VOA标准英语2008年-Georgia Votes in Favor of NATO

By Peter Fedynsky
Tbilisi
06 January 2008

Georgia's snap presidential election on Saturday included a non-binding referendum on whether the country should join NATO. An overwhelming majority voted in favor of such membership. VOA Correspondent Peter Fedynsky asked voters in Tbilisi why they seek an alliance with the West, knowing it will antagonize Russia, Georgia's powerful next-door neighbor.

Six of seven candidates in Saturday's presidential election favor NATO membership and a substantial majority of voters agree. But David Mirianashvili, who works for an international shipping¹ company, is part of a minority that believes NATO ties would antagonize Russia.

Choosing NATO, says Mirianashvili, means rejection² of the Russian market. And rejecting the Russian market does not help Georgia. He notes the move would have many negative consequences for his country.

Georgia has been feeling many of those consequences since 2006, when Russia imposed an embargo³ against the small former Soviet⁴ republic. The embargo has cut transportation and postal⁵ links between the two countries and deprived Georgia access to the Russian market. The embargo has particularly hurt exports of Georgian wines, brand name mineral water, and citrus products. Georgia's tourist industry has also been affected⁶.

Moscow imposed the restrictions⁷ following the brief arrest in Georgia of four Russian military officers charged with espionage⁸.

Akaki Nishnianidze, a Tbilisi physician, says Georgia is a pawn⁹ in a geopolitical struggle that will not be resolved by Saturday's NATO referendum alone.

The question of Georgia's political orientation¹⁰, says Nishniadidze, will be decided¹¹ in America and Russia. He says it is up to U.S. and Russian leaders to reach an agreement.

Architect Irakli Lolashvili voted in favor of the NATO referendum, despite the economic implications for his country. He says hotheads in Russia and Georgia spread fears that NATO membership will spell the death of Georgia. He points, however, to the Baltic States as a precedent¹² for peaceful co-existence between Moscow and former Soviet republics that became NATO members.

Lolashvili says Georgia and Russia must develop relations on a new basis; a basis of equality, Russia's military and economic power notwithstanding. The Russians, he says, need to reconsider their position in view of new realities. They still consider us part of Russia. But that, Lolashvili predicts, will eventually fade into the past.

Relations between Tbilisi and Moscow deteriorated¹³ after the pro-Western government of President Mikhail Saakashvili came to power following mass pro-democracy protests in 2003 known as the Rose Revolution.

1 shipping   

n.船运（发货，运输，乘船）

参考例句：

• We struck a bargain with an American shipping firm.我们和一家美国船运公司谈成了一笔生意。
• There's a shipping charge of ￡5 added to the price.价格之外另加五英镑运输费。

2 rejection   

n.拒绝，被拒，抛弃，被弃

参考例句：

• He decided not to approach her for fear of rejection.他因怕遭拒绝决定不再去找她。
• The rejection plunged her into the dark depths of despair.遭到拒绝使她陷入了绝望的深渊。

3 embargo   

n.禁运（令）；vt.对...实行禁运，禁止（通商）

参考例句：

• This country put an oil embargo on an enemy country.该国对敌国实行石油禁运。
• During the war,they laid an embargo on commerce with enemy countries.在战争期间，他们禁止与敌国通商。

4 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。

5 postal   

adj.邮政的，邮局的

参考例句：

• A postal network now covers the whole country.邮路遍及全国。
• Remember to use postal code.勿忘使用邮政编码。

6 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

7 restrictions   

约束( restriction的名词复数 )； 管制； 制约因素； 带限制性的条件（或规则）

参考例句：

• I found the restrictions irksome. 我对那些限制感到很烦。
• a snaggle of restrictions 杂乱无章的种种限制

8 espionage   

n.间谍行为，谍报活动

参考例句：

• The authorities have arrested several people suspected of espionage.官方已经逮捕了几个涉嫌从事间谍活动的人。
• Neither was there any hint of espionage in Hanley's early life.汉利的早期生活也毫无进行间谍活动的迹象。

9 pawn   

n.典当，抵押，小人物，走卒；v.典当，抵押

参考例句：

• He is contemplating pawning his watch.他正在考虑抵押他的手表。
• It looks as though he is being used as a political pawn by the President.看起来他似乎被总统当作了政治卒子。

10 orientation   

n.方向，目标；熟悉，适应，情况介绍

参考例句：

• Children need some orientation when they go to school.小孩子上学时需要适应。
• The traveller found his orientation with the aid of a good map.旅行者借助一幅好地图得知自己的方向。

11 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。

12 precedent   

n.先例，前例；惯例；adj.在前的，在先的

参考例句：

• Is there a precedent for what you want me to do?你要我做的事有前例可援吗？
• This is a wonderful achievement without precedent in Chinese history.这是中国历史上亘古未有的奇绩。

13 deteriorated   

恶化，变坏( deteriorate的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Her health deteriorated rapidly, and she died shortly afterwards. 她的健康状况急剧恶化，不久便去世了。
• His condition steadily deteriorated. 他的病情恶化，日甚一日。