by Martin Luther King, Jr.
I am happy to join with you today in what will go down in history as the greatest demonstration 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 Proclamation. This Momentous decree came as a great beacon light of hope to millions of Negro slaves who had been seared in the flames of withering injustice. 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 by the manacles 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. One hundred years later, the Negro is still languishing in the corners of American society and finds himself an exile in his own land. So we have come here today to dramatize the 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 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 the inalienable rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit 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, America has given the Negro people a bad check, a check which has come back marked “insufficient 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. 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.
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. 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. sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave-owners, will they 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 down 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, 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.
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.”
注释：
score n.得分, 乐谱, 抓痕, 二十, 终点线, 刻痕, 帐目, 起跑线
vt.把...记下, 刻划, 划线, 获得, 评价
vi.记分, 刻痕, 得分
Emancipation Proclamation 《解放黑奴宣言》。美国南北战争期间，由林肯总统于1863年颁布的行政命令，规定自即日起废除各州的奴隶制度，宣布所有黑人获得自由。
decree n. 法令
beacon n.烟火, 灯塔
v.照亮
Negro n.黑人
sear v. 烧焦，烧灼
withering a. 使干枯的
Daybreak n.黎明, 拂晓
Captivity n.囚禁, 被关
Segregation n.种族隔离
Cripple n.跛子
v.削弱
manacles n. 镣铐
midst n.中间
prep.在...中间
dramatize vt.改编成为戏剧, 编写剧本
vi.戏剧地表现
note n.笔记, 短信, (外交)照会, 注解, 注释, 票据, 纸币, 音符
vt.注意, 记录, 笔记
default n.默认(值), 缺省(值), 食言, 不履行责任, [律]缺席
v.疏怠职责, 缺席, 拖欠, 默认
vicious adj.恶的, 不道德的, 恶意的, 刻毒的,
堕落的, 品性不端的, 有错误的
exalt v.晋升，提高
molehill n.(由鼹鼠打洞扒出的泥土堆成的)鼹鼠丘,
无意义的事, 小困难(或障碍)
languishing a. 日趋衰弱的
fall heir 继承
inalienable a. 不可剥夺的
insofar ad. 在这个范围
vault n. （银行等）金库
its creed 指美国的《独立宣言》，后面引号的内容直接引自其内容。
sweltering a. 炎热的
oasis n. 绿洲
interposition n. 干涉
nullification n. （美国）州对联帮法令的拒绝执行
crooked a. 弯曲的
flesh n. 肉体，众生，这里指人类
prodigious a. 巨大的
curvaceous a. 弯曲的
hamlet n. 小村子
中文对照：
我有一个梦想
马丁·路德·金
今天，我很高兴能够参加这次集会，这是我国有史以来为争取自由而举行的最伟大的示威集会。
一百年前，一位美国伟人签署了《解放黑奴宣言》，现在我们就站在他纪念像投下的影子里。这项重要法令的颁布，就像雄伟的灯塔，给千百万在非正义的烈焰中煎熬的黑奴带来了希望，它犹如结束囚室中漫漫长夜的一束欢乐的曙光。
然而，一百年后的今天，黑人依然没有获得自由。一百年后的今天，黑人依然悲惨地蹒跚于种族隔离和种族歧视的枷锁之下。一百年后的今天，黑人依然生活在物质富裕的汪洋大海中的贫困孤岛之上。一百年后的今天，黑人依然在美国社会的阴暗角落里艰难挣扎，在自己的国土上受到放逐。所以，我们今天到这里来，把这骇人听闻的事实公诸于众。
从某种意义上说，我们来到我们的首都是为了兑现一张支票。我们共和国的缔造者在起草《宪法》和《独立宣言》时，就签署了一张每一个美国人都能继承的期票。这张期票保证所有人——不论黑人还是白人——都享有不可剥夺的生存权、自由权和追求幸福的权利。
显然，就有色公民而言，美国并没有兑付这张期票。美国不但没有承担这项神圣的职责，反而开给黑人一张空头支票——一张盖着“资金不足”印戳被退回的支票。
但我们不相信正义的银行已经破产，我们不相信这个国家巨大的机会宝库会发生资金不足的情况。因此，我们来要求兑现这张支票——一张见票即付，能为我们兑现自由财富和正义保障的支票。
