VOA标准英语2013--Russia Wants Tourism, Not Terrorism, for Embattled Caucasus

 

 

Russia Wants Tourism, Not Terrorism, for Embattled Caucasus

DERBENT, RUSSIA — Car bombs and shootings make Dagestan the leader in political violence in Russia’s troubled North Caucasus.

After Dagestan became known as the ancestral home of the two suspected Boston Marathon bombers¹, however, the world spotlight² turned on this Muslim majority region - and Moscow started to take action.

Last week, in a surprise move, a military helicopter took to prison a man seen here as an untouchable warlord: Said Amirov, the mayor of Dagestan’s capital, Makhachkala.

The Kremlin wants to pacify³ the North Caucasus before the Sochi Winter Olympic Games are held next February on the western edge of the Caucasus Mountains.

Tourist haven⁴?

Looking to the long term, the Kremlin believes that tourism offers a way out for the impoverished⁵ North Caucasus.

The potential is clear here in Dagestan’s Derbent, Russia’s oldest and southernmost city.

For more than 1,500 years, the Derbent fortress⁶ controlled a narrow strip of land between the eastern edge of the North Caucasus and the Caspian Sea.

“The people that live in Derbent are really proud of our fortress. And we are waiting for tourists. Bring on the tourists. We’re all for it,” said Shakmarda Mardonov, who works in the fruit market below the fortress.

Mardonov and others remember the Soviet⁷ days, when a quarter-million tourists came here every year. Since then, the fortress became a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Violent reputation

Despite this honor, there are no tourists today for Abasu Shakalar Sanya, a city taxi driver.

“I said to my friends in Moscow to come down and see the sea and the fortress,” he said. “They said: 'No, they will shoot and kill us.' Have you heard anything like that here? No. It doesn’t happen here. We are friendly people. We love guests and tourists.”

A few blocks away stand the thick, low walls of the Dzhuma Mosque⁸. Built in 734, it is the oldest mosque in Russia.

The mosque and the fortress are centerpieces for a project to bring one million tourists annually⁹ here by the end of this decade.

“We want more tourists and guests to come to Derbent," said Imam Magomedovich Yaraliev, mayor of Derbent and a former prosecutor¹⁰. "We want to make friends and live peacefully. We want to develop our city.  We want to have one brotherhood¹¹ of the people in Dagestan.”

In today’s Dagestan, the violence often seems endless. It is a flash in time, however, compared to the history witnessed by the ancient stone walls of the Derbent fortress.

Over the centuries, the fort changed hands from Persians to Arabs to Armenians to Mongols to Turks, until finally falling to Russians in 1813 - 200 years ago. 

 

1 bombers   

n.轰炸机( bomber的名词复数 )；投弹手；安非他明胶囊；大麻叶香烟

参考例句：

• Enemy bombers carried out a blitz on the city. 敌军轰炸机对这座城市进行了突袭。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The Royal Airforce sill remained dangerously short of bombers. 英国皇家空军仍未脱离极为缺乏轰炸机的危境。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 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。

3 pacify   

vt.使(某人)平静(或息怒)；抚慰

参考例句：

• He tried to pacify the protesters with promises of reform.他试图以改革的承诺安抚抗议者。
• He tried to pacify his creditors by repaying part of the money.他为安抚债权人偿还了部分借款。

4 haven   

n.安全的地方，避难所，庇护所

参考例句：

• It's a real haven at the end of a busy working day.忙碌了一整天后，这真是一个安乐窝。
• The school library is a little haven of peace and quiet.学校的图书馆是一个和平且安静的小避风港。

5 impoverished   

adj.穷困的，无力的，用尽了的v.使（某人）贫穷( impoverish的过去式和过去分词 )；使（某物）贫瘠或恶化

参考例句：

• the impoverished areas of the city 这个城市的贫民区
• They were impoverished by a prolonged spell of unemployment. 他们因长期失业而一贫如洗。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 fortress   

n.堡垒，防御工事

参考例句：

• They made an attempt on a fortress.他们试图夺取这一要塞。
• The soldier scaled the wall of the fortress by turret.士兵通过塔车攀登上了要塞的城墙。

7 Soviet   

adj.苏联的，苏维埃的；n.苏维埃

参考例句：

• Zhukov was a marshal of the former Soviet Union.朱可夫是前苏联的一位元帅。
• Germany began to attack the Soviet Union in 1941.德国在1941年开始进攻苏联。

8 mosque   

n.清真寺

参考例句：

• The mosque is a activity site and culture center of Muslim religion.清真寺为穆斯林宗教活动场所和文化中心。
• Some years ago the clock in the tower of the mosque got out of order.几年前，清真寺钟楼里的大钟失灵了。

9 annually   

adv.一年一次，每年

参考例句：

• Many migratory birds visit this lake annually.许多候鸟每年到这个湖上作短期逗留。
• They celebrate their wedding anniversary annually.他们每年庆祝一番结婚纪念日。

10 prosecutor   

n.起诉人；检察官，公诉人

参考例句：

• The defender argued down the prosecutor at the court.辩护人在法庭上驳倒了起诉人。
• The prosecutor would tear your testimony to pieces.检查官会把你的证言驳得体无完肤。

11 brotherhood   

n.兄弟般的关系，手中情谊

参考例句：

• They broke up the brotherhood.他们断绝了兄弟关系。
• They live and work together in complete equality and brotherhood.他们完全平等和兄弟般地在一起生活和工作。