VOA慢速英语:American History: The Civil Rights Movement

短语讲解：

1. I am happy to join with you today in what will go down in history as the greatest demonstration of freedom in the history of our nation.

go down被记录在案
例句：That remark will go down in history.
那番评论将载入史册。

2. Many, however, still worked as slaves on the plantations, or large farms, of the South.

work as任…职, 当…
例句：It must be a hard life, working as a nurse in a backward country.
在落后的国家当一名护士, 生活必定是艰苦的。

3. James Meredith became the first black person to graduate from the University of Mississippi.

graduate from从…毕业
例句：He was graduated from a normal college.
他是一个师范学院的毕业生。

4. In addition to fighting for equal treatment in education, black Americans fought for equal treatment in housing and transportation.

in addition to除…之外，还……
例句：In addition to French, he has to study Japanese.
除了法语外，他还得学日语。
fight for为…而战斗〔竞争〕
例句：They fought for their country.
他们为祖国而战斗。

5. Ninety percent, at least, of the regular Negro bus passengers are staying off the buses, and we plan to continue until something is done

stay off不在…处停留，不接近; 中途停止，辍(学)
例句：You won't complete anything if you stay off.
如果你中途停止，你就不能办成任何事。

6. Many freedom rides -- and much violence -- took place in the summer of nineteen sixty-four. Sometimes, the freedom riders were arrested. Sometimes, angry crowds of whites beat the freedom riders.

take place发生; 举行
例句：The threatening strike did not takeplace after all.
可能来临的罢工终究没有发生。

7. In exchange, they would be permitted to vote.

in exchange作为交换
例句：He gave me an apple in exchange for a cake. 
他给我一个苹果，换一块蛋糕。 

8. The police, who have been keeping a close watch over the Nobel Peace Prize winner because of Memphis’ turbulent racial situation, were on the scene almost immediately.

keep a close watch over监视
例句：We keep a close watch over the prisoners.
我们严密看守囚犯。

9. They rushed the thirty-nine year old Negro leader to a hospital, where he died of a bullet wound in the neck.

die of死于
例句：People are dying of cancer more and more often.
死于癌症的人越来越多了。

10. When we allow freedom to 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!

speed up (使)加速
例句：We are speeding up the mechanization of our agriculture.
我们正在加快农业机械化的步伐。