历史上的今天-Today in History 2012-08-03

 August 3rd, 1492. Explorer Christopher Columbus sets sail from Spain on his first voyage across the Atlantic that takes him to the present day Americas.

1914. Europe deepens its descent into World War I as Germany declares war on France just days after declaring war on Russia.

1948. In Washington, a cold war case heats up Capitol Hill, that’s where Whittaker Chambers¹ accuses Alger Hiss² of being a communist and a spy for the Soviet³ Union. Hiss is a former State Department official. Chambers, an ex-communist, is an editor at Time Magazine. “Mr. Hiss represents the concealed⁴ enemy against which we are all fighting, and I am fighting.”

Hiss denies the charges, but later spends 5 years in prison for perjuring⁵ over his dealings with Chambers.

1981. Air traffic controllers in the United States go on strike, defying a warning from President Ronald Reagan that they would be fired. “They are in violation⁶ of the law, and if they do not report for work within 48 hours, they have forfeited⁷ their jobs and will be terminated.” Reagan dismisses the roughly 11,500 controllers who do not return to their jobs and the government hires replacements⁸.

1949. Birth of the NBA, as two pro⁹ basketball leagues, the Basketball Association of America and the National Basketball Association, merge¹⁰.

And 1926, “I left my heart in San Francisco.” Tony Bennett, the singer who won new found fame with the MTV generation, is born in the New York City neighborhood of Astoria. Today in History, August 3rd, Camille Bohannon, the Associated Press.

1 chambers   

n.房间( chamber的名词复数 )；（议会的）议院；卧室；会议厅

参考例句：

• The body will be removed into one of the cold storage chambers. 尸体将被移到一个冷冻间里。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Mr Chambers's readable book concentrates on the middle passage: the time Ransome spent in Russia. Chambers先生的这本值得一看的书重点在中间：Ransome在俄国的那几年。 来自互联网

2 hiss   

v.发出嘶嘶声；发嘘声表示不满

参考例句：

• We can hear the hiss of air escaping from a tire.我们能听到一只轮胎的嘶嘶漏气声。
• Don't hiss at the speaker.不要嘘演讲人。

3 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。

4 concealed   

a.隐藏的，隐蔽的

参考例句：

• The paintings were concealed beneath a thick layer of plaster. 那些画被隐藏在厚厚的灰泥层下面。
• I think he had a gun concealed about his person. 我认为他当时身上藏有一支枪。

5 perjuring   

v.发假誓，作伪证( perjure的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• He went to the length of perjuring himself for her sake. 他为了她而走到作伪证的地步。 来自互联网
• She went to the length of perjuring herself for the sake of him. 为了他，她做了伪证。 来自互联网

6 violation   

n.违反(行为)，违背(行为)，侵犯

参考例句：

• He roared that was a violation of the rules.他大声说，那是违反规则的。
• He was fined 200 dollars for violation of traffic regulation.他因违反交通规则被罚款200美元。

7 forfeited   

（因违反协议、犯规、受罚等）丧失，失去( forfeit的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Because he broke the rules, he forfeited his winnings. 他犯规，所以丧失了奖金。
• He has forfeited the right to be the leader of this nation. 他丧失了作为这个国家领导的权利。

8 replacements   

n.代替( replacement的名词复数 )；替换的人[物]；替代品；归还

参考例句：

• They infiltrated behind the lines so as to annoy the emery replacements. 他们渗透敌后以便骚扰敌军的调度。 来自辞典例句
• For oil replacements, cheap suddenly looks less of a problem. 对于石油的替代品来说，价格变得无足轻重了。 来自互联网

9 pro   

n.赞成，赞成的意见，赞成者

参考例句：

• The two debating teams argued the question pro and con.辩论的两组从赞成与反对两方面辩这一问题。
• Are you pro or con nuclear disarmament?你是赞成还是反对核裁军？

10 merge   

v.(使)结合，(使)合并，(使)合为一体

参考例句：

• I can merge my two small businesses into a large one.我可以将我的两家小商店合并为一家大商行。
• The directors have decided to merge the two small firms together.董事们已决定把这两家小商号归并起来。