历史上的今天-Today in History 2010-07-31

 July 31st, 1964Ranger 7 transmits pictures of the Moon back to Earth before the American space probe smashes onto the lunar surface. Five years later, the first man set foot on the Moon during NASA’s Apollo11 mission.

1777A young nobleman from France begins to make his name during the American Revolution. The Marquis de Lafayette, then 19 years old, is appointed a major general in the Continental¹ Army. The following year, France formally sides with the American colonist² against the British. 1972Missouri Senator Thomas Eagleton withdraws as Democratic presidential candidate George McGovern’s running mate. The move follows the disclosure that Eagleton had been hospitalized for psychiatric treatment in the 1960s and twice receives electroshock therapy for depression.

“My personal feelings are secondary to the necessity to unify³ the Democratic Party and to elect George McGovern as the next president of the United States.”

McGovern taps Sargent Shriver to replace Eagleton on the Democratic ticket. That fall, they lose to President Richard Nixon in a landslide⁴.

“The Dark Lord Ascending”

And 1965. “The two men appeared out of nowhere, a few yards apart in the narrow moon-lit lane.”

Meet the writer who cast the literary spell that created young magician Harry⁵ Potter. J. K. Rowling, author of the best-selling Potter books, is born in southwest England.

Today in History, July 31st, Ed Donahue, the Associated Press.

1 continental   

adj.大陆的，大陆性的，欧洲大陆的

参考例句：

• A continental climate is different from an insular one.大陆性气候不同于岛屿气候。
• The most ancient parts of the continental crust are 4000 million years old.大陆地壳最古老的部分有40亿年历史。

2 colonist   

n.殖民者，移民

参考例句：

• The indians often attacked the settlements of the colonist.印地安人经常袭击殖民者的定居点。
• In the seventeenth century, the colonist here thatched their roofs with reeds and straw,just as they did in england.在17世纪，殖民者在这里用茅草盖屋，就像他们在英国做的一样。

3 unify   

vt.使联合，统一；使相同，使一致

参考例句：

• How can we unify such scattered islands into a nation?我们怎么才能把如此分散的岛屿统一成一个国家呢？
• It is difficult to imagine how the North and South could ever agree on a formula to unify the divided peninsula.很难想象南北双方在统一半岛的方案上究竟怎样才能达成一致。

4 landslide   

n.(竞选中)压倒多数的选票；一面倒的胜利

参考例句：

• Our candidate is predicated to win by a landslide.我们的候选人被预言将以绝对优势取胜。
• An electoral landslide put the Labour Party into power in 1945.1945年工党以压倒多数的胜利当选执政。

5 harry   

vt.掠夺，蹂躏，使苦恼

参考例句：

• Today,people feel more hurried and harried.今天，人们感到更加忙碌和苦恼。
• Obama harried business by Healthcare Reform plan.奥巴马用医改掠夺了商界。