美国国家公共电台 NPR--Once a heavyweight champion, Kyiv's mayor now fights the Russians

Once a heavyweight champion, Kyiv's mayor now fights the Russians

Transcript¹

KYIV, Ukraine — If you want to challenge that old expression "you can't fight city hall," you should probably pick someplace besides Ukraine's capital. That's because the mayor's previous job title was heavyweight champion of the world.

Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko held that title on and off from 1999 to 2013.

Now, he's fighting the Russians. Klitschko is quick to the scene when Russian airstrikes slam into the capital.

"They killed children, women, civilians², for what reason?" Klitschko said as he arrived at an apartment building that was attacked in March. "Where's the military target? Is this building a military target?"

The Russian invasion in February has transformed Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy from a leader with sagging³ popularity into one of the world's most famous political figures. Yet before the war, Klitschko was better known globally, at least to boxing fans.

The Russians reached the outskirts⁴ of the capital early in the war and had just retreated when Klitschko spoke⁵ to NPR in April.

"Kyiv is the largest city in Eastern Europe. Right now, we guess half of the population (of 3.5 million) has already left," Klitschko said. "The city's changed totally. In the springtime, this city has energy. And right now, the city is almost dead."

Now the capital is more relaxed

The war is still raging in eastern and southern Ukraine. But in the capital, many residents who initially⁶ fled have come back and the city has in many ways regained⁷ a sense of normalcy. There are still soldiers in the streets, checkpoints on the edge of the city, and frequent air raid sirens. But the streets are full of cars and pedestrians⁸, shops and restaurants are open, and the day-to-day atmosphere is generally relaxed.

Even when the Russians were nearby, Klitschko never stopped working out of City Hall, a massive stone building in the center of Kyiv, surrounded by sandbags. He said in a recent interview with The Sunday Times that he's left the city just twice since the war began.

At age 51, Klitschko stands 6-foot-7 and still looks to be around his fighting weight of 250. When he retired⁹ nearly a decade ago, he'd won 45 professional bouts¹⁰ — 41 by knockout — and lost only twice. His nickname? Dr. Ironfist.

In politics, he did lose his first bid for mayor. But he won the post in 2014 and was easily reelected in 2020. He generally gets good marks from citizens.

"He's done a pretty good job and I'm very thankful for what he's done so far," said Dmytro Belov.

Belov gives toy car rides to children at a park that Klitschko upgraded. The park — one of several renovated¹¹ by the mayor — now has an elevated walkway with a commanding view overlooking the Dnipro River , which bisects the city.

"These are beautiful parks. I think they're the new calling card of the city," Belov said. "These are historical places and they've been modernized¹²."

Still, not everyone is a fan of the mayor.

"I think that he is essentially¹³ a sportsman and he should stick to sports," said Anya Hovenko, who was pushing her child in a stroller through the park.

"He is definitely not someone who is adept¹⁴ at governing. I'm not very sure that he's very good at his job."

Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko speaks to journalists in April at the demolition¹⁵ of a Soviet¹⁶-era monument dedicated¹⁷ to Russian-Ukrainian friendship.

Genya Savilov/AFP via Getty Images

Ukraine is poor compared to most of Europe. But there were signs of growing wealth in Kyiv — with Klitschko presiding over substantial development — until Russia invaded in February.

The city is now a mix of sleek¹⁸ glass towers that have risen in recent years, as well as stodgy¹⁹ apartment blocks from the Soviet era, and grand, ornate architectural gems²⁰ that date back to czarist-era Russia.

Before the war, Klitschko did face critics who said he favored wealthy developers over ordinary residents.

"His reputation is someone who has greatly developed the city, but mostly private development," said Liubomyr Mysiv of the group Rating, a private polling organization. Klitschko, he said, is seen as a mayor who has supported "building condominiums and shopping malls, as opposed to the public services that employ people."

Also, Klitschko supported President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's opponent in the presidential election in 2019. But the war has unified²¹ Ukrainians and pushed most internal political differences to the side, at least for now.

Brothers made a promise to their mother

One of Klitschko's strongest supporters is his younger brother, Wladimir, who also held multiple world heavyweight titles, from 2006 to 2015. At times, both Klitschko brothers held title belts from rival boxing associations, an unprecedented²² domination of the heavyweight ranks by a pair of brothers.

Yet they never settled it in the ring, keeping a promise to their mother that they would never pummel each other the way they hammered most everyone else.

Their mother is Russian and their father is Ukrainian. Such marriages were quite common in the Soviet era. In addition, their father was a general in the Soviet air force. The brothers grew up on Soviet military bases in the 1970s and '80s.

In a recent interview with Britain's Sunday Times, Klitschko said his family was deeply loyal to the Soviet Union and viewed the U.S. as an enemy. But as his boxing career was taking off, he traveled to the U.S. in the late 1980s.

