Warm-up

　　1. It is the 60th anniversary of the Great Patriotic War of the Soviet Union, which is an important part of World War II. Do you have some ideas about the historical background of this war?

　　2. The German leaders have always apologized for Nazi’s atrocities, in sharp contrast with the Japanese leaders who have purposely been distorting its history of invasion in recent years. Could you figure out what has caused the two nations’ leaders to act so differently?

　　Vocabulary

　　1. veteran n. 经验丰富的人;老兵;退伍战士

　　He is a veteran of the Spanish Civil War. 他是一名参加过西班牙内战的老兵。

　　2. resort v. 诉诸;求助于;依靠

　　We may have to resort to using untrained staff. 我们也许只能使用未受过训练的员工了。

　　3. safeguard v. 保护;保障;捍卫

　　The new card will safeguard the company against fraud. 新卡将保护公司免遭诈骗。

　　4. catastrophic adj. 灾难性的

　　This strategy leads to catastrophic loss. 这种策略导致了灾难性的损失。

　　5. unswervingly adv. 坚定地，不改变地

　　6. wreath n. 花圈

　　7. inflict v. 使遭打击;使吃苦头

　　Heavy casualties were inflicted on the enemy. 敌人遭受了惨重伤亡。

　　Making sense

　　1. “The war shows that resorting to force to solve problems will result in tragedy for the world, so a peaceful order should be safeguarded based on security, justice and cultural exchange,” Putin said.

　　普京指出，“战争警示人们，用武力解决问题将给世界带来灾难。所以，我们必须捍卫建立在安全、公正以及文化交流与理解基础之上的和平秩序。”

　　2. “China will unswervingly follow the road of peace and development and will make a joint effort with all nations to contribute to safeguarding world peace and promoting development,” he said.

　　他说，“中国会坚定不移地走和平发展的道路，愿意与世界各国一道为维护世界和平、促进共同发展而奋斗。”

　　Background

　　俄高调庆祝卫国战争胜利

　　六十周年的现实意义

　　俄罗斯之所以如此高度重视这次庆典，目的主要有两个;一是希望通过举办这次庆典振奋民族精神。冷战后，美国和西方国家不断挤压俄罗斯的战略空间。俄罗斯在本地区的影响减弱，国内改革也遇到一些困难。在这样的情况下，普京举行如此大规模的纪念活动主要是为了弘扬整个民族积极向上的精神，提高国家底气，激发人民建设国家重新崛起的热情。二是希望在振兴国家的道路上获得广泛的国际道义支持，提高俄罗斯在国际舞台上的声誉和影响力。俄罗斯将卫国战争胜利60周年庆典放到国内外形势的大背景下去设计和运作。与独联体国家元首举行峰会，有助于用共同的历史和文化联系扭转独联体国家日益离心的局面;与欧盟举行峰会、与美国总统布什的会晤，有助于进一步弥合俄与西方关系的裂痕；与中印等国领导人的会谈也有助于拓展俄罗斯的外交战略空间。

　　Exercises

　　I. Match the following words with correct explanations.

　　1. ( ) resort

　　2. ( ) safeguard

　　3. ( )catastrophic

　　4. ( )veteran

　　5. ( )inflict

　　a. to protect sth from loss, harm or damage; to keep sth safe

　　b. a person who has been a soldier, sailor, etc. in a war

　　c. to make use of sth, especially sth bad, as a means of achieving sth, often because there is no other possible solution

　　d. to make sb/sth suffer sth unpleasant

　　e. causing ruins or destruction

　　II. True or false

　　1. Before the parade commenced, the president of Russia delivered a speech praising all those who fought in the World War II.

　　2. Mr. Putin said that the existing international order based on security and justice should be maintained.

　　3. By saying “we must remain faithful to the memory of our fathers”, Mr. Putin meant that people all over the world should fight shoulder to shoulder against the threat of terrorism.

　　4. In the ceremony, China’s President Hu Jintao also delivered a speech stressing that peace, development and cooperation were the future.

　　III. Writing practice

　　In Russia, President Hu Jintao said that China would contribute to safeguarding world peace. However, there is always a voice in the West that argues a powerful China will pose a threat to the other countries.

　　What’s your opinion about their argument?

　　Keys:I. 1. c 2. a 3. e 4. b 5. d

　　II. 1. F 2. F 3. F 4. T 5. F