VOA标准英语2008年-Americans Celebrate Martin Luther King Day

By Alex Villarreal
Washington
22 January 2008
 

On Monday, Americans celebrated¹ the life of one of the nation's most influential² civil rights activists³, Martin Luther King, Junior.  King fought for change in the 1950s and 60s - a time when much of the American South was still segregated⁴ and millions of African Americans faced violence and discrimination. As VOA's Alex Villarreal reports, volunteers carry on his legacy⁵.

August 28, 1963. American civil rights leader, Martin Luther King, Jr., issues his now famous call-to-action.

Speech excerpt⁶: "I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed⁷. 'We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal.'"

Now, more than 40 years later, Americans unite on the U.S. holiday honoring his birth to answer that call. 

We Feed Our People is a coalition⁸ of individuals and organizations in the nation's capital devoted⁹ to continuing King's work.

Each Martin Luther King Day, hundreds of volunteers flock to the MLK Library in downtown Washington to provide food, warm clothes and health screenings for the city's homeless. Monday marked the event's 21st year.

Organizer Leon Fortson says We Feed Our People responds to an important need. "We all know that there are people in this community who don't have the resources that we have. So this is a chance to get back at that demographic and make sure they know at least that somebody cares about them."

Miss Black DC, Amanda Lewis, has helped We Feed Our People for the past three years.  She says it is inspiring to watch the community honor King's legacy by taking action. "All these people out here in the freezing cold, just to see all these people out here willing to give up their time to be here to help others, I think that is the most important message that Dr. King wanted us to have," Lewis said.

Earlier Monday, President Bush visited the MLK Library, where he expressed support for the volunteers.  He also encouraged people not to limit their action to just one day. He said, "By loving a neighbor like you'd like to be loved yourself, by reaching out to someone who hurts, by just simply living a life of kindness and compassion¹⁰, you can make America a better place and fulfill¹¹ the dream of Martin Luther King."

In 1968, King was shot and killed on a hotel balcony in Memphis, Tennessee.

But his demands for equality made their mark. And in volunteers across the country, his dream lives on.

1 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。

2 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。

3 activists   

n.（政治活动的）积极分子，活动家( activist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• His research work was attacked by animal rights activists . 他的研究受到了动物权益维护者的抨击。
• Party activists with lower middle class pedigrees are numerous. 党的激进分子中有很多出身于中产阶级下层。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 segregated   

分开的； 被隔离的

参考例句：

• a culture in which women are segregated from men 妇女受到隔离歧视的文化
• The doctor segregated the child sick with scarlet fever. 大夫把患猩红热的孩子隔离起来。

5 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。

6 excerpt   

n.摘录，选录，节录

参考例句：

• This is an excerpt from a novel.这是一部小说的摘录。
• Can you excerpt something from the newspaper? 你能从报纸上选录些东西吗？

7 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。

8 coalition   

n.结合体，同盟，结合，联合

参考例句：

• The several parties formed a coalition.这几个政党组成了政治联盟。
• Coalition forces take great care to avoid civilian casualties.联盟军队竭尽全力避免造成平民伤亡。

9 devoted   

adj.忠诚的，忠实的，热心的，献身于...的

参考例句：

• He devoted his life to the educational cause of the motherland.他为祖国的教育事业贡献了一生。
• We devoted a lengthy and full discussion to this topic.我们对这个题目进行了长时间的充分讨论。

10 compassion   

n.同情，怜悯

参考例句：

• He could not help having compassion for the poor creature.他情不自禁地怜悯起那个可怜的人来。
• Her heart was filled with compassion for the motherless children.她对于没有母亲的孩子们充满了怜悯心。

11 fulfill   

vt.履行，实现，完成；满足，使满意

参考例句：

• If you make a promise you should fulfill it.如果你许诺了，你就要履行你的诺言。
• This company should be able to fulfill our requirements.这家公司应该能够满足我们的要求。