My Life

My Life

On Wednesday, July 24, we went to the White House to meet the President in the Rose Garden. President Kennedy walked out of the Oval Office into the bright sunshine and made some brief remarks, 1)complimenting our work, especially our support for civil rights, and giving us higher marks than the governors, who have not been so forward-leaning in their annual summer meeting. After accepting a 2)Boys Nation T-shirt, Kennedy walked down the steps and began shaking hands. I was in the front, and being a bigger and bigger supporter of the President's than most of the others, I make sure I'd get to shake his hand even if he shook only two or three. It was an amazing moment for me, meeting the President whom I had supported in my ninth-grade class debates, and about whom I felt even more strongly after his two and a half years in office. A friend took a photo for me, and later we found film 3)footage of the handshake in the Kennedy Library.

Much has been made of that brief 4)encounter and its impact on my life. My mother said she knew when I came home that I was determined² to go into politics, and after I became the Democratic nominee³ in 1992, the film was widely pointed⁴ to as the beginning of my presidential aspirations⁵. I'm not sure about that. I have a copy of the speech I gave to the 5)American Legion in Hot Spring after I came to home, and in it I didn't make too much of the handshake. I thought at the time I wanted to become a senator, but deep down I probably felt as Abraham Lincoln did when he wrote as a young man, “I will study and get ready, and perhaps my chance will come.”

One other memorable⁶ event happened to me in the summer of 1963. On August 28, nine days after I turned seventeen, I sat alone in a big white 6)reclining chair in our den¹ and watched the greatest speech of my lifetime, as Martin Luther King Jr. stood in front of the Lincoln Memorial and spoke⁷ of his dream for America. In 7)rhythmic⁸ 8)cadences 9)reminiscent of old Negro 10)spirituals, his voice at once 11)booming and shaking, he told a vast 12)throng¹⁰ before him, and millions like me 13)transfixed before television sets, of his dream that “one day on the red hills of Georgia, the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood,” and that “my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.”

I started crying during the speech and wept for a good while after Dr. King finished. He had said everything I believed, far better than I ever could. More than anything I ever experienced, except perhaps the power of my grandfather's example, that speech steeled my determination to do whatever I could for the rest of my life to make Martin Luther King Jr.'s dream come true.

注释：
1) compliment [5kCmplimEnt] v. 称赞，褒扬
2) Boys Nation 少年国家，美国军团（American Legion）设立的一个年度公民培训计划，成员由高中男生组成，计划为期一星期，组织成员会与国会成员、政府官员和总统会面。
3) footage [5futidV] n. 电影胶片
4) encounter [in5kauntE] n. 相遇，见面
5) American Legion 美国军团，又称美国退伍军人协会，是美国最大的退伍军人组织
6) reclining chair n. 活动靠背扶手椅，躺椅
7) rhythmic [5riTmik] a. 节奏的，合拍的
8) cadence⁹ [5keidEns] n. （声音的）抑扬顿挫，节奏
9) reminiscent of 发人回想的，发人联想的
10) spiritual [5spiritjuEl] n. （美国南部黑人的）圣歌
11) booming [5bu:miN] a. （声音等）低沉有回响的，隆隆作响的
12) throng [WrCN] n. 群集
13) transfix [trAns5fiks] v. 使固定，使呆住

