VOA慢速英语2011-Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Nearing C

FAITH LAPIDUS: And I’m Faith Lapidus. This week on our program, we tell you about a memorial being built in Washington to honor Martin Luther King Junior. He was America's most influential¹ civil rights leader of the twentieth century.

(MUSIC: ”Oh Freedom”/Odetta)

STEVE EMBER: The third Monday in January is a federal holiday in the United States observing the birthday of Martin Luther King. The new memorial to the civil rights leader is set to open this August on the National Mall. The dedication² ceremony is set for August twenty-eighth. That was the day in nineteen sixty-three that he gave his "I Have a Dream" speech at the Lincoln Memorial.

MARTIN LUTHER KING: "Free at last, free at last. Thank God almighty³ we are free at last."

FAITH LAPIDUS: The memorial was twenty years in the planning. It will include a large statue of Martin Luther King. It will also include a wall of quotations⁴ from his writings and speeches.

HARRY⁵ JOHNSON: "And then you see that we have a crescent-shaped wall seven hundred feet long."

A model of the "Stone of Hope" is seen inside a trailer at the construction site of the Martin Luther King National Memorial, 01 Dec 2010

FAITH LAPIDUS: Harry Johnson heads the foundation that has been raising money for the project.

HARRY JOHNSON: "I think we are overjoyed here the Memorial Foundation, knowing, understanding and believing that this is going to come to fruition, and that we are soon going to have a Martin Luther King Memorial here on our nation’s Mall."

STEVE EMBER: In the nineteen sixties, Martin Luther King led protests against racial discrimination. He taught nonviolence. He was influenced by the teachings of India's independence leader, Mohandas Gandhi.

Dr. King's efforts helped lead to the nineteen sixty-four Civil Rights Act. That law barred discrimination based on race, sex, religion or national origin.

Martin Luther King was shot to death four years later, in nineteen sixty-eight, in Memphis, Tennessee.

FAITH LAPIDUS: The new memorial will occupy land close to the Washington Monument and other memorials. President Obama has been invited to speak at the ceremony.

Martin Luther King will be honored with a statue ten meters tall. The memorial will also include the Mountain of Despair, a granite⁶ structure weighing one thousand six hundred metric tons.

The lead sculptor⁷ for the memorial is Chinese artist Lei Yixin. Harry Johnson explains why the memorial foundation chose him for the project.

HARRY JOHNSON: "We chose him because we really believe that Dr. King’s message is true, that you should not judge a person by the color of his skin but by the content of his character. In these terms, we are thinking artistic⁸ character.”

STEVE EMBER: Mr. Johnson says the memorial will make a powerful statement about the progress the country has made in the area of civil rights.

HARRY JOHNSON: “If America was as prejudiced as they say, then would they ever put an African-American on the Mall? And the answer would be no. So now they say we have diversified⁹. We have an America that looks like America when they look at the Mall. And I think visitors from around the world are going to say it is about time that you all, we all understand who Dr. King really was and what he means, not just to America, but indeed the world.”

(MUSIC: “I Shall Not Be Moved"/Johnny Cash)

FAITH LAPIDUS: Martin Luther King's life as a civil rights leader began with the famous protest by Rosa Parks in nineteen fifty-nine. The protest took place on a bus in the southern city of Montgomery, Alabama.

At that time, black people in Montgomery had to sit in the back of the bus. Rosa Parks took a seat near the front and refused to move. She was arrested.

STEVE EMBER: Such incidents had taken place before. Racial separation laws existed all over the southern states. Black people did not have the same rights as white people.

But this time a young black minister decided¹⁰ to organize a protest. Martin Luther King urged black people to boycott¹¹ the buses in Montgomery. That protest marked the beginning of the civil rights movement in the United States.

FAITH LAPIDUS: Dr. King was born in Atlanta, Georgia, on January fifteenth, nineteen twenty-nine. His father was a Baptist minister. His mother was a former schoolteacher.

He attended Morehouse College, one of the few colleges in the South open to blacks. He studied Gandhi and the works of the American philosopher Henry David Thoreau. He thought their ideas about nonviolence and disobedience could be used together to win equal rights for black Americans.

Gandhi believed in peacefully refusing to obey unjust laws. Thoreau urged people to be willing to go to prison for their beliefs.

STEVE EMBER: After college, Martin Luther King continued his studies in religion. He also met Coretta Scott, who became his wife. He earned a doctorate¹² in religion, and in nineteen fifty-four a church in Montgomery offered him a job.

