirty nine yearsld， he had becme ill with pli that left him with his legs paralyzed. After that he culd standnly with the helpf canes and with steel bracesn his legs. He culdn"t walk at all but culd take a few steps leaningn smene"s arm. But in spitef such a handicap， Rsevelt twice became gvernrf the statef New Yrk and at last presidentf the United States.
A presidentf the United States is elected fr fur years. Every fur years the peple vte fr their next president. Rsevelt was elected fr a secnd fur years. The Fatherf his Cuntry， Gerge Washingtn， had been made president fr tw termsf fur years each. Washingtn had refused t be elected fr three terms. Since Gerge Washingtn had refused a third term， n president had ever been elected three times. But when Franklin D. Rsevelt"s eight years were up， he became president a third time-fr fur mre years， fur years lnger than any president had been befre. And when twelve years were up， Franklin D. Rsevelt was elected president a furth time. That wuld have made sixteen years as president fr Rsevelt if he had nt died befre his furth term wasver. Rsevelt was president frm 1933 t 1945. Nther man had been president mre than eight years， nr been elected mre than twice. Rsevelthad been elected fur times in a rw.
Rsevelt wasn"t able t stp the depressin right away. He did shw peple that everything wasn"t hpeless， and he did keep peple frm ging hungry and perhaps starving. But it cst the American peple millins and millinsf dllars.
Befre Rsevelt"s third term had begun， the twenty yearsf peace werever. Wrld War II had started in Eurpe. The peplef the United States hped their cuntry culd keeputf this war. But Rsevelt felt that America might be attacked even thugh the war was far away acrss thecean. He led the cuntry int getting ready fr war in case it came t us. And when we were attacked， Rsevelt led the cuntry thrugh the war t victry against Germany， Japan， and Italy. He died a mnth befre the Germans surrendered.
