VOA标准英语2012--Between the Kremlin and the Protesters: A Church Mediator?

Between the Kremlin and the Protesters: A Church Mediator¹?

The patriarch of the Russian Orthodox Church has a residence inside the Kremlin. The church depends heavily on government funding. When mass protests broke out this winter, few people expected sympathy from the church.
So Patriarch Kirill's January message came as a shock. He warned Prime Minister Vladimir Putin not to be deaf to the protesters.
The patriarch warned that if the government remains² insensitive to protests, it would be “a very bad sign.”
With the Orthodox Church claiming 80 million members in Russia, the patriarch wants to keep the national church above partisan³ politics. Roman Lukin, a religion analyst⁴ in Moscow, says Kirill's January message is key.
He says that the patriarch wants to place the church above political fights, to position itself as a mediator.
After a big rally in December, opposition⁵ leader Alexei Navalny asked the church to mediate⁶ between the opposition and Mr. Putin. Last week, Navalny met with a church leader to start a dialogue.
Meanwhile, the patriarch wants to avoid the kind of radicalization that led to the communist revolution, almost one century ago.
He says the authorities should listen to the people, correct the government’s policies and avoid the kinds of divisions that crippled Russia in the last century.
Before becoming patriarch, Kirill served for a decade as church spokesman. Now, he asks all parishes to create Internet homepages to better communicate with believers.
Pravmir, the main Orthodox website, now bubbles with blogs and sermons, some critical of Russia’s rampant⁷ corruption⁸.
Reverend Dmitri Sverdlov won a wide audience for blogging about last month’s parliamentary elections, the vote that sparked the protest movement.
The orthodox priest said the key is to improve Russia, without destroying it.
Presidential elections are set for March 4. Protests may continue. And if the Russian Winter becomes a "Russian Spring," a key mediating⁹ role may be in store for the nation’s 1,000-year-old church.

1 mediator   

n.调解人，中介人

参考例句：

• He always takes the role of a mediator in any dispute.他总是在争论中充当调停人的角色。
• He will appear in the role of mediator.他将出演调停者。

2 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。

3 partisan   

adj.党派性的；游击队的；n.游击队员；党徒

参考例句：

• In their anger they forget all the partisan quarrels.愤怒之中，他们忘掉一切党派之争。
• The numerous newly created partisan detachments began working slowly towards that region.许多新建的游击队都开始慢慢地向那里移动。

4 analyst   

n.分析家，化验员；心理分析学家

参考例句：

• What can you contribute to the position of a market analyst?你有什么技能可有助于市场分析员的职务？
• The analyst is required to interpolate values between standards.分析人员需要在这些标准中插入一些值。

5 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

6 mediate   

vi.调解，斡旋；vt.经调解解决；经斡旋促成

参考例句：

• The state must mediate the struggle for water resources.政府必须通过调解来解决对水资源的争夺。
• They may be able to mediate between parties with different interests.他们也许能在不同利益政党之间进行斡旋。

7 rampant   

adj.(植物)蔓生的；狂暴的，无约束的

参考例句：

• Sickness was rampant in the area.该地区疾病蔓延。
• You cannot allow children to rampant through the museum.你不能任由小孩子在博物馆里乱跑。

8 corruption   

n.腐败，堕落，贪污

参考例句：

• The people asked the government to hit out against corruption and theft.人民要求政府严惩贪污盗窃。
• The old man reviled against corruption.那老人痛斥了贪污舞弊。

9 mediating   

调停，调解，斡旋( mediate的现在分词 )； 居间促成； 影响…的发生； 使…可能发生

参考例句：

• So many factors are mediating. 如此众多的因素在起作用。
• The contrast in mediating noted in the sitting room. 客厅中注重了调和中的对比。