Today's Highlight in History:
On December 21st, 1620, Pilgrims aboard the "Mayflower五月花号" went ashore¹ for the first time at present-day Plymouth, Massachusetts.

On this date:
In 1898, scientists Pierre and Marie Curie discovered the radioactive element放射性元素 radium.

In 1913, the first crossword² puzzle纵横字谜游戏 was published, in the New York "World."

In 1945, General George S. Patton died in Heidelberg, Germany, of injuries from a car accident.

In 1948, the state of Eire (formerly the Irish Free State) declared its independence.

In 1958, Charles de Gaulle was elected to a seven-year term as the first president of the Fifth Republic of France.

In 1968, "Apollo Eight" was launched on a mission to orbit the moon.

In 1971, the UN Security Council chose Kurt Waldheim to succeed U Thant as Secretary-General.

In 1991, eleven of the 12 former Soviet³ republics proclaimed声明，宣告 the birth of the Commonwealth⁴ of Independent States.

In 1995, the city of Bethlehem passed from Israeli to Palestinian control.

In 1988, 270 people were killed when a terrorist bomb exploded aboard a Pam Am Boeing 747 over Lockerbie, Scotland, sending wreckage⁵残骸 crashing to the ground.

Ten years ago: Romanian President Nicolae Ceausescu delivered what turned out to be his final public speech. The hard-line Communist ruler was visibly stunned震惊 as his listeners began booing起哄. (Ceausescu fled from power and was executed four days later.)

Five years ago: A firebomb exploded on a crowded New York City subway train, injuring 48 people. (Unemployed computer programmer Edward Leary was later convicted of attempted murder.)

One year ago: Israel's parliament voted overwhelmingly压倒性地 for early elections, signaling the demise死亡，传位 of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's ailing⁸ hard-line government. A Chinese court sentenced two dissidents持不同政见者 (Xu Wenli, Wang Youcai) to long prison terms for trying to organize an opposition⁹ party.