CNN 2011-12-28

  As this flag was lowered,it marked an end of an empire that had seemed invincible¹.20 years ago,small crowd watched from the Red Square as flag of Soviet² Union was removed from the Kremlin and replaced with Russia's own color.On that cold night, these people shared their feelings of nervous optimism with CNN.I hope we will be given freedom. this man says.

I want to hope it's all going  to be abandoned.says this woman.But will it be?that's a question.

I hereby to continue my activities as the post-president of USSR.Inside the Kremlin,M. spoke³ about the free society he thought he was leaving  behind as he announced his resignation:

A big breakthrough had affected⁴ the democratic change,free election had become a reality,free press, freedom worship,representative legislatures multi-party system had all become reality.

But two decades later,that same list of political freedom has been fought for again.

So what went wrong,that is a question haunted B.,he remembers rallying for greater  political rights to the 1990 by the time the USSR broke up,he thought the fight had been won.

Backed then,we couldn't imaging this lawlessness and corruption⁵ come to power,he says.

People agreed when G. declares the democracy to be the new standard,he was right,they said it largely stayed that way through 90s.But then, something changed.

In Russian, over the past years,we had problems about public expression,we had problem about breath freedom,we had problems with the political rights and freedom of  resembling.

I think how we society traded our liberties for prospers⁶ life,for comfort, for better quality of life,it was a mistake.

The Russian people thought it was a mistake and most put up with it until just few months ago.

Two events are credited with sparking  this renewed civil rage.

First,prime minister Vladimir Putin announced his intension to swap⁷ out /// and return to the presidency⁸ next year.

Then came to widespread allegations of cheating by Putin's own party in resent parliamentary elections.

Once people realized that the authorities were not even pretending that they mattered, that their opinion mattered, they actually woke up and they became ready to come to the streets and protest.

The strength of this reaction surprises even those who are a part of it.They believe it surprises the country's leader too.That makes them more hopeful for their future that they weren't just few month ago.

I can not express how happy  I am.B. says.I'm so happy what's happening now.

The last Soviet Union president may have been premature⁹ in declaring the society free and democratic,because of recent events in this country,the feeling of many people here that achieving that goal is closest than it ever had been before.

1 invincible   

adj.不可征服的，难以制服的

参考例句：

• This football team was once reputed to be invincible.这支足球队曾被誉为无敌的劲旅。
• The workers are invincible as long as they hold together.只要工人团结一致，他们就是不可战胜的。

2 Soviet   

adj.苏联的，苏维埃的；n.苏维埃

参考例句：

• Zhukov was a marshal of the former Soviet Union.朱可夫是前苏联的一位元帅。
• Germany began to attack the Soviet Union in 1941.德国在1941年开始进攻苏联。

3 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

4 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

5 corruption   

n.腐败，堕落，贪污

参考例句：

• The people asked the government to hit out against corruption and theft.人民要求政府严惩贪污盗窃。
• The old man reviled against corruption.那老人痛斥了贪污舞弊。

6 prospers   

v.成功，兴旺( prosper的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• Whatever prospers my business is welcome. 凡使我生意兴隆者皆竭诚欢迎。 来自辞典例句
• Whatever prospers my business is good. 任何使我生意兴隆的都是好的。 来自辞典例句

7 swap   

n.交换；vt.交换，用...作交易

参考例句：

• I will swap you my bicycle for your radio.我想拿我的自行车换你的收音机。
• This comic was a swap that I got from Nick.这本漫画书是我从尼克那里换来的。

8 presidency   

n.总统(校长，总经理)的职位(任期)

参考例句：

• Roosevelt was elected four times to the presidency of the United States.罗斯福连续当选四届美国总统。
• Two candidates are emerging as contestants for the presidency.两位候选人最终成为总统职位竞争者。

9 premature   

adj.比预期时间早的；不成熟的，仓促的

参考例句：

• It is yet premature to predict the possible outcome of the dialogue.预言这次对话可能有什么结果为时尚早。
• The premature baby is doing well.那个早产的婴儿很健康。