环球英语 — 446：The Fall of the Berlin Wall

　　Voice 1
Hello and welcome to Spotlight¹. I'm Marina Santee,
Voice 2
And I'm Steve Myersco. This programme uses a special English method of broadcasting. It is easier for people to understand, no matter where in the world they live.
"Around me scores of people have arrived to watch this first incision² into the Berlin Wall ..."
Voice 1
This is a BBC reporter reporting on a very important event in history. It happened on November the 9th, 1989. It was the fall of the Berlin Wall - and it is the subject of today's Spotlight.
"Any second now the Berlin Wall will be broken into! A huge cheer is going up. This huge digger is angling³ itself alongside⁴ the Berlin Wall."
Voice 3
‘The 20th anniversary⁵ of the fall of the Berlin wall is an important time to remember. Our thanks must go to brave people who worked for reform in the old East Germany. They worked hard for democracy⁶ and freedom. For people in the East and West, the fall of the Wall was an event of joy. It was an event that was a symbol of the whole of Europe reuniting. That is why it is right that we celebrate the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Wall in Berlin.'
Voice 2
This was the message of Klaus Wowereit. He is the mayor⁷ - or leader - of the city of Berlin. The people here are celebrating the fall of the Berlin Wall. For 28 years it divided the city. It was also a symbol of the divide between East and West Europe. But twenty years ago the wall came down.
Voice 1
After World War Two, Germany was divided into two countries. But the two countries developed very differently. West Germany became a rich democratic⁸ nation. East Germany was a communist state. Many people living in East Germany wanted to move to the West. They could see that life was better there. There was more money and more freedom. Over two million people left East Germany in the first twelve years of the country existing.
Voice 2
This was why the East German government decided⁹ to build fences along their western border. Berlin was in East Germany, but half the city was under the control of western authorities¹⁰, so the East German government built a huge wall around West Berlin. All this made it almost impossible for people to escape to West Germany. The Berlin Wall was built in 1961. It was just a small part of all that separated the communist countries in the East of Europe from the rest of the world, but it is the most famous part.
Voice 1
By the late 1980s people living in the Eastern European countries were becoming very unhappy. Many people in East Berlin went on to the streets to protest¹¹. They were angry with the poor living conditions. They wanted to leave East Germany. In November 1989 the East German government announced that it would let some people cross the border. Immediately, thousands of people tried to cross into West Berlin. The border guards could not stop them. So people were free to cross into West Germany. The Berlin Wall had fallen.
Voice 2
Over the next few days, people worked to destroy the wall. Some people just used basic tools, others had machines. This was the beginning of the process that united the two parts of Germany. One year later, in 1990, East and West Germany became one country again.
Voice 1
People remember the fall of the Berlin Wall as the event that opened Eastern Europe to the rest of the world. In the next few years the other communist countries in Eastern Europe began to change. They became free and independent nations.
Voice 2
This year, the authorities in Berlin have planned a big celebration for the anniversary on November 9th. The main event will be a very special domino rally¹². A domino rally normally¹³ involves small domino pieces. These are small flat pieces with numbers on that are used to play the game dominoes. To make a domino rally, people stand the domino pieces up in a line. When one domino piece falls over it pushes the next one over. In this way all the dominoes fall over in a line.
Voice 1
However the Berlin Wall domino rally will be different. These dominoes are all two and a half metres tall! They have also been painted, by people from all over Berlin and many other places in the world. Together they will make a line of dominoes one and a half kilometres long. It will follow the line where part of the Berlin Wall used to be. It will include one thousand large dominoes. Each one will be painted with a different design.
Voice 2
A German organisation¹⁴ sent about twenty of these large dominoes to seven different nations around the world. The organisation is the Goethe-Institut and this project is called ‘The Wall in the World'. Artists from these countries painted their designs onto the dominoes. The idea is to remind people that there are still barriers like the Berlin Wall in other parts of the world today.
Voice 1
For example, some dominoes went to South Korea. Here a military border divides North and South Korea. Others were sent to Israel. Israeli and Palestinian children worked together to design and paint their dominoes. Other dominoes were sent to Cyprus. This island country is divided in two. Half of the country is governed by the Turkish Cypriots, the other half by the Greek Cypriots.
Voice 2
In Cyprus, two boys painted a domino. They are Anthony and Deniz, and they are both sixteen years old. They each painted one side of the same domino. This shows how they live on two different sides of the same city. Anthony lives in the Greek part of Nicosia. Deniz lives in the Turkish part of the city. Anthony has never been to the Turkish part of Cyprus. But he told the Goethe-Institut,
Voice 4
‘I really want to go there. I want to know what is happening there. I want to know how the people live.'
Voice 1
Deniz painted two words on his side of the domino. These were "peace" and "empathy", which means understanding.
Voice 2
The two boys have never met before. They grew up on different sides of the barrier, but they both want the same thing:
Voice 4 and 5
‘We want the country to be reunited!'
Voice 2
The finished domino pieces have now been sent back to Berlin. They will be part of the domino rally. The dominoes falling after each other represent what is called the ‘domino effect'. One event leads to another event - just as one domino pushes over the next. It shows that the fall of the Berlin Wall did not only change Berlin. It changed Germany, Europe and the rest of the world.
 

