万花筒 kaleidoscope2007-09-03&09-04, 历史上的今天(9.1)

September 1st, 1939, start of WWII as Nazi¹ Germany’s dictator Adolf Hitler invades neighboring Poland. The war lasts for the next six years, spanning from Europe and North Africa to Asia and the Pacific.

2004, a hostage crisis unfolds in southern Russia. Heavily armed Chechen militants² seize more than 1,100 people at a school in Beslan, demanding Russian troops withdraw from nearby Chechnya. The ordeal³ ends three days later with more than 330 people, most of them children dead.

1983, a Soviet⁴ jet fighter shoots down a Korean Air Lines Boeing 747 after it enters the Soviet Union’s airspace. All 269 people onboard the civilian⁵ airliner⁶ are killed. President Ronald Regan condemns⁷ the incident. “It was an act of barbarism, born of a society which wantonly disregards individual rights and the value of human life and seeks constantly to expand and dominate other nations.

1972, a chess match made for the Cold War era in Reykjavik, Iceland. That’s where American Bobby Fischer wins the international chess crown, beating Boris Spassky of the Soviet Union.

1923, Rocky Marciano, the only heavyweight boxing champ to retire undefeated is born in Brockton, Massachusetts.

And 1957, Gloria Estefan, the Cuban-American singer and songwriter who has topped mainstream⁸ and Latin music charts is born in Havana.

Today in history, September 1st, Tommi Abraham, The Associated Press

1 Nazi   

n.纳粹分子，adj.纳粹党的，纳粹的

参考例句：

• They declare the Nazi regime overthrown and sue for peace.他们宣布纳粹政权已被推翻，并出面求和。
• Nazi closes those war criminals inside their concentration camp.纳粹把那些战犯关在他们的集中营里。

2 militants   

激进分子，好斗分子( militant的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The militants have been sporadically fighting the government for years. 几年来，反叛分子一直对政府实施零星的战斗。
• Despite the onslaught, Palestinian militants managed to fire off rockets. 尽管如此，巴勒斯坦的激进分子仍然发射导弹。

3 ordeal   

n.苦难经历，（尤指对品格、耐力的）严峻考验

参考例句：

• She managed to keep her sanity throughout the ordeal.在那场磨难中她始终保持神志正常。
• Being lost in the wilderness for a week was an ordeal for me.在荒野里迷路一星期对我来说真是一场磨难。

4 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。

5 civilian   

adj.平民的，民用的，民众的

参考例句：

• There is no reliable information about civilian casualties.关于平民的伤亡还没有确凿的信息。
• He resigned his commission to take up a civilian job.他辞去军职而从事平民工作。

6 airliner   

n.客机，班机

参考例句：

• The pilot landed the airliner safely.驾驶员使客机安全着陆。
• The passengers were shepherded across the tarmac to the airliner.旅客们被引导走过跑道去上飞机。

7 condemns   

v.（通常因道义上的原因而）谴责( condemn的第三人称单数 )；宣判；宣布…不能使用；迫使…陷于不幸的境地

参考例句：

• Her widowhood condemns her to a lonely old age. 守寡使她不得不过着孤独的晚年生活。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The public opinion condemns prostitution. 公众舆论遣责卖淫。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

8 mainstream   

n.（思想或行为的）主流；adj.主流的

参考例句：

• Their views lie outside the mainstream of current medical opinion.他们的观点不属于当今医学界观点的主流。
• Polls are still largely reflects the mainstream sentiment.民调还在很大程度上反映了社会主流情绪。