I Have a Dream by Martin Luther King, Jr.
I am happy to join with you today in what will go down in history as the greatest demonstration示范; 实证 for freedom in the history of our nation.
Five score years ago, a great American, in whose symbolic shadow we stand today, signed the Emancipation释放; 解放 Proclamation宣布, 公布; 宣言书; 公告, 布告; 声明书. This momentous 重大的; 重要的decree came as a great beacon light of hope to millions of Negro黑人 slaves who had been seared烧焦痕迹; 烙印 in the flames of withering使干枯的, 进行干燥处理的, 摧毁的 injustice不公平; 不讲道义. It came as a joyous daybreak to end the long night of their captivity.
But one hundred years later, the Negro still is not free. One hundred years later, the life of the Negro is still sadly crippled跛腿的, 残废的 by the manacles手铐; 束缚; 脚镣 of segregation and the chains of discrimination. One hundred years later, the Negro lives on a lonely island of poverty in the midst of a vast ocean of material prosperity繁荣, 成功, 幸运. One hundred years later, the Negro is still languished憔悴, 苦思, 凋萎 in the corners of American society and finds himself an exile放逐, 被放逐者, 流放in his own land. And so we've come here today to dramatize a shameful condition.
In a sense we've come to our nation's capital to cash a check. When the architects of our republic wrote the magnificent 华丽的, 丰富的, 高尚的 words of the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence, they were signing a promissory note to which every American was to fall heir. This note was a promise that all men, yes, black men as well as white men, would be guaranteed必定的, 肯定的 the "unalienable不可剥夺的 Rights" of "Life, Liberty and the pursuit追踪, 追击; 继续进行, 从事; 追求, 寻求; 事务of Happiness." It is obvious today that America has defaulted on this promissory note, insofar as her citizens of color are concerned. Instead of honoring this sacred obligation义务, 债务, 职责, America has given the Negro people a bad check, a check which has come back marked "insufficient 不够的, 不充足的, 不能胜任的 funds.
But we refuse to believe that the bank of justice is bankrupt. We refuse to believe that there are insufficient funds in the great vaults of opportunity of this nation. And so, we've come to cash this check, a check that will give us upon demand the riches of freedom and the security of justice正义, 公正, 公平.
We have also come to this hallowed神圣化的; 神圣的 spot to remind America of the fierce urgency of Now. This is no time to engage in the luxury of cooling off or to take the tranquilizing drug of gradualism. Now is the time to make real the promises of democracy民主政治; 民主主义. Now is the time to rise from the dark and desolate valley of segregation to the sunlit path of racial种族的; 种族之间的 justice. Now is the time to lift our nation from the quicksand流沙, 危险状态, 流沙地of racial injustice to the solid rock of brotherhood. Now is the time to make justice a reality for all of God's children.
It would be fatal for the nation to overlook the urgency of the moment. This sweltering summer of the Negro's legitimate discontent will not pass until there is an invigorating autumn of freedom and equality. 1963 is not an end, but a beginning. And those who hope that the Negro needed to blow off steam and will now be content will have a rude awakening if the nation returns to business as usual.
And there will be neither rest nor tranquility平静; 安宁; 安静; 平稳 in America until the Negro is granted
假定; 就算 his citizenship rights. The whirlwinds of revolt will continue to shake the foundations of our nation until the bright day of justice emerges浮现, 脱出, 形成.
But there is something that I must say to my people, who stand on the warm threshold
门槛, 开端, 入口 which leads into the palace of justice: In the process of gaining our rightful place, we must not be guilty of wrongful deeds. Let us not seek to satisfy our thirst for freedom by drinking from the cup of bitterness苦味; 苦难; 辛酸and hatred. We must forever conduct our struggle on the high plane of dignity and discipline. We must not allow our creative protest to degenerate堕落者into physical violence. Again and again, we must rise to the majestic heights of meeting physical force with soul force.
The marvelous引起惊异的; 非凡的; 不可思议的 new militancy交战状态; 战斗精神; 好战性 which has engulfed卷入, 投入深渊, 吸进 the Negro community must not lead us to a distrust of all white people, for many of our white brothers, as evidenced by their presence here today, have come to realize that their destiny is tied up with our destiny. And they have come to realize that their freedom is inextricably bound to our freedom.
