VOA标准英语2008年-DNA Tests ID Russian Czar's Children

DNA¹ tests have positively² identified the remains³ of two children of the last Russian czar, settling a mystery that had long surrounded their fate. VOA Moscow Correspondent Peter Fedynsky reports the memory of the murdered czarist family is still honored by many in Russia.
　
Bottom row left to right: Princess Olga, Czar Nicholas II, Princess Anastasia, Prince Alexei and Princess Tatiana Top row left to right: Princess Maria and Princess Alexandra

The Russian General Prosecutor's office says remains found last year in the city of Yekaterinburg have been identified through DNA testing as those of Grand Duchess Maria and Prince Alexei - two of Czar Nicholas II's five children.

Investigator⁴ Vladimir Solovyov explains three laboratories helped identify Maria and Alexei.

Solovyov says each group worked independently and there was even an element of competition among them. He says they compared genetic⁵ material of the czarist family found in 1991 with the genetic samples of the children found last year to make a positive identification.

The announcement comes just one day ahead the 90th anniversary of the czarist executions carried out by Bolshevik agents early on July 17, 1918.

A written account left by one of the killers⁶, Yakov Yurovsky, indicated the royal bodies had been soaked in acid and thrown down a mineshaft. He said two of the victims were burned and buried nearby. Those are the ones identified Tuesday. The remains of Czar Nicholas, his wife and three daughters were buried in 1998 in Saint Petersburg.

Nicholas II is leading an Internet poll conducted by the Rossiya television network and the Russian Academy of Sciences to name the greatest Russian. Some see that as an indication of renewed interest in the country's royal past. The Orthodox Church, which canonized the czar, is holding memorial services Wednesday and Thursday to commemorate⁷ him and his family.

But Nikolai Lukyanov, the director of the Russian Royal Family Museum in Moscow, told VOA it is not enough to merely pray for the Czar.

At a minimum, says Lukyanov, monuments to communists who toppled the czar should be removed and street names should be changed. He says there are streets in Yekaterinburg within blocks of the place where the czarist family was killed that still bear the names of their executioners.

Lukyanov notes, however, that Russian communists continue to oppose the removal of monuments to their former leaders.

In an indication of continued reverence⁸ for Russia's Soviet⁹ past, Communist dictator Joseph Stalin holds second place in the Internet poll behind the Czar Nicholas among 50 of the country's leading historical figures.

　

 

1 DNA   

(缩)deoxyribonucleic acid 脱氧核糖核酸

参考例句：

• DNA is stored in the nucleus of a cell.脱氧核糖核酸储存于细胞的细胞核里。
• Gene mutations are alterations in the DNA code.基因突变是指DNA密码的改变。

2 positively   

adv.明确地，断然，坚决地；实在，确实

参考例句：

• She was positively glowing with happiness.她满脸幸福。
• The weather was positively poisonous.这天气着实讨厌。

3 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。

4 investigator   

n.研究者，调查者，审查者

参考例句：

• He was a special investigator for the FBI.他是联邦调查局的特别调查员。
• The investigator was able to deduce the crime and find the criminal.调查者能够推出犯罪过程并锁定罪犯。

5 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。

6 killers   

凶手( killer的名词复数 )； 消灭…者； 致命物； 极难的事

参考例句：

• He remained steadfast in his determination to bring the killers to justice. 他要将杀人凶手绳之以法的决心一直没有动摇。
• They were professional killers who did in John. 杀死约翰的这些人是职业杀手。

7 commemorate   

vt.纪念，庆祝

参考例句：

• This building was built to commemorate the Fire of London.这栋大楼是为纪念“伦敦大火”而兴建的。
• We commemorate the founding of our nation with a public holiday.我们放假一日以庆祝国庆。

8 reverence   

n.敬畏，尊敬，尊严；Reverence:对某些基督教神职人员的尊称；v.尊敬，敬畏，崇敬

参考例句：

• He was a bishop who was held in reverence by all.他是一位被大家都尊敬的主教。
• We reverence tradition but will not be fettered by it.我们尊重传统，但不被传统所束缚。

9 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。