Twenty yearsf peace-twenty yearsf an inventin-t-stp-wars that didn"t wrk-a bm and depressin， and then the biggest and wrst warf all. Hw lng is twenty years？ It was a shrt time indeed between tw wrld wars.
【中文阅读】
一截绳子有多长？这是个很傻的问题，如果有人回答这样的问题，答案大概也 是很荒唐的。
二十年有多长？这听上去也像一个很傻的问题，但是实际上它并不是听起来那 样傻。对一只狗来说，二十年是很长的时间，比它一生都长。对一个人来说，二十 年不是很长。在世界历史中，二十年只是一个瞬间。
从第一次世界大战结束到第二次世界大战开始，其间只有二十年--二十年零 几个月。两次世界大战之间的这二十年是非常短的一段时间。大多数国家还没有完 全从第一次世界大战中恢复过来，第二次世界大战就开始了。这一章的内容就是关 于这二十年的和平岁月。
第一次世界大战结束后，世界各地的人们都希望并祈祷不再有战争发生。第一 次世界大战甚至被称为"结束所有战争的战争"。第一次世界大战结束时，各协约国 的政府领导人在法国的凡尔赛会面，起草了一份和平条约叫《凡尔赛和约》。
和约规定德国军队的小规模只限于能够维持德国国内的秩序，但是决不可大到 能够发动战争。无论德国的陆军或海军都不能有飞机，也不能有坦克和潜水艇。和 约还要求德国必须向协约国赔偿大笔款项，以帮助补偿德国在战争中给这些国家造 成的损失。
之后，为了努力维持和平，一个国际联盟成立了，总部设立在瑞士。如果有 人发明出某个东西或某种方法能防止战争发生，我想不出世界上还会有什么发明比 这更伟大的了。人们希望国际联盟将是一项可以阻止战争爆发的伟大发明。每个国 家都派出代表出席国联的会议。当战争迫近时，国联就会警告好战国，要求它把自己的情况提交给国际法庭的法官们审理，让他们在那里解决争端而不是用战争解决 问题。
国际联盟做出了努力，但是没有成功。这有几方面的原因。原因之一是美国决 定不参加国联。美国不希望出现这样的局面：万一哪个国家不顾国际法庭的裁决， 发动了战争，国联能够决定美国何时必须派兵去帮助阻止战争爆发。
国联没有成功的另一个原因是国联无法让各国按自己的要求去做。它只能向各 国提出自己的希望，却不能命令各国照此执行。
一块告示牌上也许写着"请勿践踏草地"。如果你不顾警示，仍然走在草地上， 这块告示牌也奈何不了你，但是附近的警察可以阻止你。国际联盟就像一块"请 勿……"的告示牌，附近却没有警察。
我想，在此之前从未有这么多人希望并祈祷可以避免战争。除了国际联盟之外， 人们还尝试了其他防止战争的方法。
人们想如果各个国家没有装备大量武器，或许会有所帮助。那些海军强国在华 盛顿举行了会议，同意限制各自的海军规模。人们还想到如果世界上所有的国家都 郑重承诺不发动战争，或许会有作用。于是达成了一项反战条约。五十多个国家签 署了这项条约，承诺放弃战争。
然而尽管有国际联盟，尽管海军受到了限制，尽管有反战条约，战争还是确实 再次爆发了。当战争爆发时，世界上没有任何武装部队可以派去阻止战争。城里的 大楼着火时，有人给消防署打电话。消防员开着消防车赶来扑灭大火。当城里发生 聚众斗殴，有人给警察部门打电话，警察就会派去制止斗殴。
但是战争爆发时，没有消防署或警察部门扑灭战火。不久以后，一场场战争打 响了。甚至两次世界大战之间的二十年和平时期也并没有摆脱战争。新的战争首先 在亚洲爆发了。
在美国海军准将佩里打开了日本对外贸易的大门后，日本很快成为一个工业国 家。日本学到了西方文明的好东西，同时也学到了其中的坏东西。日本建立了庞大 的可以进行战争的现代化陆军和海军。1931 年，日本用陆军从中国夺走了被称为 "满洲"的中国北部地区。后来日本人开始占领整个中国。中国人当然奋起反抗，阻 止日本人的侵略。其他国家写信给日本政府，表示他们不愿意看到日本军队对中国 用兵。
"难道你们忘了你们签署的反战条约吗？"这些国家纷纷责问日本。 但是没有任何国家试图用武力阻止日本人，所以战争就继续下去了。中国人奋勇作战，但是他们几乎没有军备供应，很快日本就占领了中国整个东海岸，把中国 政府赶到了中国西部。国际联盟不知道该如何阻止这场战争，当第二次世界大战爆 发时，侵华战争还在继续。
