历史上的今天-Today in History 2012-08-07

 August 7th, 1998. Bombs explode minutes apart outside the US embassies in the Eastern African nations of Kenya and Tanzania. The blasts kill more than 200 people including a dozen Americans and injure thousands more. Osama bin¹ Laden’s al-Qaida terror network is blamed for the bombings, 3 years before the 9.11 attacks.

1964. In Washington, a fateful moment during the Vietnam War as Congress passes the Tonkin Gulf² Resolution. The overwhelming vote gives President Lyndon Johnson broad powers to escalate³ America’s involvement in the war.

1942. During WWII, US and Allied⁴ forces land at Guadalcanal. This marks the start of the Allies’ first major offe against Japan in the Pacific. Months later, the remaining Japanese troops evacuate⁵ the island.

1947. Norwegian explorer Thor Heyerdahl and his team successfully cross the Pacific Ocean in a balsa wood raft called Kon-Tiki. Their journey is an attempt to prove Heyerdahl’s theory that ancient mariners⁶ from South America could have settled in the South Pacific.

1957.Here's another nice mess you've gotten me intoOliver Hardy⁷, half of the Laurel and Hardy comedy team, dies in Northern Hollywood, California. He was 65.

2005. “We looked very hard to see if we could find the outline of the historical man.” In New York, ABC news anchor Peter Jennings dies after a battle with lung cancer. He was 67.

And 2007. Barry Bonds hits his 756th homerun topping Hank Aaron’s long-standing record. However, Bond’s accomplishment⁸ is shrouded⁹ in controversy¹⁰ over his alleged¹¹ use of steroids.

Today in History, August 7th. Jon Belmont, the Associated Press.

1 bin   

n.箱柜；vt.放入箱内；[计算机] DOS文件名:二进制目标文件

参考例句：

• He emptied several bags of rice into a bin.他把几袋米倒进大箱里。
• He threw the empty bottles in the bin.他把空瓶子扔进垃圾箱。

2 gulf   

n.海湾；深渊，鸿沟；分歧，隔阂

参考例句：

• The gulf between the two leaders cannot be bridged.两位领导人之间的鸿沟难以跨越。
• There is a gulf between the two cities.这两座城市间有个海湾。

3 escalate   

v.(使)逐步增长(或发展)，(使)逐步升级

参考例句：

• It would tempt Israel's neighbors to escalate their demands.它将诱使以色列的邻国不断把他们的要求升级。
• Defeat could cause one side or other to escalate the conflict.失败可能会导致其中一方将冲突升级。

4 allied   

adj.协约国的；同盟国的

参考例句：

• Britain was allied with the United States many times in history.历史上英国曾多次与美国结盟。
• Allied forces sustained heavy losses in the first few weeks of the campaign.同盟国在最初几周内遭受了巨大的损失。

5 evacuate   

v.遣送；搬空；抽出；排泄；大(小)便

参考例句：

• We must evacuate those soldiers at once!我们必须立即撤出这些士兵！
• They were planning to evacuate the seventy American officials still in the country.他们正计划转移仍滞留在该国的70名美国官员。

6 mariners   

海员，水手（mariner的复数形式）

参考例句：

• Mariners were also able to fix their latitude by using an instrument called astrolabe. 海员们还可使用星盘这种仪器确定纬度。
• The ancient mariners traversed the sea. 古代的海员漂洋过海。

7 hardy   

adj.勇敢的，果断的，吃苦的；耐寒的

参考例句：

• The kind of plant is a hardy annual.这种植物是耐寒的一年生植物。
• He is a hardy person.他是一个能吃苦耐劳的人。

8 accomplishment   

n.完成，成就，（pl.）造诣，技能

参考例句：

• The series of paintings is quite an accomplishment.这一系列的绘画真是了不起的成就。
• Money will be crucial to the accomplishment of our objectives.要实现我们的目标，钱是至关重要的。

9 shrouded   

v.隐瞒( shroud的过去式和过去分词 )；保密

参考例句：

• The hills were shrouded in mist . 这些小山被笼罩在薄雾之中。
• The towers were shrouded in mist. 城楼被蒙上薄雾。 来自《简明英汉词典》

10 controversy   

n.争论，辩论，争吵

参考例句：

• That is a fact beyond controversy.那是一个无可争论的事实。
• We ran the risk of becoming the butt of every controversy.我们要冒使自己在所有的纷争中都成为众矢之的的风险。

11 alleged   

a.被指控的，嫌疑的

参考例句：

• It was alleged that he had taken bribes while in office. 他被指称在任时收受贿赂。
• alleged irregularities in the election campaign 被指称竞选运动中的不正当行为