VOA标准英语2015--乌克兰战争使得很多老人处于弱势地位

War in Ukraine Leaves Many Elderly in a Vulnerable Position 乌克兰战争使得很多老人处于弱势地位

DEBALTSEVE—

In eastern Ukraine, the elderly are left especially vulnerable by the conflict between government forces and Russian-backed separatists.

In the wrecked¹ suburbs of Debaltseve, 77 year-old Ukrainian pensioner² Lydia Stepanovna is trying to come to terms with the events of the last few months. She’d lived here quietly for 16 years until January, when her town became the focus of a massive pro-Russian rebel offensive -- and the brief epicenter of a new standoff between Russia and the West.

Rockets rained down, and the house next door took a direct hit.

“One night I was just turning over in my bed, there was a distant boom but then suddenly there was a huge barrage³ of shelling landing everywhere around here. I was so scared, I’ve never heard such a huge sound in my life. I was crouching⁴ next to the cupboard praying to God to help me or kill me quickly. I didn't want to be left disabled,” said Stepanovna.

The stress of the war has taken a terrible toll⁵ on the elderly of Ukraine.  Many now live without gas, water and electricity. The UN estimates 60% of the internally-displaced are senior citizens, who often experience poor health and increased anxiety.

“Every day there was bombing, when you go out the toilet you are afraid; when you go to bring water you are afraid.  When you're bringing water and the bombing starts you throw it down and run. Bombing lands on all sides,” said Stepanovna.

Many elderly people in rebel-held areas have not received their pensions in months, though rebel authorities have distributed aid and recently paid out $40 per person to tide them over.  

On the wall of Lydia’s kitchen there’s a tattered⁶ picture of a hearty⁷ breakfast. But on her ancient stove there’s only dried bread and the onions, apples and walnuts⁸ she gathers from her garden. 

Lydia’s best friend, Luda, is 80 and lives across the street. She lived in her basement for a month during the shelling.

“You can see all the windows in my house are broken. And you can see my roof is full of holes. When the rain comes, the water will get inside," said Luda.

With her house open to the weather, Luda said she now has a cough that won’t go away.

This is not Lydia and Luda’s first war. Both were children during World War II and remember the German invasion of 1941. Lydia’s mother worked in a local factory at the time.

“We were living near the chemical plant and it was bombed all the time. We remember the bombers⁹ in the sky,” said Stepanovna.

Today, Lydia’s son is fighting with the rebels, but she said she just wants the war to stop.

“This war is happening for no reason, for no reason. No one in the world can understand why this war started. Even when the German soldiers were here we didn't see such things like we see today. When I left this town, it was ruined enough, but when I came back, it was so ruined that I started to cry,” said Stepanovna.

The elderly of Ukraine have now suffered through two wars on their soil.

Now, as their country buckles¹⁰ under a fresh round of fighting, it is they - perhaps more than most -  who comprehend its futility¹¹.

1 wrecked   

adj.失事的，遇难的

参考例句：

• the hulk of a wrecked ship 遇难轮船的残骸
• the salvage of the wrecked tanker 对失事油轮的打捞

2 pensioner   

n.领养老金的人

参考例句：

• The tax threshold for a single pensioner is$ 445.单身领退休年金者的纳税起点为445英镑。
• It was the pensioner's vote late in the day that influenced the election of Mr.Sweet.最后是领取养老金者的选票影响了斯威特先生的当选。

3 barrage   

n.火力网，弹幕

参考例句：

• The attack jumped off under cover of a barrage.进攻在炮火的掩护下开始了。
• The fierce artillery barrage destroyed the most part of the city in a few minutes.猛烈的炮火几分钟内便毁灭了这座城市的大部分地区。

4 crouching   

v.屈膝，蹲伏( crouch的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• a hulking figure crouching in the darkness 黑暗中蹲伏着的一个庞大身影
• A young man was crouching by the table, busily searching for something. 一个年轻人正蹲在桌边翻看什么。 来自汉英文学 - 散文英译

5 toll   

n.过路(桥)费；损失，伤亡人数；v.敲(钟)

参考例句：

• The hailstone took a heavy toll of the crops in our village last night.昨晚那场冰雹损坏了我们村的庄稼。
• The war took a heavy toll of human life.这次战争夺去了许多人的生命。

6 tattered   

adj.破旧的，衣衫破的

参考例句：

• Her tattered clothes in no way detracted from her beauty.她的破衣烂衫丝毫没有影响她的美貌。
• Their tattered clothing and broken furniture indicated their poverty.他们褴褛的衣服和破烂的家具显出他们的贫穷。

7 hearty   

adj.热情友好的；衷心的；尽情的，纵情的

参考例句：

• After work they made a hearty meal in the worker's canteen.工作完了，他们在工人食堂饱餐了一顿。
• We accorded him a hearty welcome.我们给他热忱的欢迎。

8 walnuts   

胡桃（树）( walnut的名词复数 )； 胡桃木

参考例句：

• Are there walnuts in this sauce? 这沙司里面有核桃吗？
• We ate eggs and bacon, pickled walnuts and cheese. 我们吃鸡蛋，火腿，腌胡桃仁和干酪。

9 bombers   

n.轰炸机( bomber的名词复数 )；投弹手；安非他明胶囊；大麻叶香烟

参考例句：

• Enemy bombers carried out a blitz on the city. 敌军轰炸机对这座城市进行了突袭。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The Royal Airforce sill remained dangerously short of bombers. 英国皇家空军仍未脱离极为缺乏轰炸机的危境。 来自《简明英汉词典》

10 buckles   

搭扣，扣环( buckle的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• She gazed proudly at the shiny buckles on her shoes. 她骄傲地注视着鞋上闪亮的扣环。
• When the plate becomes unstable, it buckles laterally. 当板失去稳定时，就发生横向屈曲。

11 futility   

n.无用

参考例句：

• She could see the utter futility of trying to protest. 她明白抗议是完全无用的。
• The sheer futility of it all exasperates her. 它毫无用处，这让她很生气。