亚洲的战争还在继续时，非洲的战争又爆发了。意大利军队开进了古老的国家 埃塞俄比亚。埃塞俄比亚是古代阿克苏姆王国所在的地方。你还记得著名的阿克苏 姆国王吗？他在公元 350 年成为基督徒的。他的名字是埃扎纳。
自国王埃扎纳时期以来，埃塞俄比亚一直是独立的国家，由国王统治。五十年以前意大利就企图征服埃塞俄比亚，不过失败了。此时埃塞俄比亚国王自己的卫队 才有一些枪支，他的士兵大多数只用长矛作武装。意大利军队使用飞机、炸弹、大 炮，甚至毒气，所以很快就攻占了埃塞俄比亚。
此时在欧洲的西班牙爆发了一场内战。在该由哪一帮人统治西班牙这个问题上， 一派西班牙人和另一派西班牙人打起仗来。俄国没有试图阻止战争，而是反而派兵 去其中帮助一方，而德国和意大利则派兵去帮助另一方。
一、二、三--战争，战争，战争--中国、埃塞俄比亚、西班牙。国际联盟 无法阻止日本进攻中国，也不能阻止意大利占领埃塞俄比亚。尽管它试图阻止其他 国家向意大利提供军需物资来惩罚意大利，但是意大利还是占领了埃塞俄比亚。国 联也阻止不了西班牙内战。作为阻止战争的一项"发明"而言，国际联盟并没有起 到作用。
在这二十年的和平时期里，除了战争还发生了其他一些重要的事。第一个十年 和平时期，人们忙于生产、销售、购买和使用各种和平时期的产品，这些产品是他 们在战时无法享受到的。在美国，几乎每个想工作的人都能得到一份工作。各家工 厂都忙着生产各种物品，大到汽车，小到晾衣夹。商业日益繁荣。人们在赚钱，也 在花钱。许多人认为这些繁荣兴旺的时期会一直延续下去。但是他们错了。繁荣并 没有持续下去。繁荣过后就是商人们所称作的"经济大萧条"。好的工作奇缺。数 百万人根本找不到工作。 工厂卖不掉生产出来的那些产品。许多工厂不得不关闭。 这就导致更多的人失业。如果人们找不到工作，又怎么能挣到钱去买食物、衣服或 其他生活用品呢？因此和平时期的最后十年是经济大萧条的混乱时期。
萧条持续了好几年，正当人们变得绝望的时候，富兰克林 德拉诺 罗斯福当 选为美国新总统。正当大萧条似乎无望，一切看上去都暗淡无光、令人沮丧的时候， 他成了总统。人们对今后的日子忧心忡忡。罗斯福上任的第一天说："我们唯一需要 害怕的事情是害怕本身。"罗斯福似乎知道该怎么办。他要求通过一些法律，可以名 正言顺地把钱补贴给无法找到工作的人。
接着政府雇佣了成千上万的人从事他们力所能及的工作。艺术家画画，音乐家 举行音乐会，作家写书，工人耙叶子、挖沟渠、建公园和做其他各种工作；所有这 些人的工资由政府支付。罗斯福尝试许多新办法来管理国家。他的施政纲领方式被 称为"新政"。
罗斯福让富人付钱来帮助穷人。然而罗斯福家族一直很富有，罗斯福本人也是 有钱人。他 39 岁时患了脊髓灰质炎，造成双腿瘫痪。之后，他只能依靠手杖和腿上 的钢支架才能站立。他无法行走，但是靠别人扶着可以挪动几步。尽管有这样的残 疾，罗斯福却两次成为纽约州州长，最后成为美国总统。
美国总统四年选举一次。每隔四年人们投票选举下一位总统。罗斯福在第二个 四年再度当选总统。美国国父乔治 华盛顿连任两任总统，任期八年。华盛顿拒绝担 任第三任总统。自从乔治 华盛顿拒绝第三次任总统以后，还没有人三次当选为总 统。但是当富兰克林D 罗斯福的八年任期结束时，他第三次当选总统--又多了 四年任期，比之前任何一位总统的任期都至少多出四年。在十二年任期结束时，富兰克林D 罗斯福第四次当选总统。罗斯福在第四次任期结束前去世了，要不然他就 会当十六年的总统。罗斯福当政是从 1933 年至 1945 年。没有其他人当总统超过八 年，也没有其他总统三度连任。罗斯福总统四度连任。
罗斯福并不能一下子就把经济萧条消除。但他确实让人们看到并不是一点希望 都没有。他做到让人们免于挨饿，还可能是免于饿死。但这花费了美国人民无数的 美元。
在罗斯福第三个任期开始之前，二十年的和平时期结束了。第二次世界大战已 经在欧洲爆发了。美国人民希望自己的国家能够置身于战争之外。但是罗斯福觉得 即使战争是在遥远的大洋彼岸，美国仍然有可能会遭到攻击。他领导国家进入战备 状态以防万一。当美国遭到攻击后，罗斯福领导国家在与德国、日本和意大利的战 争中走向胜利。在德国人投降前的一个月他去世了。
二 十 年 的 和 平 时 期 -- 人 们" 创 造 " 国 联 去 阻 止 战 争 而 又 无 能 为 力 的 二 十 年--一个经济繁荣走向萧条的时期，接着就发生了历史上最大、最残酷的战争。 二十年有多久？它的确只是两次世界大战之间一段很短的时间。