历史上的今天-Today in History 2013-08-21

 August 21st, 1991In Moscow, a coup¹ by hard-line Communists against Soviet² leader Mikhail Gorbachev collapses³, leading the popular uprising against the coup plotter Boris Yeltsin, President of the Russian Federation⁴.

Gorbachev returns to power. But the Soviet Union dissolves by the end of the year, effectively ending the cold war.

1940In Mexico City, Leon Trotsky, the exiled Russian revolutionary, dies after an assassin drives an ax-pick into his skull⁵.

Soviet leader Joseph Stalin, Trotsky`s long time rival for power, is widely believed to have arranged the murder.

1831In Virginia, Nat Turner leads the slave rebellion, hoping to spark a slave uprising in the South. Dozens of whites are killed before the violent revolt is quickly defeated.

Turner is later captured, tried and hanged.

1959The American flag gets its 50th star as President Dwight Eisenhower signs an executive order proclaiming Hawaii a State.

1904“Count” Basie, one of Jazz music`s greatest bandleaders is born in Red Bank, New Jersey⁶.

And 1938There will be time enough for countin' when the dealin's doneKenny Rogers, the country singer and song writer with decades of hits is born in Houston, Texas.

Today in history, August 21st, Sophia Manos, the Associate Press.

1 coup   

n.政变；突然而成功的行动

参考例句：

• The monarch was ousted by a military coup.那君主被军事政变者废黜了。
• That government was overthrown in a military coup three years ago.那个政府在3年前的军事政变中被推翻。

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。

3 collapses   

折叠( collapse的第三人称单数 )； 倒塌； 崩溃； （尤指工作劳累后）坐下

参考例句：

• This bridge table collapses. 这张桥牌桌子能折叠。
• Once Russia collapses, the last chance to stop Hitler will be gone. 一旦俄国垮台，抑止希特勒的最后机会就没有了。

4 federation   

n.同盟，联邦，联合，联盟，联合会

参考例句：

• It is a federation of 10 regional unions.它是由十个地方工会结合成的联合会。
• Mr.Putin was inaugurated as the President of the Russian Federation.普京正式就任俄罗斯联邦总统。

5 skull   

n.头骨；颅骨

参考例句：

• The skull bones fuse between the ages of fifteen and twenty-five.头骨在15至25岁之间长合。
• He fell out of the window and cracked his skull.他从窗子摔了出去，跌裂了颅骨。

6 jersey   

n.运动衫

参考例句：

• He wears a cotton jersey when he plays football.他穿运动衫踢足球。
• They were dressed alike in blue jersey and knickers.他们穿着一致，都是蓝色的运动衫和灯笼短裤。