Many Ukrainian civilians are struggling with rapidly deteriorating conditions

Many Ukrainian civilians¹ are struggling with rapidly deteriorating² conditions

　　Transcript³

　　In the past month, 10 million Ukrainians have fled the country to get as far from Russia's bombardment as possible. We hear the stories of some of that people that have stayed behind.

　　A MARTINEZ, HOST:

　　For the past month, our co-host Leila Fadel has been reporting from Ukraine. In the time she's been there, 10 million Ukrainians have fled their homes for safer cities farther from the Russian border or in other countries. But tens of millions of others have stayed behind to face the Russian bombardment.

　　LEILA FADEL, HOST:

　　Some make the choice to stay, unwilling⁴ to be forced out. Others are stuck in besieged⁵ parts of the country with no way out. These are some of their voices.

　　(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)

　　OKSANA MALCHENKO: (Through interpreter) It's dangerous to leave the city right now. You can run into Russian soldiers and foreign soldiers. In the first days of the war, these soldiers weren't interested in us. Now they're mad and shoot at civilians without warning.

　　(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)

　　KONSTANTIN SALAHUDIN: The Russian forces in the city, they control the main buildings. They are really dangerous, especially at the beginning of the occupation. They really kill a lot of people. We have a real big problem with medicine. Every day, this list of these drugs that you are not able to buy became bigger and bigger.

　　(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)

　　OKSANA TRANZA: Hello, everyone. My name is Oksana. I'm recording⁶ this message from a relatively⁷ safe location in Ukraine while my mother stays in Kupiansk, a small town in Kharkiv region occupied by Russian troops. The infrastructure⁸ of the city is collapsing⁹. Stores are running out of food. Salaries and pensions are not being paid. All the bridges in the city have been blown up by Russian military, and there are checkpoints of Russian soldiers on the roads. There is no internet anymore - only TV and mobile connection. Despite this, the Kupiansk residents did not give up and even staged a rally. Men and women of the city came out on the main city square with the slogan, Kupiansk is Ukraine. They surrounded Russian military equipment and armed soldiers. Kupiansk people stood there with Ukrainian flags instead of weapons, shouting at invaders¹⁰ who were holding machine guns in their hands.

　　Every day, I start with a text message - how are you? - and a guilt-flavored breakfast. Did my mom eat breakfast today? I try to think only about the present day because it's impossible to think about tomorrow. Tomorrow, she might run out of food. Tomorrow, Russian soldier might enter her house. Tomorrow, a bomb may be dropped on her home. Tomorrow, her city may become one among many destroyed cities, another cold fact in foreign media. Recently, she has become more sentimental¹¹. She wants to talk to me about moving when the war is over. I realize that my mother is afraid of death, or rather afraid of dreams that did not come true and may never come true. I'm scared to see her like this. My mother is a simple 50-year-old woman who works at a bakery factory in a quiet provincial¹² town. She did not live the most eventful life, and I don't want the war to sum up her life completely.

　　My father, who lives in Russia, is still silent. I can only assume the course of his thoughts. I think that he does not hate Ukrainians but rather is simply apathetic¹³ and inactive, that he just doesn't care that I wake up every morning to the sound of sirens and run to hide in the corridor, that I might lose my loved ones in the war, that I might get hurt, die, never see my mother, that I have nightmares about the war from which I wake up bellowing¹⁴, still in the war.

　　FADEL: That was Oksana Malchenko from the eastern city of Sumy, Konstantin Salahudin of the southern port city of Kherson and Oksana Tranza (ph) in the western city of Lviv.

1 civilians   

平民，百姓( civilian的名词复数 )； 老百姓

参考例句：

• the bloody massacre of innocent civilians 对无辜平民的血腥屠杀
• At least 300 civilians are unaccounted for after the bombing raids. 遭轰炸袭击之后，至少有300名平民下落不明。

2 deteriorating   

恶化，变坏( deteriorate的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• The weather conditions are deteriorating. 天气变得越来越糟。
• I was well aware of the bad morale and the deteriorating factories. 我很清楚，大家情绪低落，各个工厂越搞越坏。

3 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

4 unwilling   

adj.不情愿的

参考例句：

• The natives were unwilling to be bent by colonial power.土著居民不愿受殖民势力的摆布。
• His tightfisted employer was unwilling to give him a raise.他那吝啬的雇主不肯给他加薪。

5 besieged   

包围，围困，围攻( besiege的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Paris was besieged for four months and forced to surrender. 巴黎被围困了四个月后被迫投降。
• The community besieged the newspaper with letters about its recent editorial. 公众纷纷来信对报社新近发表的社论提出诘问，弄得报社应接不暇。

6 recording   

n.录音，记录

参考例句：

• How long will the recording of the song take?录下这首歌得花多少时间？
• I want to play you a recording of the rehearsal.我想给你放一下彩排的录像。

7 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。

8 infrastructure   

n.下部构造，下部组织，基础结构，基础设施

参考例句：

• We should step up the development of infrastructure for research.加强科学基础设施建设。
• We should strengthen cultural infrastructure and boost various types of popular culture.加强文化基础设施建设，发展各类群众文化。

9 collapsing   

压扁[平]，毁坏，断裂

参考例句：

• Rescuers used props to stop the roof of the tunnel collapsing. 救援人员用支柱防止隧道顶塌陷。
• The rocks were folded by collapsing into the center of the trough. 岩石由于坍陷进入凹槽的中心而发生褶皱。

10 invaders   

入侵者，侵略者，侵入物( invader的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• They prepared to repel the invaders. 他们准备赶走侵略军。
• The family has traced its ancestry to the Norman invaders. 这个家族将自己的世系追溯到诺曼征服者。

11 sentimental   

adj.多愁善感的，感伤的

参考例句：

• She's a sentimental woman who believes marriage comes by destiny.她是多愁善感的人，她相信姻缘命中注定。
• We were deeply touched by the sentimental movie.我们深深被那感伤的电影所感动。

12 provincial   

adj.省的，地方的；n．外省人，乡下人

参考例句：

• City dwellers think country folk have provincial attitudes.城里人以为乡下人思想迂腐。
• Two leading cadres came down from the provincial capital yesterday.昨天从省里下来了两位领导干部。

13 apathetic   

adj.冷漠的，无动于衷的

参考例句：

• I realised I was becoming increasingly depressed and apathetic.我意识到自己越来越消沉、越来越冷漠了。
• You won't succeed if you are apathetic.要是你冷淡，你就不能成功。

14 bellowing   

v.发出吼叫声，咆哮（尤指因痛苦）( bellow的现在分词 )；（愤怒地）说出（某事），大叫

参考例句：

• We could hear he was bellowing commands to his troops. 我们听见他正向他的兵士大声发布命令。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He disguised these feelings under an enormous bellowing and hurraying. 他用大声吼叫和喝采掩饰着这些感情。 来自辞典例句