4.The World House(1797)

Passage Four

Martin Luther King, Jr. (1929-1968), was a black US religious leader who became the most important leader of the Civil Rights Movement in the US and worked hard to achieve social changes for black people. He was known for being a powerful public speaker, and many people in the US still remember his famous speech that contains many paragraphs that start with“I have a dream." He encouraged people to try to achieve changes through non-violence.In 1964 he won the Nobel Prize for peace, and in the US his birthday is made a national holiday, He was assassinated in 1968 in Memphis, Tennessee, by a rival religious sect.

马丁·路德·金(1929-1968)，美国黑人宗教领袖，美国民权运动最重要的领袖，致力于为黑人实现社会变革。他以强大的公众演说家而闻名，许多美国人仍然记得他那篇著名的演讲，其中包含了许多以“我有一个梦想”开头的段落。他鼓励人们尝试通过非暴力实现变革。1964年，他获得了诺贝尔和平奖，在美国，他的生日被定为全国性假日。1968年，他在田纳西州的孟菲斯被敌对的宗教派别暗杀。

The World House

Martin Luther King, Jr.

【1】Some years ago, a famous novelist died. Among his papers was found a list of suggested plots for future stories, the most prominently underscored being this one: “A widely separated family inherits a house in which they have to live together.” This is the great new problem of mankind.

【2】We have inherited a large house, a great “world house” in which we have to live together—black and white, Easterner and Westerner, Gentile and Jew, Catholic and Protestant, Moslem and Hindu—a family unduly separated in ideas, culture, and interest, who, because we can never again live apart, must learn somehow to live with each other in peace.

【3】However deeply American Negroes are caught in the struggle to be at last at home in our homeland of the United States, we cannot ignore the larger world house in which we are also dwellers. Equality with whites will not solve the problems of either whites or Negroes if it means equality in a world society stricken by poverty and in a universe doomed to extinction by war.

【4】All inhabitants of the globe are now neighbors. This worldwide neighborhood has been brought into being largely as a result of the modern scientific and technological revolutions. The world of today is vastly different from the world of just one hundred years ago. A century ago, Thomas Edison had not yet invented the incandescent lamp to bring light to many dark places of the earth.

【5】The Wright brothers had not yet invented that fascinating mechanical bird that would spread its gigantic wings across the skies and soon dwarf distance and place time in the service of man. Einstein had not yet challenged an axiom, and the theory of relativity had not yet been posited.

【6】Human beings, searching a century ago as now for better understanding, had no television, no radios, no telephones, and no motion pictures through which to communicate. Medical science had not yet discovered the wonder drugs to end many dread plagues and diseases.

【7】One hundred years ago, military men had not yet developed the terrifying weapons of warfare that we know today—not the bomber, an airborne fortress raining down death; nor napalm, that burner of all things and flesh in its path. A century ago, there were no skyscraping buildings to kiss the stars and no gargantuan bridges to span the waters.

【8】Science had not yet peered into the unfathomable ranges of interstellar space, nor had it penetrated oceanic depths. All these new inventions, these new ideas, these sometimes fascinating and sometimes frightening developments came later. Most of them have come within the past sixty years, sometimes with agonizing slowness, more characteristically with bewildering speed, but always with enormous significance for our future.

【9】The years ahead will see a continuation of the same dramatic developments. Physical science will carve new highways through the stratosphere. In a few years, astronauts and cosmonauts will probably walk comfortably across the uncertain pathways of the moon. In two or three years, it will be possible, because of the new supersonic jets, to fly from New York to London in two and one-half hours.

【10】In the years ahead, medical science will greatly prolong the lives of men by finding a cure for cancer and deadly heart ailments. Automation and cybernation will make it possible for working people to have undreamed-of amounts of leisure time. All this is a dazzling picture of the furniture, the workshop, the spacious rooms, the new decorations, and the architectural pattern of the large world house in which we are living.

【11】Along with the scientific and technological revolution, we have also witnessed a worldwide freedom revolution over the last few decades. The present upsurge of the Negro people of the United States grows out of a deep and passionate determination to make freedom and equality a reality “here” and “now.”

【12】In one sense, the Civil Rights Movement in the United States is a special American phenomenon which must be understood in the light of American history and dealt with in terms of the American situation. But on another and more important level, what is happening in the United States today is a significant part of a world development.

