万花筒 2010-10-23&10-24 索比亚宁出任莫斯科市长

It’s pretty local in the sense of this is just the appointment of a mayor of Moscow, but Moscow is one of the biggest cities in Europe and it’s got massive budget, billions of dollars, so the person who occupies this post has some degree of power, but it’s also being something a long-going saga¹ which gives us an insight into the way Russian politics is working these days.
The predecessor² of this man--Sergei Sobyanin, his name’s Yuri Luzhkov, he was in the post for 18 years, that nearly two decades. In fact, he was unceremoniously fired after falling out with the Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, well,  just about a month later, it’s been this new person appointed, because Moscow is one of the few cities in Europe, perhaps it is one of the city,the capital of Belarus,Minsk, that which doesn’t actually directed the elect to have some say in the election of its mayor, this mayor of Moscow has been appointed. He seems very much as somebody who’s a loyalist to Vladimir Putin-Russia’s Prime Minister, it’s an indication that the Kremlin and Vladimir Putin as well, is tightening⁴ its grip over this very important city in Russia and all its resources that contain within it, so it seems to be again: The Kremlin tighten³ its grip over the political situation in Russia.

1 saga   

n.(尤指中世纪北欧海盗的)故事，英雄传奇

参考例句：

• The saga of Flight 19 is probably the most repeated story about the Bermuda Triangle.飞行19中队的传说或许是有关百慕大三角最重复的故事。
• The novel depicts the saga of a family.小说描绘了一个家族的传奇故事。

2 predecessor   

n.前辈，前任

参考例句：

• It will share the fate of its predecessor.它将遭受与前者同样的命运。
• The new ambassador is more mature than his predecessor.新大使比他的前任更成熟一些。

3 tighten   

v.(使)变紧；(使)绷紧

参考例句：

• Turn the screw to the right to tighten it.向右转动螺钉把它拧紧。
• Some countries tighten monetary policy to avoid inflation.一些国家实行紧缩银根的货币政策，以避免通货膨胀。

4 tightening   

上紧，固定，紧密

参考例句：

• Make sure the washer is firmly seated before tightening the pipe. 旋紧水管之前，检查一下洗衣机是否已牢牢地固定在底座上了。
• It needs tightening up a little. 它还需要再收紧些。