VOA慢速英语2017--俄罗斯纪念俄国革命100周年

 

The Russian Revolution took place 100 years ago.

The revolution ended a political system based on the leadership of a single person. It also led to the rise of the Soviet¹ Union.

A century ago, Russia’s Tsar Nicholas the Second was forced to give up power because of a rebellion against his rule. It is known as the “February” Revolution because Russia used the Gregorian calendar for record-keeping purposes.

Some Russians still defend the old system and its leaders. Some of them hope Russia will someday have a new tsar.

The Russian revolution led to the creation of a provisional or temporary government. Months later, Bolshevik activists² overthrew³ that government. That led to the rise of the Soviet Union and the spread of communism.

World War I was taking place 100 years ago. Russia fought on the side of the Allies, which included Britain, France and the United States. They were fighting the Central Powers, which included Germany, Austria-Hungary and the Ottoman Empire.

In St. Petersburg, living conditions worsened as the fighting continued. Many Russians were unhappy with the corruption⁴ they saw. Tens of thousands of factory workers turned against the tsar.

Igor Savrasov is the director of the Kirov Factory museum.

“It was the third year of the war. There was not a big difference among the workers. There was a shortage of bread for everyone.”

Wealthy families and supporters of the tsar fled Russia. But some returned later to join the new government.

Ivan Artsishevskiy teaches at the Center of Effective Communications.

“I served in the Soviet army, so I fully⁵ went through the system. In my family, we all believed in being with Russia, whether it’s for good or for bad.”

Artsishevskiy helped rebury members of Russia’s last royal family. They were executed by the Bolsheviks.

“As the result of the Soviet ‘achievements,’ a huge part of our genetic⁶ pool was destroyed, and the selection was of negative character. So now we must correct it.”

A group called the Russian Imperial House works to keep alive the memory of the Romanov family, Russia’s former rulers. Alexander Zakatov leads the group.

“We continue to stick to our monarchical⁸ convictions. And we continue to believe that monarchy⁹ for Russia is a historically natural mode of existence. Russia was a monarchy for more than a thousand years before the revolution, which brought us a lot of misfortunes.”

Zakatov admits that there is little support in Russia for the return of a ruling family. Few Russians mourn the loss of monarchical rule. But many still remember the Bolsheviks who seized power, the civil war that followed and the Soviet system they established.

Words in This Story

calendar – n. a document, chart, etc., that shows the days, weeks and months of a year

royal – adj. of or relating to a king or queen

negative – adj. harmful or bad; not wanted

character – n. the good qualities of a person that usually include moral or emotional strength, honesty and fairness

stick to – phrasal verb to not change (a decision, belief, etc.)

monarchy – n. a form of government in which a country is ruled by a monarch⁷ such as a king or queen

conviction – n. a strong belief or opinion

misfortune – n. bad luck

1 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。

2 activists   

n.（政治活动的）积极分子，活动家( activist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• His research work was attacked by animal rights activists . 他的研究受到了动物权益维护者的抨击。
• Party activists with lower middle class pedigrees are numerous. 党的激进分子中有很多出身于中产阶级下层。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 overthrew   

overthrow的过去式

参考例句：

• The people finally rose up and overthrew the reactionary regime. 人们终于起来把反动的政权推翻了。
• They overthrew their King. 他们推翻了国王。

4 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。

5 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。

6 genetic   

adj.遗传的，遗传学的

参考例句：

• It's very difficult to treat genetic diseases.遗传性疾病治疗起来很困难。
• Each daughter cell can receive a full complement of the genetic information.每个子细胞可以收到遗传信息的一个完全补偿物。

7 monarch   

n.帝王，君主，最高统治者

参考例句：

• The monarch's role is purely ceremonial.君主纯粹是个礼仪职位。
• I think myself happier now than the greatest monarch upon earth.我觉得这个时候比世界上什么帝王都快乐。

8 monarchical   

adj. 国王的，帝王的，君主的，拥护君主制的 =monarchic

参考例句：

• The Declaration represented a repudiation of the pre-Revolutionary monarchical regime. 这一宣言代表了对大革命前的君主政体的批判。
• The monarchical period established an essential background for the writing prophets of the Bible. 王国时期为圣经的写作先知建立了基本的背景。

9 monarchy   

n.君主，最高统治者；君主政体，君主国

参考例句：

• The monarchy in England plays an important role in British culture.英格兰的君主政体在英国文化中起重要作用。
• The power of the monarchy in Britain today is more symbolical than real.今日英国君主的权力多为象徵性的，无甚实际意义。