历史上的今天-Today in History 2010-08-11

 August 11th, 1965In Los Angeles, 6 days of deadly rioting and looting erupt in the predominantly black section of Watts¹. 34 people are killed, more than a thousand others are injured and hundreds of buildings are devastated² before order is restored. It's a turning point for America's civil rights movement as peaceful protests in the South give way to violent clashes in the nation's major cities. 1984A joke by President Ronald Reagan during a voice test for a paid political radio address causes a Cold War flap: "All right, my fellow Americans, I'm pleased to tell you today that I've signed legislation that will outlaw³ Russia forever. We begin bombing in 5 minutes."1992The Mall of America, at the time the biggest indoor mall in the United States and still one of the nation's largest opens in Bloomington, Minnesota.

1921Alex Haley, author of Roots, the African-American family saga⁴ that became a hit TV mini-series, is born in Ithaca, New York.

And 1956Abstract painter Jackson Pollock dies in an auto⁵ accident on New York's Long Island. He was 44Today in History, August 11th, Camille Bohannon, the Associated Press.

1 watts   

（电力计量单位）瓦，瓦特( watt的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• My lamp uses 60 watts; my toaster uses 600 watts. 我的灯用60瓦，我的烤面包器用600瓦。
• My lamp uses 40 watts. 我的灯40瓦。

2 devastated   

v.彻底破坏( devastate的过去式和过去分词)；摧毁；毁灭；在感情上（精神上、财务上等）压垮adj.毁坏的；极为震惊的

参考例句：

• The bomb devastated much of the old part of the city. 这颗炸弹炸毁了旧城的一大片地方。
• His family is absolutely devastated. 他的一家感到极为震惊。

3 outlaw   

n.歹徒，亡命之徒；vt.宣布…为不合法

参考例句：

• The outlaw hid out in the hills for several months.逃犯在山里隐藏了几个月。
• The outlaw has been caught.歹徒已被抓住了。

4 saga   

n.(尤指中世纪北欧海盗的)故事，英雄传奇

参考例句：

• The saga of Flight 19 is probably the most repeated story about the Bermuda Triangle.飞行19中队的传说或许是有关百慕大三角最重复的故事。
• The novel depicts the saga of a family.小说描绘了一个家族的传奇故事。

5 auto   

n.(=automobile)(口语)汽车

参考例句：

• Don't park your auto here.别把你的汽车停在这儿。
• The auto industry has brought many people to Detroit.汽车工业把许多人吸引到了底特律。