名人教你讲英文：Martin Luther King: a rebel

名人教英文：martin luther king: a rebel

by the 1950s, african americans who lived in the south were segregated (种族隔离) in many ways. they had to ride in the back of buses and sit in the rear of theatres. hotels and restaurants refused service. african americans of montgomery, alabama, boycotted (联合抵制) their segregated bus system. a young minister (牧师), rev martin luther king jr, led them. he led a peaceful struggle for civil rights. he endured beatings and imprisonment. but he insisted on non-violence. king succeeded in making america a more just (公正的) society.

martin luther king jr was born in atlanta, georgia on 15 january 1929. his father, martin luther king sr was the assistant pastor (牧师) of ebenezer baptist church. a former sharecropper (收益分成的佃农), king sr was a tough, strong man. the new baby was very healthy and was nicknamed ml. the kings had three children. the family lived a happy life in a middle class, black neighbourhood (小区) in atlanta.

ml enjoyed playing baseball and flying kites with his friends. he rode his bicycle all around the neighbourhood. sometimes he went sliding down the banister (楼梯栏杆) of the family's two storey (楼层) house. ml's grandmother on his mother's side, grandma williams, was very close to ml. she told the children stories and always supported them when they had problems.

when ml was a small boy, he was riding in an automobile with his father. then, something happened that he never forgot. a white police officer pulled the car over for going through a stop sign. the police officer came to the window. he called ml's father "boy", even though he was a grown man. ml's father told the officer to treat him with the respect he deserved. ml was very proud of his father for standing up to (反抗) the white officer.

by the age of five, ml had a wonderful memory. he could recite long passages from the bible. at six, ml began singing in church groups. everybody loved the little boy with the strong, emotional (有感染力) voice. ml's best friend during his early childhood was a white boy. the boy's father owned a nearby store. the two boys played every day until they started school. ml went to an all-black school. his friend went to an all-white school. ml hoped he and his friend could still play together after school. sadly, his friend told him their friendship was over because he was white and ml was african american.