历史上的今天-Today in History 2012-01-24

 January 24th, 1848.

Northern California James Marshall finds a gold nugget at Sutter's Mill, a discovery that sparks the Gold Rush the following year.

1965.

In London, former British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, who led his nation through the dark days of the World War II, dies at the age of 90.

“…if the British Empire and its Commonwealth¹ last for 1000 years, men will still say, ‘This was their finest hour.’”

1989.

Confessed serial² killer³ Ted⁴ Bundy is executed in Florida’s electric chair for the rape⁵ and murder for a 12-year-old girl.

1993.

Thurgood Marshall, the first African-American to sit on the US Supreme⁶ Court, dies at Bethesda, Maryland. Marshall, a legendary⁷ civil-rights lawyer and activist⁸ before his time on a high court, was 84.

1949.

“ ‘Over’? Did you say ‘over’? Nothing is over until we decide it is!”

Actor John Belushi, who played Bluto in the movie “Animal House” and one of the original cast members of TV Saturday Night Live, is born in Chicago.

Today in history, Jan 24th, Ross Simpson, the Associated Press.

1 commonwealth   

n.共和国，联邦，共同体

参考例句：

• He is the chairman of the commonwealth of artists.他是艺术家协会的主席。
• Most of the members of the Commonwealth are nonwhite.英联邦的许多成员国不是白人国家。

2 serial   

n.连本影片，连本电视节目；adj.连续的

参考例句：

• A new serial is starting on television tonight.今晚电视开播一部新的电视连续剧。
• Can you account for the serial failures in our experiment?你能解释我们实验屡屡失败的原因吗？

3 killer   

n.杀人者，杀人犯，杀手，屠杀者

参考例句：

• Heart attacks have become Britain's No.1 killer disease.心脏病已成为英国的头号致命疾病。
• The bulk of the evidence points to him as her killer.大量证据证明是他杀死她的。

4 ted   

vt.翻晒，撒，撒开

参考例句：

• The invaders gut ted the village.侵略者把村中财物洗劫一空。
• She often teds the corn when it's sunny.天好的时候她就翻晒玉米。

5 rape   

n.抢夺，掠夺，强奸；vt.掠夺，抢夺，强奸

参考例句：

• The rape of the countryside had a profound ravage on them.对乡村的掠夺给他们造成严重创伤。
• He was brought to court and charged with rape.他被带到法庭并被指控犯有强奸罪。

6 supreme   

adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的

参考例句：

• It was the supreme moment in his life.那是他一生中最重要的时刻。
• He handed up the indictment to the supreme court.他把起诉书送交最高法院。

7 legendary   

adj.传奇（中）的，闻名遐迩的；n.传奇（文学）

参考例句：

• Legendary stories are passed down from parents to children.传奇故事是由父母传给孩子们的。
• Odysseus was a legendary Greek hero.奥狄修斯是传说中的希腊英雄。

8 activist   

n.活动分子，积极分子

参考例句：

• He's been a trade union activist for many years.多年来他一直是工会的积极分子。
• He is a social activist in our factory.他是我厂的社会活动积极分子。