VOA标准英语2010-100,000 Attend State Funeral for Poland P

People stand along a street as a hearse carrying the coffin¹ of the late Polish President Lech Kaczynski arrives in Kraków, southern Poland, Sunday, April 18, 2010

About 100,000 Poles turned out for Sunday's state funeral for President Lech Kaczynski and his wife Maria in the southern city of Krakow.  The ceremonies ended a week of mourning for 96 people killed in a plane crash a week ago.

A final day of memorial services for President Lech Kaczynski and his wife, an elaborate holy mass as St. Mary's Basilica in central Krakow.  The church filled with family and friends along with government officials, foreign leaders and delegations².

The president and first lady were among 96 people who died when their plane crashed near the Russian town of Smolensk.  They were on their way to a memorial service honoring 22,000 Polish military officers killed by Soviet³ troops in 1940 in the Katyn forest in western Russia.

Katyn remains⁴ a defining moment in Polish history and has severely⁵ troubled relations between Russia and Poland.

At the funeral, Speaker of the Polish Parliament and Acting⁶ President Bronislav Komorowski said he hoped the tragedy of the plane crash may help bring the two nations together. He said there have been many signs of warmth and understanding from the Russian people and words and gestures from Russia's leaders. These are greatly appreciated, he said.

Russian President Dmitri Medvedev was among the foreign leaders attending the funeral.  Before leaving Krakow, he too said he hoped the tragedy might bring about a rapprochement.

Many other leaders had planned to attend the funeral, but were forced to cancel due to hazardous⁷ flying conditions above much of Europe, caused by a cloud of volcanic⁸ ash in the high atmosphere.  U.S. President Barrack Obama was among those unable to attend. 

After the funeral mass, the coffins⁹ of President Kaczynski and his wife were taken through the town and up the hill to Wawel Cathedral, where they were laid to rest.  Crowds lined the streets, tossing flowers and waving Polish flags, the Cathedral's historic bell tolling¹⁰ a final farewell.

 

1 coffin   

n.棺材，灵柩

参考例句：

• When one's coffin is covered,all discussion about him can be settled.盖棺论定。
• The coffin was placed in the grave.那口棺材已安放到坟墓里去了。

2 delegations   

n.代表团( delegation的名词复数 )；委托，委派

参考例句：

• In the past 15 years, China has sent 280 women delegations abroad. 十五年来，中国共派280批妇女代表团出访。 来自汉英非文学 - 白皮书
• The Sun Ray decision follows the federal pattern of tolerating broad delegations but insisting on safeguards. “阳光”案的判决仿效联邦容许广泛授权的做法，但又坚持保护措施。 来自英汉非文学 - 行政法

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 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。

5 severely   

adv.严格地；严厉地；非常恶劣地

参考例句：

• He was severely criticized and removed from his post.他受到了严厉的批评并且被撤了职。
• He is severely put down for his careless work.他因工作上的粗心大意而受到了严厉的批评。

6 acting   

n.演戏，行为，假装；adj.代理的，临时的，演出用的

参考例句：

• Ignore her,she's just acting.别理她，她只是假装的。
• During the seventies,her acting career was in eclipse.在七十年代，她的表演生涯黯然失色。

7 hazardous   

adj.(有)危险的，冒险的；碰运气的

参考例句：

• These conditions are very hazardous for shipping.这些情况对航海非常不利。
• Everybody said that it was a hazardous investment.大家都说那是一次危险的投资。

8 volcanic   

adj.火山的；象火山的；由火山引起的

参考例句：

• There have been several volcanic eruptions this year.今年火山爆发了好几次。
• Volcanic activity has created thermal springs and boiling mud pools.火山活动产生了温泉和沸腾的泥浆池。

9 coffins   

n.棺材( coffin的名词复数 )；使某人早亡[死，完蛋，垮台等]之物

参考例句：

• The shop was close and hot, and the atmosphere seemed tainted with the smell of coffins. 店堂里相当闷热，空气仿佛被棺木的味儿污染了。 来自辞典例句
• Donate some coffins to the temple, equal to the number of deaths. 到寺庙里，捐赠棺材盒给这些死者吧。 来自电影对白

10 tolling   

[财]来料加工

参考例句：

• A remote bell is tolling. 远处的钟声响了。
• Indeed, the bells were tolling, the people were trooping into the handsome church. 真的，钟声响了，人们成群结队走进富丽堂皇的教堂。