美国国家公共电台 NPR--Ukrainians prep for winter. If Russia hits heating systems, cities will freeze

Ukrainians prep for winter. If Russia hits heating systems, cities will freeze

Transcript¹

The temperatures in the Ukrainian capital have been in the 70s lately. But as summer wanes², residents are already preparing for a harsh winter ahead.

A MARTINEZ, HOST:

It's one of the most popular conversation topics in Ukraine right now. Even in the depths of summer, soldiers and civilians³ alike are murmuring, trading advice and worrying about what to do when the cold winter arrives. Politicians trying to get ahead of the problem are trying to reassure⁴ the public that they're doing everything they can to prepare. Still, many fear the war may make this upcoming Ukrainian winter the harshest in a generation. NPR's Tim Mak reports.

TIM MAK, BYLINE⁵: Weeks like this in the capital city of Kyiv tend to have highs in the 70s - sunny days with just an occasional thunderstorm, warm and comfortable. But everywhere across Ukraine, people are already making preparations for a harsh, cold, bitter winter ahead. Lviv is a city in western Ukraine that has been relatively⁶ safe and far from the front lines. Here's Andriy Sadovyi, its mayor, warning well in advance of the coming challenges through a public video.

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ANDRIY SADOVYI: (Through interpreter) Our goal is to be prepared for the situation that can hardly be imagined. We need to be ready. We need to have a supply of all necessary things.

MAK: The urgency of the task is even greater when you get closer to the battlefield. In Kharkiv, where the outskirts⁷ of the city is just miles from the Russian border, missile strikes and artillery⁸ can be heard day and night. Oleksiy Lomskiy is a businessman who has since pivoted⁹ to working for the military and distributing humanitarian¹⁰ relief to the needy¹¹.

OLEKSIY LOMSKIY: (Through interpreter) I would say it's not just going to be a huge problem; it's going to be a huge tragedy, I believe.

MAK: He has an idea for why Russian forces have not yet destroyed the city's heating systems.

LOMSKIY: (Through interpreter) Our heating infrastructure¹² has not been destroyed just so we don't have enough time to fix it by winter.

MAK: He says there's no way to protect the city from bombardment because of how close it is to Russian territory. The only solution is for civilians to leave.

LOMSKIY: (Through interpreter) How to be prepared for winter - I believe only by giving opportunity for as many people as possible to escape because, here, winter is going to be horrible.

MAK: The fine weather of summer has traditionally been a good time for rural Ukrainians to gather wood, a primary source of heating for their homes. So it makes some sense why this is the time that it's becoming an urgent concern. Yuri, a Ukrainian farmer in a rural region outside Kharkiv, asked us not to use his surname because he has an uncommon¹³ one, and his farm had already been attacked before by Russian forces. He said he's concerned about a critical shortage of firewood this winter. And he's concerned about his workers.

YURI: (Through interpreter) The ones that have resources are starting to buy wood, preparing for winter. But many people are without jobs now because of the war. Our workers rely on us that we will give them their share, and they will buy wood for that money. And if we can't harvest, we won't be able to pay.

MAK: Living in a large city like Kyiv also has its vulnerabilities. Cities of more than a million people in Ukraine tend to rely on centralized heating systems.

OLEKSANDR KHARCHENKO: Absolutely centralized, that every heat to every multi-apartment building deliverable by the pipes. And all the pipes take heat from the two big, big station.

MAK: That's Oleksandr Kharchenko, the head of a key Ukrainian think tank and also an advisor¹⁴ to the Ministry¹⁵ of Energy. He's describing how hot water moves through nearly 600,000 kilometers of pipes to warm Kyiv residences up in the winter and how exposed the setup is in a time of war.

KHARCHENKO: This is a huge risk of missiles attack to infrastructure objects, and all big cities, these have vulnerability, every and each of them. And it's not a secret, and it's not something special.

MAK: He points out the cities in Ukraine, such as Kremenchuk, Okhtyrka and Kharkiv, that have already had their central heating stations attacked. He says that if Russian forces are able to attack these centralized heating stations in the winter, causing water pipes to freeze and cities to go cold, it will force millions to flee.

