 Elizabeth Freeman was born about 1742 to African American parents who were slaves.
此句交代Elizabeth Freeman出生于一个非裔美国家庭，父母亲都是奴隶。born作被动动词，表示出生的家庭用be born into (He was born into a prominent family.他出生于一个有名望的家庭)；表示出生的父母用be born to /of (He was born of American parents.他父母是美国人)。At the age of six months she was acquired, along with her sister, by John Ashley, a wealthy Massachusetts slaveholder. Elizabeth Freeman在仅仅六个月的时候和姐姐一起被马萨诸塞州一个富有的一个奴隶主买走。句子主干she was acquired是被动语态（be动词+过去分词）；acquire /ə'kwaɪr/ 获得；得到；along with和…一起；wealthy /'wɛlθi/ 富有的；slaveholder /'sleɪvhəʊldə/ 奴隶主。She became known as “Mumbet” or “Mum Bett.” 人们都称她为“Mumbet” or “Mum Bett.”；became是become的过去式，known作形容词“闻名的；已知的”；as作介词“作为；当作”。
For nearly 30 years Mumbet served the Ashley family.
One day, Ashley's wife tried to strike Mumbet's sister with a spade.
有一天艾希礼的妻子要用铁锹打她的妹妹；strike /straɪk/ 打；spade /speɪd/ 铁锹；铲子。Mumbet protected her sister and took the blow instead.
Mumbet保护妹妹，替妹妹挨打；take the blow挨打；blow在这里作名词 “敲打；殴打”。Furious, she left the house and refused to come back.
furious /'fjʊrɪəs/ 狂怒的；暴怒的；挨打后，她愤怒地离开并拒绝回来。When the Ashleys tried to make her return, Mumbet consulted a lawyer, Theodore Sedgewick. consult /kən'sʌlt/ 咨询；向…请教；艾希礼家想要她回去，她向律师咨询。With his help, Mumbet sued for her freedom. 在律师的帮助下，她为了自由起诉她的主人。sue /s(j)uː/ 起诉；控告；freedom /'friːdəm/自由。
While serving the Ashleys, Mumbet had listened to many discussions of the new Massachusetts constitution. constitution /'kɑnstə'tʊʃən/ n.宪法；在为艾希礼家服务时，Mumbet听过很多关于新宪法的讨论。If the constitution said that all people were free and equal, then she thought it should apply to her. apply to 适用于；她认为如果宪法说所有人都是自由和平等的，那也同样应该适用于她。Eventually, Mumbet won her freedom—the first slave in Massachusetts to do so under the new constitution. 最后，Mumbet成为新宪法下第一个赢得自由的奴隶。
Strangely enough, after the trial, the Ashleys asked Mumbet to come back and work for them as a paid employee.
trial /'traɪəl/作名词“审判”；paid作形容词“有报酬的”。She declined and instead went to work for Segdewick.
decline /dɪ'klaɪn/作动词表示“谢绝；婉拒”，比refuse更委婉（refuse politely）。Mumbet died in 1829, but her legacy lived on in her many descendants.
legacy /'legəsɪ/的本义是物质意义上的“遗产”，这里指Mumbet生前追求自由和平等的勇气和精神依然存在于她的后代之中。descendant /dɪ'send(ə)nt/ 作名词“后代；后裔”。One of her great-grandchildren was W. E. B. Du Bois, one of the founders of the NAACP, and an important writer and spokesperson for African American civil rights. Mumbet的重孙W. E. B. Du Bois是NAACP (National Association for the Advancement of Colored People 全国有色人种协进会是一个由美国白人和黑人组成的旨在促进黑人民权的全国性组织)的创立者之一，还是一名作家和非裔美国人公民权利的代言人。spokesperson n. 代言人；发言人；civil rights 公民权利；民事权利。Mumbet's tombstone still stands in the Massachusetts cemetery where she was buried.
where she was buried作cemetery的后置定语；tombstone /'tuːmstəʊn/ n. 墓碑；cemetery /'semɪtrɪ/ n. 陵园，墓地。It reads, in part: “She was born a slave and remained a slave for nearly thirty years. She could neither read nor write, yet in her own sphere she had no superior or equal.” 本句的主要内容是宾语从句部分。她的墓志铭中有一段这样写道：“她生而为奴，并这样成长了近30年。她不会读写，但在她的生活中，人没有尊卑之分，她的成就也无人能及。”remain /rɪ'meɪn/作连系动词“保持；继续”；sphere /sfɪr/ n.(社会地位等相同的)人群，阶层；superior /su'pɪrɪɚ/ n. 上级；地位更高的人；equal作名词“同样的人；相当的人”；have no equal“出类拔萃；无人能及”。
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