10月晨读I have a dream--Day3

今天晨读的第三天，学习如下一段话，

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 "unalienable 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."

逐句剖析知识点：

一、In a sense we have come to our nation's capital to cash a check.

① in a sense意为“在某种意义上”，这句话与昨天学习内容的“we've come here today to dramatize a shameful condition”呼应；

② 善用比喻和类比，cash a check兑现支票

二、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.

① architect/'ɑrkɪtɛkt/有两层意思，“建筑师”和“设计师、缔造者、创造者”，在此处采用后者含义，‘a person who is responsible for planning or creating an idea, an event or a situation’，如邓爷爷是改革开发的设计师；

② our republic与上面的our nation是一样的，就是指“美国”，Constituation宪法

③ Declaration of Independence独立宣言，要念得特别熟，与第一天学的Emancipation Proclamation一样都是固定词组，declaration发音/ˌdɛklə'reʃən/；

④ 这样长度的一句话，读起来要注意断句，尤其在主语、宾语结束的时候，to which是因语法存在的，并无强调意义，读的时候语气要轻；

⑤ fall heir to意为“继承”，宪法和独立宣言对every American都是承诺，heir/ɛr/继承人。

三、This note was a promise that all men, yes, black men as well as white men, would be guaranteed the "unalienable Rights" of "Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness."

① “black men as well as white men”中强调的是black men，A as well as B(=Not only B but also A)，强调的是A，例如：我是中国人，我有很多中国朋友和美国朋友，I'm Chinese, I have a lot of foreign friends, as well as Chinese friends.

② guarantee/ˌɡærən'ti/ someone sth. guarantee a car.  unalienable/ʌn'elɪənəbl/ Rights“不可剥夺的权力”，pursuit/pɚ'sut/发音中间加了j

③ Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness.在美国的各种演讲和政治场合经常出现。这句话为今日背诵句。

四、It is obvious today that America has defaulted on this promissory note, insofar as her citizens of color are concerned.

① obvious“明显的”，可以用evident替换，default on“履行”，其中default有一个含义“默认的”，此时发音是//'diːfɔːlt/（A default situation is what exists or happens unless someone or something changes it.），promissory/'prɑmə,sori/“承诺的、约定的”，insofar“在……情况下”，insofar as“至于、就…”。

五、Instead of honoring this sacred obligation, America has given the Negro people a bad check, a check which has come back marked "insufficient funds."

① sacred/'sekrɪd/ obligation神圣的义务(责任)指的就是独立宣言，insufficient funds“资金不足”，比如在提款机取钱，如卡内余额不足会显示“Sorry, you have insufficient funds available”，通常叫“NSF”

② a check重复出现，主要为了强调。

小结：赏析I have a dream学到了很多比喻手法，前后语句的呼应，同义词的替换，重复的词组以强调等，好的句子背诵下来逐渐内化才能为我所用。同时，今天也转变了一个观念，以前我也会觉得哪些语段写得很高大上，词用得多么高深，但今天晨读，听Eric讲，词只有合适不合适、恰当不恰当，《经济学人》如此受人喜爱，主要也是用法简单，用词讲究有针对性，对受众而言很合适。