VOA标准英语2015--On Ukraine Battle Fringes, Civilians Struggle for Normalcy

On Ukraine Battle Fringes, Civilians¹ Struggle for Normalcy

KRAMATORSK, UKRAINE—

While battles rage daily in some parts of eastern Ukraine, not far away -- in areas the government took back from the Russian-backed rebels last summer -- people are doing their best to live normal lives, while keeping a wary² eye on the shifting front lines.

In Kramatorsk, a statue of the Russian revolutionary Vladimir Lenin still stands proudly in the main square, but someone has painted his trousers Ukrainian yellow and blue.

Just 100 kilometers to the east, Ukrainians fight Russian-backed rebels. But here, Lenin presides over families trying to keep to their normal routines, taking advantage of a mild winter day to go for an outing.

Still, concern that the rebels could fight their way back to the city is not far from their minds.

“I’m anxious, a little bit anxious. But still, we’re hoping people won’t want them anymore, and won’t let them come back," says Alyona, a homemaker, who brought her daughter to the square for a pony³ ride on a mild winter day.

“Of course I’m concerned, just like everyone else here," says Anton, an electronics repairman. "I can’t make any predictions. We’re getting too little information. But I hope they will protect us.  I will try to help as best I can.”

Traumatized by fighting

Local people have been traumatized by the daily reports from the nearby battlefields, says Alexander Kihtenko, Donetsk regional governor.

“It affected⁴ the psychological state of the people very negatively," Kihtenko says.

"People are almost constantly under the threat of shelling, under threat of losing their homes, their relatives and friends. Now, the citizens of Donetsk region want only one thing. They want peace,” he says.

And they're just trying to find some peace when they can.

However, Ukrainian officials say these people will put up stiff resistance if the rebels and the Russians come to big cities like Kramatorsk, which has a population of more than 150,000.

Still, here, like farther east, not everyone opposes the rebels. There is considerable pro-Russian sentiment, and an overlay of Soviet⁵-built factories and symbols of a time when Ukraine and Russia were both part of the Soviet Union.

Pro-Russian sentiment

Forty kilometers closer to the battlefront, in the town of Artemivsk, a group of women protested the Ukrainian government’s conscription program. They don’t want their husbands and sons to fight against Russia, they say. One says if people in Kyiv want to fight Russia, they should send their sons to do it.

Those women are not alone, but their views appear to be in the minority. Most people in government-held areas don’t want the rebels to return.

Vasily, a retired⁶ pipefitter, says, "When [the rebels] left, it was horrible. Now, it’s very good. May they never return!"

Alyona, the homemaker, says, “In the past, they had some support from people. Now people have seen that it’s bad, that war means destruction, disaster, tears. We hope that it’s just threats and it won’t become reality.”

That’s the hope. But as convoys⁷ head east from the city, and the dead and wounded come back, it’s difficult to know how many more peaceful Saturdays there will be for pony rides in the square.

1 civilians   

平民，百姓( civilian的名词复数 )； 老百姓

参考例句：

• the bloody massacre of innocent civilians 对无辜平民的血腥屠杀
• At least 300 civilians are unaccounted for after the bombing raids. 遭轰炸袭击之后，至少有300名平民下落不明。

2 wary   

adj.谨慎的，机警的，小心的

参考例句：

• He is wary of telling secrets to others.他谨防向他人泄露秘密。
• Paula frowned,suddenly wary.宝拉皱了皱眉头，突然警惕起来。

3 pony   

adj.小型的；n.小马

参考例句：

• His father gave him a pony as a Christmas present.他父亲给了他一匹小马驹作为圣诞礼物。
• They made him pony up the money he owed.他们逼他还债。

4 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

5 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。

6 retired   

adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的

参考例句：

• The old man retired to the country for rest.这位老人下乡休息去了。
• Many retired people take up gardening as a hobby.许多退休的人都以从事园艺为嗜好。

7 convoys   

n.（有护航的）船队( convoy的名词复数 )；车队；护航（队）；护送队

参考例句：

• Truck convoys often stop over for lunch here. 车队经常在这里停下来吃午饭。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• A UN official said aid programs will be suspended until there's adequate protection for relief convoys. 一名联合国官员说将会暂停援助项目，直到援助车队能够得到充分的保护为止。 来自辞典例句