2007年VOA标准英语-Cubans Uncertain About Future but Many Crave Ch

By VOA News
Havana, Cuba
13 February 2007
 
watch Inside Cuba part 1

Today, we begin a special series of reports: "Inside Cuba - Reporter's Notebook."

As 80-year-old Cuban President Fidel Castro remains¹ largely out of the public eye, recuperating² from unspecified intestinal³ surgery that sidelined him in July, the island is being ruled on an acting⁴ basis by his brother Raul, who is also Cuba's defense⁵ minister.

Because Cuban authorities have restricted access to the island by U.S.-based television journalists, a video crew that regularly contributes material to VOA has just completed a 10-day, unofficial assignment in Cuba.  While there, the crew gathered material and spoke⁶ to many average Cubans about their hopes and fears for the future.  To protect the identities of those who spoke to the crew, we will not show their faces nor provide any images that could endanger them.  We also are withholding⁷ the names of the crew, in a further effort to protect those who expressed their opinions.

Here is the first of our series of reports, in which the reporter takes a look at Havana and spoke with some of its residents. 

It is impossible to visit Cuba and not be struck by the island's extraordinary beauty.

Just 150 kilometers off the U.S. coast, it is also impossible to visit Cuba and not be struck by its extensive poverty.

 
Havana shows signs of disrepair
Much of downtown Havana is literally⁸ crumbling⁹ -- the facades¹⁰ of its Spanish colonial buildings showing the signs of decades of disrepair.

And its people are struggling too... earning the equivalent of around $10 U.S. a month -- an amount that is supposed to cover their basic necessities under the communist system.  Cubans have access to state-sponsored education and health care -- factors United Nations studies say have given Cuba one of the highest literacy and life expectancy¹¹ rates in the developing world. 

Yet, in many ways, most Cubans live like some of the poorest people in Latin America. This is evident on the streets of the Cuban capital, where there appears to be large-scale joblessness despite government claims of full-employment. 

The island has been in communist hands since 1959, when the Cuban Revolution swept Fidel Castro to power.  But today Mr. Castro is ailing¹², and he is only seen in very occasional video footage shown to the public on state-run Cuban television.

The sudden disappearance¹³ from view of the man who -- until recently -- embodied¹⁴ the Cuban government has caused worry and uncertainty¹⁵ among many of the island's citizens.

One man told us he thinks his country is frozen in time. "I think that this country is in a freeze. A freeze in time, in the development, in everything".

We went to the "Plaza¹⁶ de la Revolucion" in the center of Havana. It is the place where Fidel Castro often presided over pro-government demonstrations¹⁷ and gave lengthy¹⁹, inspirational speeches.

Today, Mr. Castro's seat in the Plaza is empty, and a bystander wonders what will come next. "I think this country can change, but it's going to take too much time. Twenty years maybe. People continue living the same way as 50 years ago."

One thing that has not changed is rationing²⁰.  A woman shows us her ration¹⁸ book, which allows her, like all other Cubans, to buy limited stocks of food at government-run stores. Ten eggs a month, two kilos of sugar, half a kilo of chicken, a bar of soap, and every day just one bread roll -- part of the basket of staples²¹ that Cubans are legally permitted to purchase at subsidized prices.

It is a system so controlled, that it leaves many Cubans eking²² out a monthly existence -- unable to afford a new pair of western-made shoes, or any of the other relatively²³ upscale goods that are not sold for pesos, but only for Cuba's second, officially "convertible²⁴" currency.

 
Baseball is a national pastime
The only way of earning that convertible currency is by securing a highly sought-after job working with western tourists, trading on the black market, or relying on U.S. dollar remittances²⁵ from family members who have fled Cuba's shores for the United States.

To be sure, some Cubans find ways of making life enjoyable.

And Cuban television is invariably on hand to record those moments and transmit them to the entire island.  The cameras were rolling when one group of children took part in a dance competition on Havana's streets.

The country's national pastime -- baseball -- is also a regular fixture²⁶ on the Cuban airwaves.  Even star players earn a monthly salary equivalent to $20 U.S. for talent that earns a handful of defectors millions on the other side of the Florida Straits.

But baseball, like everything else on the island, is run along Soviet-style, centrally-planned economic lines. Some of the sport's fans crave²⁷ change, but still don't entirely²⁸ expect it.  One man expressed it this way: "This is a very strong system, you know. It has been built stone by stone, control and control. It's very difficult that it will collapse²⁹ because it is very strong.  But I don't like it all, this system, it's completely dead".