KHARCHENKO: This will be a terroristic act because this act has not any military meaning. It's a genocide. It's a war against civil people. It's not connected to military, to military operation.

MAK: Reactions to the notion of a frigid¹⁶ winter at war are as diverse as Ukrainians themselves. In Kharkiv, not far from the front lines, a cook doing humanitarian work for needy locals admitted the season would be extremely hard, but the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, which started in February, began in the winter. Bitter as it may be, it would not be their first time enduring it.

Tim Mak, NPR News, Kyiv.

(SOUNDBITE OF THE NATIONAL SONG, "NOBODY ELSE WILL BE THERE")

1 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

2 wanes   

v.衰落( wane的第三人称单数 )；（月）亏；变小；变暗淡

参考例句：

• The moon waxes till it becomes full, and then wanes. 月亮渐盈，直到正圆，然后消亏。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• The moon waxes and wanes every month. 月亮每个月都有圆缺。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 civilians   

平民，百姓( civilian的名词复数 )； 老百姓

参考例句：

• the bloody massacre of innocent civilians 对无辜平民的血腥屠杀
• At least 300 civilians are unaccounted for after the bombing raids. 遭轰炸袭击之后，至少有300名平民下落不明。

4 reassure   

v.使放心，使消除疑虑

参考例句：

• This seemed to reassure him and he continued more confidently.这似乎使他放心一点，于是他更有信心地继续说了下去。
• The airline tried to reassure the customers that the planes were safe.航空公司尽力让乘客相信飞机是安全的。

5 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

6 relatively   

adv.比较...地，相对地

参考例句：

• The rabbit is a relatively recent introduction in Australia.兔子是相对较新引入澳大利亚的物种。
• The operation was relatively painless.手术相对来说不痛。

7 outskirts   

n.郊外，郊区

参考例句：

• Our car broke down on the outskirts of the city.我们的汽车在市郊出了故障。
• They mostly live on the outskirts of a town.他们大多住在近郊。

8 artillery   

n.(军)火炮，大炮；炮兵(部队)

参考例句：

• This is a heavy artillery piece.这是一门重炮。
• The artillery has more firepower than the infantry.炮兵火力比步兵大。

9 pivoted   

adj.转动的，回转的，装在枢轴上的v.（似）在枢轴上转动( pivot的过去式和过去分词 )；把…放在枢轴上；以…为核心，围绕（主旨）展开

参考例句：

• His old legs and shoulders pivoted with the swinging of the pulling. 他一把把地拉着，两条老迈的腿儿和肩膀跟着转动。 来自英汉文学 - 老人与海
• When air is moving, the metal is pivoted on the hinge. 当空气流动时，金属板在铰链上转动。 来自辞典例句

10 humanitarian   

n.人道主义者，博爱者，基督凡人论者

参考例句：

• She has many humanitarian interests and contributes a lot to them.她拥有很多慈善事业，并作了很大的贡献。
• The British government has now suspended humanitarian aid to the area.英国政府现已暂停对这一地区的人道主义援助。

11 needy   

adj.贫穷的，贫困的，生活艰苦的

参考例句：

• Although he was poor,he was quite generous to his needy friends.他虽穷，但对贫苦的朋友很慷慨。
• They awarded scholarships to needy students.他们给贫苦学生颁发奖学金。

12 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。

13 uncommon   

adj.罕见的，非凡的，不平常的

参考例句：

• Such attitudes were not at all uncommon thirty years ago.这些看法在30年前很常见。
• Phil has uncommon intelligence.菲尔智力超群。

14 advisor   

n.顾问，指导老师，劝告者

参考例句：

• They employed me as an advisor.他们聘请我当顾问。
• The professor is engaged as a technical advisor.这位教授被聘请为技术顾问。

15 ministry   

n.(政府的)部；牧师

参考例句：

• They sent a deputation to the ministry to complain.他们派了一个代表团到部里投诉。
• We probed the Air Ministry statements.我们调查了空军部的记录。

16 frigid   

adj.寒冷的，凛冽的；冷淡的；拘禁的

参考例句：

• The water was too frigid to allow him to remain submerged for long.水冰冷彻骨，他在下面呆不了太长时间。
• She returned his smile with a frigid glance.对他的微笑她报以冷冷的一瞥。