2006年VOA标准英语-Widow of US Civil Rights Icon King Dies

By Mike Cooper
Atlanta
31 January 2006

Coretta Scott King, the widow of slain¹ civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr., has died.  She had been in poor health since suffering a stroke last summer.

Coretta Scott King at Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta (2005 file photo)   
  
Flags were lowered to half-staff at the King Center in Atlanta as the news emerged that Coretta Scott King, the widow of Martin Luther King Jr., had died.  The center issued a brief statement that said Mrs. King died late Monday at age 78.

Coretta Scott King was hospitalized for several weeks in August after she suffered a debilitating² stroke and heart attack that left her unable to speak.  Her health prevented her from participating in events in Atlanta on the January federal holiday marking the birthday of her late husband, though she made a brief appearance at an awards dinner.

Reverend Joseph Lowery, who took over as president of the Southern Christian³ Leadership Conference after King was assassinated⁴ in 1968, said Mrs. King did not try to take her husband's place as a leader of the civil rights organization, but was always supportive of the civil rights movement.

"She supported the movement everyhere," Mr. Lowery said.  "She participated in marches.  She saw herself as duty-bound, as a mother, as a citizen, as a figure in her own right and particularly as Martin's widow, that she had an obligation to hold up the banner."

Mrs. King formed the Martin Luther King Jr. Center for Non-Violent Social Change in Atlanta after her husband's death.  She campaigned for the national King holiday, now in its 20th year.  Mrs. King chaired the board of the King Center until 1994, when she turned the position over to one of her four children.

The president of the Georgia Association of Black Elected Officials, Tyrone Brooks⁵, a longtime civil rights activist⁶, praised Mrs. King as a tireless champion for the cause of human rights around the world.

"I am happy that Mrs. King lived to be almost 80 years old," Mr. Brooks said. "She lost her husband when he was was only 39 years old.  She raised her children.  She constructed the Martin Luther King Jr. Center for Non-Violent Social Change.  She became an international ambassador promoting the legacy⁷ of her husband.  Mrs. King will go down in history in her own right as a great leader."

Mrs. King was born in 1927 in Alabama, where her father ran a country store. 

She met Martin Luther King Jr. while he was studying at Boston University and she was attending a music school with plans to become a singer.  The couple married in Alabama in 1953, just before Reverend King came to prominence⁸ as a pastor⁹ in Montgomery, Alabama, where he led a bus boycott¹⁰ that became a turning point in the American civil rights movement.  

1 slain   

杀死，宰杀，杀戮( slay的过去分词 )； (slay的过去分词)

参考例句：

• The soldiers slain in the battle were burried that night. 在那天夜晚埋葬了在战斗中牺牲了的战士。
• His boy was dead, slain by the hand of the false Amulius. 他的儿子被奸诈的阿缪利乌斯杀死了。

2 debilitating   

a.使衰弱的

参考例句：

• The debilitating disease made him too weak to work. 这个令他衰弱的病，使他弱到没有办法工作。
• You may soon leave one debilitating condition or relationship forever. 你即将永远地和这段霉运说拜拜了。

3 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。

4 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

5 brooks   

n.小溪( brook的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Brooks gave the business when Haas caught him with his watch. 哈斯抓到偷他的手表的布鲁克斯时，狠狠地揍了他一顿。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Ade and Brooks exchanged blows yesterday and they were severely punished today. 艾德和布鲁克斯昨天打起来了，今天他们受到严厉的惩罚。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 activist   

n.活动分子，积极分子

参考例句：

• He's been a trade union activist for many years.多年来他一直是工会的积极分子。
• He is a social activist in our factory.他是我厂的社会活动积极分子。

7 legacy   

n.遗产，遗赠；先人(或过去)留下的东西

参考例句：

• They are the most precious cultural legacy our forefathers left.它们是我们祖先留下来的最宝贵的文化遗产。
• He thinks the legacy is a gift from the Gods.他认为这笔遗产是天赐之物。

8 prominence   

n.突出；显著；杰出；重要

参考例句：

• He came to prominence during the World Cup in Italy.他在意大利的世界杯赛中声名鹊起。
• This young fashion designer is rising to prominence.这位年轻的时装设计师的声望越来越高。

9 pastor   

n.牧师，牧人

参考例句：

• He was the son of a poor pastor.他是一个穷牧师的儿子。
• We have no pastor at present:the church is run by five deacons.我们目前没有牧师：教会的事是由五位执事管理的。

10 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。