VOA标准英语2012--Protesters Camp Out in Central Moscow

Protesters Camp Out in Central Moscow

Several hundred opposition¹ activists² are camping out in the Chistye Prudy area of central Moscow, in an action organizers are now calling “Occupy Abai,” after the 19th century Kazakh poet and philosopher Abai Kunanbayaev, whose bronze statue sits amid the encampment. 

A cafeteria of sorts has been set up to feed activists, while impromptu³ sing-alongs and poetry readings are held to help keep up spirits. 

Olga, a college student, says she felt more comfortable coming down to “Occupy Abai” then to the May 6 protest rally, which was dubbed⁴ the “March of Millions.” “I can do such things: I can help with the meals, with the boiled water, with something else. But I could not - I don’t have enough power to go for such events as (the) March of Millions," she said. 

Thus far, “Occupy Abai” has been, for the most part, left alone. However, President Vladimir Putin’s press secretary, Dmitry Peskov, said Friday that the protesters were camping out “illegally” and police would “definitely” shut down the action sooner or later.

One of the opposition leaders, Ilya Yashin, says the movement will not be intimidated⁶. “It’s like psychological pressure. But they’ve already tried so many times to intimidate⁵ us with clubs and threats: it’s not possible to intimidate us; it’s not possible to disperse⁷ us," she said. 

Several top opposition figures were among the hundreds of people arrested during and after the May 6 demonstration⁸, including Left Front leader Sergei Udaltsov and anti-corruption blogger Alexei Navalny. Both men were jailed for 15 days for disobeying police orders and remain in custody⁹.

Another opposition leader, Boris Nemtsov, was arrested on May 6 and released after paying a fine. The veteran liberal politician visited the Occupy Abai campsite, urging Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev, who will attend the Group of Eight summit in the U.S. next week, to drop by. “Nobody’s going to hit you; nothing’s going to happen to you,” Nemtsov said. “People just want to ask you questions.”

Some protesters fear a different kind of official visit. This sign asks the Moscow mayor to protect city residents from the “lawlessness” of the riot police.  

1 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。

2 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》

3 impromptu   

adj.即席的，即兴的；adv.即兴的(地)，无准备的(地)

参考例句：

• The announcement was made in an impromptu press conference at the airport.这一宣布是在机场举行的临时新闻发布会上作出的。
• The children put on an impromptu concert for the visitors.孩子们为来访者即兴献上了一场音乐会。

4 dubbed   

v.给…起绰号( dub的过去式和过去分词 )；把…称为；配音；复制

参考例句：

• Mathematics was once dubbed the handmaiden of the sciences. 数学曾一度被视为各门科学的基础。
• Is the movie dubbed or does it have subtitles? 这部电影是配音的还是打字幕的？ 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 intimidate   

vt.恐吓，威胁

参考例句：

• You think you can intimidate people into doing what you want?你以为你可以威胁别人做任何事？
• The first strike capacity is intended mainly to intimidate adversary.第一次攻击的武力主要是用来吓阻敌方的。

6 intimidated   

v.恐吓；威胁adj.害怕的；受到威胁的

参考例句：

• We try to make sure children don't feel intimidated on their first day at school. 我们努力确保孩子们在上学的第一天不胆怯。
• The thief intimidated the boy into not telling the police. 这个贼恫吓那男孩使他不敢向警察报告。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 disperse   

vi.使分散；使消失；vt.分散；驱散

参考例句：

• The cattle were swinging their tails to disperse the flies.那些牛甩动着尾巴驱赶苍蝇。
• The children disperse for the holidays.孩子们放假了。

8 demonstration   

n.表明，示范，论证，示威

参考例句：

• His new book is a demonstration of his patriotism.他写的新书是他的爱国精神的证明。
• He gave a demonstration of the new technique then and there.他当场表演了这种新的操作方法。

9 custody   

n.监护，照看，羁押，拘留

参考例句：

• He spent a week in custody on remand awaiting sentence.等候判决期间他被还押候审一个星期。
• He was taken into custody immediately after the robbery.抢劫案发生后，他立即被押了起来。