Lesson9AMorePerfectUnionPartI.pptx

Lesson 9 A More Perfect Union Lesson 9 A More Perfect Union（Part I)Part I)Barack Obama Barack ObamaPre-reading Questions1.When delivering a speech,how could you impress your audience?2.When and where was the speech delivered by Obama?3.Why did Obama deliver the speech?4.Could you give some brief introduction to Obama?1.An amusing statement，incident or joke2.A startling statement3.A quotation 4.A story5.Rhetorical questions 6.SuspenseBackground InformationBackground InformationBarack ObamaBarack Hussein Obama II(born August 4,1961)is the 44th and current President of the United States,in office since 2009.He is the first African American to hold the office.Born in Honolulu,Hawaii,Obama is a graduate of Columbia University and Harvard Law School.He worked as a civil rights attorney in Chicago and taught constitutional law at the University of Chicago Law School from 1992 to 2004.He served three terms in the Illinois Senate from 1997 to 2004,running unsuccessfully for the United States House of Representatives in 2000.He won election to the U.S.Senate in November 2004.He began his presidential campaign in 2007,and in 2008,after a close primary campaign against Hillary Clinton,he won sufficient delegates in the Democratic party primaries to receive the presidential nomination.He then defeated Republican nominee John McCain in the general election,and was inaugurated as president on January 20,2009.Nine months later,Obama was named the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize laureate.He was re-elected president in November 2012,defeating Republican nominee Mitt Romney,and was sworn in for a second term on January 20,2013.The Jeremiah Wright The Jeremiah Wright ControversyControversy The Jeremiah Wright Controversy is an American political issue that gained national attention in March 2008 when ABC News,after reviewing dozens of U.S.2008 Presidential Election candidate Barack Obamas pastor Jeremiah Wrights sermons,excerpted parts which were subject to intense media scrutiny.Wright is a retired senior pastor of Trinity United Church of Christ in Chicago and former pastor of the U.S President Barack Obama.Obama denounced the statements in question,but after critics continued to press the issue of his relationship with Wright he gave a speech titled“A More Perfect Union,”in which he sought to place Dr.Wrights comments in a historical and sociological context.In the speech,Obama again denounced Wrights remarks,but did not disown him as a person.The government gives them the drugs,builds bigger prisons,passes a three-strike law and then wants us to sing God Bless America.No,no,no,God damn America,thats in the Bible for killing innocent people,he said in a 2003 sermon.God damn America for treating our citizens as less than human.God damn America for as long as she acts like she is God and she is supreme.We bombed Hiroshima,we bombed Nagasaki,and we nuked far more than the thousands in New York and the Pentagon,and we never batted an eye,Rev.Wright said in a sermon on Sept.162001.We have supported state terrorism against the Palestinians and black South Africans,and now we are indignant because the stuff we have done overseas is now brought right back to our own front yards.Americas chickens are coming home to roost,he told his congregation.Issue of Racial DiscriminationRacial Discrimination In the 1800s the slaves were freed by President Abraham Lincoln.After this starting in about the 1870s Jim Crow laws were introduced.These laws promoted the idea separate but equal,meaning that the races although having to be in different areas and not allowed to intermingle were equal.The Jena Six were six black teenagers convicted in the beating of Justin Barker,a white student at Jena High School in Jena,Louisiana,on December 4,2006.2004 成名演讲稿:无畏的希望 The audacity of hope2008.3.18 费城演讲 A More Perfect Union2008.7.24 柏林演讲 A world that stands as one2008.11.06 胜选演讲：Change Has Come To America 2009.1.20 就职演讲 Barack Obamas Inaugural Address 奥巴马在宾夕法尼亚州奥巴马在宾夕法尼亚州费城费城 发表的演讲，发表的演讲，也是他在参选以后第一次就也是他在参选以后第一次就种族种族问题发表公开演讲问题发表公开演讲Structure Part 1(P1-5):The background leading to Obamas campaign in 2008.Part II(P6-11):By mentioning his own story as a black person,Obama points out that biased opinion on race does exist and also bring much influence.Part III(P12-16):Obama condemned some divisive discussion of race,including his former pastor Reverend Wrights opinions.Part IV(P17-23)The good features of Reverend Wright and the Trinity Church:love for and between every American people.Part V(P24-26):Conclusion.Urgency for perfecting the union.Part 1(P1-5):The background leading to Obamas campaign in 2008.1.Why does Obama begin his address with the words“We the people,in order to form a more perfect union.”