VOA标准英语2011--Berlin Wall: 28 Years of Confrontation

Berlin Wall: 28 Years of Confrontation¹

On August 13, 1961, the window in the “Iron Curtain” was shut. In a single night, the border between the two parts of Berlin was closed. Thousands of people were cut off from their families, work, and homes. The Berlin Wall stood for 20,315 days. For 28 years it separated the city into two. More importantly, it divided the world.
This is a piece of the Berlin Wall, displayed at the Newseum in Washington, D.C.
For a long time the wall not only separated East Berlin from West Berlin, but also was a symbol of two worlds: the one that was free and the one behind the “Iron Curtain.”
But how did the wall appear?
Divisive split
Berlin was divided after World War II. In 1949, East Berlin - the Soviet²-occupied zone - became the capital of the newly-created German Democratic Republic. West Berlin was controlled by the United States, Great Britain and France.
It was common at the time for Berliners to live in the East but work in the West, and vice³ versa. Every day, half-a-million people traveled freely from “socialism to capitalism” and back.
That all came to an end on August 13, 1961. In one night, the border between the two parts of Berlin was closed. The next morning thousands of people could not get around the city: the roads were closed off with barbed wire; the streets were dug up; the military was out in force. But the most striking difference was a long wall now dividing one part of Berlin from the other.
'Berlin Crisis'
Why did it happen? Because West Berlin was a “headache” for the Soviet Union and the East German regime. People and resources were leaving the communist side through the transparent⁴ border; free-market ideology⁵ was seeping⁶ through it from the West. For East Germany, it was a deeply destabilizing factor. After consulting with Moscow, the East German government decided⁷ to close off the border.
At first, people crowded on both sides of the division line. But any attempts to cross it were stopped by the East German military and police.
The West was infuriated. Tension in the city was growing. It all resulted in the so-called “Berlin crisis” - one of the most critical confrontations⁸ between the Soviet Union and the United States.
On October 28, US military jeeps, bulldozers and tanks began moving from the Western sector⁹ to the Brandenburg Gate - planning to destroy the barriers. But toward them came Soviet tanks. This was the peak of the crisis. All night the tanks stood facing one another. In the morning the machines retreated, and the immediate¹⁰ crisis was over. It became clear - the wall was there to stay.
Oppressive barrier
The Berlin Wall became a symbol of the Cold War. At first it was mostly barbed wire. The division line lay across squares, bridges, streets, even buildings. In 1962, a parallel wall was erected¹¹ along the so-called “alienation zone.” It later became known as the “death strip” - full of trenches¹², booby traps and other defenses. In 1975, a new wall was built, using 45 thousand cement blocks.
The Wall stood for 20,315 days. Several hundred people died trying to cross from East Berlin to the western side. The West kept fighting for the right to free movement. Almost 50 years later, people still remember U.S. President John Kennedy’s words during a visit to Berlin in 1963: "In the world of freedom, the proudest boast is, ‘Ich bin¹³ ein Berliner’.”
And in 1987, also in Berlin, the world heard another famous speech, as President Ronald Reagan appealed to Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev.
Miraculous¹⁴ demolition¹⁵
“Mr. Gorbachev, open this gate,” said Reagan.
In 1989, the wall fell, as the East German government suddenly re-opened the border.
Twenty years later, at a celebration of the 20th anniversary of the fall, U.S. Senator Ben Cardin made this observation to a VOA correspondent: “The Berlin Wall not only divided the city and the state, it divided the continent. It was a symbol of division; it was a symbol of totalitarian government of repression¹⁶ of human rights. People lost their lives trying to get across the wall. When it came down 20 years ago, I think it showed the future for the hope for all people in this world. To me, it’s a symbol that we should never forget.”
The idea that the world changed after the Wall fell is never disputed. The symbol of separation was annihilated¹⁷ by the will of the people. Freedom won.

1 confrontation   

n.对抗，对峙，冲突

参考例句：

• We can't risk another confrontation with the union.我们不能冒再次同工会对抗的危险。
• After years of confrontation,they finally have achieved a modus vivendi.在对抗很长时间后，他们最后达成安宁生存的非正式协议。

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 vice   

n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的

参考例句：

• He guarded himself against vice.他避免染上坏习惯。
• They are sunk in the depth of vice.他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。

4 transparent   

adj.明显的，无疑的；透明的

参考例句：

• The water is so transparent that we can see the fishes swimming.水清澈透明，可以看到鱼儿游来游去。
• The window glass is transparent.窗玻璃是透明的。

5 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。

6 seeping   

v.（液体）渗( seep的现在分词 )；渗透；渗出；漏出

参考例句：

• Water had been slowly seeping away from the pond. 池塘里的水一直在慢慢渗漏。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Chueh-hui could feel the cold seeping into his bones. 觉慧开始觉得寒气透过衣服浸到身上来了。 来自汉英文学 - 家（1-26） - 家（1-26）

7 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

8 confrontations   

n.对抗，对抗的事物( confrontation的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• At times, this potential has escalated into actual confrontations. 有时，这一矛盾升级为实际的对抗。 来自英汉非文学 - 行政法
• These confrontations and uncertainties were bing played out for the first time on a global scale. 所有这一切对抗和不稳定，第一次在全球范围内得到充分的表演。 来自辞典例句

9 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。

10 immediate   

adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的

参考例句：

• His immediate neighbours felt it their duty to call.他的近邻认为他们有责任去拜访。
• We declared ourselves for the immediate convocation of the meeting.我们主张立即召开这个会议。

11 ERECTED   

adj. 直立的，竖立的，笔直的 vt. 使 ... 直立，建立

参考例句：

• A monument to him was erected in St Paul's Cathedral. 在圣保罗大教堂为他修了一座纪念碑。
• A monument was erected to the memory of that great scientist. 树立了一块纪念碑纪念那位伟大的科学家。

12 trenches   

深沟，地沟( trench的名词复数 )； 战壕

参考例句：

• life in the trenches 第一次世界大战期间的战壕生活
• The troops stormed the enemy's trenches and fanned out across the fields. 部队猛攻敌人的战壕，并在田野上呈扇形散开。

13 bin   

n.箱柜；vt.放入箱内；[计算机] DOS文件名:二进制目标文件

参考例句：

• He emptied several bags of rice into a bin.他把几袋米倒进大箱里。
• He threw the empty bottles in the bin.他把空瓶子扔进垃圾箱。

14 miraculous   

adj.像奇迹一样的，不可思议的

参考例句：

• The wounded man made a miraculous recovery.伤员奇迹般地痊愈了。
• They won a miraculous victory over much stronger enemy.他们战胜了远比自己强大的敌人，赢得了非凡的胜利。

15 demolition   

n.破坏,毁坏,毁坏之遗迹

参考例句：

• The church has been threatened with demolition for years. 这座教堂多年来一直面临拆毀的威胁。
• The project required the total demolition of the old bridge. 该项目要求将老桥完全拆毁。

16 repression   

n.镇压，抑制，抑压

参考例句：

• The repression of your true feelings is harmful to your health.压抑你的真实感情有害健康。
• This touched off a new storm against violent repression.这引起了反对暴力镇压的新风暴。

17 annihilated   

v.（彻底）消灭( annihilate的过去式和过去分词 )；使无效；废止；彻底击溃

参考例句：

• Our soldiers annihilated a force of three hundred enemy troops. 我军战士消灭了300名敌军。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• We annihilated the enemy. 我们歼灭了敌人。 来自《简明英汉词典》