VOA标准英语2013--Two Tent Camps in Kyiv Reflect Ukraine’s East-West Divide

 

Two Tent Camps in Kyiv Reflect Ukraine’s East-West Divide

KYIV — One kilometer separates Kyiv’s rival tent cities: the sprawling¹, improvised² camp of pro-European demonstrators on Independence Square, and the compact, army-style camp of supporters of President Viktor Yanukovych on Constitution Square.

At the pro-Yanukovych camp, the police are there to protect.

At the opposition³ camp, the barricades⁴ are there to protect. The one facing the government neighborhood is three meters of snow and ice, of wood and steel. An opposition banner warns Ukraine’s riot police: “Welcome to Hell.”

Political loyalties⁵ are clear. Inside the opposition camp, a sketch⁶ shows Ukraine’s president as political heir to Stalin, Hitler and Pinochet.

In the government camp, it is the reverse. In an army tent, a husky man points to a color portrait of  Ukraine’s president and says: “Viktor Fedorovych forever - he is our president.”

Cannibalistic actIn the government camp, people fear a break with Moscow.

Grisha, a 30-year-old construction worker, denounces last week’s toppling of Kiev’s last Lenin statue as “a cannibalistic act.”

He is from Nikolaev, a Russian-speaking city that depends on three large Soviet-era factories. He warns: “If Russia refuses to buy, the factories simply stop.”

Ruslan is a well-dressed businessman from Kremenchuk, an eastern city. “I would like that there be work in our country," he said. "If we join the EU, there will be no work. All the factories will stop. Production will collapse⁷. The EU does not need our products.”

Down the hill, at the opposition camp, or Maidan, people say government supporters are prisoners of fear.

Oleg is a warehouse⁸ worker from Lviv, the western Ukrainian city near Poland. “Look how Poland lived, and how Poland lives now," he said. "You have to go and look at the world and you can’t hide in the attic⁹ and be afraid.”

He says Ukraine can be Europe’s next Poland: “The country will be more open, and investment will come, and factories will work again.”

Ruled by fearNearby Olena Danko, a documentary film editor, agreed.

“It is very sad,” she said. “We have a lot of people, who are still ruled by fear - fear of losing work, fear of having no money, fear of being punished.”

Olena said that every evening for the last two weeks she has met her friends at the Maidan to listen to music and to witness Ukraine’s changing society. She is amazed at the high level of volunteerism, often facilitated by FaceBook sites.

Despite the barricades, the opposition camp is an often happy, spontaneous place.

Near a tent chapel¹⁰, Greek Catholic priests say it is because people are in the Maidan for ideals, not for money.  Asked why no priests were seen at the pro-government camp, Father Yuri responds: “People are here for ideals. Up there, it’s money.  There are no priests up there, because no priests can be bought for government money.”

Running on donations, the opposition has better food. And - with a parade of Ukrainian pop stars giving free concerts - better music. 

1 sprawling   

adj.蔓生的，不规则地伸展的v.伸开四肢坐[躺]( sprawl的现在分词 )；蔓延；杂乱无序地拓展；四肢伸展坐着（或躺着）

参考例句：

• He was sprawling in an armchair in front of the TV. 他伸开手脚坐在电视机前的一张扶手椅上。
• a modern sprawling town 一座杂乱无序拓展的现代城镇

2 improvised   

a.即席而作的,即兴的

参考例句：

• He improvised a song about the football team's victory. 他即席创作了一首足球队胜利之歌。
• We improvised a tent out of two blankets and some long poles. 我们用两条毛毯和几根长竿搭成一个临时帐蓬。

3 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。

4 barricades   

路障，障碍物( barricade的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The police stormed the barricades the demonstrators had put up. 警察冲破了示威者筑起的街垒。
• Others died young, in prison or on the barricades. 另一些人年轻时就死在监牢里或街垒旁。

5 loyalties   

n.忠诚( loyalty的名词复数 )；忠心；忠于…感情；要忠于…的强烈感情

参考例句：

• an intricate network of loyalties and relationships 忠诚与义气构成的盘根错节的网络
• Rows with one's in-laws often create divided loyalties. 与姻亲之间的矛盾常常让人两面为难。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 sketch   

n.草图；梗概；素描；v.素描；概述

参考例句：

• My sister often goes into the country to sketch. 我姐姐常到乡间去写生。
• I will send you a slight sketch of the house.我将给你寄去房屋的草图。

7 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。

8 warehouse   

n.仓库；vt.存入仓库

参考例句：

• We freighted the goods to the warehouse by truck.我们用卡车把货物运到仓库。
• The manager wants to clear off the old stocks in the warehouse.经理想把仓库里积压的存货处理掉。

9 attic   

n.顶楼，屋顶室

参考例句：

• Leakiness in the roof caused a damp attic.屋漏使顶楼潮湿。
• What's to be done with all this stuff in the attic?顶楼上的材料怎么处理？

10 chapel   

n.小教堂，殡仪馆

参考例句：

• The nimble hero,skipped into a chapel that stood near.敏捷的英雄跳进近旁的一座小教堂里。
• She was on the peak that Sunday afternoon when she played in chapel.那个星期天的下午，她在小教堂的演出，可以说是登峰造极。