?2.Are you familiar with the first sentence of Para 2?3.The document they produced was eventually signed out but ultimately unfinished.How to understand the sentence?4.According to Obama,how to narrow the gap between the promise and reality?5.Whats the function of P1-5?Para 1 Para 1 We the people,in order to form a more perfect union.A quote from the Preamble to Constitution of the United States.“We the people of the United States,in order to form a more perfect Union,establish justice,insure domestic tranquility,provide for the common defense,promote the general welfare,and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity,do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.”我们美利坚合众国的人民，为了组织一个更完善的联邦，树立正义，保障国内的安宁，建立共同的国防，增进全民福利和确保我们自己及我们後代能安享自由带来的幸福，乃为美利坚合众国制定和确立这一部宪法。Purpose for the quotation:To show where the title came from;To appeal to the audience because American people worship the Constitution,regarding it as a sacred document like the Bible.Para 2 Para 2 Two hundred and twenty one years ago,in a hall that still stands across the street,a group of men gathered and,with these simple words,launched Americas improbable experiment in democracy.improbable:not likely to happenImprobable experiment in democracy:It was the first written document initiating the beginning of the end of the concept of the divine right of kings.At that time,America is small and weak,so no one can be sure whether the country or this Constitution would survive or succeed.Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent,a new nation,conceived in Liberty,and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.87年前，我们的先辈们在这块大陆上建立了一个崭新的国家。这个国家以自由为立国之本，致力于实现人人生而平等的理想。Farmers and scholars;statesmen and patriots who had traveled across an ocean to escape tyranny and persecution finally made real their declaration of independence at a Philadelphia convention traveled across an ocean:referring to the early settlers,the Puritans who sailed across the Atlantic ocean.made real their declaration of independence at a Philadelphia convention:turned the concept embodied in the Declaration of Independence into articles in the Constitutiondeclaration of independence独立宣言独立宣言the proclamation made by the second American Continental Congress on July 4,1776,which asserted the freedom and independence of the 13 Colonies from Great Britain;1776年7月4日美国第二次大陆会议上通过的宣言，宣告美国13个殖民地脱离英国获得独立和自由.finally made real their declaration of independence at a Philadelphia convention that lasted through the spring of 1787.The Constitutional Convention met in the Philadelphia State House from May 25 to Sept.17,1787;the Convention was attended by 55 delegates from 12 states.(Rhode Island declined to send delegates.)Translation for Para 2:221年前，在对面街角那座至今仍旧巍然挺立的大厅中，美国自由的先驱聚集在一起，用简单的语词，启动了在当时看来不可能完成的民主试验。这些为逃避暴虐与压迫而远涉重洋来到北美大陆的农场主、学者、政治家和爱国者终于在1787年春天的费城制宪会议上将独立从宣言变为现实。Para 3 Para 3 The document they produced was eventually signed but ultimately unfinished.eventually:happening at the end of,ultimately:by which a process or series comes to an end.The Constitution was finally adopted by the Constitutional Convention(firstly only 39 out of 55 delegates signed,later on more states approved it.)“The document.unfinished”:the problem of slavery was not solved,（a salve was counted as three-fifths of a person for representation in the House of Representatives and for direct taxation）until the Civil War and the enactment of Constitutional Amendments(宪法修正案)14(1868)and 15(1870).Paraphrase for the 1st sentence:After heated discussion and compromises,the Constitution was finally adopted by the Constitutional Convention and 39 out of 55 delegates signed the document.But the“three-fifths”clause and the twenty year allowed for the trade showed the slave issue was not solved,so the process of forming a more perfect union did not end with the enforcement of the Constitution.It was stained by this nations original sin of slavery,a question that divided the colonies and brought the convention to a stalematestain:to spoil the appearance or bring shame onstalemate:a situation in which neither side in an argument or contest can win or in which no progress is possible.original sin原罪:According Christianity,original sin is the wickedness when Adam and Eve disobeyed God,and all human beings are born with it.它被原罪的奴隶制玷污了，这个问题使各州对立，并一度使制宪会议陷入僵局。后来开国者们允许奴隶买卖延续至少二十年，而把问题的最终解决留给了后代。