历史上的今天-Today in History 2010-06-12

 June 12th, 1987In the then divided city of Berlin, President Ronald Reagan makes a Cold War challenge to Soviet¹ leader Mikhail Gorbachev. “Mr. Gorbachev, Tear Down This Wall!” More than two years later, the Berlin Wall falls, as communism collapses² across Eastern Europe.

1963,Civil rights activist³ Medgar Evers is gunned down in front of his home in Jackson, Mississippi. White supremacist Byron De La Beckwith is charged with murdering Evers, but he's not convicted until a third trial in 1994. Beckwith then receives a life sentence and dies behind bars in 2001.

1994,O.J. Simpson's ex-wife Nicole and Ronald Goldman are murdered in Los Angeles. Simpson is later acquitted⁴ of the murders in a high-profile criminal trial. But the former football star is ordered to pay millions in damages to the victims' families in a separate civil trial.

1978,In New York City, David Berkowitz gets 25 years to life in prison for each of the six “Son of Sam” killings⁵ that terrified the Big Apple.

And 1939,Baseball great Babe Ruth is on hand as the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum is dedicated⁶ in Cooperstown, New York.

Today in History, June 12th, Camille Bohannon, the Associated Press.

1 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。

2 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。

3 activist   

n.活动分子，积极分子

参考例句：

• He's been a trade union activist for many years.多年来他一直是工会的积极分子。
• He is a social activist in our factory.他是我厂的社会活动积极分子。

4 acquitted   

宣判…无罪( acquit的过去式和过去分词 )； 使（自己）作出某种表现

参考例句：

• The jury acquitted him of murder. 陪审团裁决他谋杀罪不成立。
• Five months ago she was acquitted on a shoplifting charge. 五个月前她被宣判未犯入店行窃罪。

5 killings   

谋杀( killing的名词复数 )； 突然发大财，暴发

参考例句：

• His statement was seen as an allusion to the recent drug-related killings. 他的声明被视为暗指最近与毒品有关的多起凶杀案。
• The government issued a statement condemning the killings. 政府发表声明谴责这些凶杀事件。

6 dedicated   

adj.一心一意的；献身的；热诚的

参考例句：

• He dedicated his life to the cause of education.他献身于教育事业。
• His whole energies are dedicated to improve the design.他的全部精力都放在改进这项设计上了。