VOA标准英语2009年-Poland's Solidarity Falls Victim to Own Su

By Peter Fedynsky
Gdansk, Poland
02 November 2009

The collapse¹ of the Berlin Wall ended decades of anti-communist protests by people living in Eastern and Central Europe. Authorities there often used deadly force to put down protests, yet they were unable to stop millions of workers and intellectuals who joined Poland's Solidarity² Trade Union from demanding greater personal and political freedoms. What has freedom meant for the shipyard in Gdansk where Solidarity was organized?

 
Poster showing a sheriff walking over the communist party headquarters marks 20th anniversary of Poland's semi-free June 1989 elections that led to the fall of communism (file photo)
The end of communism in Poland 20 years ago was preceded by nearly a decade of protests by members of the Solidarity Trade Union. Pawel Adamowicz helped to organize anti-communist strikes in the 1980s and owes his position as the mayor of Gdansk to Solidarity's success.

Adamowicz says the collapse of communism gave Poland freedom, which is the most important thing. He adds that regaining³ freedom also gave Poles economic and other kinds of liberties.

Solidarity began at the Lenin Ship Yard in Gdansk. Today, the union has about two million members, far less than the 10 million it had 20 years ago. Many in Poland say Solidarity became a victim of its own success.

While the union helped rid Poland of communism, the free-market system that replaced it resulted in thousands of layoffs⁴. They came amid the loss of state subsidies⁵, global competition and declining ship orders. Ludwik Pradzynski is among those who kept his job.

He says the situation at the shipyard compared to the past is insecure. Despite his 34 years of experience on the job, he says he fears being laid off.

Two shipyards near Gdansk are closed and the Gdansk facility is owned by investors⁶ from Ukraine. The director is Bulgarian. Many of the workers are Koreans, Vietnamese and Ukrainians. Ludwik Pradzynski suspects foreigners are undercutting Polish wages. 
Shipyard in Gdansk, cradle of Poland's anti-communist Solidarity movement, has shrunk to a shadow of its communist-era self (file photo)
 

Pradzynski says the salary of manual laborers⁸ is very low and not fair. Despite problems at the yard, he says ships can continue to be built, adding that workers are not the problem. He says there are so few of them that it is not possible to have less.

Mayor Adamowicz says the shipyard has been forced to adapt to competition and loss of subsidies.

The mayor says many small private shipyards were created around the Gdansk shipyard to produce parts and sections. These yards, he says, are more flexible and respond better to market demand.

Among those private companies is Sunreef Yachts, a French-owned company that bought several buildings at the main shipyard to produce luxury yachts and catamarans. Sunreef employs about 400 workers, hired when mass layoffs drove down the cost of labor⁷. Company Sales Director Maciej Stompor says that period is over.

"The market is controlled mainly by the workers, because some of those really highly qualified⁹ technicians, welders¹⁰, and shipyard workers found jobs abroad, so it is not that easy to find good workers any more," Stompor said.

Shipyard management says it must further reduce the workforce¹¹ to 1,900 employees to stay competitive.

Solidarity Union representative Jerzy Borowczak told VOA the organization is offering displaced workers' courses to increase their mobility¹².

He says the courses include computer use and English so that the worker can be mobile. The representative says instruction also revolves¹³ around marketing¹⁴ so members know how to negotiate, talk, and present themselves. 

Some workers express bitterness about struggling against communism only to lose their shipbuilding jobs. But even they are proud of having participated in Solidarity's peaceful movement to topple the totalitarian system.

1 collapse   

vi.累倒；昏倒；倒塌；塌陷

参考例句：

• The country's economy is on the verge of collapse.国家的经济已到了崩溃的边缘。
• The engineer made a complete diagnosis of the bridge's collapse.工程师对桥的倒塌做了一次彻底的调查分析。

2 solidarity   

n.团结；休戚相关

参考例句：

• They must preserve their solidarity.他们必须维护他们的团结。
• The solidarity among China's various nationalities is as firm as a rock.中国各族人民之间的团结坚如磐石。

3 regaining   

复得( regain的现在分词 )； 赢回； 重回； 复至某地

参考例句：

• She was regaining consciousness now, but the fear was coming with her. 现在她正在恢发她的知觉，但是恐怖也就伴随着来了。
• She said briefly, regaining her will with a click. 她干脆地答道，又马上重新振作起精神来。

4 layoffs   

临时解雇( layoff的名词复数 )； 停工，停止活动

参考例句：

• Textile companies announced 2000 fresh layoffs last week. 各纺织公司上周宣布再次裁员两千人。
• Stock prices broke when the firm suddenly announced layoffs. 当公司突然宣布裁员时，股票价格便大跌

5 subsidies   

n.补贴，津贴，补助金( subsidy的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• European agriculture ministers failed to break the deadlock over farm subsidies. 欧洲各国农业部长在农业补贴问题上未能打破僵局。
• Agricultural subsidies absorb about half the EU's income. 农业补贴占去了欧盟收入的大约一半。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 investors   

n.投资者，出资者( investor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• a con man who bilked investors out of millions of dollars 诈取投资者几百万元的骗子
• a cash bonanza for investors 投资者的赚钱机会

7 labor   

n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦

参考例句：

• We are never late in satisfying him for his labor.我们从不延误付给他劳动报酬。
• He was completely spent after two weeks of hard labor.艰苦劳动两周后，他已经疲惫不堪了。

8 laborers   

n.体力劳动者，工人( laborer的名词复数 )；（熟练工人的）辅助工

参考例句：

• Laborers were trained to handle 50-ton compactors and giant cranes. 工人们接受操作五十吨压土机和巨型起重机的训练。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• Wage-labour rests exclusively on competition between the laborers. 雇佣劳动完全是建立在工人的自相竞争之上的。 来自英汉非文学 - 共产党宣言

9 qualified   

adj.合格的，有资格的，胜任的，有限制的

参考例句：

• He is qualified as a complete man of letters.他有资格当真正的文学家。
• We must note that we still lack qualified specialists.我们必须看到我们还缺乏有资质的专家。

10 welders   

n.焊接工( welder的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Fifty welders were declared redundant. 已公布削减五十名焊工。 来自辞典例句
• Arcs more readily than AC welders, with longer arcing. 起弧比交流电容易，电弧加长一倍。 来自互联网

11 workforce   

n.劳动大军，劳动力

参考例句：

• A large part of the workforce is employed in agriculture.劳动人口中一大部分受雇于农业。
• A quarter of the local workforce is unemployed.本地劳动力中有四分之一失业。

12 mobility   

n.可动性，变动性，情感不定

参考例句：

• The difference in regional house prices acts as an obstacle to mobility of labour.不同地区房价的差异阻碍了劳动力的流动。
• Mobility is very important in guerrilla warfare.机动性在游击战中至关重要。

13 revolves   

v.（使）旋转( revolve的第三人称单数 )；细想

参考例句：

• The earth revolves both round the sun and on its own axis. 地球既公转又自转。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• Thus a wheel revolves on its axle. 于是，轮子在轴上旋转。 来自《简明英汉词典》

14 marketing   

n.行销，在市场的买卖，买东西

参考例句：

• They are developing marketing network.他们正在发展销售网络。
• He often goes marketing.他经常去市场做生意。