Paras. 38-44

38 But I have asserted a firm conviction-a conviction rooted in my faith in God and my faith in the American people-that working together we can move beyond some of our old racial wounds, and that in fact we have no choice if we are to continue on the path of a more perfect union.

39 For the African-American community, that path means embracing the burdens of our past without becoming victims of our past. It means continuing to insist on a full measure of justice in every aspect of American life. But it also means binding our particular grievances-for better health care, and better schools, and better jobs-to the larger aspirations of all Americans-the white woman struggling to break the glass ceiling, the white man who's been laid off the immigrant trying to feed his family. And it means also taking full responsibility for own lives-by demanding more from our fathers, and spending more time with our children, and reading to them, and teaching them that while they may face challenges and discrimination in their own lives, they must never succumb to despair or cynicism; they must always believe that they can write their own destiny.

40 Ironically, this quintessentially American-and yes, conservative-notion of self-help found frequent expression in Reverend Wright's sermons. But what my former pastor too often failed to understand is that embarking on a program of self-help also requires a belief that society can change.

41 The profound mistake of Reverend Wright's sermons is not that he spoke about racism in our society. It's that he spoke as if our society was static; as if no progress has been made; as if this country-a country that has made it possible for one of his own members to run for the highest office in the land and build a coalition of white and black, Latino, Asian, rich, poor, young, old-is still irrevocably bound to a tragic past. But what we know-what we have seen-is that America can change. That is the true genius of this nation. What we have already achieved gives us hope-the audacity to hope-for what we can and must achieve tomorrow.

42 In the white community, the path to a more perfect union means acknowledging that what ails the African-American community does not just exist in the minds of black people; that the legacy of discrimination and current incidents of discrimination, while less overt than in the past, and these things are real and must be addressed. Not just with words, but with deeds-by investing in our schools and our communities; by enforcing our civil rights laws and ensuring fairness in our criminal justice system; by providing this generation with ladders of opportunity that were unavailable for previous generations. It requires all Americans to realize that your dreams do not have to come at the expense of my dreams; that investing in the health, welfare, and education of black and brown and white children will ultimately help all of America prosper.

43 In the end, then, what is called for is nothing more, and nothing less, than what all the world's great religions demand-that we do unto others as we would have them do unto us. Let us be our brother's keeper, Scripture tells us. Let us be our sister's keeper. Let us find that common stake we all have in one another, and let our politics reflect that spirit as well.

44 For we have a choice in this country. We can accept a politics that breeds division, and conflict, and cynicism. We can tackle race only as spectacle-as we did in the O.J. trial-or in the wake of tragedy, as we did in the aftermath of Katrina-or as fodder for the nightly news. We can play Reverend Wright's sermons on every channel every day, and talk about them from now until the election, and make the only question in this campaign whether or not the American people think that I somehow believe or sympathize with his most offensive words. We can pounce on some gaffe by a Hillary supporter as evidence that she's playing the race card, or we can speculate on whether white men will all flock to John McCain in the general election regardless of his policies.

Q1: What do paragraphs 38-50 tell?

A1: They are on the changes Obama’s election aims to make for the building of a more perfect union.

Q2: What do paragraphs 38-44 mainly talk about?

A2: They are on the need for change.

Q3: How do you paraphrase the following knowledge points?

1. But I have asserted a firm conviction...a more perfect union. (Para.38)

Although I was not so naive as to think the racial issue could be solved through one election, I did believe that if blacks and whites could work together, they could move ahead to make the union more perfect. Obama was preparing for the following part: how they could move ahead.

1) assert: to state positively with great confidence but with no objective proof

2) wound: any hurt or injury to the feelings, honor, etc.

3) that working together we can move beyond some of our old racial wounds: that if we can come together and unite, we will be able to make progress in healing some of the past injustices and get over them and deal with some of the pressing issues together

2. For the African-American community... victims of our past. (Para.39)

What should the African-American community do then? According to Obama, they should face and handle bravely the legacy of racial injustice of the past while at the same time should not feel wronged all the time.

1) embrace: to accept readily

2) burden: anything one has to bear or put up with such as sorrow, responsibility

3) victim: a person suffering from some act, condition, or circumstance

3. It means... they can write their own destiny. (Para.39)

This paragraph consists of parallel structures: "that path means... It means... But it also means.… And it means..."Obama, in this paragraph, raises three things the African-American community should do. One is to insist that past wrongs should be corrected. The second is to link black grievances with the demands of all Americans, making black demands part of the demands of all Americans. The third is to improve themselves and behave in a more responsible way.

1) full measure of all of something, or something at its strongest, most powerful, etc.