 
Tankers³⁰ and freighters dock regularly, bringing in needed supplies and goods to Cuba
The Cuban economy is increasingly reliant on support from the country's political friends: primarily, Venezuela.  Tankers carrying oil, food and consumer goods dock in Havana on an almost daily basis.

Also arriving here constantly: tourists from Canada, Europe and Latin America.

Varadero, 140 kilometers from Havana, is the largest resort in the Caribbean.  Its golf courses, beaches and modern, European-financed hotels are proving popular with visitors who provide the island with urgently needed foreign currency.

But the vast majority of Cubans experience little benefit from the development of the tourism sector³¹.

And as the sun sets on Fidel Castro's time in power, many of them say they want to see rapid change on the island. But they are uncertain whether its communist rulers can deliver it.

1 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

2 recuperating   

v.恢复（健康、体力等），复原( recuperate的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• He's still recuperating from his operation. 他动了手术，还在恢复。
• He is recuperating from a serious back injury. 他背部受了重伤，目前正在康复中。 来自辞典例句

3 intestinal   

adj.肠的；肠壁；肠道细菌

参考例句：

• A few other conditions are in high intestinal obstruction. 其它少数情况是高位肠梗阻。 来自辞典例句
• This complication has occasionally occurred following the use of intestinal antiseptics. 这种并发症偶而发生在使用肠道抗菌剂上。 来自辞典例句

4 acting   

n.演戏，行为，假装；adj.代理的，临时的，演出用的

参考例句：

• Ignore her,she's just acting.别理她，她只是假装的。
• During the seventies,her acting career was in eclipse.在七十年代，她的表演生涯黯然失色。

5 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

6 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。

7 withholding   

扣缴税款

参考例句：

• She was accused of withholding information from the police. 她被指控对警方知情不报。
• The judge suspected the witness was withholding information. 法官怀疑见证人在隐瞒情况。

8 literally   

adv.照字面意义，逐字地；确实

参考例句：

• He translated the passage literally.他逐字逐句地翻译这段文字。
• Sometimes she would not sit down till she was literally faint.有时候，她不走到真正要昏厥了，决不肯坐下来。

9 crumbling   

adj.摇摇欲坠的

参考例句：

• an old house with crumbling plaster and a leaking roof 一所灰泥剥落、屋顶漏水的老房子
• The boat was tied up alongside a crumbling limestone jetty. 这条船停泊在一个摇摇欲坠的石灰岩码头边。

10 facades   

n.（房屋的）正面( facade的名词复数 )；假象，外观

参考例句：

• Terraces of asphalt are placed by the building's south and west facades. 沥青露台位于建筑的南面和西面。 来自互联网
• Preserving historic buildings or keeping only their facades (or fronts) grew common. 保存历史建筑或是保持它们普通的正面增长。 来自互联网

11 expectancy   

n.期望，预期，（根据概率统计求得）预期数额

参考例句：

• Japanese people have a very high life expectancy.日本人的平均寿命非常长。
• The atomosphere of tense expectancy sobered everyone.这种期望的紧张气氛使每个人变得严肃起来。

12 ailing   

v.生病

参考例句：

• They discussed the problems ailing the steel industry. 他们讨论了困扰钢铁工业的问题。
• She looked after her ailing father. 她照顾有病的父亲。

13 disappearance   

n.消失，消散，失踪

参考例句：

• He was hard put to it to explain her disappearance.他难以说明她为什么不见了。
• Her disappearance gave rise to the wildest rumours.她失踪一事引起了各种流言蜚语。

14 embodied   

v.表现( embody的过去式和过去分词 )；象征；包括；包含

参考例句：

• a politician who embodied the hopes of black youth 代表黑人青年希望的政治家
• The heroic deeds of him embodied the glorious tradition of the troops. 他的英雄事迹体现了军队的光荣传统。 来自《简明英汉词典》

15 uncertainty   

n.易变，靠不住，不确知，不确定的事物

参考例句：

• Her comments will add to the uncertainty of the situation.她的批评将会使局势更加不稳定。
• After six weeks of uncertainty,the strain was beginning to take its toll.6个星期的忐忑不安后，压力开始产生影响了。