Martin and Coretta King started a family and became involved in a number of activities to help the poor.

FAITH LAPIDUS: Many white people thought the Montgomery bus boycott would end if Dr. King was in prison or dead. He was arrested twice. His arrests made national news and he was released.

He continued to receive threats against his life. Finally, the United States Supreme¹³ Court ruled that racial separation in the Montgomery bus system was unconstitutional.

The boycott lasted three hundred eighty-two days. The victory gave black Americans a new feeling of pride and unity¹⁴. They saw that peaceful protest could be used as a tool to win their legal rights.

The civil rights movement spread fast. A group of black churchmen formed an organization to guide it. Dr. King became president of this new group, the Southern Christian¹⁵ Leadership Conference. He helped organize many protests in the South.

STEVE EMBER: In nineteen sixty-three, blacks in Birmingham, Alabama, refused to buy goods from local stores. They demanded more jobs. They also demanded to send their children to white schools. The situation became tense. Many protesters were beaten and arrested.

The protests brought unwanted attention to Birmingham. Soon, white politicians saw that it was easier to meet the demands of the protesters than to fight them. That victory for Dr. King and his followers¹⁶ marked another turning point for the civil rights movement.

Shortly after that, Dr. King organized the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. About two hundred fifty thousand people gathered in the capital. They heard Martin Luther King give his most famous speech. He talked about his dream for the future.

Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his most famous speech in 1963 to two hundred fifty thousand people gathered in Washington D.C.

MARTIN LUTHER KING: “And so even though we face the difficulties of today and tomorrow, I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream.

"I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed¹⁷: "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal.

"I have a 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 brotherhood¹⁸.”

FAITH LAPIDUS: The following year, in nineteen sixty-four, Dr. King received the Nobel Peace Prize. After returning from the ceremony in Norway he led a voter registration¹⁹ campaign in Selma, Alabama.

Next he went north to Chicago, Illinois, to launch efforts to improve poor neighborhoods. But in the North he found that young blacks were not as interested in his methods of peaceful protest.

The civil rights leader turned his attention to other issues. His opposition²⁰ to the Vietnam War cost him the support of white allies, including President Lyndon Johnson.

Dr. King also demanded a guaranteed income for American families as a way to fight poverty. He threatened to organize national boycotts²¹.

STEVE EMBER: In nineteen sixty-eight, Martin Luther King was planning to lead a Poor People's March on Washington. But he never made it. He had gone to Memphis, Tennessee, to lead protests that grew out of a strike by black sanitation²² workers.

The workers were demanding safer working conditions, higher pay and union representation. But a march led by Dr. King turned violent. Some of the demonstrators broke the windows of businesses and people then stole goods.

FAITH LAPIDUS: A week later, on April fourth, nineteen sixty-eight, Dr. King was shot in the neck as he stood on the balcony of a Memphis motel.

James Earl Ray admitted in court that he shot Dr. King. Later, he declared that he was innocent. He died in prison in nineteen ninety-eight.

Dr. King's murder incited²³ violence in cities across the country. But that same year, Coretta Scott King established the Martin Luther King Junior Center for Nonviolent Social Change. The King Center in Atlanta serves as a "living memorial" to Dr. King.

And today the Lorraine Motel where he was shot is the home of the National Civil Rights Museum.

(MUSIC:”We Shall Overcome"/Joan Baez)

STEVE EMBER: Our program was written and produced by Brianna Blake, with reporting by Jeff Swicord. I’m Steve Ember.

FAITH LAPIDUS: And I’m Faith Lapidus. You can comment on our programs and find transcripts²⁴ and MP3s at voaspecialenglish.com. You can also find a video about the new Martin Luther King memorial in Washington. And we're on Facebook and Twitter at VOA Learning English. Join us again next week for THIS IS AMERICA in VOA Special English.

