VOA标准英语2009年-Nobel Winner Elie Wiesel Concerned Abo

Elie Wiesel, left, Rabbi Slomo Koves, center, and Rabbi Baruch Oberlander look at a WWII Hungarian Nazi¹ propaganda poster while visiting the Holocaust² Memorial Center in Budapest, 10 Dec. 2009

Nobel Peace Prize winner, author and activist³ Elie Wiesel has urged Hungary to consider banning Holocaust denials to improve its image and has expressed concern about growing extremist parties in the country and Europe. Wiesel spoke⁴ to VOA News at ceremonies 10 December marking the revival⁵ of Jewish culture since the collapse⁶ of communism in 1989. 

A group of youngsters sing Israel's anthem⁷ near the monument 'Shoes on the Danube Promenade⁸' in Budapest.

The memorial depicts⁹ shoes left behind by Hungarian Jews after they were shot to death and dumped in the river Danube by forces of Hungary's pro-Nazi regime during World War II.

About 600,000 Hungarian Jews died in the Holocaust, most of them in Nazi death camps. During the communist period that followed the war religion was discouraged. 

During the 10 December ceremonies, however, Hungarians remembered the revival of Jewish culture following the collapse of communism in 1989 and the 20th anniversary of the Orthodox Jewish Chabad-Lubavitch movement in the country.   

Hungary's Jewish population of 100,000 is Eastern Europe's largest outside Russia.

Yet, Nobel Peace Prize winner, author and human rights activist Elie Wiesel, who survived the Holocaust, has mixed feelings about returning to Hungary, from where he and family members were deported¹⁰ to Nazi camps.

At a recent symposium¹¹, he urged Hungary to make denial of the Holocaust a crime amid concerns about growing extremist groups and parties. That has not happened because of concerns in courts and parliament that it conflicts with the country's new found freedom of expression.

However Wiesel tells VOA News that he is concerned about parties such as Hungary's Movement for a Better Hungary (Jobbik) known for its rhetoric¹² against minority gypsies, also known as Roma, and perceived anti-Semitic statements.

The Nobel laureate says he regrets that the party got about 15 percent of the vote during recent European Parliamentary elections and is expected to do even better during upcoming general elections in Hungary.

"What does it say about Hungarian society? Wake up Hungary, wake up," he said. "Don't you know that those who speak, at one point, [their] words can get dangerous. Their words are words of hatred¹³ and therefore [of] violence. And I think they should know who they are and the people should know and not vote for them. I know I am interfering¹⁴ in the domestic affairs of Hungary. But as a former Hungarian who loves, whatever I remember in my childhood before the war, I can say that: 'Be careful.'"      

Wiesel regrets that Jobbik recently established an alliance in Budapest of several European far right parties, including the French Front National party of firebrand politician Jean-Marie Le Pen.

"Yes with Jean [-Marie] Le Pen. And Le Pen is the one who denies the Holocaust," he said. "So how dare they?" 

Jobbik has defended its actions saying it works for Hungary's interests.   

Concerns over extremism have overshadowed key ceremonies and meetings marking the Jewish revival in Hungary.

Speaking at a special symposium in parliament with hundreds of Jewish and other representatives from Hungary and abroad,  Prime Minister Gordon Bajnai admitted that his government was unable to limit extremism in the country.  

Prime Minister Gordon Bajnai makes clear that all forces of Hungary's left and right must unite in the fight against the far right. He says extremists are misusing¹⁵ the current economic crisis in Hungary for an ideology¹⁶ of hatred, the same way as this happened in the 1920s and 1930s. This eventually led to the Holocaust. Hungary was a close ally of Nazi Germany during most of World War II. Mr. Bajnai says that therefore "every constitutional means" must be used to isolate¹⁷ the far right.

Mr. Bajnai has promised Wiesel to open archives containing names of Hungarian Jews who were sent to the Auschwitz concentration camp, including Wiesel's family members.

In addition, Hungary seeks the extradition¹⁸ from Australia of Karoly Zentai, one of the most wanted Nazi war crimes suspects still alive.

As an officer of Hungary's pro-Nazi military, Zentai allegedly killed a Jewish teenager during the war for not wearing the obligatory¹⁹ yellow star for Jews at that time.     

Shlomo Koves, who in 2003 was the first Orthodox rabbi to be ordained²⁰ in Hungary since the Holocaust, does not believe that Zentai, who is 88, is too old for prosecution²¹.

"As far as he is still living and as far as he is a person, he has a responsibility," he said. "If he passes away, then only goes his responsibility in front of God."

Wiesel says he hopes Hungary will learn from its turbulent past. Although he is 81, he intends to continue his human rights work.

His Foundation for Humanity lost millions of dollars because of fraud by now jailed American investor²² Bernard Madoff.  Despite the setback²³, Wiesel says he will not allow anyone to destroy his life-long work.
 