"I came back and told my father, 'I've been to Florida. I visited Disney World, so many places.' I told him, 'Sorry, everything you've heard about the United States is (nonsense). It's a great country. They are great people,'" he told the paper.

The Klitschko brothers say that given mixed Russian-Ukrainian heritage, they have nothing against the Russian people. But they're full-throated opponents of President Vladimir Putin's war against Ukraine.

Mayor Klitschko made that point, as he has done repeatedly, at a deadly missile strike in June.

"This senseless war. We have to do everything to stop this war. Because thousands and thousands of civilians die," he said.

1 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

2 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。

3 sagging   

下垂[沉，陷]，松垂，垂度

参考例句：

• The morale of the enemy troops is continuously sagging. 敌军的士气不断低落。
• We are sagging south. 我们的船正离开航线向南漂流。

4 outskirts   

n.郊外，郊区

参考例句：

• Our car broke down on the outskirts of the city.我们的汽车在市郊出了故障。
• They mostly live on the outskirts of a town.他们大多住在近郊。

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 initially   

adv.最初，开始

参考例句：

• The ban was initially opposed by the US.这一禁令首先遭到美国的反对。
• Feathers initially developed from insect scales.羽毛最初由昆虫的翅瓣演化而来。

7 regained   

复得( regain的过去式和过去分词 )； 赢回； 重回； 复至某地

参考例句：

• The majority of the people in the world have regained their liberty. 世界上大多数人已重获自由。
• She hesitated briefly but quickly regained her poise. 她犹豫片刻，但很快恢复了镇静。

8 pedestrians   

n.步行者( pedestrian的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Several pedestrians had come to grief on the icy pavement. 几个行人在结冰的人行道上滑倒了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Pedestrians keep to the sidewalk [footpath]! 行人走便道。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

9 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。

10 bouts   

n.拳击（或摔跤）比赛( bout的名词复数 )；一段（工作）；（尤指坏事的）一通；（疾病的）发作

参考例句：

• For much of his life he suffered from recurrent bouts of depression. 他的大半辈子反复发作抑郁症。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• It was one of fistiana's most famous championship bouts. 这是拳击界最有名的冠军赛之一。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

11 renovated   

翻新，修复，整修( renovate的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He renovated his house. 他翻修了房子。
• The house has been renovated three years earlier. 这所房子三年前就已翻新。

12 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。

13 essentially   

adv.本质上，实质上，基本上

参考例句：

• Really great men are essentially modest.真正的伟人大都很谦虚。
• She is an essentially selfish person.她本质上是个自私自利的人。

14 adept   

adj.老练的，精通的

参考例句：

• When it comes to photography,I'm not an adept.要说照相，我不是内行。
• He was highly adept at avoiding trouble.他十分善于避开麻烦。

15 demolition   

n.破坏,毁坏,毁坏之遗迹

参考例句：

• The church has been threatened with demolition for years. 这座教堂多年来一直面临拆毀的威胁。
• The project required the total demolition of the old bridge. 该项目要求将老桥完全拆毁。

16 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。

17 dedicated   

adj.一心一意的；献身的；热诚的

参考例句：

• He dedicated his life to the cause of education.他献身于教育事业。
• His whole energies are dedicated to improve the design.他的全部精力都放在改进这项设计上了。

18 sleek   

adj.光滑的，井然有序的；v.使光滑，梳拢

参考例句：

• Women preferred sleek,shiny hair with little decoration.女士们更喜欢略加修饰的光滑闪亮型秀发。
• The horse's coat was sleek and glossy.这匹马全身润泽有光。

19 stodgy   

adj.易饱的；笨重的；滞涩的；古板的

参考例句：

• It wasn't easy to lose puppy fat when Mum fed her on stodgy home cooking.母亲给她吃易饱的家常菜，她想减掉婴儿肥可是很难。
• The gateman was a stodgy fellow of 60.看门人是个六十岁的矮胖子。

20 gems   

growth； economy； management； and customer satisfaction 增长

参考例句：

• a crown studded with gems 镶有宝石的皇冠
• The apt citations and poetic gems have adorned his speeches. 贴切的引语和珠玑般的诗句为他的演说词增添文采。

21 unified   

(unify 的过去式和过去分词)； 统一的； 统一标准的； 一元化的

参考例句：

• The teacher unified the answer of her pupil with hers. 老师核对了学生的答案。
• The First Emperor of Qin unified China in 221 B.C. 秦始皇于公元前221年统一中国。

22 unprecedented   

adj.无前例的，新奇的

参考例句：

• The air crash caused an unprecedented number of deaths.这次空难的死亡人数是空前的。
• A flood of this sort is really unprecedented.这样大的洪水真是十年九不遇。