2006年VOA标准英语-Mourners Pay Last Respects to Civil Rights

By Mike Cooper
Atlanta
04 February 2006

Coretta Scott King during The Martin Luther King, Jr. Annual Commemorative Service in the Ebenezer Baptist Church, Heritage Sanctuary¹, in Atlanta (File photo - Jan. 17, 2005)  
  
Mourners are lining² up to pay respects to Coretta Scott King, the widow of slain³ civil rights leader Martin Luther King, Jr. Mrs. King's body was taken in a horse-drawn carriage to the Capitol of the southern state of Georgia Saturday. Mrs. King, who died Monday at age 78, is to lie in state before her funeral on Tuesday.

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Hundreds of people lined the streets as an 18th-century carriage pulled by two horses brought the casket of Coretta Scott King to the Georgia state Capitol. Mrs. King is the first black person and the first woman to lie in state under the Gold Dome⁴ of Georgia's Capitol building.

During a brief ceremony, Governor Sonny Perdue called Mrs. King one of Georgia's most beloved citizens, as he offered condolences to the King family.

From right: Mary Perdue,  Gov. Sonny Perdue, Atlanta Mayor Shirley Franklin, Dexter Scott King, Rev⁵. Bernice King, Martin Luther King III and Yolanda King  
  
"She proudly bore the torch of her husband's legacy⁶ of advancing freedom and social justice across our nation and around the world," said Sonny Perdue. "And she, after Martin's death, made it her legacy, as well. Through the work of the King Center that she founded, Mrs. King carried forth⁷ a message of peace across all nations, and, today, her loss is mourned across all nations, as well as here in her native home of Georgia."

The honors accorded Mrs. King by Georgia's governor were in sharp contrast to the way the death of her husband, civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr., was treated after his 1968 assassination⁸. Then-Georgia Governor Lester Maddox did not attend the Reverend King's funeral, and refused to let his body lie in honor at the state Capitol.

Atlanta Mayor Shirley Franklin, a black woman, noted⁹ progress in race relations that has occurred in the Southern United States and Mrs. King's role in facilitating change. "For I would not be in this place as mayor of Atlanta had Coretta not lived and fought for our right as African Americans to be here," said Shirley Franklin.

After the viewing at the Capitol, Mrs. King's casket will lie at the Ebenezer Baptist Church, where her husband preached in the years before his death. A funeral service will be held Tuesday at a suburban¹⁰ Atlanta church where the Kings' youngest daughter, Bernice, is a minister.

1 sanctuary   

n.圣所，圣堂，寺庙；禁猎区，保护区

参考例句：

• There was a sanctuary of political refugees behind the hospital.医院后面有一个政治难民的避难所。
• Most countries refuse to give sanctuary to people who hijack aeroplanes.大多数国家拒绝对劫机者提供庇护。

2 lining   

n.衬里，衬料

参考例句：

• The lining of my coat is torn.我的外套衬里破了。
• Moss makes an attractive lining to wire baskets.用苔藓垫在铁丝篮里很漂亮。

3 slain   

杀死，宰杀，杀戮( slay的过去分词 )； (slay的过去分词)

参考例句：

• The soldiers slain in the battle were burried that night. 在那天夜晚埋葬了在战斗中牺牲了的战士。
• His boy was dead, slain by the hand of the false Amulius. 他的儿子被奸诈的阿缪利乌斯杀死了。

4 dome   

n.圆屋顶，拱顶

参考例句：

• The dome was supported by white marble columns.圆顶由白色大理石柱支撑着。
• They formed the dome with the tree's branches.他们用树枝搭成圆屋顶。

5 rev   

v.发动机旋转，加快速度

参考例句：

• It's his job to rev up the audience before the show starts.他要负责在表演开始前鼓动观众的热情。
• Don't rev the engine so hard.别让发动机转得太快。

6 legacy   

n.遗产，遗赠；先人(或过去)留下的东西

参考例句：

• They are the most precious cultural legacy our forefathers left.它们是我们祖先留下来的最宝贵的文化遗产。
• He thinks the legacy is a gift from the Gods.他认为这笔遗产是天赐之物。

7 forth   

adv.向前；向外，往外

参考例句：

• The wind moved the trees gently back and forth.风吹得树轻轻地来回摇晃。
• He gave forth a series of works in rapid succession.他很快连续发表了一系列的作品。

8 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。

9 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

10 suburban   

adj.城郊的，在郊区的

参考例句：

• Suburban shopping centers were springing up all over America. 效区的商业中心在美国如雨后春笋般地兴起。
• There's a lot of good things about suburban living.郊区生活是有许多优点。