Jan.15 Martin Luther King,Jr.' s Birthday
Born on this day in 1929,the African-American clergyman Dr.Martin Luther King,Jr.worked hard for civil rights in his native South and elsewhere.Preaching1) peace and sensibility,he was in the vanguard2) of many demonstrations3) and rallies4).In1963,during the massive March on Washington,King gave the famous “I Have a Dream” speech at the foot of the Lincoln Memorial.In the speech,King prophesied5) a world in which his children “will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.”King's assassination in April 1968in Memphis,Tennessee,sent shock waves around the world.In succeeding years,various cities and then states made King's birthday a legal holiday.Now a national holiday in the United States,it serves as the focus for discussions,national as well as international,about the issues King held dear,and a bout the progress--or lack of same--achieved since King had his dream.
一月十五日馬丁·路德·金誕辰紀(jì)念日
美國黑人牧師馬丁·路德·金博士生于1929年1月15日。他在家鄉(xiāng)美國南部、在全國各地,為爭取黑人民權(quán)做了不懈的努力。他多次參加示威游行和群眾集會,帶頭宣傳和平與正義。1963年在“華盛頓大游行”中,金在林肯紀(jì)念碑前發(fā)表了著名的“我有一個夢想”的演說。在演說中,他曾預(yù)言一個世界的到來,在那個世界里,“將不是以他們的膚色,而是以他們的品格優(yōu)劣來評價(jià)”他的孩子們。1968年4月,金在田納西州孟菲斯市被暗殺,消息震驚了全世界。在此后的幾年中,許多城市,接著又有許多州,將金的生日定為法定假日?,F(xiàn)在這個日子已經(jīng)是全美國的假日了。這一天,在美國國內(nèi)乃至國際上,人們會聚焦于金所魂?duì)繅艨M的問題,討論自從金發(fā)表了演說之后他的夢想實(shí)現(xiàn)得怎么樣,是有了進(jìn)展,還是仍有差距。
NOTE 注釋:
1. preach [pri:tF] v. 傳教;宣講
2. vanguard [5vAn^B:d] n. 前鋒, 先鋒, 領(lǐng)導(dǎo)者
3. demonstration [demEn5streIF(E)n] n. 示威
4. rally [5rAli] n. 集會
5. prophesy [5prCfisi] v. 預(yù)言, 預(yù)報(bào)