历史上的今天-Today in History 2012-04-17

 April 17th, 1961.

Hundreds of Cuban exiles trained by the CIA invade Cuba's Bay of Pigs trying to topple Fidel Castro from power. But the invasion fails a political embarrassment¹ for President John F. Kennedy just months after taking office. "This was a struggle of Cuban patriots² against a Cuban dictator. While we could not be expected to hide our sympathies, we made it repeatedly clear that the armed forces of this country would not intervene in any way." 1970, the 3 astronauts of Apollo 13 splash down safely in the Pacific Ocean days after a ruptured³ oxygen tank cripples their spacecraft. 1790, Benjamin Franklin, author, publisher, inventor and one of America’s most famous founding fathers dies in Philadelphia at age 84.

1837, JP Morgan, a financial giant and American capitalism⁴ during the late 19th and early 20 of century is born in Hartfort, Connecticut.

And 1964, an automotive legend is born. Ford⁵ rolls out its sporty new convertible---the Mustang at the New York World's Fair. It's an instant hit. Today In History, April 17th, David Melendy, the Associated Press

1 embarrassment   

n.尴尬；使人为难的人(事物)；障碍；窘迫

参考例句：

• She could have died away with embarrassment.她窘迫得要死。
• Coughing at a concert can be a real embarrassment.在音乐会上咳嗽真会使人难堪。

2 patriots   

爱国者，爱国主义者( patriot的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Abraham Lincoln was a fine type of the American patriots. 亚伯拉罕·林肯是美国爱国者的优秀典型。
• These patriots would fight to death before they surrendered. 这些爱国者宁愿战斗到死，也不愿投降。

3 ruptured   

v.（使）破裂( rupture的过去式和过去分词 )；（使体内组织等）断裂；使（友好关系）破裂；使绝交

参考例句：

• They reported that the pipeline had ruptured. 他们报告说管道已经破裂了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The wall through Berlin was finally ruptured, prefiguring the reunification of Germany. 柏林墙终于倒塌了，预示着德国的重新统一。 来自辞典例句

4 capitalism   

n.资本主义

参考例句：

• The essence of his argument is that capitalism cannot succeed.他的论点的核心是资本主义不能成功。
• Capitalism began to develop in Russia in the 19th century.十九世纪资本主义在俄国开始发展。

5 Ford   

n.浅滩，水浅可涉处；v.涉水，涉过

参考例句：

• They were guarding the bridge,so we forded the river.他们驻守在那座桥上，所以我们只能涉水过河。
• If you decide to ford a stream,be extremely careful.如果已决定要涉过小溪，必须极度小心。