今天我要告诉你们我的朋友们：尽管我们面临当前和将来的许多困难挫折，我仍然怀有一个梦想。这是一个深深植根于美国梦中的梦想。我梦想有一天这个国家能够站立起来，实现其立国信条的真谛：“我们认为这些真理不言而喻：所有的人生而平等。”
我梦想有一天，在佐治亚州的红色山冈上，昔日奴隶的儿子将能够和昔日奴隶主的儿子同席而坐，共叙兄弟情谊。我梦想有一天，甚至连密西西比州这样一个因充斥着不公和压迫而酷热难当的荒漠之洲，也将变成自由和正义的绿洲。
我梦想有一天，我的四个孩子将在一个不是以他们的肤色，而是以他们的品格优劣来评价他们的国度里生活。
今天我有一个梦想。我梦想有一天，尽管阿拉巴马州种族主义者猖獗，尽管该州州长现在仍然满口异议，拒绝执行联邦法令，但有朝一日，那里的黑人儿童将能与白人儿童情同骨肉，携手并进。
我今天有一个梦想。我梦想有一天，深谷弥合，高山夷平，崎岖化坦途，曲径变通途，上帝的光辉显现，让所有人类一齐瞻仰。这就是我们的希望。
那么，让自由之声响彻新罕布什州的巍巍山顶！让自由之声响彻纽约的崇山峻岭！让自由之声响彻宾夕法尼亚州的阿勒格尼雄峰！让自由之声响彻科罗拉多州冰雪覆盖的落基山脉！让自由之声响彻加利福尼亚州蜿蜒的群峰！不仅如此，还要让自由之声响彻佐治亚州的石岭！让自由之声响彻田纳西州的了望山！让自由之声响彻密西西比的每个丘陵，每座角落！当我们让自由之声响起来，当这一切发生，让自由之声响彻每一个大小村庄，每一个州和每一个城市，我们将能够加速那一天的到来。到那时，上帝的所有儿女，黑人和白人，犹太人和非犹人，耶稣教徒和天主教徒，都将携手同唱那首古老的黑人灵魂之歌：“终于自由啦！终于自由啦！感谢全能的上帝，我们终于自由啦！”
大家可以到英迪网http://www.english61.com上去找MP3
My American Journey
Written and Read by Colin Powell
Nevertheless, I do not unequivocally rule out a political future. If I ever do decide to enter politics, however, it will not be because of high popularity ratings, but because I have a vision for this country. Frankly, the present atmosphere does not make entering public service especially attractive. I find that civility is being driven from our political discourse. For all the present sensitivity over correctness, we seem to have lost our sense of shame as a society.
We say we are appalled by the rise of sexually transmitted disease, by the wave of teenage pregnancies, by violent crime. Yet we drench ourselves in depictions of explicit sex and crime on television. In the movies and in pop music. How do we find our way again? How do we reestablish moral standards? How do we end the ethnic fragmentation that is making us an increasingly hyphenated people? How do we restore a sense of family to our national life? On a speech circuit, I tell a story that goes to the heart of America’s longing. The ABC correspondent Sam Donaldson was interviewing a young African-American solider in a tank platoon on the eve of battle in Desert Storm. Donaldson asked, “How do you think the battle will go? Are you afraid?”
“We’ll do okay. We’re well trained. And I’m not afraid,” the GI answered, gesturing toward his buddies around him. “I’m not afraid because I’m with my family.”
The other soldiers shouted: “Tell him again. He didn’t hear you.”
The soldier repeated: “This is my family and we’ll take care of each other.”
That story never fails to touch me or the audience. It is a metaphor for what we have to do as a nation. We have to start thinking of America as a family. We have to stop screeching at each other, stop hurting each other, and instead start caring for, sacrificing for, and sharing with each other. We have to stop continually criticizing, which is the cry of the ideologue, and instead get back to the can-do attitude that made America. We have to keep trying, and risk failing, in order to solve this country’s problems. We can not move forward if cynics and critics swoop down and pick apart anything that goes wrong to a point where we lose sight of what is right, decent, and uniquely good about America.
