VOA标准英语2010-Obama Eulogizes Civil Rights Leader Dorot

President Obama walks past casket of Dorothy Height during funeral services in Washington, 29 Apr 2010

President Barack Obama eulogized U.S. civil rights leader Dorothy Height on Thursday as a history-making figure in "a righteous cause." The president spoke² at the funeral for Height, who died last week at the age of 98. 

He told hundreds of moruners who filled the the massive Washington National Cathedral that Height should be associated with other American civil rights leaders such as Martin Luther King, Jr. and W.E.B. DuBois. "There are giants who fill our history books.  Well, Dr. Dorothy Height deserves a place in this pantheon. She, too, deserves a place in our history books.  She, too, deserves a place of honor in America's memory," he said.

As a young social worker, Dorothy Height helped New York City resolve the 1935 Harlem Riots, and she helped organize protests against lynching, the killing³ of African Americans, usually by white mobs.

Later, she worked alongside Martin Luther King, Jr. and other leaders at the forefront of the civil rights movement, seeking equality for women as well as for African Americans.

Height led the National Council of Negro Women for more than 40 years, working on issues affecting African American women and families, such as health, education and economic matters, as well as basic civil rights.

She also campaigned for international human rights and humanitarian⁴ issues in Africa, India, the Caribbean and other areas.

At the memorial service, President Obama said Dorothy Height visited the White House 21 times since he took office in January 2009.

He said she was determined⁵ to attend a meeting of African American leaders on unemployment in February, even though she was in a wheelchair and a blizzard⁶ was approaching.

The president said Height told him she would not allow "just a bunch of men" to control the meeting.  When she could not attend because cars could not reach her snowed-in home, Mr. Obama says she sent a message with her ideas.

"I tell that story, partly because it brings a smile to my face, and also because it captures the quiet, dogged, dignified⁷ persistence⁸ that all of us who loved Dr. Height came to know so well," he said.

The president said Height's perseverance⁹ advanced the cause of justice, and eventually made it possible for him and his wife, Michelle, to live in the White House.

Mrs. Obama was in the audience, as were Vice¹ President Joe Biden and many top U.S. officials.

Some of the nation's most prominent African Americans took part in the memorial, including poet Maya Angelou, opera singer Denyce Graves, Labor¹⁰ Secretary Alexis Herman, and gospel singer BeBe Winans.

 

1 vice   

n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的

参考例句：

• He guarded himself against vice.他避免染上坏习惯。
• They are sunk in the depth of vice.他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。

2 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

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 humanitarian   

n.人道主义者，博爱者，基督凡人论者

参考例句：

• She has many humanitarian interests and contributes a lot to them.她拥有很多慈善事业，并作了很大的贡献。
• The British government has now suspended humanitarian aid to the area.英国政府现已暂停对这一地区的人道主义援助。

5 determined   

adj.坚定的；有决心的

参考例句：

• I have determined on going to Tibet after graduation.我已决定毕业后去西藏。
• He determined to view the rooms behind the office.他决定查看一下办公室后面的房间。

6 blizzard   

n.暴风雪

参考例句：

• The blizzard struck while we were still on the mountain.我们还在山上的时候暴风雪就袭来了。
• You'll have to stay here until the blizzard blows itself off.你得等暴风雪停了再走。

7 dignified   

a.可敬的，高贵的

参考例句：

• Throughout his trial he maintained a dignified silence. 在整个审讯过程中，他始终沉默以保持尊严。
• He always strikes such a dignified pose before his girlfriend. 他总是在女友面前摆出这种庄严的姿态。

8 persistence   

n.坚持，持续，存留

参考例句：

• The persistence of a cough in his daughter puzzled him.他女儿持续的咳嗽把他难住了。
• He achieved success through dogged persistence.他靠着坚持不懈取得了成功。

9 perseverance   

n.坚持不懈，不屈不挠

参考例句：

• It may take some perseverance to find the right people.要找到合适的人也许需要有点锲而不舍的精神。
• Perseverance leads to success.有恒心就能胜利。

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。