2006年VOA标准英语-Civil Rights Leader Martin Luther King, Jr

By Ernest Leong
Washington, DC
12 January 2006
 
watch MLKing Profile report

Martin Luther King, Jr., a Southern black minister and civil rights leader, crusaded for equality through nonviolent means.  His "I Have a Dream" speech epitomized, for many, a universal dream for a fairer, more equal American society and world.  Dr. King's achievements are honored each year in the United States with a national holiday.

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Martin Luther King, Jr.   
  

Michael Luther King, Jr. was born January 15, 1929, in Atlanta, Georgia. The son of a Baptist minister, he later changed his name to Martin, after the religious figure who founded the Lutheran denomination¹.

Dr. King's father, a well-known preacher, frequently expressed impatience² with the segregationist⁴ policies common in the U.S. for much of the 20th century.  The father's views had a profound effect on young Martin, his oldest son.

While studying for his Ph.D. in theology at Boston University, Dr. King met and married Coretta Scott.  They had four children together.

A deeply religious man, Dr. King was also a strong civil rights advocate.  In December 1955, Rosa Parks, a black woman in Montgomery, Alabama, was arrested for refusing to give up her seat on a bus to a white man, triggering a chain of events that would catapult Martin Luther King to international fame.

He led a boycott⁵ of the city's buses -- a nonviolent demonstration⁶ lasting⁷ 382 days.  Despite suffering great personal abuse, Dr. King emerged victorious⁸, as the U.S. Supreme⁹ Court ruled bus segregation³ unconstitutional.

From 1957 to 1968, Dr. King traveled more than six million miles across the U.S., addressing social injustice¹⁰ in its myriad¹¹ forms.  He arranged sit-ins and other forms of nonviolent protest, based on his Christian¹² upbringing and tactics he'd learned from Mahatma Gandhi, the Indian leader who popularized nonviolent protest.

The massive protests in Birmingham, Alabama in the early 1960s caught the attention of the whole world, and inspired Dr. King to write his "Letter from a Birmingham Jail," which many consider the manifesto¹³ of the Black American's fight for equality.

In August 1963, while leading a peaceful civil rights march in Washington, D.C., he delivered his "I Have a Dream" speech, on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial.

"I have a dream, that one day, this nation will rise up, live out the true meaning of its creed¹⁴.  We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal."

The speech and the march were highlights in Dr. King's battle for racial equality.  That same year, Dr. King won the Nobel Peace Prize.  At age 35, he was the youngest man to receive that honor. 

In 1965, in an attempt to grant blacks the right to vote in the South, President Lyndon Johnson signed into law the Voting Rights Act.

But the victories, political and personal, came at a price.  Although the protests were supposed to be non-violent, clashes between law officers and protesters were increasingly common. 

Ultimately, Dr. King himself fell prey¹⁵ to the violence around him.  In Memphis, Tennessee, where he had come to lead a demonstration, Dr. King was shot and killed in April 1968.

Dr. King's assassination¹⁶ sparked demonstrations¹⁷ in cities throughout the U.S., leading to tens of thousands of injuries and arrests.  Between 60,000 to 70,000 stood in the streets of Atlanta, where King's funeral was held.

In 1986, Martin Luther King Jr.'s birthday became a national holiday. 

While he lived, Dr. King was a controversial leader in the civil rights movement -- deeply suspect to some for his militancy¹⁸ and insurgent¹⁹ views, revered²⁰ by others for his nonviolent beliefs.

Today, Martin Luther King Day in the U.S. is a time to remember the injustices²¹ that Dr. King fought against, and to remember a dream, which is shared by many. 

1 denomination   

n.命名，取名，(度量衡、货币等的)单位

参考例句：

• The firm is still operating under another denomination.这家公司改用了名称仍在继续营业。
• Litre is a metric denomination.升是公制单位。

2 impatience   

n.不耐烦，急躁

参考例句：

• He expressed impatience at the slow rate of progress.进展缓慢，他显得不耐烦。
• He gave a stamp of impatience.他不耐烦地跺脚。

3 segregation   

n.隔离，种族隔离

参考例句：

• Many school boards found segregation a hot potato in the early 1960s.在60年代初，许多学校部门都觉得按水平分班是一个棘手的问题。
• They were tired to death of segregation and of being kicked around.他们十分厌恶种族隔离和总是被人踢来踢去。

4 segregationist   

隔离主义者

参考例句：

• Recent federal action undermined the segregationist position. 近期的联邦行动消弱了隔离主义者的地位。

