February 3 [ 2007-02-03 08:00 ]
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Holly was taking his
career in a new direction, as a soloist, when he was
killed |
1945: Auschwitz death camp
liberated |
England have
Three young rock 'n' roll stars have been killed in a plane crash in
the United States.
Buddy Holly, 22, Jiles P Richardson - known as the Big Bopper - 28, and
Ritchie Valens, 17, died in a crash shortly after take-off from Clear
Lake, Iowa at 0100 local time.
The pilot of the single-engined Beechcraft Bonanza plane was also
killed.
Early reports from the scene suggest the aircraft spun out of control
during a light snowstorm.
Only the pilot's body was found inside the wreckage as the performers
were thrown clear on impact.
Holly hired the plane after heating problems developed on his tourbus.
All three were travelling to Fargo, North Dakota, the next venue in
their Winter Dance Party Tour
Holly had set up the gruelling schedule of concerts - covering 24
cities in three weeks - to make money after the break-up of his band, The
Crickets, last year.
Born Charles Hardin Holley - changed to Holly after a misspelling on a
contract - he had several hit records, including a number one, in the US
and UK with That'll be the Day in 1957.
A singer and guitarist, he was inspired by Elvis Presley after seeing
him at an early concert in his home town of Lubbock, Texas.
With Presley serving in the Army, some critics expected Holly to take
over his crown.
Richard Valenzuela was the first Mexican American to break into
mainstream music, after being discovered by record producer Bob Keane, who
changed his name to Ritchie Valens.
He had made three albums and achieved a number two chart position in
the US with his composition Donna - about his girlfriend - in 1958.
His rock 'n' roll re-working of the traditional Mexican song La Bamba -
on the B-side of Donna - has also received acclaim.
The Big Bopper had been a record-breaking radio DJ - with a 122-hour
marathon stint - and reached number six in the American charts with his
record Chantilly Lace. |
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Harold Macmillan's visit
to South Africa was always controversial |
1960: Macmillan speaks of 'wind of change' in
Africa | Artificially 1969: The The Prime
Minister, Harold Macmillan, has had a frosty reception from politicians in
South Africa politicians after speaking frankly against the country's
system of apartheid .
In a speech to MPs in the Houses of Parliament in Cape Town, Mr
Macmillan spoke of the "wind of change" blowing through the continent of
Africa, as more and more majority black populations in the colonies claim
the right to rule themselves.
"Whether we like it or not," he said, "this growth of national
consciousness is a political fact."
The government's aim, he said, was to "create a society which respects
the rights of individuals - a society in which individual merit, and
individual merit alone, is the criterion for a man's advancement, whether
political or economic."
Nationalist Party politicians listened to him in silence, and a number
refused to applaud when he had finished.
Dr Verwoerd, the South African Prime Minister and the architect of the
apartheid system, thanked Mr Macmillan for his speech, but said he could
not agree.
"We are the people who brought civilisation to Africa," he said. "To do
justice in Africa means not only being just to the black man of Africa,
but also to the white man of Africa."
Mr Macmillan's speech is the first time a senior international figure
has given voice to the growing protest against South Africa's laws of
strict racial segregation.
The speech was widely anticipated throughout the country, as Mr
Macmillan had already said he would take the chance to say what he thought
about the situation in South Africa.
Even so, the plain-speaking nature of the speech took many in Cape Town
by surprise.
Mr Macmillan is in South Africa at the end of a month-long tour of the
African continent, in which he has travelled about 17,000 miles.
His visit was always controversial, and many accused him of giving the
Nationalist Party credibility by allowing himself to be a guest of the
South African government.
His speech today is likely to lay those criticisms to
rest. |
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Vocabulary:
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gruelling: characterized by toilsome effort to the
point of exhaustion; especially physical
effort(極度緊張的;精疲力竭的)
apartheid: a social policy or
racial segregation involving political and economic and legal
discrimination against
non-whites(南非的種族隔離)
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