历史上的今天-Today in History 2012-07-17

 July 17th 1996"It was like a big white flash and then all of a sudden it turned into a big orange fireball, broke off into 2 pieces."TWA Flight 800 explodes and crashes off New York's Long Island minutes after taking off from John F. Kennedy International Airport. All 230 on board the Paris-bound flight are killed in the blast. Blame later on a fuel tank explosion likely sparked by a short circuit in the plane's wiring.

1918Russia's last Czar, Nicolas II and his family are executed by their Bolshevik captors. That happens the year after the Russian Revolution topples the monarchy¹ from power.

1955"To all who come to this happy place: welcome. Disneyland is your land." Entertainment giant Walt Disney opens his latest creation, the Disneyland Theme Park, in Anaheim, California.

1979Nicaragua's dictator Anastasio Somoza resigns and flees into exile in Miami. That paves the way for the leftist Sandinista to take power in that Central American country.

1975The Cold War super powers link up in space for the first time, "Apollo Huston, I got 2 messages for you. Moscow is go for docking. Houston is go for docking. It's up to you, guys. Have fun ", as an American Apollo capsule docks with a Soviet² Soyuz spacecraft.

1961Baseball Hall of Famer Ty Cobb, considered one of the game's best all-around players, dies in Atlanta, Georgia. Cobb was 74.

And 1967 John Coltrane, the jazz composer and musician, dies in Huntington, New York. He was 40.

Today in History, July 17th. Ross Simpson, the Associated Press.

1 monarchy   

n.君主，最高统治者；君主政体，君主国

参考例句：

• The monarchy in England plays an important role in British culture.英格兰的君主政体在英国文化中起重要作用。
• The power of the monarchy in Britain today is more symbolical than real.今日英国君主的权力多为象徵性的，无甚实际意义。

2 Soviet   

adj.苏联的，苏维埃的；n.苏维埃

参考例句：

• Zhukov was a marshal of the former Soviet Union.朱可夫是前苏联的一位元帅。
• Germany began to attack the Soviet Union in 1941.德国在1941年开始进攻苏联。