5 boycott   

n./v.(联合)抵制，拒绝参与

参考例句：

• We put the production under a boycott.我们联合抵制该商品。
• The boycott lasts a year until the Victoria board permitsreturn.这个抗争持续了一年直到维多利亚教育局妥协为止。

6 demonstration   

n.表明，示范，论证，示威

参考例句：

• His new book is a demonstration of his patriotism.他写的新书是他的爱国精神的证明。
• He gave a demonstration of the new technique then and there.他当场表演了这种新的操作方法。

7 lasting   

adj.永久的，永恒的；vbl.持续，维持

参考例句：

• The lasting war debased the value of the dollar.持久的战争使美元贬值。
• We hope for a lasting settlement of all these troubles.我们希望这些纠纷能获得永久的解决。

8 victorious   

adj.胜利的，得胜的

参考例句：

• We are certain to be victorious.我们定会胜利。
• The victorious army returned in triumph.获胜的部队凯旋而归。

9 supreme   

adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的

参考例句：

• It was the supreme moment in his life.那是他一生中最重要的时刻。
• He handed up the indictment to the supreme court.他把起诉书送交最高法院。

10 injustice   

n.非正义，不公正，不公平，侵犯（别人的）权利

参考例句：

• They complained of injustice in the way they had been treated.他们抱怨受到不公平的对待。
• All his life he has been struggling against injustice.他一生都在与不公正现象作斗争。

11 myriad   

adj.无数的；n.无数，极大数量

参考例句：

• They offered no solution for all our myriad problems.对于我们数不清的问题他们束手无策。
• I had three weeks to make a myriad of arrangements.我花了三个星期做大量准备工作。

12 Christian   

adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒

参考例句：

• They always addressed each other by their Christian name.他们总是以教名互相称呼。
• His mother is a sincere Christian.他母亲是个虔诚的基督教徒。

13 manifesto   

n.宣言，声明

参考例句：

• I was involved in the preparation of Labour's manifesto.我参与了工党宣言的起草工作。
• His manifesto promised measures to protect them.他在宣言里保证要为他们采取保护措施。

14 creed   

n.信条；信念，纲领

参考例句：

• They offended against every article of his creed.他们触犯了他的每一条戒律。
• Our creed has always been that business is business.我们的信条一直是公私分明。

15 prey   

n.被掠食者，牺牲者，掠食；v.捕食，掠夺，折磨

参考例句：

• Stronger animals prey on weaker ones.弱肉强食。
• The lion was hunting for its prey.狮子在寻找猎物。

16 assassination   

n.暗杀；暗杀事件

参考例句：

• The assassination of the president brought matters to a head.总统遭暗杀使事态到了严重关头。
• Lincoln's assassination in 1865 shocked the whole nation.1865年，林肯遇刺事件震惊全美国。

17 demonstrations   

证明( demonstration的名词复数 )； 表明； 表达； 游行示威

参考例句：

• Lectures will be interspersed with practical demonstrations. 讲课中将不时插入实际示范。
• The new military government has banned strikes and demonstrations. 新的军人政府禁止罢工和示威活动。

18 militancy   

n.warlike behavior or tendency

参考例句：

• Full of militancy and revolutionary ardour, the people of all nationalities in the country are working hard for the realization of the four modernizations. 全国各族人民意气风发， 斗志昂扬，为实现四个现代化而奋战。
• The seniority system is another factor that leads to union militancy. 排资论辈制度也是导致工会好斗争的另一因素。

19 insurgent   

adj.叛乱的，起事的；n.叛乱分子

参考例句：

• Faruk says they are threatened both by insurgent and government forces.法鲁克说，他们受到暴乱分子和政府军队的双重威胁。
• The insurgent mob assembled at the gate of the city park.叛变的暴徒聚在市立公园的门口。

20 revered   

v.崇敬，尊崇，敬畏( revere的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• A number of institutions revered and respected in earlier times have become Aunt Sally for the present generation. 一些早年受到尊崇的惯例，现在已经成了这代人嘲弄的对象了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The Chinese revered corn as a gift from heaven. 中国人将谷物奉为上天的恩赐。 来自辞典例句

21 injustices   

不公平( injustice的名词复数 )； 非正义； 待…不公正； 冤枉

参考例句：

• One who committed many injustices is doomed to failure. 多行不义必自毙。
• He felt confident that his injustices would be righted. 他相信他的冤屈会受到昭雪的。