Excerpt from I Have A Dream
Martin Luther King, Jr.
SIt is obvious today that America has defaulted 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. So we have 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 hallowed 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
gradualism. Now is the time to make real the promises of democracy. Now is the time to rise from the dark and desolate
valley of segregation to the sunlit path of racial justice. Now is the time to lift our nation from the quick sands of racial
injustice to the solid rock of brotherhood. Now is the time to make justice a reality for all of God's children.
Which is the best meaning for tranquilizing as it is used in the fifth paragraph?
A. calming or sedating
B. energizing or refreshing
C. exchanging or taking back
D. threatening or endangering