Vocabulary Quiz on Dr. Kings I Have a Dream Speech

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., delivered his now-famous I Have a Dream speech from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C., on August 28, 1963. This multiple-choice vocabulary quiz is based on the opening five paragraphs of that speech. The quiz should help you build your vocabulary by using context clues to determine the meanings of Kings memorable words. Instructions:Carefully read these five paragraphs from the opening of Dr. Kings I Have a Dream speech. Notice in particular the words in bold. Then, guided by context clues, respond to the ten multiple-choice questions that follow. In each case, identify the synonym that most accurately defines the word as its used by Dr. King in his speech. When youre done, compare your responses with the answers. Opening Paragraphs of the I Have a Dream Speech by Martin Luther King, Jr. Five score years ago, a great American, in whose symbolic shadow we stand today, signed the Emancipation Proclamation. This momentous1 decree came as a great beacon light of hope to millions of Negro slaves who had been seared2 in the flames of withering3 injustice. It came as a joyous daybreak to end the long night of their captivity. But one hundred years later, the Negro still is not free. One hundred years later, the life of the Negro is still sadly crippled by the manacles4 of segregation and the chains of discrimination. One hundred years later, the Negro lives on a lonely island of poverty in the midst of a vast ocean of material prosperity. One hundred years later, the Negro is still languishing5 in the corners of American society and finds himself an exile in his own land. And so weve come here today to dramatize a shameful condition. In 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 note6 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 defaulted7 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. But we refuse to believe that the bank of justice is bankrupt. We refuse to believe that there are insufficient funds in the great vaults of opportunity of this nation. And so, weve come to cash this check, a check that will give us upon demand the riches of freedom and the security of justice. We have also come to this hallowed8 spot to remind America of the fierce urgency of now. This is no time to engage in the luxury of cooling off or to take the tranquilizing drug of gradualism9. Now is the time to make real the promises of democracy. Now is the time to rise from the dark and desolate10 valley of segregation to the sunlit path of racial justice. Now is the time to lift our nation from the quicksands of racial injustice to the solid rock of brotherhood. Now is the time to make justice a reality for all of Gods children. momentous(a) lasting for just a brief moment(b) of great importance or significance(c) belonging to the distant pastseared(a) painfully burned or scorched(b) highlighted, illuminated(c) lost, forgotten, abandonedwithering(a) devastating, humiliating(b) refreshing, rejuvenating(c) non-stop, endlessmanacles(a) laws, rules, principles(b) habits, routines(c) shackles, handcuffslanguishing(a) hiding, kept out of sight(b) existing in miserable or disheartening conditions(c) lasting for a long time or slow to endpromissory note(a) a written promise to repay a debt(b) a union formed for mutual benefit(c) a pledge to do what is right under the lawdefaulted(a) brought shame or disgrace on someone(b) rewarded or paid back(c) failed to fulfill an obligationhallowed(a) formed by making a hole(b) nearly forgotten, largely ignored(c) highly respected, regarded as holygradualism(a) forcible overthrow of a social order(b) a policy of step-by-step reform over time(c) forgetfulness, neglectdesolate(a) brightened with light(b) depressingly empty or bare(c) profound, deep Here are the answers to the Vocabulary Quiz on the I Have a Dream Speech by Martin Luther King, Jr. (b) of great importance or significance(a) painfully burned or scorched(a) devastating, humiliating(c) shackles, handcuffs(b) existing in miserable or disheartening conditions(a) a written promise to repay a debt(c) failed to fulfill an obligation(c) highly respected, regarded as holy(b) a policy of step-by-step reform over time(b) depressingly empty or bare