1 Nazi   

n.纳粹分子，adj.纳粹党的，纳粹的

参考例句：

• They declare the Nazi regime overthrown and sue for peace.他们宣布纳粹政权已被推翻，并出面求和。
• Nazi closes those war criminals inside their concentration camp.纳粹把那些战犯关在他们的集中营里。

2 holocaust   

n.大破坏；大屠杀

参考例句：

• The Auschwitz concentration camp always remind the world of the holocaust.奥辛威茨集中营总是让世人想起大屠杀。
• Ahmadinejad is denying the holocaust because he's as brutal as Hitler was.内贾德否认大屠杀，因为他像希特勒一样残忍。

3 activist   

n.活动分子，积极分子

参考例句：

• He's been a trade union activist for many years.多年来他一直是工会的积极分子。
• He is a social activist in our factory.他是我厂的社会活动积极分子。

4 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。

5 revival   

n.复兴，复苏，（精力、活力等的）重振

参考例句：

• The period saw a great revival in the wine trade.这一时期葡萄酒业出现了很大的复苏。
• He claimed the housing market was showing signs of a revival.他指出房地产市场正出现复苏的迹象。

6 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。

7 anthem   

n.圣歌，赞美诗，颂歌

参考例句：

• All those present were standing solemnly when the national anthem was played.奏国歌时全场肃立。
• As he stood on the winner's rostrum,he sang the words of the national anthem.他站在冠军领奖台上，唱起了国歌。

8 promenade   

n./v.散步

参考例句：

• People came out in smarter clothes to promenade along the front.人们穿上更加时髦漂亮的衣服，沿着海滨散步。
• We took a promenade along the canal after Sunday dinner.星期天晚饭后我们沿着运河散步。

9 depicts   

描绘，描画( depict的第三人称单数 )； 描述

参考例句：

• The book vividly depicts French society of the 1930s. 这本书生动地描绘了20 世纪30 年代的法国社会。
• He depicts the sordid and vulgar sides of life exclusively. 他只描写人生肮脏和庸俗的一面。

10 deported   

v.将…驱逐出境( deport的过去式和过去分词 )；举止

参考例句：

• They stripped me of my citizenship and deported me. 他们剥夺我的公民资格，将我驱逐出境。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The convicts were deported to a deserted island. 罪犯们被流放到一个荒岛。 来自《简明英汉词典》

11 symposium   

n.讨论会，专题报告会；专题论文集

参考例句：

• What have you learned from the symposium?你参加了这次科学讨论会有什么体会？
• The specialists and scholars present at the symposium come from all corners of the country.出席研讨会的专家学者们来自全国各地。

12 rhetoric   

n.修辞学，浮夸之言语

参考例句：

• Do you know something about rhetoric?你懂点修辞学吗？
• Behind all the rhetoric,his relations with the army are dangerously poised.在冠冕堂皇的言辞背后，他和军队的关系岌岌可危。

13 hatred   

n.憎恶，憎恨，仇恨

参考例句：

• He looked at me with hatred in his eyes.他以憎恨的眼光望着我。
• The old man was seized with burning hatred for the fascists.老人对法西斯主义者充满了仇恨。

14 interfering   

adj. 妨碍的 动词interfere的现在分词

参考例句：

• He's an interfering old busybody! 他老爱管闲事！
• I wish my mother would stop interfering and let me make my own decisions. 我希望我母亲不再干预，让我自己拿主意。

15 misusing   

v.使用…不当( misuse的现在分词 )；把…派作不正当的用途；虐待；滥用

参考例句：

• This means we must stop misusing them. 也就是说，我们已必须停止滥用抗菌素不可了。 来自英汉非文学 - 生命科学 - 预防生物武器
• Misusing organic fertilizer may cause a decrease in the soil's quality. 滥用有机肥料可能会导致土地的土质下降。 来自互联网

16 ideology   

n.意识形态，(政治或社会的)思想意识

参考例句：

• The ideology has great influence in the world.这种思想体系在世界上有很大的影响。
• The ideal is to strike a medium between ideology and inspiration.我的理想是在意识思想和灵感鼓动之间找到一个折衷。

17 isolate   

vt.使孤立，隔离

参考例句：

• Do not isolate yourself from others.不要把自己孤立起来。
• We should never isolate ourselves from the masses.我们永远不能脱离群众。

18 extradition   

n.引渡（逃犯）

参考例句：

• The smuggler is in prison tonight,awaiting extradition to Britain.这名走私犯今晚在监狱，等待引渡到英国。
• He began to trouble concerning the extradition laws.他开始费尽心思地去想关于引渡法的问题。

19 obligatory   

adj.强制性的，义务的，必须的

参考例句：

• It is obligatory for us to obey the laws.我们必须守法。
• It is obligatory on every citizen to safeguard our great motherland.保卫我们伟大的祖国是每一个公民应尽的义务。

20 ordained   

v.任命（某人）为牧师( ordain的过去式和过去分词 )；授予（某人）圣职；（上帝、法律等）命令；判定

参考例句：

• He was ordained in 1984. 他在一九八四年被任命为牧师。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He was ordained priest. 他被任命为牧师。 来自辞典例句

21 prosecution   

n.起诉，告发，检举，执行，经营

参考例句：

• The Smiths brought a prosecution against the organizers.史密斯家对组织者们提出起诉。
• He attempts to rebut the assertion made by the prosecution witness.他试图反驳原告方证人所作的断言。

22 investor   

n.投资者，投资人

参考例句：

• My nephew is a cautious investor.我侄子是个小心谨慎的投资者。
• The investor believes that his investment will pay off handsomely soon.这个投资者相信他的投资不久会有相当大的收益。

23 setback   

n.退步，挫折，挫败

参考例句：

• Since that time there has never been any setback in his career.从那时起他在事业上一直没有遇到周折。
• She views every minor setback as a disaster.她把每个较小的挫折都看成重大灾难。