106岁舞者与总统快乐共舞

AS IT IS 2016-02-23 106-Year-Old Dances for Joy Over 'Black' President 106岁舞者与总统快乐共舞

This is What’s Trending Today.

By the time you get to be 106, you have seen and done a lot.

And Virginia McLaurin is almost 107.

But last week, McLaurin did something for the first time.

She went to the White House. There, she met President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama.

She said it was something she never thought she would be able to do.

“I thought I would never get in the White House,” McLaurin said, in a video posted on the White House’s Facebook page over the weekend.

McLaurin is an African-American resident¹ of Washington, D.C. She was born in 1909 in South Carolina.

A video of her celebrating Black History Month with the Obamas last week got people giddy on social media. Black History Month is celebrated² every February, and it recognizes the contributions African-Americans make to the world.

More than 25 million people have seen the video since it was released³ Sunday night. The video was shared nearly 500,000 times on Facebook. McLaurin and the Obamas are two of Monday’s top trending subjects on Twitter.

The video shows McLaurin coming to meet President Obama and Michelle Obama. While posing⁴ for a picture after they are introduced, McLaurin says: “I am so happy. A black president, yay! A black wife! And I’m here to celebrate black history.”

People wrote messages of support, calling the video “fantastically uplifting,” and saying watching the video “will make your day.”

One man from Brazil wrote: “She lived to see two World Wars, the height of racial segregation⁵, and finally, an elected black president.”

The Washington Post reports that McLaurin submitted⁶ a petition⁷ to the White House in 2014, asking to meet with Obama. She wrote about all the things she remembered from her life – like living without electricity and first Ford⁸ car she saw coming off the assembly⁹ line.

“I didn’t think I would live to see a Colored President,” she wrote. “I know you are a busy man, but I wish I could meet you.”

And when McLaurin finally met the Obamas, she danced with joy.

“So what’s the secret to still dancing at 106?” President Obama asked.

McLaurin did not answer. She was so excited, she just kept on dancing.

Words in This Story

giddy – adj. excited, playful and silly

fantastic – adj. extremely good

petition – n. a written document that people sign to show that they want a person or organization to do or change something

segregation – n. the practice or policy of keeping people of different races, religions, etc., separate from each other

1 resident   

a.居住的，居留的；住校的，住院的

参考例句：

• I've been resident in this place for five years. 我已经在这个地方住了五年。
• They engaged a resident tutor. 他们聘用了一名住家的家庭教师。

2 celebrated   

adj.有名的，声誉卓著的

参考例句：

• He was soon one of the most celebrated young painters in England.不久他就成了英格兰最负盛名的年轻画家之一。
• The celebrated violinist was mobbed by the audience.观众团团围住了这位著名的小提琴演奏家。

3 released   

v.释放( release的过去式和过去分词 )；放开；发布；发行

参考例句：

• He was released on bail pending committal proceedings. 他交保获释正在候审。
• With hindsight it is easy to say they should not have released him. 事后才说他们本不应该释放他，这倒容易。

4 posing   

n. 摆架式 名词pose的现在分词形式

参考例句：

• The model was posing carefully. 这位模特儿在认真地摆着姿势。
• She is always posing. 她总是装腔作势。

5 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。

6 submitted   

顺从( submit的过去式和过去分词 )； 听从； 屈服； 甘受

参考例句：

• He struck a blow against being submitted to the enemy. 他反对向敌人投降。
• Counsel submitted that there was no case against his client. 辩护人辩称没有什么可加罪于他的当事人。

7 petition   

n.请愿书，申请书，诉状；v.请愿，正式请求

参考例句：

• Thousands of citizens subscribed the petition.几千名公民在请愿书上签名。
• The number of signers of the petition for a new school snowballed.要求增设新学校而签名的人像滚雪球似的越来越多。

8 Ford   

n.浅滩，水浅可涉处；v.涉水，涉过

参考例句：

• They were guarding the bridge,so we forded the river.他们驻守在那座桥上，所以我们只能涉水过河。
• If you decide to ford a stream,be extremely careful.如果已决定要涉过小溪，必须极度小心。

9 assembly   

n.集会(不可数)；会议(可数)，装配(不可数)

参考例句：

• He took his seat in an unobserved corner of the assembly room.他在会议室一个不为人注意的犄角坐下来。
• It was very quiet in the assembly hall.会场里静悄悄的。