Spoken English Topic |
Some of this information is from Wikipedia
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Martin Luther King Jr. was born on January 15, 1929, in Atlanta, Georgia. He was a leader in the Civil Rights Movement. He is best known for his role in the advancement of civil rights using nonviolent civil disobedience.
On October 14, 1964, King received the Nobel Peace Prize for combating racial inequality through nonviolent resistance.
He was assassinated on April 4, 1968 in Memphis, Tennessee. Martin Luther King Jr. Day was established as a holiday in numerous cities and states beginning in 1971, and as a U.S. federal holiday in 1986. It is observed on the third Monday of January each year.
King is most famous for his "I Have a Dream" speech, given in front of the Lincoln Memorial during the 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. King said (*): |
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I say to you today, my friends, 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 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 and nullification; 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. |
马丁·路德·金 Martin Luther King Jr. - I |
| Vocabulary | Description |
|---|---|
| African-American | |
| Alabama | Alabama is a state in the southeastern region of the United States. |
| America | |
| Atlanta | Atlanta is the capital of and the most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia |
| black | |
| bus | |
| change | |
| courage | |
| doctoral degree | |
| dream | |
| Dr. King | |
| fairness | |
| free | |
| freedom | |
| Georgia | Georgia is a state in the southeastern United States. It was established in 1733, the last of the original Thirteen Colonies. |
| great | |
| greatness | the quality of being great, distinguished, or eminent. |
| history | |
| holiday | |
| honor | |
| human rights | |
| icon | |
| "I have a dream" | |
| jail | |
| January 15 | Martin Luther King Jr. was born on January 15, 1929 |
| leader | |
| march | walk in a military manner with a regular measured tread. |
| March on Washington | The March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, the March on Washington, or The Great March on Washington, was one of the largest political rallies for human rights in United States history and demanded civil and economic rights for African Americans. It took place in Washington, D.C. Thousands of Americans headed to Washington on Tuesday, August 27, 1963. On Wednesday, August 28, 1963, Martin Luther King Jr., standing in front of the Lincoln Memorial, delivered his historic "I Have a Dream" speech in which he called for an end to racism |
| Martin Luther King, Jr. | |
| Memphis | Memphis is a city in the southwestern corner of the U.S. state of Tennessee. |
| MLK | Martin Luther King Jr. |
| murder | |
| national holiday | |
| Nobel peace prize | |
| peace | |
| peaceful | |
| prize | |
| race | |
| rights | |
| south | |
| speech | |
| Tennessee | Tennessee is a state located in the southeastern region of the United States. |
| united | |
| USA | United States of America |
| vote | |
| voter |
马丁·路德·金 Martin Luther King Jr. - II |
| Vocabulary | Description |
|---|---|
| assassinate | murder (an important person) in a surprise attack for political or religious reasons. |
| ballot | a process of voting, in writing and typically in secret. |
| ballot box | a sealed box into which voters put completed ballots. |
| bias | prejudice in favor of or against one thing, person, or group compared with another, usually in a way considered to be unfair. |
| boycott | withdraw from commercial or social relations with (a country, organization, or person) as a punishment or protest. |
| brutality | savage physical violence; great cruelty. |
| bus boycott | |
| civil | |
| civil resistance | |
| civil rights | |
| democratic | of, relating to, or supporting democracy or its principles. |
| democracy | a system of government by the whole population or all the eligible members of a state, typically through elected representatives. |
| demonstration | |
| demonstrator | |
| dignity | |
| discrimintation | the unjust or prejudicial treatment of different categories of people or things, especially on the grounds of race, age, or sex. |
| equality | |
| Gandhi | Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (2 October 1869 – 30 January 1948) was the preeminent leader of the Indian independence movement in British-ruled India. Employing nonviolent civil disobedience, Gandhi led India to independence and inspired movements for civil rights and freedom across the world. |
| hatred | intense dislike or ill will. |
| historic | |
| inequity | |
| intolerance | |
| justice | |
| legacy | |
| Lorraine Motel | The Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tennessee, is one of the most famous motels in the United States. It is the motel where Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated on April 4, 1968. |
| lunch counter | On February 1, 1960, four African American college students sat down at a lunch counter at Woolworth’s in Greensboro, North Carolina, and politely asked for service. Their request was refused. When asked to leave, they remained in their seats. Their passive resistance and peaceful sit-down demand helped ignite a youth-led movement to challenge racial inequality throughout the South. |
| Mahatma Gandhi | Inspired by Mahatma Gandhi's success with nonviolent activism, King had wanted to take a trip to India. The trip to India in 1959 affected King, deepening his understanding of nonviolent resistance and his commitment to America's struggle for civil rights. |
| martyr | a person who is killed because of their religious or other beliefs. |
| memorial | |
| militant | a militant person. |
| minister | a member of the clergy, especially in Protestant churches. |
| moral | |
| Morehouse College | In 1948, King graduated from Morehouse with a B.A. degree in sociology |
| movement | |
| NAACP | "National Association for the Advancement of Colored People" |
| nonviolence | |
| nonviolent | |
| opposition | |
| orator | a public speaker, especially one who is eloquent or skilled. |
| ordain | make (someone) a priest or minister; confer holy orders on. |
| organize | |
| pacifism | the belief that any violence, including war, is unjustifiable under any circumstances, and that all disputes should be settled by peaceful means. |
| philosophy | the study of the fundamental nature of knowledge, reality, and existence, especially when considered as an academic discipline. |
| political change | |
| politics | |
| poll tax | |
| prejudice | |
| racism | |
| resistance | |
| Rosa Parks | Rosa Parks was an American civil rights activist, whom the United States Congress called "the first lady of civil rights" and "the mother of the freedom movement. On December 1, 1955, in Montgomery, Alabama, Parks refused to obey bus driver's order to give up her seat in the colored section to a white passenger, after the white section was filled. |
| sacrifice | an act of slaughtering an animal or person or surrendering a possession as an offering to God or to a divine or supernatural figure. |
| SCLC | "Southern Christian Leadership Conference" |
| segregation | the action or state of setting someone or something apart from other people or things or being set apart. |
| slavery | |
| social | |
| stereotype | a widely held but fixed and oversimplified image or idea of a particular type of person or thing. |
| stride | |
| Stride Toward Freedom | King's first book, it describes the conditions of African Americans living in Alabama during the era, and chronicles the events and participant's planning and thoughts about the boycott and its aftermath. |
| struggle | |
| tactics | an action or strategy carefully planned to achieve a specific end. |
| tolerance | |
| unfairness | |
| unity |
马丁·路德·金 Martin Luther King Jr. - III |
| Vocabulary | Description |
|---|---|
| bigotry | intolerance toward those who hold different opinions from oneself. |
| reverend | a member of the clergy |
| sermon | a talk on a religious or moral subject, especially one given during a church service and based on a passage from the Bible. |
* King, Martin Luther; King, Coretta Scott (2008). The Words of Martin Luther King Jr.: Second Edition. Newmarket Press. p. 95. ISBN 978-1-55704-815-8.