VOA慢速英语2021--白俄罗斯运动员因“担心生命安全”拒绝回国

Belarusian Olympic runner Krystsina Tsimanouskaya decided¹ to defect as she was being driven to a Tokyo airport. She made the choice because her grandmother told her it was not safe for her to return home.

Tsimanouskaya arrived in Poland on Wednesday. She spoke² to reporters about the events that led her from Tokyo to Warsaw.

Problems started when Tsimanouskaya published a message on social media criticizing how her Olympic team was being overseen³. Team officials then told her she had to leave the team -- and leave Japan. They told her to say she was injured and needed to go home early.

On her way to the airport, Tsimanouskaya spoke to her grandmother. Her grandmother explained that the Belarusian media was sharply criticizing her. She told her some reports said Tsimanouskaya was mentally ill. Her grandmother, she said, advised her not to return home.

When Tsimanouskaya arrived at the airport, she asked for help from the police. She translated a message on her phone into Japanese and showed it to them.

When it became clear she was in trouble, European countries offered to help her. The runner later went to the Polish embassy in Tokyo, where she received a humanitarian⁴ visa. Many of Belarus' activists⁵ have gone to Poland to avoid punishment from President Alexander Lukashenko's government.

"I'm a sportsperson and I didn't understand anything in political life," Tsimanouskaya told Reuters. "I try not to do anything other than a sport in my life and I try my best to not be distracted by politics."

Still, she said she was concerned for the safety of her family back home. Her husband fled Belarus this week shortly after his wife said she would not be returning. Poland also gave him a visa.

The events have drawn⁶ more attention to Belarus' authoritarian⁷ government. Lukashenko won a sixth term last year in an election widely seen as dishonest. After months of protests, the government answered with violence and the arrests of tens of thousands of demonstrators. The government has also targeted the media and members of the political opposition⁸.

The Belarus National Olympic Committee had said trainers removed Tsimanouskaya from the Games because doctors said she was in bad physical and mental health. The committee did not answer requests for comment by Reuters on Thursday.

Tsimanouskaya wrote on social media that team officials put her in the 4x400 meter relay race, an event she had never competed in.

She said she told her coach on Sunday that she was ready to run in the 200 meters. The coach then went to make a telephone call.

In a "couple of hours the head coach came to me with the team representative and they said there was a decision made to send me home," she told Reuters reporters. They said, "we are not the ones who made the decision, we are only executing it. You have 40 minutes. You have to pack your things and go to the airport."

The decision, she said, came from "high up."

Tsimanouskaya's criticism was aimed at team officials. But it likely angered political officials. Lukashenko led the Belarus National Olympic Committee for almost 25 years before giving his son the job in February. Lukashenko takes a serious interest in sports and sees sports as a sign of national honor.

The 24-year-old Tsimanouskaya said Thursday she had not thought about seeking political asylum⁹. But she said she hoped to find a way to continue her running career. She said she hopes the Tokyo Games are not her last Olympics.

She also said she wants to go back home one day, when it is safe.

"I would want to return to Belarus," Tsimaounskaya said. "I love my country. I did not betray it and I hope I will be able to return."

Words in This Story

defect — v. to leave a country, political party, organization, etc., and go to a different one that is a competitor or an enemy

translate — v. to change words from one language into another language

visa — n. an official mark or stamp on a passport that allows someone to enter or leave a country usually for a particular reason

distracted — adj. unable to think about or pay attention to something : unable to concentrate

authoritarian — adj. expecting or requiring people to obey rules or laws : not allowing personal freedom

coach — n. a person who teaches and trains an athlete or performer

execute — v. to do (something that you have planned to do or been told to do)

betray — v. to hurt (someone who trusts you, such as a friend or relative) by not giving help or by doing something morally wrong

1 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

2 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。

3 overseen   

v.监督，监视( oversee的过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He was overseen stealing the letters. 他被人撞见在偷信件。 来自辞典例句
• It will be overseen by ThomasLi, director of IBM China Research Laboratory. 该实验室由IBM中国研究院院长李实恭(ThomasLi)引导。 来自互联网

4 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。

5 activists   

n.（政治活动的）积极分子，活动家( activist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• His research work was attacked by animal rights activists . 他的研究受到了动物权益维护者的抨击。
• Party activists with lower middle class pedigrees are numerous. 党的激进分子中有很多出身于中产阶级下层。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 drawn   

v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的

参考例句：

• All the characters in the story are drawn from life.故事中的所有人物都取材于生活。
• Her gaze was drawn irresistibly to the scene outside.她的目光禁不住被外面的风景所吸引。

7 authoritarian   

n./adj.专制(的)，专制主义者，独裁主义者

参考例句：

• Foreign diplomats suspect him of authoritarian tendencies.各国外交官怀疑他有着独裁主义倾向。
• The authoritarian policy wasn't proved to be a success.独裁主义的政策证明并不成功。

8 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。

9 asylum   

n.避难所，庇护所，避难

参考例句：

• The people ask for political asylum.人们请求政治避难。
• Having sought asylum in the West for many years,they were eventually granted it.他们最终获得了在西方寻求多年的避难权。