VOA常速英语2019--乌克兰开往前线的夜车

Ukraine’s Night Train to the Front Lines

The coal-fired carriage heaters are stoked. Fresh bed sheets are loaded.It’s late afternoon in Kiev station and train 84 is ready for departure to Mariupol.A journey of over 1,000 kilometers to the front line of Ukraine’s war with Russia.

烧煤的车厢加热器被点燃了。新床单被铺好了。现在是下午晚些时候，基辅站八十四次列车已经准备好出发前往马里乌波尔。长达一千多公里的旅程到达了乌克兰与俄罗斯战争的前线。

It’s not luxury but it is cheap, less than $25 for a bed.At 4:32 p.m. on time, the train pulls away through the suburbs of Kiev thrown together for the night, a cross-section of Ukrainian society.

这不是奢侈品，但很便宜，一张床不到二十五美元。下午四点三十二分，列车准时驶离基辅郊区，这是当晚的活动，也是乌克兰社会的一个缩影。

Sergei Evench has undergone eye surgery in Kiev and he’s heading back home to Mariupol with his wife Lena who enjoys the night train. “You can lie in bed and relax.You arrive in the morning full of energy.”

谢尔盖·埃文奇在基辅接受了眼科手术，他将和妻子莉娜一起回到马里乌波尔的家中，丽娜喜欢夜间火车。你可以躺在床上放松。你早上到达时充满活力。

Many young Ukrainians are leaving their home towns in search of a better life.“The main issue is to stop the torrent¹ of young even to go abroad to create stable jobs.”“Ukraine is divided between East and West and we’re always being made to fight each other but in reality normal people live on both sides so I want the new president to unite us as a nation.”

许多乌克兰年轻人离开家乡，寻找更好的生活。主要的问题是阻止大批年轻人出国，创造稳定的工作。“乌克兰被分为东乌克兰和西乌克兰，我们总是被迫互相争斗，但实际上，普通人生活在两方，所以我希望新总统能把我们作为一个国家团结起来。”

Outside, dusk falls over the fields of Ukraine’s vast steppe land.Epic² journeys are second nature for GennadIy Syuzev, a merchant seaman³ on his way to Mariupol’s port. “In my mind it doesn’t matter who’s going to be the next president. Nothing significant will change.”

外面，夜幕降临在乌克兰广袤的草原上。史诗般的旅程对GennadIy Syuzev来说太习惯了，他是一名商船船员，正在前往马里乌波尔港的途中。“在我看来，谁将成为下一任总统并不重要。没有什么重大的改变。”

Sharp jolts⁴ and squeaks⁵ bring us to a halt, one of 19 scheduled stops on the route.The night trains days could be numbered.The government has promised to reopen Mario polls dilapidated Airport, an election pledge that’s attracting voters.The train takes around 17 hours and many people want Ukraine’s infrastructure⁶ modernized⁷ but for others night trains like this a part of Ukraine’s way of life.

剧烈的颠簸和吱吱声让我们停了下来，这是路线上预定的十九个车站之一。夜车的日子屈指可数。政府电视台承诺重新开放马里奥机场，这是一个吸引选民的选举承诺。火车大约需要十七个小时，许多人希望乌克兰的基础设施现代化，但对其他人来说，像这样的夜间火车是乌克兰生活方式的一部分。

The cheapest tickets buy you a narrow bed in an open carriage, a dormitory on wheels.Oksana Repetskaya and her daughter are returning from a dance competition in Kiev. “We still have the same faces in power and so I have strong doubts that anything’s changed but I also really hope that new faces will come to power.”

最便宜的票能给你买到车厢里的窄床，是一个带轮子的宿舍。Oksana Repetskaya和她的女儿从基辅的舞蹈比赛回来。“我们仍然有同样的人掌权，所以我强烈怀疑一切都变了，但我也真心希望新面孔掌权。”

Close to midnight, the conversations fade. The lights are dimmed.It’s been a long night and we’re now about an hour outside the city of Mariupol and we’re running parallel to the front lines of the conflict between Ukraine and Russian backed separatists.The front lines are about seven kilometers to the east.In that direction many passengers on this train say that that conflicts if not forgotten is at the back of their minds.

接近午夜时，谈话渐渐淡去。灯光变暗了。这是一个漫长的夜晚，我们现在距离马里乌波尔市大约一个小时的路程，我们的路线与乌克兰和俄罗斯支持者冲突的前线平行。前线在东面大约七公里处。在这个方向上，这列火车上的许多乘客说，如果他们没有忘记冲突，那么冲突就在他们的脑海中。

But others say the very first priority of the next government must be to end that war.Disembarking at Mariupol, the signs of the nearby conflict are clear for Ukrainians returning home.The election offers hope of change but few of those living near the front lines believe their next president will have a quick fix to end the war.

但是其他人说，下一届政府的首要任务必须是结束这场战争。在马里乌波尔下车后，附近冲突的迹象对返回家园的乌克兰人来说很明显。这次选举带来了变革的希望，但住在前线附近的人当中，很少有人相信他们的下一任总统能迅速解决结束战争的问题。

1 torrent   

n.激流，洪流；爆发，(话语等的)连发

参考例句：

• The torrent scoured a channel down the hillside. 急流沿着山坡冲出了一条沟。
• Her pent-up anger was released in a torrent of words.她压抑的愤怒以滔滔不绝的话爆发了出来。

2 epic   

n.史诗，叙事诗；adj.史诗般的，壮丽的

参考例句：

• I gave up my epic and wrote this little tale instead.我放弃了写叙事诗，而写了这个小故事。
• They held a banquet of epic proportions.他们举行了盛大的宴会。

3 seaman   

n.海员，水手，水兵

参考例句：

• That young man is a experienced seaman.那个年轻人是一个经验丰富的水手。
• The Greek seaman went to the hospital five times.这位希腊海员到该医院去过五次。

4 jolts   

（使）摇动， （使）震惊( jolt的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• He found that out when he got a few terrific jolts, but he wouldn't give up. 被狠狠地撞回来几次后，他发觉了这一点，但他决不因此罢休。
• Some power bars are loaded with carbohydrates or caffeine for quick jolts. 有些能量条中包含大量的碳水化合物和咖啡因，以达到快速提神的效果。

5 squeaks   

n.短促的尖叫声，吱吱声( squeak的名词复数 )v.短促地尖叫( squeak的第三人称单数 )；吱吱叫；告密；充当告密者

参考例句：

• The upper-middle-classes communicate with each other in inaudible squeaks, like bats. 那些上中层社会的人交谈起来象是蚊子在哼哼，你根本听不见。 来自辞典例句
• She always squeaks out her ideas when she is excited. 她一激动总是尖声说出自己的想法。 来自互联网

6 infrastructure   

n.下部构造，下部组织，基础结构，基础设施

参考例句：

• We should step up the development of infrastructure for research.加强科学基础设施建设。
• We should strengthen cultural infrastructure and boost various types of popular culture.加强文化基础设施建设，发展各类群众文化。

7 modernized   

使现代化，使适应现代需要( modernize的过去式和过去分词 )； 现代化，使用现代方法

参考例句：

• By 1985 the entire railway network will have been modernized. 等到1985年整个铁路网就实现现代化了。
• He set about rebuilding France, and made it into a brilliant-looking modernized imperialism. 他试图重建法国，使它成为一项表面华丽的现代化帝业。