THE three towering figures of American history George Washington, Thomas Jefferson and Abraham Lincoln will shortly be joined by a fourth, with ground broken for a national memorial to civil rights leader Martin Luther King.　　Nearly 5,000 people braved winter chills to gather around a 4-acre site on Washington's National Mall on Monday (local time) where a 30-foot statue of King, surrounded by a circle of stone blocks upon which his most famous speeches will be inscribed, is to be erected.　　The ground-breaking ceremony was led by US President George W. Bush and attended by members of King's family, as well as former president Bill Clinton, African-American celebrities including talk show host Oprah Winfrey and civil rights activists.　　King, who led resistance to the racist segregationist laws of the southern US, was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1964.He was assassinated in Memphis, Tennessee, on April 4 1968.　　"The King Memorial will stand on a piece of ground between the Jefferson and Lincoln memorials," Bush said. "By its presence in this place, it will unite the men who declared the promise of America and defended the promise of America with the man who redeemed the promise of America."　　Construction will officially begin on the US$100 million memorial, the first US monument to an African-American, in the spring. It is expected to be finished in 2008.　　　　美国著名黑人民权运动领袖马丁路德金的国家纪念碑奠基仪式标志着马丁即将成为与美国历史上的三巨人——乔治华盛顿、托马斯杰斐逊、亚伯拉罕林肯齐名的第四位巨人。　　华盛顿当地时间上周一，约5000人冒着冬日严寒，聚集在华盛顿国家广场一处占地4英亩的场所。一座高30英尺的马丁路德金雕塑将在此竖立，他最著名的演讲稿也将被刻在雕塑四周的石块上。　　美国总统乔治布什主持了奠基仪式。参加奠基仪式的还有马丁的家人、前总统比尔克林顿、包括著名脱口秀主持人奥普拉温芙瑞在内的非洲裔美国名人及其他民权运动人士。马丁路德金领导了美国南部反对种族分裂法的斗争，并于1964年荣获诺贝尔和平奖。1968年4月4日，马丁在田纳西州的孟菲斯市被暗杀。　　“马丁路德金纪念雕塑将被放置于杰斐逊纪念馆和林肯纪念堂之间，”布什说。“它的存在将使宣布美国梦、捍卫美国梦和履行美国梦的人站在一起。”　　该建筑将于明年春天正式动工，造价共1000万美元。这是第一个为非洲裔美国人建立的纪念碑，预计于2008年完工。