Para 4 Para 4 Of course,the answer to the slavery question was already embedded within our Constitution embed:to fix firmly and deeply in earth,mind or memory,etc.Here it means:To be set or included in the Constitution.It may be correct to say the ideal of liberty and justice in the Constitution makes it possible for the resolution of the slave issue,but the Constitution itself dose not provide any solution.Otherwise,it would not take a Civil War,a very destructive war,to put an end to a slavery system.And there would be no necessity for Constitutional Amendments 14 and 15 and Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965.a Constitution that had at its very core the ideal of equal citizenship under the law;a Constitution that promised its people liberty,and justice,and a union that could be and should be perfected over time.EmphasisIndicating possibility and obligationPara 5 Para 5 Parchment羊皮纸a superior paper resembling sheepskinBondage奴役，束缚the state of being under the control of a force or influence or abstract powere.g.Masters sometimes allowed their slaves to buy their way out of bondage.I Have a DreamIn a sense weve come to our nations 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.“从某种意义上说，我们来到国家的首都是为了兑现一张支票。我们共和国的缔造者在拟写宪法和独立宣言的辉煌篇章时，就签署了一张每一个美国人都能继承的期票。这张期票向所有人承诺不论白人还是黑人都享有不可让渡的生存权、自由权和追求幸福权。然而，今天美国显然对她的有色公民拖欠着这张期票。美国没有承兑这笔神圣的债务，而是开始给黑人一张空头支票一张盖着“资金不足”的印戳被退回的支票。Function of Para 1-5:Obama starts with a quotation from the Constitution,bringing out the idea of“a more perfect union.”Then he moves on to describe the birth of the Constitution and points out that because of the compromise on the slavery issue,the process of perfecting the union did not stop here.In the course of history,generations of Americans have struggled hard to narrow the gap between promise and reality and to perfect the union.Then in Para 6 he points out this is one of the task he set forth at the beginning of this campaign.A smooth transition is thus achieved.Part II(P6-11):Obamas own story1.What is the purpose of Obama to explain his task?2.Whats Obamas story?Why does Obama mention his own story?3.What problems does Obama confront during the campaign?4.How to understand“the whitest populations”and“Confederate Flag still flies”?Why does Obama mention these?Para 6 Para 6 This was one of the tasks we set forth at the beginning of this campaignset forth:1)explain sth.in writing or speech in a clear,organized way;Eg:Dr.Smith set forth his approach to teaching students.2)start a journey;Eg:It was during the reign of Queen Isabella that Christopher Columbus set forth on his great voyage of discovery.to continue the long march of those who came before us,a march for a more just,more equal,more free,more caring and more prosperous America.What is the purpose of Obama to explain his task?Obama,through such description of his intention to run for presidency,put himself on the moral high ground.His running was not out of personal interests,not out of desire for power but out of a wish to make America better,and this is a continuation of a long march for a noble goal.Note that the concepts of“a long march”and“to make America better”are often found in presidential rhetoric.In 1910,Theodore Roosevelt,in the presidential campaign,had this to say,“We came here today to commemorate one of the epoch-making events of the long struggle for the rights of man the long struggle for the uplift of humanity.”Para 6 Para 6 I chose to run for the president at this moment in history because I believe deeply that we cannot solve the challenges run for the president/presidency竞选总统at this moment in history:Obama meant that this was a critical moment in history because America was experiencing two wars（the Iraq War and Afghan War）and an economic recession.Parallel structure:“unlessunless”Antithesis:“we maybut”;“we may not but”Para 7 Para 7 But it also comes from my own American story.Obamas story:1)The ethnic background:black father and white mother,white maternal grandparents,Asian stepfather.2)His own experience:best school in Hawaii,Columbia University and Harvard Law School.He taught law at University of Chicago Law School for 12 years.He was elected to the U.S.Senate in 2004.Thats his American dream realized,so is his wifes American dream.This personal story will appeal to many potential voters because this is still a myth which many Americans believe in.But it also comes from my own American story.Paraphrase:My personal background and my success story,rising from rags to riches,also teaches me the importance of unity.Para 8 Para 8 Ive gone to some of the best schools in America and lived in one of the worlds poorest nations.Antithesis,To bring out his own rich experience.and for as long as I live,I will never forget that in no other country on Earth is my story even possible.Paraphrase:I can become what I am only in America and I am grateful and will never forget this.Para 9 Para 9 Its a story that hasnt made me the most conventional candidate.Conventional:Conforming to formal or accepted standards or rules rather than nature.Eg:People still wore their hair short and dressed conventionally.人们还留着短发、穿着传统服饰。The conventional practice flourishes in the United States.这种常规做法在美国很盛行。Paraphrase:I