2) glass ceiling: an unfair system that prevents some people, especially women, from reaching the most senior positions in a company or organization. There is a barrier but it is invisible.

3) take full responsibility for: to accept full obligation and accountability for one's behavior

4) succumb to despair or cynicism: to give way to the feeling that the situation is so bad that nothing can change it or to the belief that people care only about themselves and are not sincere or honest 5) they must always believe that they can write their own destiny: They should have the conviction that in America they can chart their own course and achieve their goal.

4. Ironically... in Reverend Wright's sermons. (Para.40)

1) What is the irony? The irony lies in the contrast between radical sermons and the idea of self-help, a conservative notion.

2) self-help: things that you do to solve your own problems instead of depending on other people

5. It's that he spoke... bound to a tragic past. (Para.41)

1) Obama thinks what is wrong with Wright is that he fails to see the change that has taken place in the U.S, and the progress that has been made. To Wright, the society is static, nothing fundamental has changed and the country is still burdened by the past. Note the use of parallel structure: as if... as if... as if...

2) static: not moving or progressing; inactive

3) irrevocably: unalterably

4) bound: closely connected or related

6. That is the true genius of this nation. (Para.41)

1) genius: a great natural ability

2) America is capable of change. This ability is a crucial factor in American progress.

7... for what we can and must achieve tomorrow. (Para.41)

Note the use of modal verbs: "can" denoting possibility and "must" denoting obligation.

8. Paragraph 42

In Paragraph 42, Obama points out to the white community that discrimination against African Americans, and unjust practices, do exist and should be addressed.

But white people should realize that the measures that should be taken are not only for the blacks. They should be for all Americans. White people should see that black dreams would not come at the expense of the dreams of the white.

9. In the white community... must be addressed. (Para.42)

1) ail: to be the cause of pain or distress to; to trouble

2) less overt: not so open or apparent

3) address; to deal or cope with; to handle

10 ... by providing this generation with ladders. previous generations. (Para.42)

By making it possible for the young black people today to move ahead. to climb the

social ladder，to get out of poverty，which was impossible for their elders.

ladder: a system that has different levels through which you can progress

11. In the end，then...do unto us. （Para.43）

1）call for: to demand，require

2）we do unto others as we would have them do unto us：己所不欲，勿施于人3）keeper: a guardian or protector

12. Let us find…that spirit as well. （Para.43）

Let us find the common spirit we all share and let our policies show such spirit.

13. Paragraph 43

Paragraph 43 is a summing-up paragraph. From Paragraphs 39 to 42 Obama analyses what was wrong with Wright and what the black community and the white community should do to solve the race issue. Then in Paragraph 43 Obama sums up by stating that they should find the common spirit they share and the government's policies must be built on such spirit. Then he moves on to point out there were two options.

14. For we have a choice in this country...（Para.44）

One of the options is to follow a campaign approach that breeds division，and conflict and cynicism.

breed: to be the source of to produce

15.We can tackle race only as spectacle…for the nightly news. （Para.44）

1）tackle；to undertake to do or solve（something difficult）

2）spectacle: a public show or exhibition on a grand scale

3）fodder: basic material for something

4）nightly news：晚间新闻

5）We can handle the race issue by making it a grand show as in the trial of the famous black football player O.J. Simpson，or when a tragedy reveals the misery of the black community as the situation of the black community in New Orleans after the city was hit by Hurricane Katrina，or simply as material for the nightly news.

16. We can play...his most offensive words. （Para.44）

Here Obama is actually criticizing the Republican strategy of linking Obama with Reverend Wright's offensive remarks，of insinuating that Obama had close relations with Wright and therefore might share Wright's views. In this case，it would be dangerous to elect Obama.

17. We can pounce on…regardless of his policies. （Para.44）

1）pounce: to quickly jump on or hold someone or something with a view to

getting some advantage

2) gaffe: an embarrassing mistake that you make in public, especially one that offends or upsets someone

3) we can pounce. the race card: We can jump on some remarks made by some Hillary supporters against me and use this to show that Hillary also tries to appeal to whites to defeat me in the Democratic campaign.

4) we can speculate. regardless of his policies: We can also make guesses that white people would support John McCain, not because they support his policy but because McCain is white and I am black.

Paras. 45-50

45 We can do that.

46 But if we do, I can tell you that in the next election, we'll be talking about some other distraction. And then another one. And then another one. And nothing will change.

47 That is one option. Or, at this moment, in this election, we can come together and say, "Not this time." This time we want to talk about the crumbling schools that are stealing the future of black children and white children and Asian children and Hispanic children and Native American children. This time we want to reject the cynicism that tells us that these kids can't learn; that those kids who don't look like us are somebody else's problem. The children of America are not those kids, they are our kids, and we will not let them fall behind in the 2lst century economy. Not this time.

