VOA标准英语2012--Greeks Face Decisive Vote as Anti-German Sentiment Soars

 

Greeks Face Decisive Vote as Anti-German Sentiment Soars

Athens’ oldest university has become a canvas for citizens venting¹ their anger.

Anger at the government... anger at capitalism²...calls for banks to be burned.

There is much anger too at Germany. Athens resident Anastasis Koutsoukos interrupted VOA’s filming to make his point.

“[German Chancellor³ Angela] Merkel has the ideology⁴ of ‘pan-Germanism’. All is Germany. That is the problem,” he said.

It is a common sentiment. On June 17, Greeks return to the polls.

The EU warns that Greece’s future in the euro is at stake.

Voters who spoke⁵ to VOA appeared strongly divided.

“They try to push the Greeks to accept something that is unbearable⁶. The [austerity] memorandum⁷ is unbearable, simply. It will make the Greek economy a desert,” said Athens resident Theo Phanis.

“Voting for a party won’t make things better. Only the people themselves can make things better. Am I optimistic? No,” said student Katy Volonaki.

On April 4 Dimitris Christoulas, a 77-year-old pharmacist, shot himself. In his pocket was a note saying that he couldn’t bring himself to go searching through the garbage to feed himself.

Greek supporters, and campaigners from across the world, have turned the spot where he died in front of parliament into a shrine⁸ against austerity.

Still, polls show an overwhelming majority of Greeks want to stay in the euro.

Konstantis Michalos, president of the Athens Chamber⁹ of Commerce, says there will be no easy Greek exit from the single currency.

“Greece may be in the spotlight¹⁰ at the moment but it’s not just Greece. We’ve got Italy, we’ve got Portugal, and we have Spain, and potentially France. So Germany has to look seriously towards this situation because, in a few months’ time, we will have an addition to this long list of problematic economies from northern European states.”

Fears of a run on Greek banks have so far not materialized.

But the uncertainty¹¹ over Greece’s future in the eurozone is causing instability across the world economy... and prolonging the agony of the Greek people. 

1 venting   

消除； 泄去； 排去； 通风

参考例句：

• But, unexpectedly, he started venting his spleen on her. 哪知道，老头子说着说着绕到她身上来。 来自汉英文学 - 骆驼祥子
• So now he's venting his anger on me. 哦，我这才知道原来还是怄我的气。

2 capitalism   

n.资本主义

参考例句：

• The essence of his argument is that capitalism cannot succeed.他的论点的核心是资本主义不能成功。
• Capitalism began to develop in Russia in the 19th century.十九世纪资本主义在俄国开始发展。

3 chancellor   

n.(英)大臣；法官；(德、奥)总理；大学校长

参考例句：

• They submitted their reports to the Chancellor yesterday.他们昨天向财政大臣递交了报告。
• He was regarded as the most successful Chancellor of modern times.他被认为是现代最成功的财政大臣。

4 ideology   

n.意识形态，(政治或社会的)思想意识

参考例句：

• The ideology has great influence in the world.这种思想体系在世界上有很大的影响。
• The ideal is to strike a medium between ideology and inspiration.我的理想是在意识思想和灵感鼓动之间找到一个折衷。

5 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。

6 unbearable   

adj.不能容忍的；忍受不住的

参考例句：

• It is unbearable to be always on thorns.老是处于焦虑不安的情况中是受不了的。
• The more he thought of it the more unbearable it became.他越想越觉得无法忍受。

7 memorandum   

n.备忘录，便笺

参考例句：

• The memorandum was dated 23 August,2008.备忘录上注明的日期是2008年8月23日。
• The Secretary notes down the date of the meeting in her memorandum book.秘书把会议日期都写在记事本上。

8 shrine   

n.圣地，神龛，庙；v.将...置于神龛内，把...奉为神圣

参考例句：

• The shrine was an object of pilgrimage.这处圣地是人们朝圣的目的地。
• They bowed down before the shrine.他们在神龛前鞠躬示敬。

9 chamber   

n.房间，寝室；会议厅；议院；会所

参考例句：

• For many,the dentist's surgery remains a torture chamber.对许多人来说，牙医的治疗室一直是间受刑室。
• The chamber was ablaze with light.会议厅里灯火辉煌。

10 spotlight   

n.公众注意的中心，聚光灯，探照灯，视听，注意，醒目

参考例句：

• This week the spotlight is on the world of fashion.本周引人瞩目的是时装界。
• The spotlight followed her round the stage.聚光灯的光圈随着她在舞台上转。

11 uncertainty   

n.易变，靠不住，不确知，不确定的事物

参考例句：

• Her comments will add to the uncertainty of the situation.她的批评将会使局势更加不稳定。
• After six weeks of uncertainty,the strain was beginning to take its toll.6个星期的忐忑不安后，压力开始产生影响了。