-
(单词翻译:双击或拖选)
Serbians weary of seeing the world’s media focus on their country’s recent wartime past are uniting in praise of a new national hero, Novak Djokovic. Djokovic trained as a young boy amid the chaotic1 breakup of Yugoslavia, rising to become world tennis number one and favorite for the U.S. Open later this month. But the recent arrest of two former wartime generals has provided another reminder2 of the conflicts that tore the Balkans apart in the 1990s.
Tennis coach Jelena Gencic is putting two young players through their drills at a rundown court on the edge of Belgrade. Gencic lived through seven decades of her country’s turbulent history. She is hailed as the person who discovered Serbia’s biggest sporting star. Gencic describes the moment they first met.
“I saw one little boy just behind the fence, watching, watching, watching all morning," said Gencic. "I come to him and ask him, ‘OK boy, do you know what we are doing here?’ ‘Yes, I know. You play tennis.’ ‘Oh. What’s your name?’ ‘Novak Djokovic.’ Very clear. Very strong.”
Djokovic’s image adorns3 buildings in Belgrade. His every match is watched avidly4 in sidewalk cafes. It was not an easy route to become number one in the world.
Just as Djokovic was discovering his talent for tennis in the early 1990's, Yugoslavia began its bloody5 breakup. His teenage training years took place against the backdrop of the Kosovo conflict and NATO bombing raids on Belgrade.
“I listened to the radio. ‘There’s a bomb here in Banitsa.’ OK, next day, we shall play here. ‘No! Why here?’ Because tomorrow the bombs will hit another side of the city," she said. "That’s what happened. When I listened in the morning to where the bombs were, so we would go in that part of Belgrade to practice tennis.”
As Djokovic’s triumphs put Serbian tennis on the map, the country has been in the spotlight7 for very different reasons.
The arrest in May of former Bosnian Serb general Ratko Maldic and in July of former Croatian Serb general Goran Hadzic have been painful reminders8 of the country’s brutal9 past. Both are accused of committing war crimes during the Balkans conflict.
Ljiljiana Smajlovic is president of the Serbian Journalists’ Association. She said there is anger at the way Serbia is simplified in the world’s media.
“In the sense that Djokovic is someone that we look up to and we’re happy that the world sees us in a better context than it has in the past, and at the same time there is resentment10... Mostly when people think of Serb war crimes, I think it’s in terms of the resentment that they are played up so much in the West and it’s not in terms of, ‘God, are we going to face up to our past?’” said Smajlovic.
The arrests of Mladic and Hadzic were meant to boost Serbia’s hopes of joining the European Union. German Chancellor11 Angela Merkel has warned Belgrade, however, that it needs to make progress in talks with Kosovo, which declared independence from Serbia in 2008.
Smaljovic said Serbs are growing tired of EU demands.
“I see some trouble ahead in this lack of hope almost. This feeling that we’re being told there’s no alternative all the time. Hearing that there’s no alternative is not something that makes your heart grow fond," she said. "Because transition has been, for the most part, that you lose your job and then you never find a job as good as that one.”
Belgrade does not seem like a city stuck in its past. The annual beer festival is just one of many events to have emerged in the last decade that attract visitors from across the globe.
But the lack of interest among young people in Serbia’s recent history concerns Miljenko Dereta, director of the non-governmental organization, Civic12 Initiatives.
“We had a survey recently because we have a youth program, and we were shocked by the lack of information they have," said Dereta. "They didn’t know there was a war in Bosnia, incredibly. They didn’t understand why the Hague tribunal is judging only the people from this region because they didn’t have the basic information it was formed for this region.”
Back at the tennis club on the outskirts13 of Belgrade, Gencic is mentoring14 the next generation of Serbian stars.
At 12 years old, they were only just born when the NATO bombs were falling on Belgrade. They have one aim - to emulate15 their hero.
“Novak Djokovic,” said one young player when asked which player inspires.
“Novak Djokovic,” replied another.
Like millions of people across Serbia, they will be following every step of Djokovic’s attempts to win his first U.S. Open title. He is the one person, it seems, who unites this country - the new face of Serbia.
点击
收听单词发音
收听单词发音 |
1
chaotic
|
|
| adj.混沌的，一片混乱的，一团糟的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
2
reminder
|
|
| n.提醒物，纪念品；暗示，提示 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
3
adorns
|
|
| 装饰，佩带( adorn的第三人称单数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
4
avidly
|
|
| adv.渴望地，热心地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
5
bloody
|
|
| adj.非常的的；流血的；残忍的；adv.很；vt.血染 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
6
dodged
|
|
| v.闪躲( dodge的过去式和过去分词 )；回避 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
7
spotlight
|
|
| n.公众注意的中心，聚光灯，探照灯，视听，注意，醒目 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
8
reminders
|
|
| n.令人回忆起…的东西( reminder的名词复数 )；提醒…的东西；（告知该做某事的）通知单；提示信 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
9
brutal
|
|
| adj.残忍的，野蛮的，不讲理的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
10
resentment
|
|
| n.怨愤，忿恨 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
11
chancellor
|
|
| n.(英)大臣；法官；(德、奥)总理；大学校长 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
12
civic
|
|
| adj.城市的，都市的，市民的，公民的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
13
outskirts
|
|
| n.郊外，郊区 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
14
mentoring
|
|
| n.mentoring是一种工作关系。mentor通常是处在比mentee更高工作职位上的有影响力的人。他/她有比‘mentee’更丰富的工作经验和知识，并用心支持mentee的职业（发展）。v.（无经验之人的）有经验可信赖的顾问( mentor的现在分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
15
emulate
|
|
| v.努力赶上或超越，与…竞争；效仿 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
购买
在百度中搜索