注释：
discourse n.演讲, 论述, 论文, 讲道, 谈话, 谈论
vi.谈论, 演说
depiction n.描写, 叙述
explicit adj.外在的, 清楚的, 直率的, (租金等)直接付款的
ethnic adj.人种的, 种族的, 异教徒的
fragmentation n.分裂, 破碎
metaphor n.[修辞]隐喻, 暗喻, 比喻说话
ideologue n.理论家, 思想家,空想家
cynic n.愤世嫉俗者
中文意思
然而，我并不是决定以后绝对不再从政。如果我一旦决定涉足政坛，那并不是因为民意对我支持率高，而是因为我对这个国家还怀有一个梦想。坦率地说，在目前的形势下，担任公职并不是很具有吸引力。我觉得在我们的政治言论中礼貌修养正在消逝。尽管目前人们对是非曲直很敏感，但作为一个社会整体，我们似乎已丧失了羞耻感。
我们总是说，我们对性病的上升、少女怀孕现象的激增以及暴力罪行感到震惊，然而，我们的电视、电影和流行音乐对性和暴力赤裸裸的描写。我们怎样才能找到一条出路呢？怎样重建道德标准？怎样结束那使我们不断成为归化民族的种族复杂状态呢？怎样使家庭的感觉回到国民的生活中？在一次巡回演讲中，我讲了一个触及到美国人心灵的故事。美国广播公司记者山姆·唐纳逊于“沙漠风暴”战役的前夕在某坦克排采访了一位非裔美国士兵。唐纳逊问他：“你觉得这场战争会怎样发展？你害怕吗？”
“我们会打好的，我们训练有素，我不害怕。”这位美国士兵回答，他边说边指着他身边的伙伴们。“我不害怕是因为我和我的家人在一起。”
其他士兵高声喊道：“再给他说一遍。他没听到。”
士兵又说了一遍：“这是我的家人，我们互相关照。”
这个故事一直感动着我和听众。作为一个民族，我们应该照着这个比喻所说的去做。我们必须把美国看做一个大家庭，必须停止相互间的恶言恶语，停止相互伤害。相反，我们应该互相关心，互相做出牺牲，同甘共苦。我们应停止不断地指责，那只是理论家的发泄方式罢了，相反，应重新恢复不怕困难的精神，正是这种精神造就了美国。解决这个国家的问题，我们要不断尝试，敢于失败。如果听任那些愤世嫉俗者和吹毛求疵的人不分青红皂白，不论事情大小都大做文章，那么我们就看不出美国正确、大气和独有的长处。这样的话，我们就不会前进。
Address before Congress
(Douglas Macarthur)
Apr.19,1951.
Mr. President, Mr. Speaker, and distinguished members of the Congress:
I stand on this rostrum with a sense of deep humility and great pride. Humility in the wake of those great American architects of our history who have stood here before me; Pride in the reflection that this home of legislative debate represents human liberty in the purest form yet devised. Here are centered the hopes and aspirations and faith of the entire human race. I do not stand here as advocate of any partisan cause, for the issues are fundamental and reach quite beyond the realm of partisan consideration. They must be resolved on the highest plane of national interest, if our cause is to prove sound and our future protected. I trust, therefore, that you will do me the justice of receiving that which I have to say as solely expressing the considered viewpoint of a fellow American. I address you with neither rancor nor bitterness, in the fading twilight of life, with but one purpose in mind: to serve my country.
The issues are global, and so interlocked that to consider the problems of one sector, oblivious to those of another is but to cause disaster for the whole. While Asia is commonly referred to as the gateway to Europe, it is no less true that Europe is the gateway to Asia, and the broad influence of the one cannot fail to have its impact upon the other. There are those who claim our strength is inadequate to protect on both fronts, that we cannot divide our effort. I can think of no greater expression of defeatism. If a potential enemy can divide his strength on two fronts, it’s for us to counter his efforts.
Beyond pointing out these general truisms, I shall confine my discussion to the general areas of Asia. Before one may objectively assess the situation now existing there, he must comprehend something of Asia’s past, and the revolutionary changes which have marked her course up to the present. Long exploited by the so-called colonial powers, with little opportunity to achieve any degree of social justice, individual dignity or higher standard of life, such as guided our own noble administration of the Philippines. The peoples of Asia found their opportunity in the war just passed to throw off the shackles of colonialism, and now see the dawn of new opportunity: a heretofore unfelt dignity and the self-respect of political freedom. Mustering half of the earth's population and sixty percent of its natural resources, these peoples are rapidly consolidating a new force, both moral and material, with which to raise their living standard and the adaptations of the design of modern progress to their own distinct cultural environments. Whether one adhere to the concept of colonization or not, this is the direction of Asian progress and it may not be stopped. It is a corollary to the shift of the world economic frontiers as the whole epicenter of world affairs rotates back toward the area whence it started. In this situation, it becomes vital that our own country orient its policies in constancy with this basic evolutionary condition rather than pursue a course blind to the reality that the colonial era is now past and the Asian peoples covet the right to shape their own free destiny. What they seek now is friendly guidance, understanding and support, not imperialist directions.