We cannot walk alone.
And as we walk, we must make the pledge that we shall always march ahead.
We cannot turn back.
There are those who are asking the devotees of civil rights, "When will you be satisfied?" We can never be satisfied as long as the Negro is the victim受害人, 牺牲品, 牺牲者 of the unspeakable horrors of police brutality残忍, 野蛮; 暴虐行为, 蛮横行为. We can never be satisfied as long as our bodies, heavy with the fatigue of travel, cannot gain lodging寄宿, 借宿; 寄宿舍; 住所, 寓所; 租住的房间 in the motels of the highways and the hotels of the cities. We cannot be satisfied as long as a Negro in Mississippi cannot vote and a Negro in New York believes he has nothing for which to vote. No, no, we are not satisfied, and we will not be satisfied until "justice rolls down like waters, and righteousness like a mighty stream."
I am not unmindful不留心的, 漫不经心的, 不注意的 that some of you have come here out of great trials试验, 审讯, 考验 and tribulations苦难, 磨难, 忧患. Some of you have come fresh from narrow jail cells. And some of you have come from areas where your quest -- quest for freedom left you battered by the storms of persecution迫害, 烦扰 and staggered by the winds of police brutality. You have been the veterans老兵, 富有经验的人, 老手of creative suffering. Continue to work with the faith that unearned suffering is redemptive赎回的; 拯救的. Go back to Mississippi, go back to Alabama, go back to South Carolina, go back to Georgia, go back to Louisiana, go back to the slums and ghettos of our northern cities, knowing that somehow this situation can and will be changed.
Let us not wallow in the valley of despair, I say to you today, my friends.
And so even though we face the difficulties of today and tomorrow, I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream.
I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal."
I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia, the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood.
I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a state sweltering with the heat of injustice, sweltering闷热, 汗流夹背, 被暑气所苦; 使闷热, 使中暑 with the heat of oppression, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice.
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.
I have a dream today!
I have a dream that one day, down in Alabama, with its vicious racists, with its governor having his lips dripping with the words of "interposition介入; 干涉" and "nullification无效; 取消; 废弃" -- one day right there in Alabama little black boys and black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls as sisters and brothers.
I have a dream today!
I have a dream that one day every valley shall be exalted, and every hill and mountain shall be made low, the rough places will be made plain, and the crooked places will be made straight; "and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed and all flesh shall see it together."? This is our hope, and this is the faith that I go back to the South with.
With this faith, we will be able to hew out of the mountain of despair a stone of hope. With this faith, we will be able to transform the jangling discords of our nation into a beautiful symphony of brotherhood. With this faith, we will be able to work together, to pray together, to struggle together, to go to jail together, to stand up for freedom together, knowing that we will be free one day.
And this will be the day -- this will be the day when all of God's children will be able to sing with new meaning:
My country 'tis of thee, sweet land of liberty, of thee I sing.
Land where my fathers died, land of the Pilgrim's pride,
From every mountainside, let freedom ring!
And if America is to be a great nation, this must become true.
And so let freedom ring from the prodigious hilltops of New Hampshire.
Let freedom ring from the mighty mountains of New York.
Let freedom ring from the heightening Alleghenies of
Pennsylvania.
Let freedom ring from the snow-capped Rockies of Colorado.
Let freedom ring from the curvaceous slopes of California.
But not only that:
Let freedom ring from Stone Mountain of Georgia.
Let freedom ring from Lookout Mountain of Tennessee.
Let freedom ring from every hill and molehill of Mississippi.
From every mountainside, let freedom ring.
And when this happens, when we allow freedom ring, when we let it ring from every village and every hamlet, from every state and every city, we will be able to speed up that day when all of God's children, black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics, will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old Negro spiritual:
Free at last! free at last!
Thank God Almighty, we are free at last!
还是有很多的东东没听出来，虽然并不难，语调有问题，呵呵
～～口音比较重哟
[ 本帖最后由 达达摩摩 于 2008-7-11 23:08 编辑 ]
