VOA标准英语2012--Euro 2012 Brings Ukraine Closer to Europe

 

Euro 2012 Brings Ukraine Closer to Europe

With around 1 million football (soccer) fans expected to cross the Polish and Ukrainian frontier during the European Championship, border authorities on both sides are cooperating in a rare show of unity¹. Ukrainian guards check passports on Polish territory. Special lanes allow fans to bypass the normal traffic. Guards with the EU’s border agency Frontex are posted here to help out.

Dutch police officer René Hugen is at the Medyka crossing.

“The people are reminded, I think approximately 2 or 3 kilometers before the border, to choose the right lane so the delay for them will be as low as possible," said Hugen.

Border guards are on the look out for human traffickers taking advantage of the simplified controls.

Smuggling² from Ukraine and Russia is also big business.

The EU says tobacco contraband³ costs around $12.5 billion in lost taxes every year.

Smugglers often hide their contraband on trains. Criminal networks on the Polish side collect the goods and sell them in western Europe, where they can go for 10 times what they cost.

Captain Mariusz Korczynski is head of the local Polish border guard.

“Sometimes we find cell phones hidden underneath⁵ the carriages, they are used to lead smugglers to the carriage where the cigarettes are hidden," said Korczynski.

In the north, the Bug⁶ River divides the two countries - and smugglers and illegal migrants often try to exploit this unfenced border.

When it’s dry, it is possible to walk across parts of this river. But in the last few weeks and during the Euro 2012 tournament there have been heavy rains in Poland, so the river levels are swollen⁷. That means the smugglers are looking to use boats across the river.

Further south, Polish border guards patrol the mountainous frontier on horseback. This allows them to see over the tall grass.

On the opposite side, Ukrainian border guards use Russian-made vehicles to negotiate the terrain⁸.

Colonel Krook Ivanovich is commander of the local border guard unit.

“We introduced some innovations like this that make border crossing easier without compromising security, as we do not exclude that there might be attempts to smuggle⁴ weapons, drugs or cigarettes," said Ivanovich.

Several European leaders have refused to follow their national teams to Ukraine, alleging⁹ maltreatment of the jailed opposition¹⁰ leader Yulia Tymoshenko.

It’s cast a shadow over a tournament that was meant to give a boost to Ukraine’s European relations.

Still with the traffic flowing freely, many fans who spoke¹¹ to VOA say Poland and Ukraine are putting on a good competition. 

1 unity   

n.团结，联合，统一；和睦，协调

参考例句：

• When we speak of unity,we do not mean unprincipled peace.所谓团结，并非一团和气。
• We must strengthen our unity in the face of powerful enemies.大敌当前，我们必须加强团结。

2 smuggling   

n.走私

参考例句：

• Some claimed that the docker's union fronted for the smuggling ring.某些人声称码头工人工会是走私集团的掩护所。
• The evidence pointed to the existence of an international smuggling network.证据表明很可能有一个国际走私网络存在。

3 contraband   

n.违禁品，走私品

参考例句：

• Most of the city markets were flooded with contraband goods.大多数的城市市场上都充斥着走私货。
• The customs officers rummaged the ship suspected to have contraband goods.海关人员仔细搜查了一艘有走私嫌疑的海轮。

4 smuggle   

vt.私运；vi.走私

参考例句：

• Friends managed to smuggle him secretly out of the country.朋友们想方设法将他秘密送出国了。
• She has managed to smuggle out the antiques without getting caught.她成功将古董走私出境，没有被逮捕。

5 underneath   

adj.在...下面，在...底下；adv.在下面

参考例句：

• Working underneath the car is always a messy job.在汽车底下工作是件脏活。
• She wore a coat with a dress underneath.她穿着一件大衣，里面套着一条连衣裙。

6 bug   

n.虫子；故障；窃听器；vt.纠缠；装窃听器

参考例句：

• There is a bug in the system.系统出了故障。
• The bird caught a bug on the fly.那鸟在飞行中捉住了一只昆虫。

7 swollen   

adj.肿大的，水涨的；v.使变大，肿胀

参考例句：

• Her legs had got swollen from standing up all day.因为整天站着，她的双腿已经肿了。
• A mosquito had bitten her and her arm had swollen up.蚊子叮了她，她的手臂肿起来了。

8 terrain   

n.地面，地形，地图

参考例句：

• He had made a detailed study of the terrain.他对地形作了缜密的研究。
• He knows the terrain of this locality like the back of his hand.他对这一带的地形了如指掌。

9 alleging   

断言，宣称，辩解( allege的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• His reputation was blemished by a newspaper article alleging he'd evaded his taxes. 由于报上一篇文章声称他曾逃税，他的名誉受到损害。
• This our Peeress declined as unnecessary, alleging that her cousin Thornhill's recommendation would be sufficient. 那位贵人不肯，还说不必，只要有她老表唐希尔保荐就够了。

10 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

11 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。