您現(xiàn)在的位置: Language Tips> Easy English> Today in History  
     





     
    August 14
    [ 2006-08-14 08:53 ]
    Normally bright city skylines, here in Toronto, were plunged into blackness
    2003: Lights go out across NE America

    England have

    Massive power failures have caused chaos across the eastern United States and Canada, hitting major cities such as New York and Ottawa.

    It is thought to be the worst power cut in US history, and has affected more than 50 million people.

    Traffic lights failed, underground railways wereevacuatedand people were trapped in lifts in offices and apartments. Flights into six airports in the affected areas were stopped for several hours.

    There were extraordinary scenes in New York City as workers walked home,chokingpavements and roads.

    Civilians manned intersections directing gridlocked traffic after traffic signals failed.

    Thousands of commuters were unable to get home and spent the night sleeping on the streets.

    In many areas, the main difficulty was the soaring heat. The blackout happened on one of the hottest days of the year, with temperatures of up to 32C.

    Manhattan worker Lucy was one of those who walked home, leaving her office at 1630 (1200 GMT) and arriving at her Jersey City home at midnight.

    "I tried to get a ferry from NYC, but they soon stopped from the pier I walked to as they all ran out of fuel," she said.

    "The queues were terrible - peoplefaintingeverywhere from the heat."

    For many, the incident brought back memories of the terrorist attacks of 11 September.

    Jessica Nottes was on top of the Empire State building when the power went out.

    "We had to walk down 86 flights of stairs," she said. "I kept thinking about the Twin Towers and how I would get down. But everybody was calm."

    President George W Bush was quick to give reassurances that terrorism was not to blame, and added, "We're slowly but surely coping with this massive national problem."

    Canadian officials have pointed to a fire in a power plant near the upstate New York town of Niagara as the cause, although the United States disputes this.

    A spokeswoman for New York Governor George Pataki said US officials were looking at a power transmission problem from Canada as the most likely source of the power cuts.

    Work has been going on through the night to restore electricity to the worst-hit areas, and some power is returning although officials say restoring levels to normal could take much longer.

    The meeting between Roosevelt and Churchill was shrouded in secrecy

    1941: Secret meetings seal US-Britain alliance

    Artificially 1969: FilmTheTheAAThe The Prime Minister, Winston Churchill, has spent the last few days in top-secret meetings with the American President, Franklin D Roosevelt.

    Details of the meetings only emerged after the announcement of a joint declaration by Britain and America on the basic principles for a post-war world, sealing the alliance between the two countries for the downfall of Hitler.

    The document, known as the Atlantic Charter, consists of a list of eight undertakings:

    1.Britain and the United States seek no territorial gains from the war
    2.any changes to a country's territory should only happen with the agreement of the people living there
    3.it is the right of everyone to choose the government under which they will live
    4.self-government should be restored to those who have lost it
    5.there should be free trade between all nations
    6.improvements in the economy and in living standards should be available to all
    7.there should be peace following what the Charter calls "the end of Nazi tyranny" peace should enable freedom of movement around the world
    8.a belief that aggressive nations must be disarmed if the world is to live at peace

    Rumours of high-level talks have been rife for weeks in the American press following the sudden disappearance from Washington of Mr Roosevelt and several top US officials.

    Mr Churchill's unexplained absence from the House of Commons during a statement on the war situation on 6 August had also attracted some attention.

    It turned out both men were involved in at least three days of intensive talks on board the American cruiser, USS Augusta, and the British battleship, HMS Prince of Wales, anchored in Placentia Bay in Newfoundland, Canada.

    It was the first time Mr Churchill had met Mr Roosevelt as heads of their respective governments, and their discussions were thought to have covered several other matters, such as the German invasion of the Soviet Union in June, the supply of weapons under the Lease-Lend Act, and the threat to Britain's lifeline in the Battle of the Atlantic.

    Although the Charter is clearly an undertaking for the two countries to co-operate after the war, it stops short of anything which might bring forward America's participation in the war.

    But as Japan continues to build up her fleet in the Pacific, speculation has been growing as to just how long the Americans can stay out.

    Vocabulary:
     

    evacuate: to remove;to make empty;excrete or discharge from the body(疏散,使空)

    choke: a condition caused by blocking the airways to the lungs(阻塞)

    fainting :Syncope, or loss of consciousness owing to a sudden arrest of the blood supply to the brain(昏厥)
     

     
     
    相關(guān)文章 Related Stories
     
             
     
     
     
     
     
             
     
     

    48小時(shí)內(nèi)最熱門

         
      《一曲銷魂》:Killing me softly with his song
      “異性戀”說法多
      小心寬邊太陽鏡!
      Vehicles ordered off road for drill
      英國七成多司機(jī)不會(huì)看地圖

    本頻道最新推薦

         
      為什么畢業(yè)時(shí)要穿學(xué)位服
      We cats can use chopsticks, too!
      不受歡迎的夜半歌聲:打鼾
      US Independence Day(美國國慶日)
      Exercise after dinner

    論壇熱貼

         
      The World Without Us(e-c)practice
      How to help a friend in need(e-c)practice
      'I Hate My Job -- Now What?!'(e-c)practice
      “相親”英語怎么說?
      錢鐘書《圍城》英文標(biāo)題哪個(gè)好?
      how to say 老火靚湯?






    精品久久久久久无码中文野结衣| av无码一区二区三区| 乱人伦人妻中文字幕无码| 亚洲中文字幕丝袜制服一区| 亚洲 另类 无码 在线| 亚洲AV无码一区二区二三区入口| 亚洲av中文无码乱人伦在线r▽| 日韩精品无码一区二区三区不卡 | 无码AV岛国片在线播放| 亚洲精品一级无码中文字幕| 99在线精品国自产拍中文字幕| 久久久久久亚洲Av无码精品专口 | 最近更新免费中文字幕大全| 亚洲一本大道无码av天堂 | 日韩精品无码免费一区二区三区| 久久精品中文字幕有码| 久久精品天天中文字幕人妻 | 无码毛片一区二区三区中文字幕| 无码午夜人妻一区二区三区不卡视频| 中文字幕精品一区二区三区视频| 精品人妻中文字幕有码在线| a中文字幕1区| 中文字幕色AV一区二区三区| 日产无码1区2区在线观看| 成在人线AV无码免观看麻豆| 国产精品免费无遮挡无码永久视频| 亚洲av永久无码精品秋霞电影影院| 免费看无码特级毛片| 亚洲AV无码一区二区三区牛牛| 天堂中文字幕在线| 中文字幕精品亚洲无线码一区应用| 一二三四在线播放免费观看中文版视频| 中文字幕你懂的| 中文字幕一区二区三区永久| 中文字幕人妻在线视频不卡乱码| 中文字幕日韩第十页在线观看| 中文字幕日韩三级片| 精品亚洲成A人无码成A在线观看| 亚洲午夜无码久久久久| 性无码一区二区三区在线观看| 久久久久亚洲Av无码专|