VOA常速英语2008年-Martin Luther King, Jr., Remembered on 40th Ann

By Chris Simkins
Washington
03 April 2008
 

American black civil rights leader Martin Luther King, Jr., was assassinated¹ 40 years ago on 4 April 1968 in Memphis, Tennessee. His death touched off a wave of race riots across the United States.  Still today, some question the official investigation² blaming the killing³ on one man.  VOA's Chris SImkins takes a look back on Dr. King's final days and the immediate⁴ impact his death had on the country.

Forty years ago, Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr. traveled to Memphis, Tennessee, to lead a campaign for sanitation⁵ workers protesting their low wages and poor working conditions.  Still a young man at 39 years old, he had become the nation's chief civil rights leader, known for his non-violent marches and demonstrations⁶.  It was the city where he would die.

Civil rights activist⁷ and history professor Michael Honey, author of a book about Reverend King's last days in Memphis, says the leader was trying to form a unprecedented⁸ coalition⁹ linking labor¹⁰ and civil rights.

"He called for a general strike in the city of Memphis by workers, domestic workers, teachers, students,” Honey said. “And this would have been a tremendous high point in the civil rights movement.  Nothing like this had happened in any city. It would also be a tremendous high point in the labor movement."

The night before Reverend King was killed, he delivered his final sermon in which he seemed to foresee his fate. "Like anybody I would like to live a long life," King said. "Longevity¹¹ has its place. But I am not concerned about that now.  I just want to do God's will. And he has allowed me to go up to the mountain, and I have looked over, and I have seen the Promised Land."

On 4 April 1968, as King was standing¹² on the balcony of the Lorraine Motel,  he was shot in the neck.  He died a short time later at the hospital. 

Riots broke out that night in several major U.S. cities.  On 9 April, more than 50,000 people attended King's funeral in Atlanta, Georgia.

Memphis police later identified suspect.  James Earl Ray was arrested weeks later in London, with a fake passport.  Although Ray pled guilty and was convicted, years later he retracted¹³ his confession¹⁴.   He said he had been only a minor¹⁵ player in a conspiracy¹⁶.  But a lengthy¹⁷ U.S. Justice Department investigation concluded Ray had acted alone.

King's family rejected those findings.  Historian Michael Honey says 40 years later questions linger, especially in Memphis. "I think the issue for the black community was that this was never satisfactorily resolved and that there is widespread belief that it wasn't this one guy, and that other people in the state agencies may have been involved - or even the local police," he said.

The race riots that spread to more than 100 American cities lasted days, as mostly African-American neighborhoods burned.  Across the country, curfews were put in place. The government mobilized some 50,000 soldiers to help quell¹⁸ the violence.  Some 21,000 people were arrested.

Nearly 50 people died.  About 2,600 were injured, and millions of dollars in property was damaged or destroyed.

40 years after King's death, many African Americans still seek his dream of equality and opportunity, especially in urban communities where King had turned his attention during his final days.

1 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

2 investigation   

n.调查，调查研究

参考例句：

• In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
• He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。

3 killing   

n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财

参考例句：

• Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
• Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。

4 immediate   

adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的

参考例句：

• His immediate neighbours felt it their duty to call.他的近邻认为他们有责任去拜访。
• We declared ourselves for the immediate convocation of the meeting.我们主张立即召开这个会议。

5 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。

6 demonstrations   

证明( demonstration的名词复数 )； 表明； 表达； 游行示威

参考例句：

• Lectures will be interspersed with practical demonstrations. 讲课中将不时插入实际示范。
• The new military government has banned strikes and demonstrations. 新的军人政府禁止罢工和示威活动。

7 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。

8 unprecedented   

adj.无前例的，新奇的

参考例句：

• The air crash caused an unprecedented number of deaths.这次空难的死亡人数是空前的。
• A flood of this sort is really unprecedented.这样大的洪水真是十年九不遇。

9 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。

10 labor   

n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦

参考例句：

• We are never late in satisfying him for his labor.我们从不延误付给他劳动报酬。
• He was completely spent after two weeks of hard labor.艰苦劳动两周后，他已经疲惫不堪了。

11 longevity   

n.长命；长寿

参考例句：

• Good habits promote longevity.良好的习惯能增长寿命。
• Human longevity runs in families.人类的长寿具有家族遗传性。

12 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

13 retracted   

v.撤回或撤消( retract的过去式和过去分词 )；拒绝执行或遵守；缩回；拉回

参考例句：

• He made a false confession which he later retracted. 他作了假供词，后来又翻供。
• A caddy retracted his statement. 一个球童收回了他的话。 来自辞典例句

14 confession   

n.自白，供认，承认

参考例句：

• Her confession was simply tantamount to a casual explanation.她的自白简直等于一篇即席说明。
• The police used torture to extort a confession from him.警察对他用刑逼供。

15 minor   

adj.较小(少)的，较次要的；n.辅修学科；vi.辅修

参考例句：

• The young actor was given a minor part in the new play.年轻的男演员在这出新戏里被分派担任一个小角色。
• I gave him a minor share of my wealth.我把小部分财产给了他。

16 conspiracy   

n.阴谋，密谋，共谋

参考例句：

• The men were found guilty of conspiracy to murder.这些人被裁决犯有阴谋杀人罪。
• He claimed that it was all a conspiracy against him.他声称这一切都是一场针对他的阴谋。

17 lengthy   

adj.漫长的，冗长的

参考例句：

• 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。
• The professor wrote a lengthy book on Napoleon.教授写了一部有关拿破仑的巨著。

18 quell   

v.压制，平息，减轻

参考例句：

• Soldiers were sent in to quell the riots.士兵们被派去平息骚乱。
• The armed force had to be called out to quell violence.不得不出动军队来镇压暴力行动。