1 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。

2 incision   

n．切口，切开

参考例句：

• The surgeon made a small incision in the patient's cornea.外科医生在病人的眼角膜上切开一个小口。
• The technique involves making a tiny incision in the skin.这项技术需要在皮肤上切一个小口。

3 angling   

n.钓鱼，钓鱼术；角化

参考例句：

• He loves (to go) angling on a fine summer day. 他喜欢在晴朗的夏日去垂钓。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• She's angling for a compliments. 她拐弯抹角地想受到夸奖。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 alongside   

adv.在旁边；prep.和...在一起，在...旁边

参考例句：

• There was a butcher's shop alongside the theatre.剧院旁边有一家肉店。
• Alongside of him stood his uncle.他的身旁站着他叔叔。

5 anniversary   

n.周年(纪念日)

参考例句：

• They celebrate their wedding anniversary annually.他们每年庆祝一番结婚纪念日。
• Today is my parents'30th wedding anniversary.今天是我父母结婚30周年纪念日。

6 democracy   

n.民主政治，民主制度；民主精神，民主作风

参考例句：

• Democracy is based on good will and mutual understanding.民主建立在善意和相互理解的基础上。
• Did democracy have its beginnings in Athens? 民主制度是创始于雅典吗？

7 mayor   

n.市长

参考例句：

• The new mayor said he would clean the city up.新市长说，他要整顿本市。
• The mayor hurried into his office,brushing off the reporters.市长赶快走进办公室，拒不接见记者。

8 democratic   

adj.民主的；民主主义的，有民主精神的

参考例句：

• Their country has democratic government.他们国家实行民主政体。
• He has a democratic work-style.他作风民主。

9 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

10 authorities   

n.当局，权力，权威；权威( authority的名词复数 )；权力；学术权威；[复数]当权者

参考例句：

• They interceded with the authorities on behalf of the detainees. 他们为被拘留者向当局求情。
• At his instigation we conceal the fact from the authorities. 我们受他的怂恿向当局隐瞒了事实。 来自《简明英汉词典》

11 protest   

v.反对，抗议；宣称；n.抗议；宣称

参考例句：

• I can't pass the matter by without a protest.我不能对此事视而不见，我要提出抗议。
• We translated his silence as a protest.我们把他的沉默解释为抗议。

12 rally   

n.集会，公路汽车赛；v.集合，恢复，振作

参考例句：

• The grand mass rally was held on the square.广场上举行了盛大的群众集会。
• The team captain vainly tried to rally his troops.队长试图振作部队的士气，但没有成功。

13 normally   

adv.正常地，通常地

参考例句：

• I normally do all my shopping on Saturdays.我通常在星期六买东西。
• My pulse beats normally.我脉搏正常。

14 organisation   

n.组织，安排，团体，有机休

参考例句：

• The method of his organisation work is worth commending.他的组织工作的方法值得称道。
• His application for membership of the organisation was rejected.他想要加入该组织的申请遭到了拒绝。