【13】We live in a day, said the philosopher Alfred North Whitehead, “when civilization is shifting its basic outlook; a major turning point in history where the presuppositions on which society is structured are being analyzed, sharply challenged, and profoundly changed.” What we are seeing now is a freedom explosion, the realization of “an idea whose time has come,” to use Victor Hugo’s phrase.

【14】The deep rumbling of discontent that we hear today is the thunder of disinherited masses, rising from dungeons of oppression to the bright hills of freedom. In one majestic chorus, the rising masses are singing, in the words of our freedom song, “Ain't gonna let nobody turn us round.” All over the world, like a fever, freedom is spreading in the widest liberation movement in history.

【15】The great masses of people are determined to end the exploitation of other races and lands. They are awake and moving toward their goal like a tidal wave. You can hear them rumbling in every village street, on the docks, in the houses, among the students, in the churches, and at political meetings.

【16】For several centuries, the direction of history flowed from the nations and societies of Western Europe out into the rest of the world in “conquests” of various sorts. That period, the era of colonialism, is at an end. East is moving West. The earth is being redistributed. Yes, we are “shifting our basic outlooks.”

【17】These developments should not surprise any student of history. Oppressed people cannot remain oppressed forever. The yearning for freedom eventually manifests itself. The Bible tells the thrilling story of how Moses stood in Pharaoh's court centuries ago and cried, “Let my people go.” This was an opening chapter in a continuing story.

【18】The present struggle in the United States is a later chapter in the same story,Something within has reminded the Negro of his birthright of freedom, and something without has reminded him that it can be gained. Consciously or unconsciously, he has been caught up by the spirit of the times, and with his black brothers of Africa and brown and yellow brothers in Asia, South America and the Caribbean, the United States Negro is moving with a sense of great urgency toward the promised land of racial justice.

【19】Nothing could be more tragic than for men to live in these revolutionary times and fail to achieve the new attitudes and the new mental outlooks that the new situation demands.In Washington Irving's familiar story of Rip Van Winkle, the one thing that we usually remember is that Rip slept twenty years. There is another important point, however, that is almost always overlooked, It was the sign on the inn in the little town on the Hudson from which Rip departed and scaled the mountain for his long sleep.

【20】When he went up, the sign had a picture of King George Ill of England. When he came down, twenty years later, the sign had a picture of George Washington. As he looked at the picture of the first President of the United States, Rip was confused, flustered and lost. He knew not who Washington was. The most striking thing about this story is not that Rip slept twenty years, but that he slept through a revolution that would alter the course of human history.

【21】One of the great liabilities of history is that all too many people fail to remain awake through great periods of social change. Every society has its protectors of the status quo and its fraternities of the indifferent who are notorious for sleeping through revolutions.But today our very survival depends on our ability to stay awake, to adjust to new ideas,to remain vigilant and to face the challenge of change.

【22】The large house in which we live demands that we transform this world-wide neighborhood into a world-wide brotherhood.Together we must learn to live as brothers or together we will be forced to perish as fools.

【23】We must work passionately and indefatigably to bridge the gulf between our scientific progress and our moral progress. One of the great problems of mankind is that we suffer from a poverty of the spirit which stands in glaring contrast to our scientific and technological abundance. The richer we have become materially, the poorer we have become morally and spiritually.

【24】Western civilization is particularly vulnerable at this moment, for our material abundance has brought us neither peace of mind nor serenity of spirit. An Asian writer has portrayed our dilemma in candid terms:

【25】You call your thousand material devices “labor-saving machinery,” yet you are forever “busy.” With the multiplying of your machinery you grow increasingly fatigued, anxious, nervous, dissatisfied, Whatever you have, you want more; and wherever you are, you want to go somewhere else... your devices are neither time-saving nor soul-saving machinery. They are so many sharp spurs which urge you on to invent more machinery and to do more business.

【26】This tells us something about our civilization that cannot be cast aside as a prejudiced charge by an Eastern thinker who is jealous of Western prosperity. We cannot escape the indictment.

【27】This does not mean that we must turn back the clock of scientific progress. No one can overlook the wonders that science has wrought for our lives. The automobile will not abdicate in favor of the horse and buggy, or the train in favor of the stagecoach, or the tractor in favor of the hand plow, or the scientific method in favor of ignorance and superstition, But our moral and spiritual “lag” must be redeemed.

【28】When scientific power outruns moral power, we end up with guided missiles and misguided men. When we foolishly minimize the internal of our lives and maximize the external, we sign the warrant for our own day of doom.