　

1 influential   

adj.有影响的，有权势的

参考例句：

• He always tries to get in with the most influential people.他总是试图巴结最有影响的人物。
• He is a very influential man in the government.他在政府中是个很有影响的人物。

2 dedication   

n.奉献，献身，致力，题献，献辞

参考例句：

• We admire her courage,compassion and dedication.我们钦佩她的勇气、爱心和奉献精神。
• Her dedication to her work was admirable.她对工作的奉献精神可钦可佩。

3 almighty   

adj.全能的，万能的；很大的，很强的

参考例句：

• Those rebels did not really challenge Gods almighty power.这些叛徒没有对上帝的全能力量表示怀疑。
• It's almighty cold outside.外面冷得要命。

4 quotations   

n.引用( quotation的名词复数 )；[商业]行情（报告）；（货物或股票的）市价；时价

参考例句：

• The insurance company requires three quotations for repairs to the car. 保险公司要修理这辆汽车的三家修理厂的报价单。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• These quotations cannot readily be traced to their sources. 这些引语很难查出出自何处。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

5 harry   

vt.掠夺，蹂躏，使苦恼

参考例句：

• Today,people feel more hurried and harried.今天，人们感到更加忙碌和苦恼。
• Obama harried business by Healthcare Reform plan.奥巴马用医改掠夺了商界。

6 granite   

adj.花岗岩，花岗石

参考例句：

• They squared a block of granite.他们把一块花岗岩加工成四方形。
• The granite overlies the older rocks.花岗岩躺在磨损的岩石上面。

7 sculptor   

n.雕刻家，雕刻家

参考例句：

• A sculptor forms her material.雕塑家把材料塑造成雕塑品。
• The sculptor rounded the clay into a sphere.那位雕塑家把黏土做成了一个球状。

8 artistic   

adj.艺术(家)的，美术(家)的；善于艺术创作的

参考例句：

• The picture on this screen is a good artistic work.这屏风上的画是件很好的艺术品。
• These artistic handicrafts are very popular with foreign friends.外国朋友很喜欢这些美术工艺品。

9 diversified   

adj.多样化的，多种经营的v.使多样化，多样化( diversify的过去式和过去分词 )；进入新的商业领域

参考例句：

• The college biology department has diversified by adding new courses in biotechnology. 该学院生物系通过增加生物技术方面的新课程而变得多样化。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Take grain as the key link, develop a diversified economy and ensure an all-round development. 以粮为纲，多种经营，全面发展。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

10 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

11 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。

12 doctorate   

n.(大学授予的)博士学位

参考例句：

• He hasn't enough credits to get his doctorate.他的学分不够取得博士学位。
• Where did she do her doctorate?她在哪里攻读博士？

13 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。

14 unity   

n.团结，联合，统一；和睦，协调

参考例句：

• When we speak of unity,we do not mean unprincipled peace.所谓团结，并非一团和气。
• We must strengthen our unity in the face of powerful enemies.大敌当前，我们必须加强团结。

15 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。

16 followers   

追随者( follower的名词复数 )； 用户； 契据的附面； 从动件

参考例句：

• the followers of Mahatma Gandhi 圣雄甘地的拥护者
• The reformer soon gathered a band of followers round him. 改革者很快就获得一群追随者支持他。

17 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。

18 brotherhood   

n.兄弟般的关系，手中情谊

参考例句：

• They broke up the brotherhood.他们断绝了兄弟关系。
• They live and work together in complete equality and brotherhood.他们完全平等和兄弟般地在一起生活和工作。

19 registration   

n.登记，注册，挂号

参考例句：

• Marriage without registration is not recognized by law.法律不承认未登记的婚姻。
• What's your registration number?你挂的是几号？

20 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

21 boycotts   

（对某事物的）抵制( boycott的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Their methods included boycotts and court action, supplemented by'sit-ins". 他们的主要方法包括联合抵制、法庭起诉，还附带进行静坐抗议。
• Are boycotts for other purposes illegal? 至于用于其它目的的联合抵制行动是否也是非法的呢？

22 sanitation   

n.公共卫生，环境卫生，卫生设备

参考例句：

• The location is exceptionally poor,viewed from the sanitation point.从卫生角度来看，这个地段非常糟糕。
• Many illnesses are the result,f inadequate sanitation.许多疾病都来源于不健全的卫生设施。

23 incited   

刺激，激励，煽动( incite的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He incited people to rise up against the government. 他煽动人们起来反对政府。
• The captain's example incited the men to bravery. 船长的榜样激发了水手们的勇敢精神。

24 transcripts   

n.抄本（ transcript的名词复数 ）；转写本；文字本；副本

参考例句：

• Like mRNA, both tRNA and rRNA are transcripts of chromosomal DNA. tRNA及rRNA同mRNA一样，都是染色体DNA的转录产物。 来自辞典例句
• You can't take the transfer students'exam without your transcripts. 没有成绩证明书，你就不能参加转学考试。 来自辞典例句