世界节假日博览 第6期:马丁·路德·金日

 　　Martin Luther King Jr. Day is a U.S. holiday that celebrates the birth date of one of America’s greatest civil rights leaders. Dr. King’s date of birth is January 15th, but the actual holiday is on the third Monday in January. The holiday recognizes the great achievements Martin Luther King made to American society.His leadership in the campaign to achieve equal rights for black Americans changed America forever. His focus on non-violent protests led to new laws that ended racial discrimination in America. The USA became amore equal society. The holiday is only one of four national holidays in America to commemorate¹ a person. This shows just how important Martin Luther King was – one of the greatest Americans ever.

　　马丁·路德·金日是一个美国节日，这天是为了庆祝马丁的诞辰日而设立的，马丁·路德·金是美国最伟大的民权领袖。马丁的生日是1月15日，但是这一节日却在一月的第三个星期一。这一节日是让人们记住马丁对美国社会所作出的伟大贡献。他为美国黑人所争取的权利平等运动彻彻底底地改变了美国。马丁侧重的是非暴力性的抵抗运动，这一做法也促成了新法的出台，该法律结束了美国的种族歧视问题。美国的社会变得更加平等。该节日也是美国4个国家法定假日中唯一一个纪念个人的节日。这一做法展现了马丁的重要性，他是美国最伟大的人物之一。

　　马丁路德金日.jpg

　　Dr. King was assassinated² in 1968. Just 25 years later, in 1983, then President Ronald Reagan signed this holiday into U.S. law. People first observed the holiday three years later, in 1986. At first, the holidaywas not popular with all American states. Some didn’t like the name and so they called it “Civil Rights Day”. However, in the year 2000, all 50 states observed the holiday using its correct name. The musician Stevie Wonder helped the campaign for the holiday. He released a hit single called “Happy Birthday” in 1980. The song made millions of Americans aware of the campaign. Six million people signed a petition³ for the American Congress to create the holiday. It is still the largest petition in U.S. history in favour of an issue.

　　1968年，马丁遭到暗杀。就在25年以后的1983年，罗纳德·里根总统将该节日写入美国法律当中。三年之后，即1986年，人们首次开始纪念马丁·路德·金日。起初，这一节日并没有在全美的所有地区流行开来。许多人不喜欢该节日的名称，他们管它叫作“民权节”。但是，在2000年，全美的50个大州都开始纪念马丁·路德·金日。音乐家史提夫·汪达还帮助开展此项运动。1980年，他还发表了他的热门单曲“生日快乐”。这首歌曲让数百万美国人了解了该活动。600万美国人在请愿书上签名，他们希望国会能够把其设立为国家节日。这次的请愿活动也是美国历史上人数最多的一次。

　　1.racial discrimination 种族歧视

　　He went on record as opposing racial discrimination.

　　他公开表示反对种族歧视。

　　2.be popular with 受……欢迎

　　Republicans⁴ have vowed⁵ to slash⁶ $60 billion from the budget as soon as March, but many of those cuts are not likely to be popular with the public.

　　共和党已誓言最快在3月削减600亿美元支出,但削减支出项目中的许多可能将不受公众的欢迎.

　　3.hit single 热门单曲

　　It has all the makings of a hit single.

　　它具有成为热门单曲的素质。

　　4.signed a petition 在请愿书上签名

　　They signed a petition in support of the workers' demands.

　　他们在请愿书上签名，支持工人的请求。

1 commemorate   

vt.纪念，庆祝

参考例句：

• This building was built to commemorate the Fire of London.这栋大楼是为纪念“伦敦大火”而兴建的。
• We commemorate the founding of our nation with a public holiday.我们放假一日以庆祝国庆。

2 assassinated   

v.暗杀( assassinate的过去式和过去分词 )；中伤；诋毁；破坏

参考例句：

• The prime minister was assassinated by extremists. 首相遭极端分子暗杀。
• Then, just two days later, President Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas. 跟着在两天以后，肯尼迪总统在达拉斯被人暗杀。 来自辞典例句

3 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。

4 republicans   

拥护共和政体者，共和主义者( republican的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The Republicans got shellacked in the elections. 共和党在选举中一败涂地。
• The latest poll gives the Republicans a 5％ lead. 最近的民意调查结果表明共和党领先了五个百分点。

5 vowed   

起誓，发誓（vow的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• He vowed quite solemnly that he would carry out his promise. 他非常庄严地发誓要实现他的诺言。
• I vowed to do more of the cooking myself. 我发誓自己要多动手做饭。

6 slash   

vi.大幅度削减；vt.猛砍，尖锐抨击，大幅减少；n.猛砍，斜线，长切口，衣衩

参考例句：

• The shop plans to slash fur prices after Spring Festival.该店计划在春节之后把皮货降价。
• Don't slash your horse in that cruel way.不要那样残忍地鞭打你的马。