VOA标准英语2012--MLK Holiday Celebrates Late Civil Rights Leader

MLK Holiday Celebrates Late Civil Rights Leader

Martin Luther King Jr.'s rise as a civil rights leader began in 1955 when he spearheaded the drive to desegregate public buses in Montgomery, Alabama.
By August 1963, Reverend King's push for equal rights had become a national movement. That month, more than 250,000 people took part in the March on Washington. Led by King, it was designed to pressure lawmakers to pass a civil rights bill that would end racial discrimination. Former civil rights activist¹ Roger Wilkins was there on the day marchers gathered in front of the Lincoln Memorial.
"It was a glorious warm summer day in which people were rejuvenated," Wilkins recalled. "There was just a good feeling of a country coming together. You really felt, I did for the first time in my life, the weight of America's conscience."
"I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character."
It was these non-violent protests and his speeches that drove the civil rights movement forward, and kept the nation focused on the issue of equality.
King won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1964, and that same year President Lyndon Johnson signed the Civil Rights Act and the following year the Voting Rights Act. The measures outlawed² racial segregation³ in public places and discriminatory practices that prevented blacks from voting.
Martin Luther King's final campaign was in Memphis, Tennessee in March and April of 1968. He led a march in support of striking sanitation⁴ workers. But the protest turned violent when young militants⁵ began looting stores. King was distraught and vowed⁶ to return to Memphis to lead a peaceful march. On the night of April 4, 1968 at the Lorraine Motel, King was assassinated⁷.
Forty years later, King's life is celebrated⁸ with many of his dreams realized, including the election of Barack Obama as the nation's first African American president.

1 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。

2 outlawed   

宣布…为不合法（outlaw的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• Most states have outlawed the use of marijuana. 大多数州都宣布使用大麻为非法行为。
• I hope the sale of tobacco will be outlawed someday. 我希望有朝一日烟草制品会禁止销售。

3 segregation   

n.隔离，种族隔离

参考例句：

• Many school boards found segregation a hot potato in the early 1960s.在60年代初，许多学校部门都觉得按水平分班是一个棘手的问题。
• They were tired to death of segregation and of being kicked around.他们十分厌恶种族隔离和总是被人踢来踢去。

4 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。

5 militants   

激进分子，好斗分子( militant的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The militants have been sporadically fighting the government for years. 几年来，反叛分子一直对政府实施零星的战斗。
• Despite the onslaught, Palestinian militants managed to fire off rockets. 尽管如此，巴勒斯坦的激进分子仍然发射导弹。

6 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。

7 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

8 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。