VOA · U.S. History
Intermediate · B1–B2learner speed4:422018-01-11public domain
The U.S. History series (The Making of a Nation) tells American history from the colonial era onward in VOA Special English: slow speed, limited vocabulary, long-form storytelling. Generations of learners have used this exact series to break through intermediate listening.
Hit "Start dictation practice" — all 5 minutes are already sliced into sentences, so practice starts immediately. No wait.
Learner-speed news English: clear delivery, everyday vocabulary, natural sentence rhythm.
Switch to Dictation mode, type each sentence, and get a word-by-word diff with your accuracy score.
01Martin Luther King Jr.
02was an American leader of the Civil Rights Movement in the 1960s.
03King is remembered for his nonviolent protests against the unequal treatment of African Americans.
04His actions led to equal rights laws for all people.
05In addition to being an activist, King was a scholar and religious leader, a pastor in the Christian Baptist Church.
06One of the most famous events related to him came in 1963.
07That year, more than 250,000 people gathered in Washington, D.C.
08for the March on Washington.
09King spoke to them on the steps of President Abraham Lincoln's memorial.
10He delivered a historic address, known as the I Have a Dream speech.
11One of the most famous lines from the speech reads, I have a dream that one day little black boys and black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls as sisters and brothers.
12King's actions helped pass the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
13The law ended the legal separation of people by race in public places.
14The act also banned job discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, or national origin.
15King and other activists watched the president sign the law.
16The Civil Rights Act was important, but it did not address all kinds of racial discrimination.
17For example, black Americans still did not have the same voting rights as white Americans, especially in southern states.
18So, in March of 1965, a group of activists in Alabama marched in protest of unequal voting practices.
19State police attacked the protesters.
20Some wanted to answer with violence, but King urged peaceful action instead.
21The events in Alabama pushed Congress to pass the Voting Rights Act.
22It was signed into law by President Lyndon Johnson in August of 1965.
23In the following years, King worked for economic equality.
24In April 1968, he was attending a workers' strike in Tennessee.
25While he was standing outside his hotel room, a sniper shot him in the face.
26King soon died of his wounds.
27The shooter was identified as a criminal who had escaped from jail.
28James Earl Ray was a white man who said he hated King.
29Ray was found guilty and sent to prison.
30King is remembered for many things, including his focus on nonviolent action to achieve social and political change.
31In 1986, the U.S.
32government observed the first Martin Luther King Day.
33Many Americans have the day off school and work.
34They are urged to use the time to volunteer in their communities.
35Martin Luther King Jr.'s life and achievements are also honored at a memorial.
36It was dedicated in Washington, D.C.
37in 2011.
38I'm Dorothy Gundy.
// transcribed with Whisper AI — reading it is easy; catching it by ear is the skill
Practice it by ear
