实地观察：在乌克兰的六个月

choi

旅美独立中文记者 王昭阳, 实地观察：在乌克兰的六个月. BBC Chinese, June 8, 2014
www.bbc.co.uk/zhongwen/simp/worl ... _wangzhaoyang.shtml
("这篇文章不代表BBC的立场和观点")

My comment:
(a) "我刚问一个出租司机是否能载我，猛不丁一个像法国来的摄影师，一掌将我推开；猫身跃上车，绝尘而去。"

I did some research: 猛不丁 is 北京口语; 猫身, can't find anything about it.

(b) "据说英国作家奥威尔写 '1984，' 也有一个原始模型。不是法西斯德国，更不是红色苏联。这部不朽的二十世纪反乌托邦神话，其灵感原型，恰是二战时期的BBC。当时，奥威尔和他妻子一道在那儿工作；他妻子负责新闻审查。"

"其灵感原型，恰是二战时期的BBC。当时，奥威尔和他妻子一道在那儿工作；他妻子负责新闻审查。"  The first sentence is half truth, and the second is false. I will explain the latter first.
(i) George Orwell
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Orwell
(1903 – 1950 (age 46); born Eric Arthur Blair in India; died of tuberculosis which was diagnosed in 1947; had two wives: "Eileen O'Shaughnessy (1935–45, her death), Sonia Brownell (1949–50, until his death)")

Quote: "section 1.10 World War II and Animal Farm[:] On the outbreak of World War II, Orwell's wife Eileen started work in the Censorship Department in London * * *  Orwell also submitted his name to the Central Register for war effort but nothing transpired. * * * He [Orwell, early in 1941] also took part in a few radio broadcasts for the Eastern Service of the BBC. * * * In August 1941, Orwell finally obtained 'war work' when he was taken on full-time by the BBC's Eastern Service. He supervised cultural broadcasts to India to counter propaganda from Nazi Germany designed to undermine Imperial links. This was Orwell's first experience of the rigid conformity of life in an office. * * * In spring of 1942 Eileen changed jobs to work at the Ministry of Food

(ii) Eileen Blair
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eileen_Blair
(1905-1945 (age 39); née O'Shaughnessy; At the start of World War II, Eileen started work in the Censorship Department of the Ministry of War in London; died "whilst under anaesthetic of ether and chloroform skilfully and properly administered for operation for removal of uterus" according to an inquest of her death; section 4 Influence on Orwell's writing)
(A) moth-eaten (adj):
(B) She never worked for BBC--or at BBC while working for the Censorship Department.
(iii) esjacobson, Facts About George Orwell. Writing As I Please (a blog), Jan 11, 2013.
writingasiplease.wordpress.com/tag/eric-arthur-blair/

Quote:

"When World War II broke out, Orwell took a job at the BBC, doing broadcasts for the India department. He wanted to volunteer for the opportunity to fight, but his health wouldn’t allow it. * * * Much of the imagery of Winston Smith’s worklife at the Ministry of Truth [in the book 1984] was taken from Orwell’s time at the BBC. Room 101 [a--psychological not physical--torture chamber in in the Ministry of Love; in 1984] was a real office at the BBC where boring meetings were held. Naturally Orwell was not taken with the rigid conformity of office life. Orwell resigned in 1943 when reports confirmed his fears—few Indians actually listened to his programs.

"Orwell considered his time at the BBC 'two wasted years'

"When Orwell worked for the BBC it was located at 200 Oxford Street, London. Today the space is used for shopping. The canteen that Orwell ate at (the inspiration for the canteen in the Ministry of Truth in 'Nineteen Eighty-Four') is still an eatery, located off to the side of the women’s clothing in the store Topshop.

(iv) Rather than in BBC, Eileen worked at Censorship Department (of the Ministry of War) "in Whilehall."

Whitehall
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whitehall
("Recognised as the centre of Her Majesty's Government, the street is lined with government departments and ministries; the name "Whitehall" is thus also frequently used as a metonym for overall British governmental administration, as well as being a geographic name for the surrounding area. The name is taken from the vast Palace of Whitehall that used to occupy the area but which was largely destroyed by fire in 1698")
(v) George Orwell at the BBC; The writer of 'Nineteen Eighty-Four' holds true to his ideals.
BBC, undatedwww.bbc.co.uk/archive/orwell/
("For two years, between 1941 and 1943, George Orwell - real name Eric Blair - was BBC staff member 9889, hired as a Talks Producer for the Eastern Service to write what was essentially propaganda for broadcast to India")


(c) "奥威尔从未去过苏联。二战前的他，曾是虔诚社会主义者。西班牙内战时，他作为左派志愿者，去支持西班牙共和军 Republicans。 * * * 后来日子长了，他就注意到共和军 、还有莫斯科支持的国际左派，都有别的、让人不舒服的一面 [both against Nationalists led by General Francisco Franco, who prevailed]"
(i) David Aaronovitch, 1984: George Orwell's road to dystopia. BBC, Feb 8, 2013.
www.bbc.com/news/magazine-21337504

Quote:

(A) "Nineteen Eighty-Four was published in 1949, but Orwell was first set on the road to it at least 12 years earlier when he was fighting Franco's insurgents in Spain as a member of a left-wing, but non-Stalinist militia, the Workers' Party of Marxist Unification (POUM [Spanish: Partido Obrero de Unificación Marxista]).

"Orwell had gone to Spain to fight Francoist fascism, but found himself face-to-face with another form of totalitarianism. The pro-Stalin communist forces in Spain turned on the POUM, branding them Trotskyist traitors.

(B) "When Animal Farm was published, and when Nineteen Eighty-Four was being conceptualised and then written, Orwell's overwhelming preoccupation was to warn against Stalinism and its onward march.

(ii) Spanish Civil War
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spanish_Civil_War
(1936-1939)

(d) For Pravy Sektor, see Right Sector
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Right_Sector
(a Ukrainian nationalist political party that originated in November 2013 as a paramilitary confederation at the Euromaidan protests in Kiev; AP reported in March 2014 that international news organizations had found no evidence of hate crimes by the group)