16 plaza   

n.广场，市场

参考例句：

• They designated the new shopping centre York Plaza.他们给这个新购物中心定名为约克购物中心。
• The plaza is teeming with undercover policemen.这个广场上布满了便衣警察。

17 demonstrations   

证明( demonstration的名词复数 )； 表明； 表达； 游行示威

参考例句：

• Lectures will be interspersed with practical demonstrations. 讲课中将不时插入实际示范。
• The new military government has banned strikes and demonstrations. 新的军人政府禁止罢工和示威活动。

18 ration   

n.定量(pl.)给养，口粮；vt.定量供应

参考例句：

• The country cut the bread ration last year.那个国家去年削减面包配给量。
• We have to ration the water.我们必须限量用水。

19 lengthy   

adj.漫长的，冗长的

参考例句：

• We devoted a lengthy and full discussion to this topic.我们对这个题目进行了长时间的充分讨论。
• The professor wrote a lengthy book on Napoleon.教授写了一部有关拿破仑的巨著。

20 rationing   

n.定量供应

参考例句：

• Wartime austerities included food rationing and shortage of fuel. 战时的艰苦包括食物配给和燃料短缺。
• Food rationing was abolished in that country long ago. 那个国家早就取消了粮食配给制。

21 staples   

n.（某国的）主要产品( staple的名词复数 )；钉书钉；U 形钉；主要部份v.用钉书钉钉住( staple的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• The anvil onto which the staples are pressed was not assemble correctly. 订书机上的铁砧安装错位。 来自辞典例句
• I'm trying to make an analysis of the staples of his talk. 我在试行分析他的谈话的要旨。 来自辞典例句

22 eking   

v.（靠节省用量）使…的供应持久( eke的现在分词 )；节约使用；竭力维持生计；勉强度日

参考例句：

• He was eking out an existence on a few francs a day. 他每天就靠几法郎勉强度日。 来自辞典例句
• She is eking out her income by working in the evenings. 她在晚上工作以增加收入。 来自辞典例句

23 relatively   

adv.比较...地，相对地

参考例句：

• The rabbit is a relatively recent introduction in Australia.兔子是相对较新引入澳大利亚的物种。
• The operation was relatively painless.手术相对来说不痛。

24 convertible   

adj.可改变的，可交换，同意义的；n.有活动摺篷的汽车

参考例句：

• The convertible sofa means that the apartment can sleep four.有了这张折叠沙发，公寓里可以睡下4个人。
• That new white convertible is totally awesome.那辆新的白色折篷汽车简直棒极了。

25 remittances   

n.汇寄( remittance的名词复数 )；汇款，汇款额

参考例句：

• He sends regular remittances to his parents. 他定期汇款给他父母。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Remittances sometimes account for as much as 20% of GDP. 在这些国家中，此类汇款有时会占到GDP的20%之多。 来自互联网

26 fixture   

n.固定设备；预定日期；比赛时间；定期存款

参考例句：

• Lighting fixture must be installed at once.必须立即安装照明设备。
• The cordless kettle may now be a fixture in most kitchens.无绳电热水壶现在可能是多数厨房的固定设备。

27 crave   

vt.渴望得到，迫切需要，恳求，请求

参考例句：

• Many young children crave attention.许多小孩子渴望得到关心。
• You may be craving for some fresh air.你可能很想呼吸呼吸新鲜空气。

28 entirely   

ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The fire was entirely caused by their neglect of duty. 那场火灾完全是由于他们失职而引起的。
• His life was entirely given up to the educational work. 他的一生统统献给了教育工作。

29 collapse   

vi.累倒；昏倒；倒塌；塌陷

参考例句：

• The country's economy is on the verge of collapse.国家的经济已到了崩溃的边缘。
• The engineer made a complete diagnosis of the bridge's collapse.工程师对桥的倒塌做了一次彻底的调查分析。

30 tankers   

运送大量液体或气体的轮船[卡车]( tanker的名词复数 )； 油轮； 罐车； 油槽车

参考例句：

• They should stop offloading waste from oil tankers into the sea. 他们应当停止从油轮上往海里倾倒废弃物。
• The harbour admits large tankers and freighters. 这个港口容得下巨型油船和货轮。

31 sector   

n.部门，部分；防御地段，防区；扇形

参考例句：

• The export sector will aid the economic recovery. 出口产业将促进经济复苏。
• The enemy have attacked the British sector.敌人已进攻英国防区。