I have a dream
Five score years ago, a great American, in whose symbolic [sɪmˈbɒlɪk] adj. 使用象征的;作为象征的;象征性的 shadow [ˈʃædəʊ] n.阴影;影子 we stand today, signed the Emancipation [ɪˌmænsɪˈpeɪʃən] n. 自立；解放；释放；摆脱管束；脱离 Proclamation [ˌprɒkləˈmeɪʃn] n. 宣告;公告;生命. This momentous [məˈmentəs] adj. 关键的;重要的;重大的 decree [dɪˈkriː] n.裁定;判决 came as a great beacon [ˈbiːkən] n.灯标;灯塔 light of hope to millions of Negro slaves who had been seared [sɪəd] v.烧灼;烧伤;使骤然感到剧痛 in the flames n.烈火 of withering [ˈwɪðərɪŋ] adj 尖刻的;使人难堪的;令人无地自容的 injustice [ɪnˈdʒʌstɪs] n.不公正;不公平. It came as a joyous [ˈdʒɔɪəs] adj 高兴的;欢乐的 daybreak n.黎明 to end the long night of bad captivity [kæpˈtɪvəti] n.监禁;关押;困住.
But one hundred years later, the Negro still is not free. One hundred years later, the life of the Negro is still sadly crippled [ˈkrɪpld] v.使残废 by the manacles [ˈmænəklz] v. 给…戴上镣铐 of segregation [ˌseɡrɪˈɡeɪʃn] n.隔离 and the chains [tʃeɪnz] n.链子 of discrimination [dɪˌskrɪmɪˈneɪʃn] n.歧视. One hundred years later, the Negro lives on a lonely island of poverty [ˈpɒvəti] n.贫穷 in the midst [mɪdst] n.中部;中间 of a vast [vɑːst] adj.辽阔的;巨大的;大量的 ocean [ˈəʊʃn] n.大海;海洋 of material prosperity 物质上的繁荣. One hundred years later, the Negro is still languished [ˈlæŋɡwɪʃt] adj.沮丧的,受苦的 in the corners of American society 社会的角落 and finds himself an exile [ˈeksaɪl] n,v.流放;流亡 in his own land. So we’ve come here today to dramatize [ˈdræmətaɪz] v.将…改成剧本;戏剧化 a shameful [ˈʃeɪmfl] adj.可耻的;丢脸的 condition.
I am not unmindful adj.漫不经心 that some of you have come here out of great trials [ˈtraɪəlz] n. (法院的) 审讯，审理，审判 and tribulations [ˌtrɪbjʊˈleɪʃənz] n.忧患;苦难. Some of you have come fresh from narrow jail [dʒeɪl] n.监狱 cells. Some of you have come from areas where your quest for freedom left you battered [ˈbætəd] v.受虐;连击 by the storms of persecution [ˌpɜːsɪˈkjuːʃn] n.迫害 and staggered [ˈstæɡə®] 蹒跚;摇晃;一种稳定的形式 by the winds of police brutality [bruːˈtæləti] n.残暴;野蛮. You have been the veterans [ˈvetərənz] n退伍军人;老兵 of creative suffering. Continue to work with the faith that unearned suffering is redemptive [rɪˈdemptɪv] adj. 救赎的; 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 [ˈwɒləʊ] v.(泥坑中)翻滚 in the valley [ˈvæli] n.谷;山谷 of despair.
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 up to the true meaning of its creed [kriːd] n.信念;原则: “We hold these truths to be self-evident [ˌself ˈevɪdənt] adj.显而易见的; that all men are created equal.”
I have a dream that one day on the red hills [hɪlz] n.山丘;小山 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 [ˈbrʌðəhʊd] n.兄弟关系;友谊.
I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a state sweltering [ˈsweltərɪŋ] adj炎热的;酷热的 with the heat of injustice, sweltering with the heat of oppression [əˈpreʃn] n.压迫;压制, will be transformed into an oasis [əʊˈeɪsɪs] n.绿洲;舒适的地方 of freedom and justice.
I have a dream that my four children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color if 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 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 [ɪɡˈzɔːltɪd] adj.高贵的;显赫的, every hill and mountain shall be made low, the rough places will be made plain, and the crooked [krʊkt , ˈkrʊkɪd] adj.不直的;弯曲的 places will be made straight [streɪt] agj.直的;笔直的, and the glory [ˈɡlɔːri] n.繁荣 of the Lord [lɔːd] n.贵族 shall be revealed [rɪˈviːld] v.揭示;显示, and all flesh shall see it together.
This is our hope. This is the faith that I go back to the South with. With this faith we will be able to hew [hjuː] v. 砍，劈(大的物体) out of the mountain of despair a stone of hope. With this faith we will be able to transform the jangling [ˈdʒæŋɡlɪŋ] v争吵;叮当 discords [ˈdɪskɔːdz] n.不和谐;争议 of our nation into a beautiful symphony [ˈsɪmfəni] n.交响乐;交响曲 of brotherhood [ˈbrʌðəhʊd] n.兄弟关系;友谊. With this faith we will be able to work together, to pray together, to struggle [ˈstrʌɡl] v.奋斗;努力;斗争 together, to go to jail v.n监狱 together, to stand up for freedom together, knowing that we will be free one 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 [ˈlɪbəti] n.自由,
Of thee I sing:
Land where my fathers died,
Land of the pilgrims’ [ˈpɪlgrɪmz] n.朝圣的人 pride [praɪd] n.自豪;骄傲,
From every mountainside
Let freedom ring.
And if America is to be a great nation this must become true. So let freedom ring from the prodigious [prəˈdɪdʒəs] adj.巨大的;伟大的 hilltops [ˈhɪltɒps] n.小山顶of New Hampshire 汉普郡 地方名.
Let freedom ring from the mighty [ˈmaɪti] adj.强大的;伟大的 mountains of New York!
Let freedom ring from the heightening Alleghenies of Pennsylvania!
Let freedom ring from the snowcapped Rockies of Colorado!
Let freedom ring from the curvaceous slops 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!
When we let freedom ring, when we let it ring from every village and every hamlet [ˈhæmlət] n.小村庄, 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!”