我的生活

    7月24日，星期三，我们前往白宫，到玫瑰园拜见总统。肯尼迪总统步出椭圆形办公室，来到灿烂的阳光下，作了简短的讲话。他称赞了我们的工作，特别是我们对民权的支持，他给我们打的分比他给州长们的还高——在每年夏季的会议中，州长从来没有表现出具有远见。在接受了“少年国家”的一件T恤衫后，肯尼迪走下台阶与大家握手。我站在前排。而且比多数人都更坚定地支持肯尼迪总统。我要确保自己和总统握上手，哪怕他只给两三个人机会。早在九年级课堂辩论赛中，我就支持肯尼迪，而在他担任总统两年半后更是如此。此刻真的见到了他，对我来说，这是个毕业生难忘的时刻。一位朋友为我拍了照片，后来我们在肯尼迪图书馆发现了那次握手的录像带。
    对于那次简短的会见及其对我人生道路的影响外界有过很多评论。母亲说，我回到家后，她便知道，我已经决定进入政坛，1992年我被提名为民主党总统候选人后，那段录像带被广泛地认为是我渴望得到总统宝座的开始。对于这一点，我当时并不很清楚。我还保存着自己回家后在温泉城对美国军团所做的演讲稿。演讲中我并没有对那次握手进行渲染。那是我认为自己想当个参议员，但可能在心灵深处，我的感受正像阿伯拉罕·林肯年轻时写下：“我会学习并做好准备，我的机会也许就会降临。”这话时的那样。
    1963年夏天还发生了一件对我来说具有纪念意义的事。8月28日，我17岁生日的9天后，我独自坐在家中书房里的一把白色大躺椅上，观看了我这辈子听过的最伟大的演讲。小马丁·路徳·金站在林肯纪念堂前面，发表他的美国梦演说。演讲抑扬顿挫，富含韵律，让人想起黑人古老的圣歌。他的声音又雄浑又激动。面对着面前黑压压的人群和数百万如我一样紧守在电视机前的人，他讲述着自己的梦想：“有一天，在佐治亚的红山上，昔日奴隶的儿子和昔日奴隶主的儿子，将能一起围坐在充满兄弟情谊的桌子旁”，以及“我的四个孩子将生活在一个不是以他们的肤色，而是以他们品格的优劣来评价他们的国度里”。
    在金博士演讲的过程中，我止不住热泪盈眶，在他演讲完好一会儿我仍哭个不停。他说出了我所信仰的一切，我永远也说不了他那么好。或许除了我外祖父的榜样力量外，那场演讲比我的任何经历对我的影响都要深刻，它坚定我的决心：我要在自己的这一生中竭尽全力，让小马丁·路德·金的梦想成真。

1 den   

n.兽穴；秘密地方；安静的小房间，私室

参考例句：

• There is a big fox den on the back hill.后山有一个很大的狐狸窝。
• The only way to catch tiger cubs is to go into tiger's den.不入虎穴焉得虎子。

2 determined   

adj.坚定的；有决心的

参考例句：

• I have determined on going to Tibet after graduation.我已决定毕业后去西藏。
• He determined to view the rooms behind the office.他决定查看一下办公室后面的房间。

3 nominee   

n.被提名者；被任命者；被推荐者

参考例句：

• His nominee for vice president was elected only after a second ballot.他提名的副总统在两轮投票后才当选。
• Mr.Francisco is standing as the official nominee for the post of District Secretary.弗朗西斯科先生是行政书记职位的正式提名人。

4 pointed   

adj.尖的，直截了当的

参考例句：

• He gave me a very sharp pointed pencil.他给我一支削得非常尖的铅笔。
• She wished to show Mrs.John Dashwood by this pointed invitation to her brother.她想通过对达茨伍德夫人提出直截了当的邀请向她的哥哥表示出来。

5 aspirations   

强烈的愿望( aspiration的名词复数 )； 志向； 发送气音； 发 h 音

参考例句：

• I didn't realize you had political aspirations. 我没有意识到你有政治上的抱负。
• The new treaty embodies the aspirations of most nonaligned countries. 新条约体现了大多数不结盟国家的愿望。

6 memorable   

adj.值得回忆的，难忘的，特别的，显著的

参考例句：

• This was indeed the most memorable day of my life.这的确是我一生中最值得怀念的日子。
• The veteran soldier has fought many memorable battles.这个老兵参加过许多难忘的战斗。

7 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

8 rhythmic   

adj.有节奏的，有韵律的

参考例句：

• Her breathing became more rhythmic.她的呼吸变得更有规律了。
• Good breathing is slow,rhythmic and deep.健康的呼吸方式缓慢深沉而有节奏。

9 cadence   

n.（说话声调的）抑扬顿挫

参考例句：

• He delivered his words in slow,measured cadences.他讲话缓慢而抑扬顿挫、把握有度。
• He liked the relaxed cadence of his retired life.他喜欢退休生活的悠闲的节奏。

10 throng   

n.人群，群众；v.拥挤，群集

参考例句：

• A patient throng was waiting in silence.一大群耐心的人在静静地等着。
• The crowds thronged into the mall.人群涌进大厅。