It was my constant effort to preserve them, and end the savage conflict honorably and with the least loss of time and in minimum sacrifice of life. Its growing bloodshed has caused me the deepest anguish and anxiety. Those gallant men will remain often in my thoughts and my prayers, always.
I am closing my fifty-two years of military service. When I joined the army even before the turn of the century, it was the fulfillment of all my boyish hopes and dreams. The world has turned over many times since I took the oath on the plain at WestPoint, and the hopes and dreams have long since vanished. But I still remember the refrain of one of the most popular barrack ballads of that day which proclaimed most proudly that old soldiers never die, they just fade away. And like the old soldier of that ballad, I now close my military career, and just fade away. An old soldier who tried to do his duty as God gave him the light to see that duty. Good-bye.
在 国 会 的 演 讲
1951.4.19
（道格拉斯·麦克阿瑟）
总统先生、议长先生和尊敬的国会议员们：
我怀着十分谦卑而又骄傲的心情站在这演讲台上。我谦卑，是因为在我之前，许多美国历史上伟大的建设者们都曾经在这里发过言；我骄傲，是因为今天我们的立法辩论代表了经深思的人类解放最纯粹形式。这是整个人类进程中的希望、热情和信仰的集中体现。我并不是作为任何一个党派的拥护者站在这里讲话的，因为这些问题太重要，以至都超越了党派的界线。如果要证实我们的动机是是正确的，如果要保障我们的将来，制定关于国家利益的最高纲领时就必须考虑到它们。我相信，当我说完我仅仅是为了陈述经深思熟虑而得出的一个普通美国公民的观点之后，你们会公平地接受它。在我生命将逝之年做这个告别演说，无仇无怨。在我心中只有一个目的：为我的祖国服务。
这些问题是全球性的，而且环环相扣，任何的顾此失彼做法都会使整体造成灾难。亚洲被普遍认为是通往欧洲的门户，同样的，欧洲也是通往亚洲的大门，二者是息息相关的。有人认为我们的力量不足以同时保住两个阵地，因为我们不能分散我们的力量。我想，这是我听到的最悲观的失败主义论调了。如果我们潜在的敌人能够把他的力量分在两条线上，那我们就必须与之抗衡……
除了指出这些一般常识外，我将把讨论集中在亚洲地区。在客观地估计那里的现状之前，我们必须了解亚洲的过去，了解导致她上升到今天这种局势的革命性的变化。长期遭受殖民主义势力的剥削而使亚洲人民没有机会获取任何程度的社会平等、个人尊严，也无法提高生活水平，就像被我们的菲律宾贵族政府所统治的那样。亚洲人民在战争中找到了机会，得以摆脱殖民主义的枷锁，而且现在有更多的新的契机摆在他们面前：政治独立带来的以前从未感受过的尊严和自重。亚洲有占世界一半的人口和百分之六十的自然资源，她的人民正迅速地加强一个新兴的力量，包括精神和物质两方面，藉此提高他们的生活水平，协调现代化的进步和他们特有的文化环境。不管你是不是坚持殖民主义的观点，这是亚洲前进的方向，她不会停步。这一点是世界经济防线转移、国际事务中心回归原点的必然结果。在这种情况下，我们国家在政治上必须与基本的革命形势一致，而不能无视殖民时代已经过时，且亚洲人民渴望开创自己的自由生活的现实，这一点十分重要。他们现在需要的是友好的指引、理解和支持，而不是专制的指挥。
我坚持保全他们，并希望能用最少的时间、最小的牺牲体面地结束这场野蛮的冲突。越来越多的流血让我感到深深的痛苦和焦虑。那些勇敢的人的形象在我的脑海中挥之不去，我将永远为他们祈祷。
我将结束我五十二年的军旅生涯。我在世纪之交之前就已加入军队，它满足了我孩童时所有的希望和梦想。自从我在西点的草坪上宣读誓言以来，这个世界已经经历了多次转变，童年的希望和梦想早已消失得无影无踪。但我依然记得当年那首流行的军歌中骄傲的叠句：一个老兵永不死亡，他只是淡出舞台。就像歌中的老兵一样，我结束我的军旅生涯，只是淡出了人生舞台。一个力图像上帝指引的那样完成他的责任的老兵。再见。
rostrum
( [5rRstrEm]
n.讲坛, 演讲坛)
名词
(pl. -tra, rostrums)
1.(古罗马装在舰首用以撞击敌艇的)喙形舰首。
2.〔pl.〕(有敌舰舰首装饰的)舰首讲坛；讲坛；主席台；检阅台。
3.【动物；动物学】喙，嘴；嘴状突起。
4.【医学】镊子，钳子。
take the rostrum 登坛。
