VOA标准英语2010年-East-West Divide Preserved in a German

Perhaps nowhere in Germany are the effects of the Iron Curtain understood better than the tiny village of Moedlareuth. The village of just 50 people was divided down the middle after World War II, and separated for four decades.

Two abandoned guard towers, a long white wall, a fence topped with barbed wire and border posts stand as a testament¹ to what people endured for more than 40 years.

After Germany's unconditional² surrender in 1945, the Allies divided occupied Germany into four military zones; French in the southwest, British in the northwest, the United States in the south, and Soviet³ in the east.

Two states emerged. West Germany, a parliamentary democracy, a NATO member, a founding member of what since became the European Union and one of the world's largest economies, and East Germany a totalitarian Stalinist dictatorship allied⁴ with the Soviet Union.

When Germany was divided, first came a fence, and then a wall in Moedlareuth, separating East from West and in one case, brother from brother.

Germany was reunited in 1990, after the collapse⁵ of the East German communist government and the opening of the Berlin Wall.

Now Moedlareuth is a museum that attracts 60,000 visitors a year to its open air exhibit.

There is also a film, that documents the divide. Tour guide Heiko Ultsch says it moves many visitors.

"There are people when they watch the movie in that museum they are still crying afterwards, after the movie, and so many people say we should never forget what happened in Moedlareuth or in Germany at all," said Ultsch.

American visitor Amy Ladd said she was struck that neighbors a few-hundred meters apart could not visit each other.

"I cannot imagine what it would be like to just be told all of a sudden that you cannot go over to the other side, overnight," she noted⁶.

Twenty years ago the divide was broken and Germany officially reunified.

"I think the unification is certainly a wonderful thing for the Germans," said Terry Green, visiting from Florida. "The Eastern Germans did not have much of a life prior to the unification and now apparently⁷ they are starting to reap some of the benefits of Western civilization."

German Berg Ozminski says his children do not even feel the effects of the East-West divide because it occurred before they were born.

"It is no, no difference between East and West, young people for example, because they grow in the same way," explained Ozminski. "If you ask me if the reunification is done, I would say, 'Yes.'"

But there are still grounds for discontent over reunification on both sides. Unemployment in eastern Germany is far higher than in the West, and some western Germans complain they had to pay the costs of reunification.

"One of the surveys says 45 percent of the east Germans are feeling that they did not benefit, or did not profit by the reunification, but that means that more than a half do not think that," said historian Juliane Schutterle. "They are I think not so disappointed, not so frustrated⁸."

Schutterle adds that criticisms overlook something far more important.

"They always think, 'We have to pay, we have to pay, they have modern highways, and modern buildings and modern infrastructure⁹.' Yes, a lot of people may think that, but we have freedom right now, and this is one of the most crucial human rights we have and we achieved it," she said.

Many in Germany believe the reunification process is mostly complete, and hope Germans will stop thinking of the country in terms of East and West. This village, formerly¹⁰ known as little Berlin, shows clearly how divided Germany once was - and by contrast, how far it has come.
 

1 testament   

n.遗嘱；证明

参考例句：

• This is his last will and testament.这是他的遗愿和遗嘱。
• It is a testament to the power of political mythology.这说明，编造政治神话可以产生多大的威力。

2 unconditional   

adj.无条件的，无限制的，绝对的

参考例句：

• The victorious army demanded unconditional surrender.胜方要求敌人无条件投降。
• My love for all my children is unconditional.我对自己所有孩子的爱都是无条件的。

3 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。

4 allied   

adj.协约国的；同盟国的

参考例句：

• Britain was allied with the United States many times in history.历史上英国曾多次与美国结盟。
• Allied forces sustained heavy losses in the first few weeks of the campaign.同盟国在最初几周内遭受了巨大的损失。

5 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。

6 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

7 apparently   

adv.显然地；表面上，似乎

参考例句：

• An apparently blind alley leads suddenly into an open space.山穷水尽，豁然开朗。
• He was apparently much surprised at the news.他对那个消息显然感到十分惊异。

8 frustrated   

adj.挫败的，失意的，泄气的v.使不成功( frustrate的过去式和过去分词 )；挫败；使受挫折；令人沮丧

参考例句：

• It's very easy to get frustrated in this job. 这个工作很容易令人懊恼。
• The bad weather frustrated all our hopes of going out. 恶劣的天气破坏了我们出行的愿望。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 infrastructure   

n.下部构造，下部组织，基础结构，基础设施

参考例句：

• We should step up the development of infrastructure for research.加强科学基础设施建设。
• We should strengthen cultural infrastructure and boost various types of popular culture.加强文化基础设施建设，发展各类群众文化。

10 formerly   

adv.从前，以前

参考例句：

• We now enjoy these comforts of which formerly we had only heard.我们现在享受到了过去只是听说过的那些舒适条件。
• This boat was formerly used on the rivers of China.这船从前航行在中国内河里。