Question
I Have a Dream (2)
Martin Luther King, Jr.
6 It would be fatal for the nation to overlook the urgency of the moment. This sweltering summer of the Negro's legitimate discontent will not pass until there is an invigorating autumn of freedom and equality. Nineteen sixty-three is not an end, but a beginning. Those who hope that the Negro needed to blow off steam and will now be content will have a rude awakening if the nation returns to business as usual. There will be neither rest nor tranquility in America until the Negro is granted his citizenship rights. The whirlwinds of revolt will continue to shake the foundations of our nation until the bright day of justice emerges.
7 But there is something that I must say to my people who stand on the warm threshold which leads into the palace of justice. In the process of gaining our rightful place we must not be guilty of wrongful deeds. Let us not seek to satisfy our thirst for freedom by drinking from the cup of bitterness and hatred.
8 We must forever conduct our struggle on the high plane of dignity and discipline. We must not allow our creative protest to degenerate into physical violence. Again and again we must rise to the majestic heights of meeting physical force with soul force. The marvelous new militancy which has engulfed the Negro community must not lead us to distrust of all white people, for many of our white brothers, as evidenced by their presence here today, have come to realize that their destiny is tied up with our destiny and their freedom is inextricably bound to our freedom. We cannot walk alone.
9 As we walk, we must make the pledge that we shall march ahead. We cannot turn back. There are those who are asking the devotees of civil rights, "When will you be satisfied?" We can never be satisfied as long as the Negro is the victim of the unspeakable horrors of police brutality. We can never be satisfied, as long as our bodies, heavy with the fatigue of travel, cannot gain lodging in the motels of the highways and the hotels of the cities. We can never be satisfied as long as a Negro in Mississippi cannot vote and a Negro in New York believes he has nothing for which to vote. No, no, we are not satisfied, and we will not be satisfied until justice rolls down like waters and righteousness like a mighty stream.
The word degenerate contains the prefix de-, which means down, away, from, and a root word, generate, which means to create or bring into existence. What is the meaning of the word degenerate as used in the second sentence of paragraph 8?
Responses
A to drop into a low level of altitudeto drop into a low level of altitude
B to lose functional ability, as in an organ or limbto lose functional ability, as in an organ or limb
C a person who has declined from a previous standarda person who has declined from a previous standard
D to fall below a normal or desirable level of acceptance
Martin Luther King, Jr.
6 It would be fatal for the nation to overlook the urgency of the moment. This sweltering summer of the Negro's legitimate discontent will not pass until there is an invigorating autumn of freedom and equality. Nineteen sixty-three is not an end, but a beginning. Those who hope that the Negro needed to blow off steam and will now be content will have a rude awakening if the nation returns to business as usual. There will be neither rest nor tranquility in America until the Negro is granted his citizenship rights. The whirlwinds of revolt will continue to shake the foundations of our nation until the bright day of justice emerges.
7 But there is something that I must say to my people who stand on the warm threshold which leads into the palace of justice. In the process of gaining our rightful place we must not be guilty of wrongful deeds. Let us not seek to satisfy our thirst for freedom by drinking from the cup of bitterness and hatred.
8 We must forever conduct our struggle on the high plane of dignity and discipline. We must not allow our creative protest to degenerate into physical violence. Again and again we must rise to the majestic heights of meeting physical force with soul force. The marvelous new militancy which has engulfed the Negro community must not lead us to distrust of all white people, for many of our white brothers, as evidenced by their presence here today, have come to realize that their destiny is tied up with our destiny and their freedom is inextricably bound to our freedom. We cannot walk alone.
9 As we walk, we must make the pledge that we shall march ahead. We cannot turn back. There are those who are asking the devotees of civil rights, "When will you be satisfied?" We can never be satisfied as long as the Negro is the victim of the unspeakable horrors of police brutality. We can never be satisfied, as long as our bodies, heavy with the fatigue of travel, cannot gain lodging in the motels of the highways and the hotels of the cities. We can never be satisfied as long as a Negro in Mississippi cannot vote and a Negro in New York believes he has nothing for which to vote. No, no, we are not satisfied, and we will not be satisfied until justice rolls down like waters and righteousness like a mighty stream.
The word degenerate contains the prefix de-, which means down, away, from, and a root word, generate, which means to create or bring into existence. What is the meaning of the word degenerate as used in the second sentence of paragraph 8?
Responses
A to drop into a low level of altitudeto drop into a low level of altitude
B to lose functional ability, as in an organ or limbto lose functional ability, as in an organ or limb
C a person who has declined from a previous standarda person who has declined from a previous standard
D to fall below a normal or desirable level of acceptance
Answers
GPT-4o mini
The meaning of the word "degenerate" as used in the second sentence of paragraph 8 is best represented by:
**D) to fall below a normal or desirable level of acceptance.**
In this context, King emphasizes the importance of maintaining dignity and discipline during the struggle for civil rights, cautioning against allowing their protests to fall into violence, which would be a decline from the standard of high moral conduct they should strive to uphold.
**D) to fall below a normal or desirable level of acceptance.**
In this context, King emphasizes the importance of maintaining dignity and discipline during the struggle for civil rights, cautioning against allowing their protests to fall into violence, which would be a decline from the standard of high moral conduct they should strive to uphold.