Writers from former Eastern-bloc countries—Milan Kundera, for example—have often asserted that laughter and mockery were ways of saying no to that world.

来自前东方阵营国家的那些作家——比如，米兰-昆德拉（1929年生于捷克斯洛伐克，1975年移居法国，1981年入法国籍——译注）吧——总是声称，笑声和嘲讽是对那个世界否定的方式。

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The 27-member bloc agreed to double loans available to eastern European countries to $68 billion and to contribute about $100 billion to the IMF as part of an overall funding increase so the institution can help countries worldwide battle the economic downturn.

VOA: standard.2009.03.20

U. member, one wonders if Poland and other former Eastern Bloc countries have really turned the corner in economic development and conducting business.

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Living in post-Franco Spain, along with his visits to former Eastern Bloc countries like Hungary and Romania, taught him something about dictatorships in transition, he says.

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The idea of applying these fracing techniques to Europe is appealing, especially in Eastern and Central Europe, where the former Soviet bloc countries still largely depend on imported natural gas from Russia for domestic consumption.

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