【29】Our hope for creative living in this world house that we have inherited lies in our ability to reestablish the moral ends of our lives in personal character and social justice. Without this spiritual and moral reawakening we shall destroy ourselves in the misuse of our own instruments.

第四课

世界之家

马丁·路德·金

【1】几年前，一位著名的小说家去世了。在他的文件中发现了一个关于未来故事情节的建议清单，其中最突出的是这一条:“一个分居两地的家庭继承了一所房子，他们必须住在一起。”这是人类面临的一个重大的新问题。

【2】我们继承了一座大房子，一座伟大的“世界之家”，在这里我们必须共同生活,黑人和白人，东方人和西方人，非犹太人和犹太人，天主教徒和新教徒，穆斯林教徒和印度教徒,一个在思想、文化和兴趣上不合理地分开的家庭，因为我们永远不能再分开生活，所以必须以某种方式学会彼此和平共处。

【3】无论美国黑人在争取最终回到我们的祖国美国的斗争中陷得多么深，我们都不能忽视我们也居住在其中的更大的世界大家庭。如果与白人的平等意味着在一个饱受贫困折磨的世界社会和一个注定要因战争而灭绝的宇宙中实现平等，那么它既不能解决白人的问题，也不能解决黑人的问题。

【4】地球上所有的居民现在都是邻居。这个世界范围内的邻里关系在很大程度上是现代科技革命的结果。今天的世界与一百年前的世界大不相同。一个世纪以前，托马斯·爱迪生还没有发明白炽灯，给地球上许多黑暗的地方带来光明。

【5】莱特兄弟还没有发明出那种令人着迷的机械鸟，那种将张开巨大的翅膀划过天空、很快缩短距离、为人类服务的机械鸟。爱因斯坦还没有挑战一个公理，相对论还没有被提出。

【6】一个世纪以前，人类也像现在一样在寻求更好的理解，那时没有电视，没有收音机，没有电话，也没有电影来进行交流。医学还没有发现治疗许多可怕的瘟疫和疾病的灵丹妙药。

【7】一百年前，军人们还没有研制出我们今天所知道的可怕的战争武器,没有轰炸机，像雨点般倾泻死亡的空中堡垒;也不是凝固汽油弹，它会烧毁沿途的一切。一个世纪以前，这里没有高耸入云的高楼，也没有横跨水面的巨桥。

【8】科学还没有深入到深不可测的星际空间，也没有深入到海洋深处。所有这些新发明，新思想，这些时而迷人时而可怕的发展都是后来才出现的。它们大多是在过去60年里出现的，有时缓慢得令人痛苦，更多的是速度快得令人眼花缭乱，但总是对我们的未来具有重大意义。

【9】在未来的岁月里，同样的戏剧性发展还将继续。物理科学将开辟出穿越平流层的新道路。几年后，宇航员和宇航员可能会在月球上不确定的路径上舒适地行走。在两到三年内，由于新的超音速喷气式飞机，从纽约飞到伦敦只需要两个半小时是可能的。

【10】在未来的岁月里，医学将找到治疗癌症和致命心脏病的方法，从而大大延长人类的寿命。自动化和网络化将使劳动人民有可能拥有做梦也想不到的大量闲暇时间。这一切都是一幅令人眼花缭乱的画面:家具、车间、宽敞的房间、新的装饰，以及我们所居住的这个世界大宅的建筑格局。

【11】在过去的几十年里，伴随着科技革命，我们也见证了一场全球性的自由革命。当前美国黑人的高涨源于一种使自由和平等“此时此地”成为现实的深刻而热情的决心。

【12】从某种意义上说，美国的民权运动是一种特殊的美国现象，必须从美国历史的角度来理解，从美国的实际情况来看待。但在另一个更重要的层面上，今天在美国发生的事情是世界发展的重要组成部分。

【13】哲学家阿尔弗雷德·诺斯·怀特海说，我们生活在这样一个时代:“文明正在改变其基本面貌;这是历史上的一个重大转折点，社会结构的前提正在被分析、尖锐挑战和深刻改变。”我们现在看到的是一场自由的爆发，用维克多·雨果的话来说，是“一种时代已经到来的理念”的实现。

【14】我们今天听到的不满的低沉吼声，是被剥夺继承权的群众从压迫的地牢爬上自由的光明山丘的雷鸣。在一个庄严的合唱中，崛起的群众用我们自由之歌的歌词唱着:“不会让任何人改变我们的方向。”在历史上最广泛的解放运动中，自由像发烧一样在全世界蔓延。

