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(单词翻译:双击或拖选)
Ukrainians Face a Cold Winter, Many Without Heat
As autumn sets in across the northern part of the world, Ukraine faces the winter months.
Russia is targeting Ukrainian cities like Kyiv, their power plants and other infrastructure1 using missiles2 and drones. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on social media that over the past week Russia has destroyed 30 percent of the country's power plants. This has caused "massive3 blackouts across the country."
As temperatures near zero Celsius4, Ukrainians who have not fled the war ready themselves for winter.
Artem Panchenko is nine years old. Recently, he helped his grandmother tend a fire in their temporary, outdoor kitchen near their old apartment.
Just like hundreds of thousands of other Ukrainians, Artem and his grandmother are facing difficult conditions. They have been living without natural gas, water, and electricity for about three weeks since Russian missiles cut off utilities5 in their town, which is in the Kharkiv area of eastern Ukraine.
They survive by wearing warm clothes and cooking outside. As Artem helped his grandmother cook, he said, "It's really cold. I'm sleeping in my clothes in our apartment."
Roman Semenukha is an official in the Kharkiv government. He said that officials are working to restore6 electricity to the area in the coming days but that repairs to water and gas lines will come later. Officials are giving firewood to citizens instead.
He said that only after water and gas lines are repaired "...will we be able to begin to restore heating7."
Viktor Palyanitsa is 37 years old and lives in the nearby village of Kurylivka. He has gathered enough wood for the whole winter. He is not able to sleep in his home because all the windows were destroyed.
He plans to sleep beside a wood-burning stove in an old building. He said that he is not waiting for the government's help. He is ready to provide for himself throughout the winter.
"It's not comfortable. We spend a lot of time on gathering8 wood. You can see the situation we're living in. I have arms and legs. So I'm not scared of the cold, because I can find wood and heat the stove," Palyanitsa said.
Like Palyanitsa there are still thousands of Ukrainians living in homes that have been partly destroyed by Russian strikes, most with damaged roofs and windows. Officials in the Ukrainian controlled areas of Donetsk have told residents9 to leave the area and warned that services would not be returned by winter.
Even in other areas of Ukraine, the threat of a winter without heat is real.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has increased attacks on civilian10 energy centers after Ukraine's strike on an important bridge in Crimea. This has left many cities without electricity including Kyiv, Sumy in the northeast, and Vinnystsia in the west.
Many in the town of Kurylivka have created basic shelters where residents live by candlelight, gather water from wells, and wear warm clothes to stay alive.
Iryna Panchenko is Artem's grandmother. The two have been sleeping in an abandoned apartment next to their home because a Russian strike destroyed their windows.
"It's very cold living here. It's hard to cook, it's hard to run between the apartment and where we cook. My legs hurt," Iryna Panchenko said.
Basic structures are a common sight along the apartment complex. Residents gather wood for fires so that they can cook outside.
Anton Serukov is 47 years old and his mother is disabled. He helps her with daily tasks like heating water over the fire for tea.
"No electricity, no water, no gas. We are cold. I'm making tea for my mother on the fire but she only drinks a little bit to warm up for a short time."
His mother Zoya Serukova had been unable to leave her bed for seven years and most of the time she keeps seated, playing cards.
"It's really cold now. If it weren't for my son, I would freeze," she said.
Serukov said that he has asked a friend from Kharkiv to purchase an electric heater for them, in case the power is restored11. The thought of surviving a winter in this state is almost too much to think about.
"I hope we'll have electricity soon, so we can live through this winter somehow," Serukov said.
Words in This Story
infrastructure – n. the basic equipment and structures (such as roads and bridges) needed for a country or area to operate
blackout – n. a period when lights are off because of an electrical power failure
tend –v. to take care of; to maintain12
utility13 - n. a company that provides electricity, water, or similar services
apartment –n. a room or group of rooms in a building used for housing14 people
restore – v. to return (something) to an earlier or original condition by repairing it, or cleaning it
roof –n. the top of a house
well – n. a hole in the ground from which a supply of water is extracted15
abandoned — adj. left without help or support
lean-to – n. a building such as a shed16 or garage which is attached to one wall of a larger building
disabled – adj. having a physical or mental disability
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1
infrastructure
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| n.下部构造，下部组织，基础结构，基础设施 | |
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missiles
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| 导弹( missile的名词复数 )； 投射物 | |
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massive
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| adj.巨大的，大规模的，大量的，大范围的 | |
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Celsius
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| adj.摄氏温度计的，摄氏的 | |
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utilities
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| n.[经济学]效用（ utility的名词复数 ）；实用；公用事业；神庙逃亡游戏中的一次性道具 | |
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restore
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| vt.把…恢复原状；归还，交还 | |
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heating
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| n.加热，供暖，暖气装置；adj.加热的，供暖的 | |
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gathering
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| n.集会，聚会，聚集 | |
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residents
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| n.居民( resident的名词复数 )；（旅馆的）住宿者 | |
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civilian
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| adj.平民的，民用的，民众的 | |
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restored
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| v.归还( restore的过去式和过去分词 )；交还；使恢复；修复 | |
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maintain
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| vt.支撑；赡养，抚养；维持，保有 | |
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utility
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| n.公共设施，效用，公用程序，实用品，实用；adj.多效用的，多功能的 | |
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housing
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| n.房屋，住宅；住房建筑；外壳，外罩 | |
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extracted
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| adj. 萃取的 动词extract的现在分词 | |
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shed
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| n.车棚，小屋，脱落之物，分水岭；vt.使流出，放射，脱落，散发，摆脱；vi. 流出 | |
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