上外版大学英语写作精选第五册(10)

   UNIT 10    TEXT

    In 1863 President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation freeing all slaves in the United States. One hundred years after this decree was signed， however， the life of blacks was still "sadly crippled by the manacles of segregation and the chains of discrimination." On August 28， 1963， a quarter of a million people of all races came to Washington， D. C. to show their support for freedom and justice for all Americans， and for black people in particular. At that demonstration Martin Luther King， Jr. delivered this famous speech， widely regarded as the most eloquent statement of the black people's dreams and aspirations ever made. Dr. King told the world， "I have a dream" that equality would come "to all of God's children." He said he wanted everyone to be able to "join hands and sing in the words of the old Negro spiritual， 'Free at last！ Free at last！…'"

    I Have a Dream by Martin Luther King， Jr.

    Five score years ago， a great American， in whose symbolic shadow we stand， signed the Emancipation Proclamation. This momentous decree came as a great beacon light of hope to millions of Negro salves who had been seared in the flames of withering injustice. It came as a joyous daybreak to end the long night of captivity.

    But one hundred years later， we must face the tragic fact that the Negro is still not free. One hundred tears 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 an appalling condition.

    In a sense we have 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 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 have come to cash this check —— a check that will give us upon demand the riches of freedom and the security of justice. We have also come to this hallowed 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. Now is the time to rise from the dark and desolate valley of segregation to the sunlit path of racial justice. Now is the time to open the doors of opportunity to all of God's children. Now is the time to lift our nation from the quicksands of racial injustice to the solid rock of brotherhood.

    It would be fatal for the nation to overlook the urgency of the moment and to underestimate the determination of the Negro. 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. There will be neither rest nor tranquility in America until the Negro is granted his citizenship rights. The whirlwind of revolt will continue to shake the foundations of our nation until the bright day of justice emerges.