[2] humility
名词
1.谦恭，谦让。
2.〔 pl.〕谦让的行为。
[3] architect
名词
1.建筑师，设计师；创制者。
2.〔A-〕造物主。
a naval architect 造船技师。 the architect of one's own fortunes 掌握自己命运的人。 the architects of the Constitution 宪法起草者。 the Great A- (of the Universe) 造物主，上帝。
[4] partisan
partisan1
名词
1.党羽，党人；同类；党派观念强的人；坚决支持者。
2.【军事】游击队(队员)。
形容词
1.党派性的；有偏袒的。
2.由一个党派组成[控制]的。
3.游击队的。
-ship 名词
1.党派性，对党派的效忠；党派偏见。
2.同类，同党。
partisan
partisan2
名词
【历史】(16-17世纪)戟的一种；戟兵。
[5] rancor
[5rANkE(r)]
n.深仇, 怨恨
[6] oblivious
形容词
1.易忘的，健忘的。
2.忘却，忘记 (of)。
3.不在意的，呆呆的，茫然的。
4.〔诗〕使忘却的〔通过睡眠等〕。
-ly 副词,-ness 名词
[7] inadequate
形容词
不适当的；不充足的。 be inadequate to do sth. 不适宜作某件事。 be inadequate to (for) a purpose 不能达到目的。 inadequate equipment 不充足的设备。
-ly 副词
[8] defeat
及物动词
1.打破，摧毁(计划等)。
2.打败(敌人)；使受挫折。
3.【法律】宣告无效，作废，废除。
be defeated 被打败。 be defeated in one's design 计划被打破。
名词
1.战胜，击败。
2.战败，失败；挫折。
3.【法律】废除。
bring defeat upon oneself 招致失败。 suffer a defeat (战斗、比赛中)失败。
-ism 名词
失败主义(的态度、行为)，失败情绪。
-ist 名词
失败主义者。
[9] truism
名词
1.自明之理；明明白白的事情，起码的常识。
2.陈词滥调，老套语。
Madonna
Madonna: Detroit was definitely the hardest place we went to on the tour. On an emotional level, I mean, God, going home is, well it’s just not really that easy for me. You know people always talk about how starring changes you, but they never talk about how it can change the people close to you. I hadn’t been to the cemetery since I was a young girl. We used to go right after she died. I don’t know my mother’s death was just all a big mystery to me when I was a child and none really explained it so, what I remember most about my mother was that she was, she was very kind and very gentle and very feminine, I mean, I don’t know, I guess, she just seemed like an angel to me, but I suppose everybody thinks their mother is an angel when they’re five. Ah, I also know she was really religious, so I never really understood why she was taken away from us. It just seems so unfair. I, never thought that she’d done something wrong. So often times I’d wonder what I have done wrong.
注释：
definitely ad. 一定地，明确地
emotional a. 感情的，情绪的
cemetery n. 公墓；墓地
mystery n. 神秘；神秘的事物
feminine a. 女性的；女子气的
religious a. 宗教的；虔诚的
中文对照：
麦当娜
麦当娜：底特律是整个巡回演出最难的一站。情感上来说回家对于我不是件容易的事情。人们常说成名会改变一个人，但却没有提及怎样改变你周围的人。我母亲死后我经常去她的墓地，但自从成年以后我就再也没有去过坟场。当我还是小孩的时候，我还不知道我母亲之死是一个谜，没人向我解释过。关于我母亲，我只记得她很慈祥、很温柔、很女性化。对我来说，她就像一位天使。我想对于每一个五岁的孩子来说，他们都认为自己的母亲是天使。我还记得她很虔诚，我至今仍不明白她为何被上帝带走，这似乎很不公平。她没有做过错事，有时候我怀疑是否是自己做错了什么。