【15】广大人民群众决心结束对其他种族和土地的剥削。他们是清醒的，像潮水一样朝着他们的目标前进。在每一个村庄的街道上，在码头上，在房屋里，在学生中间，在教堂里，在政治会议上，你都能听到它们的隆隆声。

【16】几个世纪以来，历史的方向通过各种各样的“征服”从西欧的国家和社会流向世界其他地区。那个时期，殖民主义时代，已经结束了。东方正在向西移动。地球正在被重新分配。是的，我们正在“改变我们的基本观点”。

【17】这些发展不应使任何学历史的学生感到惊讶。受压迫的人民不可能永远受压迫。对自由的渴望最终表现出来。圣经讲述了一个激动人心的故事:几个世纪前，摩西站在法老的宫廷里，喊道:“放了我的百姓。”这是一个持续故事的开始。

【18】美国目前的斗争是同一故事的后一章。内在的东西提醒黑人他与生俱来的自由权利，外在的东西提醒他自由是可以获得的。有意无意地，他被时代的精神所吸引，与他的非洲黑人兄弟以及亚洲、南美和加勒比的棕色和黄色兄弟一起，美国黑人正怀着极大的紧迫感，朝着种族正义的乐土前进。

【19】生活在革命时代的人们，如果不能养成新形势所要求的新态度和新精神面貌，那是最悲惨的了。在华盛顿·欧文熟悉的瑞普·凡·温克尔的故事中，我们通常记得的一件事是瑞普睡了二十年。然而，还有一点很重要，却几乎总是被人忽视，那就是哈德逊河畔一个小镇上的旅店上的招牌，瑞普就是从那里出发，爬上山，睡了很久的觉。

【20】当他上楼时，牌子上有一张英国国王乔治二世的照片。二十年后，当他下楼时，招牌上有乔治·华盛顿的照片。当他看着美国第一任总统的照片时，里普感到困惑、慌乱和迷茫。他不知道华盛顿是谁。这个故事最引人注目的不是瑞普睡了二十年，而是他睡过了一场将改变人类历史进程的革命。

【21】历史的一大弊病是，太多的人未能在社会大变革时期保持清醒。每个社会都有维持现状的人，也有因在革命中打瞌睡而臭名昭著的漠不关心者兄弟会。但今天，我们的生存取决于我们保持清醒、适应新思想、保持警惕和面对变革挑战的能力。

【22】我们所居住的这个大房子要求我们把这个世界范围的邻里关系变成一个世界范围的兄弟关系。我们必须一起学会像兄弟一样生活，否则我们将被迫像傻瓜一样灭亡。

【23】我们必须热情地、不知疲倦地工作，以弥合科学进步和道德进步之间的鸿沟。人类的一个重大问题是我们精神贫乏，这与我们科学技术的丰富形成鲜明对比。我们在物质上变得越富有，在道德和精神上就变得越贫穷。

【24】西方文明在这个时刻尤其脆弱，因为我们丰富的物质既没有给我们带来心灵的平静，也没有给我们带来精神的宁静。一位亚洲作家坦率地描述了我们的困境:

【25】你把你的上千件材料装置称为“省力机器”，但你却永远“忙碌”。随着你的机器成倍增加，你变得越来越疲劳、焦虑、紧张、不满。无论你拥有什么，你都想要更多;无论你在哪里，你都想去别的地方……你的设备既不节省时间也不拯救灵魂。它们就像许多锐利的马刺，促使你去发明更多的机器，做更多的生意。

【26】这告诉了我们一些关于我们文明的事情，不能被一个嫉妒西方繁荣的东方思想家当作带有偏见的指责而置之不理。我们不能逃避起诉。

【27】这并不意味着我们必须使科学进步的时钟倒转。没有人能忽视科学给我们生活带来的奇迹。汽车不会让位给马车，火车不会让位给公共马车，拖拉机不会让位给手动犁，科学方法不会让位给无知和迷信，但我们道德和精神上的“滞后”必须得到弥补。

【28】当科学的力量超过道德的力量时，我们最终得到的是制导导弹和误入歧途的人。当我们愚蠢地把生活的内在最小化，而把外在最大化时，我们就注定了自己的末日。

【29】我们希望在我们继承的这个世界上创造性地生活，在于我们有能力在个人品格和社会正义方面重新确立我们生活的道德目标。如果没有这种精神上和道德上的觉醒，我们就会在滥用我们自己的工具中毁灭自己。