历史上的今天-Today in History 2010-08-02

 August 2nd, 1964The Pentagon reports the first of two attacks by North Vietnamese torpedo¹ boats on US destroyers in the Gulf² of Tonkin. Days later, President Lyndon Johnson orders the first bombing raids on North Vietnamese military installations. “We still seek no wider war.” Congress swiftly approves broad powers to Johnson to escalate³ America's military involvement in Vietnam. A National Security Agency analysis released in 2005 contends the second attack in the Tonkin Gulf never happened.

1990In the Persian Gulf, Iraq invades neighboring Kuwait. The following year, an American-led war known as “Operation Desert Storm” drives Saddam Hussein's forces out of the oil-rich emirate. A US-led invasion of Iraq in the following decade topples Saddam from power.

1943During World War II, a Japanese destroyer sinks a US navy torpedo boat commanded by future President John F. Kennedy. Two on board the PT-109 are killed when the destroyer rams⁴ and cuts then Lieutenant⁵ Kennedy's boat in two, off the Solomon Islands in the South Pacific. Kennedy and the vessel's other survivors⁶ cling to the wreckage⁷ and swim to a nearby island, where they are rescued.

1923“America's present need is not heroics but healing, not nostrums⁸ but normalcy.”

President Warren G. Harding dies in San Francisco at age 57. Vice⁹ President Calvin Coolidge succeeds him in the White House.

And 1876Frontiersman “Wild Bill” Hickok is shot and killed while playing poker¹⁰ at a saloon in Deadwood, Dakota Territory, what's now South Dakota.

Today in History, August 2nd, Camille Bohannon, the Associated Press.

1 torpedo   

n.水雷，地雷；v.用鱼雷破坏

参考例句：

• His ship was blown up by a torpedo.他的船被一枚鱼雷炸毁了。
• Torpedo boats played an important role during World War Two.鱼雷艇在第二次世界大战中发挥了重要作用。

2 gulf   

n.海湾；深渊，鸿沟；分歧，隔阂

参考例句：

• The gulf between the two leaders cannot be bridged.两位领导人之间的鸿沟难以跨越。
• There is a gulf between the two cities.这两座城市间有个海湾。

3 escalate   

v.(使)逐步增长(或发展)，(使)逐步升级

参考例句：

• It would tempt Israel's neighbors to escalate their demands.它将诱使以色列的邻国不断把他们的要求升级。
• Defeat could cause one side or other to escalate the conflict.失败可能会导致其中一方将冲突升级。

4 rams   

n.公羊( ram的名词复数 )；(R-)白羊（星）座；夯；攻城槌v.夯实（土等）( ram的第三人称单数 )；猛撞；猛压；反复灌输

参考例句：

• A couple of rams are butting at each other. 两只羊正在用角互相抵触。 来自辞典例句
• More than anything the rams helped to break what should have been on interminable marriage. 那些牡羊比任何东西都更严重地加速了他们那本该天长地久的婚姻的破裂。 来自辞典例句

5 lieutenant   

n.陆军中尉，海军上尉；代理官员，副职官员

参考例句：

• He was promoted to be a lieutenant in the army.他被提升为陆军中尉。
• He prevailed on the lieutenant to send in a short note.他说动那个副官，递上了一张简短的便条进去。

6 survivors   

幸存者，残存者，生还者( survivor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The survivors were adrift in a lifeboat for six days. 幸存者在救生艇上漂流了六天。
• survivors clinging to a raft 紧紧抓住救生筏的幸存者

7 wreckage   

n.（失事飞机等的）残骸，破坏，毁坏

参考例句：

• They hauled him clear of the wreckage.他们把他从形骸中拖出来。
• New states were born out of the wreckage of old colonial empires.新生国家从老殖民帝国的废墟中诞生。

8 nostrums   

n.骗人的疗法，有专利权的药品( nostrum的名词复数 )；妙策

参考例句：

• It is likely that these \"enlightened\" nostrums would have speeded up the catastrophe. 这些“开明的”药方本身就可能加快灾难的到来。 来自辞典例句

9 vice   

n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的

参考例句：

• He guarded himself against vice.他避免染上坏习惯。
• They are sunk in the depth of vice.他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。

10 poker   

n.扑克；vt.烙制

参考例句：

• He was cleared out in the poker game.他打扑克牌，把钱都输光了。
• I'm old enough to play poker and do something with it.我打扑克是老手了，可以玩些花样。