VOA标准英语2014--Future of Odessa, Ukraine's 'Jewel of the Black Sea,' Uncertain

 

Future of Odessa, Ukraine's 'Jewel of the Black Sea,' Uncertain

LONDON — The violence between pro-Kyiv and pro-Russian groups in Odessa last week killed over 40 people and sent shockwaves across Ukraine and beyond. The city founded by Catherine the Great in 1794 has long been a cosmopolitan¹ port attracting tourists and traders from across the world.

Odessa, a city marked by grand imperial boulevards, conjures² romantic images. Ukraine's balmy Black Sea port is a melting pot, with diverse cultures and ethnic³ groups that have long coexisted, usually peacefully.

Residents say that is why the recent bloodshed inflicted⁴ such a wound on the city and the entire country.

Over 40 people died during street battles on May 2 that climaxed⁵ in a spectacular fire. Surrounded by angry supporters of the Ukrainian government, pro-Russian demonstrators inside the trade union building could not or would not come out. The smoke and flames killed dozens of people.

Many Odessa residents, like this woman, want their normal lives back.

"We just want peace," she said. "We want just to live our peaceful life, like it was before. When we could walk with our children in the street, and our children were happy."

Orysia Lutsevych of the London-based policy institute Chatham House recalls how Odessa grew to become the fourth largest city in Czarist Russia.

"Odessa was always at that time a city of ports, trade, but also a city of seaside resorts," said Lutsevych.

It also was the scene of a workers' uprising in 1905, immortalized in the film Battleship Potemkin, directed by Sergei Eisenstein and known as a triumph of both cinematic art and propaganda.

Residents are proud of their heritage. Alexander Roytburd, a painter and art gallery director, says Odessa belongs to the world.

"Odessa was a planned city built quickly by efficient managers, and it has become a vehicle for international trade and business," said Roytburd.

The city remains⁶ a free port, whose traders can ship goods freely across the globe.

Authorities in Kyiv fear Russia could repeat its takeover of Crimea and annex⁷ the entire Black Sea coast, including Odessa, leaving Ukraine landlocked, reduced in size and weakened. Moscow denies there isw such a plan, but Orysia Lutsevych points out that Odessa has great strategic importance.

"Not just for commercial trade, but also [by] using Odessa port for military dispatches. From the security and strategic importance, now that Kyiv authorities are not friendly to Russia, the Kremlin feels that they have to control the southern corridor [through Ukraine], also to supply support to [the Moldovan breakaway region of] Transnistria," she said.

Odessa is considered one of the jewels of Eastern Europe, but that is imperiled by the tension and political struggle now under way.

1 cosmopolitan   

adj.世界性的，全世界的，四海为家的，全球的

参考例句：

• New York is a highly cosmopolitan city.纽约是一个高度世界性的城市。
• She has a very cosmopolitan outlook on life.她有四海一家的人生观。

2 conjures   

用魔术变出( conjure的第三人称单数 )； 祈求，恳求； 变戏法； （变魔术般地） 使…出现

参考例句：

• The word 'birthday' conjures up images of presents and parties. “生日”这个词使人想起礼物和聚会的情景。
• The name Sahara conjures up images of a desert of aridity. "撒哈拉"这个名字使人想起干旱的沙漠情景。

3 ethnic   

adj.人种的，种族的，异教徒的

参考例句：

• This music would sound more ethnic if you played it in steel drums.如果你用钢鼓演奏，这首乐曲将更具民族特色。
• The plan is likely only to aggravate ethnic frictions.这一方案很有可能只会加剧种族冲突。

4 inflicted   

把…强加给，使承受，遭受( inflict的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• They inflicted a humiliating defeat on the home team. 他们使主队吃了一场很没面子的败仗。
• Zoya heroically bore the torture that the Fascists inflicted upon her. 卓娅英勇地承受法西斯匪徒加在她身上的酷刑。

5 climaxed   

vt.& vi.达到顶点（climax的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• The demonstration climaxed two weeks of strikes. 游行示威将持续了两周的罢工推向了高潮。 来自辞典例句
• His election to the presidency climaxed his political career. 他的当选为总统使他的政治生涯达到最高峰。 来自辞典例句

6 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。

7 annex   

vt.兼并，吞并；n.附属建筑物

参考例句：

• It plans to annex an England company in order to enlarge the market.它计划兼并一家英国公司以扩大市场。
• The annex has been built on to the main building.主楼配建有附属的建筑物。