历史上的今天-Today in History 2013-11-17

 November 17th, 1973，an embattled President Richard Nixon defends himself during the Watergate scandal. He tells the Associated Press managing editors’ meeting in Orlando, Florida. “People have got to know, whether or not their president’s a crook¹. Well I am not a crook. I’ve earned everything I’ve got.

3. England flourishes on the world stage” But Nixon resigns the following year when the Watergate scandal forces him from office.

1558, Elizabeth I begins the four and a half decade reign² as Queen of England, ascending³ the throne after her half-sister Queen Mary dies. Under what’s known as the Elizabethan Age, England flourishes on the world stage, from military might to exploration and trade to the works of William Shakespeare.

1869, in Egypt, the Suez Canal opens, a vital waterway connecting the Mediterranean⁴ and Red Seas.

1800, the US Congress holds its first session in Washington D.C. in the partially⁵ completed Capitol Building.

1917, sculptor⁶ Auguste Rodin, whose best-known works include The Thinker and The Kiss, dies in France. He was 77 years old.

And 1942, “Whether I like it or not, I actually end the movies I’ve made, for better for worse; however, people understand them and who I am, that’s all I really can be.” Movie director Martin Scorsese is born in New York City. Among his films, Taxi Driver, Raging Bull, Good Fellas, Gangs of New York, and The Departed . Today in history. November 17th. Camille Bohannon, the Associated Press.

1 crook   

v.使弯曲；n.小偷，骗子，贼；弯曲(处)

参考例句：

• He demanded an apology from me for calling him a crook.我骂他骗子，他要我向他认错。
• She was cradling a small parcel in the crook of her elbow.她用手臂挎着一个小包裹。

2 reign   

n.统治时期，统治，支配，盛行；v.占优势

参考例句：

• The reign of Queen Elizabeth lapped over into the seventeenth century.伊丽莎白王朝延至17世纪。
• The reign of Zhu Yuanzhang lasted about 31 years.朱元璋统治了大约三十一年。

3 ascending   

adj.上升的，向上的

参考例句：

• Now draw or trace ten dinosaurs in ascending order of size.现在按照体型由小到大的顺序画出或是临摹出10只恐龙。

4 Mediterranean   

adj.地中海的；地中海沿岸的

参考例句：

• The houses are Mediterranean in character.这些房子都属地中海风格。
• Gibraltar is the key to the Mediterranean.直布罗陀是地中海的要冲。

5 partially   

adv.部分地，从某些方面讲

参考例句：

• The door was partially concealed by the drapes.门有一部分被门帘遮住了。
• The police managed to restore calm and the curfew was partially lifted.警方设法恢复了平静，宵禁部分解除。

6 sculptor   

n.雕刻家，雕刻家

参考例句：

• A sculptor forms her material.雕塑家把材料塑造成雕塑品。
• The sculptor rounded the clay into a sphere.那位雕塑家把黏土做成了一个球状。