48 This time we want to talk about how the lines in the Emergency Room are filled with whites and blacks and Hispanics who do not have health care, who don't have the power on their own to overcome the special interests in Washington, but who can take them on if we do it together.

49 This time we want to talk about the shuttered mills that once provided a decent life for men and women of every race, and the homes for sale that once belonged to Americans from every religion, every region, every walk of life. This time we want to talk about the fact that the real problem is not that someone who doesn't look like you might take your job; it's that the corporation you work for will ship it overseas for nothing more than a profit.

50 This time we want to talk about the men and women of every color and creed who serve together, and fight together, and bleed together under the same proud flag. We want to talk about how to bring them home from a war that never should have been authorized and never should have been waged, and we want to talk about how we'll show our patriotism by caring for them, and their families, and giving them the benefits that they have earned.

Q1: What do these paragraphs tell?

A1: They focus on the specific issues to tackle in making the changes.

Q2: How do you paraphrase the following knowledge points?

1. We can do that. (Para.45)

This is a one sentence paragraph and a short sentence paragraph. The purpose is a summing-up for emphasis.

1) What can we do? We can use race as a distraction or a cause of division, for election purpose. We can use the Wright case and play on it as if there were no other issue pressing for America to solve.

2) What will be the result, then, if we do this? This is the question implied and the answer is given in Paragraph 46.

2. That is one option. Or, at this moment, in this election…"Not this time.”? (Para.47)

There is another option, that is, now and here, the American people, black and white, Asian and Hispanic and Native American, unite and reject the politics that produces division and conflict. The use of "Not this time" serves two purposes.

One is an answer to the first option: rejection of the first option and introduction of the second. The other is an introduction to a parallel structure beginning with "this time” showing what we can and should do.

3. This time.… and Native American children. (Para.47)

Obama is very careful in mentioning the children. He lists five groups: white, black, Asian, Hispanic and Native American. He wants to include all American children.

4. This time we want to reject the cynicism.… in the 2lst century economy. (Para.47)

Obama here refutes two erroneous conceptions. One is the racist conception that children of certain minority groups are intellectually inferior and that is the cause of their high dropout rate. The other is that immigrant children are not one of "us," they are different and should be treated differently. These are arguments supporting racial discrimination. But Obama is criticizing such arguments in a tactful way. He stresses the children of America are not "those kids," they are "our kids." In this way, under the umbrella of "children of America." Obama brings everyone together.

5. Not this time. (Para.47)

With these three words, Obama ends this paragraph. It echoes what he says at the beginning of this paragraph and leads to "this time" in the next paragraph. It serves as an emphatic ending and a smooth transition.

6. This time we want to talk about... if we do it together. (Para.48)

Obama is referring to health care here and implies that the reform of the health care system is an urgent issue. After his election Obama put health care reform at the top of his agenda and succeeded in getting Congress to pass a law on health care. Although there is disagreement on this, it is an achievement many American presidents failed to get.

1) on their own: without any help

2) take on: to fight or compete against someone

3) special interests in Washington: referring to the insurance companies, the pharmaceutical industry and other interests which oppose health care reform

7. This time... every walk of life. (Para.49)

Obama is talking about unemployment and foreclosure of mortgaged homes.

shuttered: closed with shutters, here referring to closed-down factories

8. This time... for nothing more than a profit. (Para.49)

Obama says that unemployment is not caused by your job being taken by one of another race or ethnicity. It is the result of outsourcing of corporations. This is a wrong interpretation of the cause of economic recession in the United States.

Obama probably knew this. But this is how some of the American workers viewed the issue. This is the argument of American trade unions. In order to please this section of the voters, Obama put it this way. This is election politics. But such view affects American trade policy.

9. This time... the benefits that they have earned. (Para.50)

Obama is discussing the Iraq War here. He considers that the war should never have been authorized and waged. At the same time, he is praising the soldiers in Iraq and discussing how to bring them home and care for them and their families.

On August 31, 2010, President Obama announced "the American combat mission in Iraq has ended." In the speech he said," The Americans who have served in Iraq completed every mission they were given. They defeated a regime that had terrorized its people. Together with Iraq and our coalition partners who made huge sacrifices of their own, our troops fought block by block to help Iraq seize the chance for a better future... Because of our troops and civilians-and because of the resilience of the Iraqi people-Iraq has the opportunity to embrace a new destiny, even though many challenges remain." American combat troops left Iraq. Obama carried out his promise in the election. But the idea that the war should never have been authorized and waged was no longer there.