美国国家公共电台 NPR--Kyiv hit by Russian airstrikes as information from Mariupol is throttled

Kyiv hit by Russian airstrikes as information from Mariupol is throttled¹

Transcript²

Russian missiles struck Kyiv over the weekend. The Kremlin is also tightening³ its grip on Ukrainian cities under Russian occupation, meaning relatively⁴ little information is getting out.

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

Ukraine's war is now concentrated near its eastern border. And that is where the country's president appeared over the weekend. Video released today shows Volodymyr Zelenskyy visiting front-line troops. He's wearing his signature green army T-shirt. He urges his troops to win, though, not at any cost. He asked them to stay safe when they can, since the land means nothing without its people. NPR's Greg Myre is following the visit.

GREG MYRE, BYLINE⁵: Obviously, this was not announced in advanced. He traveled to near the town of Severodonetsk. That's very much within Russian artillery⁶ range. This city has been the scene of the heaviest fighting the past couple of weeks. So he was just a few miles west of those troops. But also, Russian troops were pretty close in the north and the south. He was really in the thick of it. He met with troops. He stopped in two other towns as well. He met civilians⁷ also and said, quote, "I'm proud of everybody I met, everyone I shook hands with, everyone whom I connected with." Now, this is hundreds of miles from the capital, Kyiv. And he presumably traveled by road - really reflects the critical phase of fighting in the east right now.

INSKEEP: Well, let's talk about that. What makes this a critical phase?

MYRE: Well, the Russians have really concentrated their firepower in - not only in the east, but in a pretty particular part of the east, around this city of Severodonetsk. The Russians have been advancing. And just a few days ago, even the Ukrainian leaders were saying Russia had about 80% of this city. It appeared likely to fall over the weekend. Ukraine said they pushed back, recaptured part of the city. And even just before we spoke⁸ this morning here, the political leader came out and said, Ukraine is suffering some setbacks. So this is a very tough fight for this city, the absolute focal point of the war right now.

INSKEEP: So Zelenskyy was near there. It is, of course, pretty significant that the president goes so near the front lines. But we should mention, Greg, that because of Russian missiles, Zelenskyy is always within Russian range. And wasn't there some evidence of that in Kyiv?

MYRE: Yeah. Absolutely, Steve. Kyiv hadn't come under attack for more than a month. And that lull⁹ ended at dawn on Sunday morning when four Russian cruise missiles slammed into four separate buildings at a large railway compound that repairs broken train cars. Now, the Russians said they destroyed tanks and armored vehicles. The Ukrainians said this wasn't true. And they invited journalists to come see for themselves, including me. We found caved-in roofs, collapsed¹⁰ brick walls. Everywhere you walk, there was glass crunching¹¹ underfoot. One building was still smoldering¹², but we saw absolutely no sign of weapons.

INSKEEP: So something was destroyed but maybe not what the Russians claimed. Of course, Kyiv remains¹³ under Ukrainian control. What is happening in parts of the country that are under Russian control?

MYRE: Right. We don't hear much about that because once the Russians take over, it becomes a bit of a black hole. Let's talk for a moment about Mariupol. I think many of our listeners remember the heavy fighting there that took place before the Ukrainians surrendered. We spoke with the mayor, Vadym Boychenko. He's here in Kyiv but still in touch with citizens. And he said life there is just miserable¹⁴ beyond words.

VADYM BOYCHENKO: (Non-English language spoken).

MYRE: So he's saying that the water system is broken. It's almost impossible to find drinking water. Food is scarce. There's no electrical power or cellphone service. And Russia is blocking residents from leaving, so all in all, a terrible situation there.

INSKEEP: NPR's Greg Myre is in Kyiv. Greg, thanks for the update.

MYRE: My pleasure.

1 throttled   

v.扼杀( throttle的过去式和过去分词 )；勒死；使窒息；压制

参考例句：

• He throttled the guard with his bare hands. 他徒手掐死了卫兵。
• The pilot got very low before he throttled back. 飞行员减速之前下降得很低。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 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。

3 tightening   

上紧，固定，紧密

参考例句：

• Make sure the washer is firmly seated before tightening the pipe. 旋紧水管之前，检查一下洗衣机是否已牢牢地固定在底座上了。
• It needs tightening up a little. 它还需要再收紧些。

4 relatively   

adv.比较...地，相对地

参考例句：

• The rabbit is a relatively recent introduction in Australia.兔子是相对较新引入澳大利亚的物种。
• The operation was relatively painless.手术相对来说不痛。

5 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

6 artillery   

n.(军)火炮，大炮；炮兵(部队)

参考例句：

• This is a heavy artillery piece.这是一门重炮。
• The artillery has more firepower than the infantry.炮兵火力比步兵大。

7 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。

8 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。

9 lull   

v.使安静，使入睡，缓和，哄骗；n.暂停，间歇

参考例句：

• The drug put Simpson in a lull for thirty minutes.药物使辛普森安静了30分钟。
• Ground fighting flared up again after a two-week lull.经过两个星期的平静之后，地面战又突然爆发了。

10 collapsed   

adj.倒塌的

参考例句：

• Jack collapsed in agony on the floor. 杰克十分痛苦地瘫倒在地板上。
• The roof collapsed under the weight of snow. 房顶在雪的重压下突然坍塌下来。

11 crunching   

v.嘎吱嘎吱地咬嚼( crunch的现在分词 )；嘎吱作响；（快速大量地）处理信息；数字捣弄

参考例句：

• The horses were crunching their straw at their manger. 这些马在嘎吱嘎吱地吃槽里的草。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The dog was crunching a bone. 狗正嘎吱嘎吱地嚼骨头。 来自《简明英汉词典》

12 smoldering   

v.用文火焖烧，熏烧，慢燃( smolder的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• The mat was smoldering where the burning log had fallen. 燃烧的木棒落下的地方垫子慢慢燃烧起来。 来自辞典例句
• The wood was smoldering in the fireplace. 木柴在壁炉中闷烧。 来自辞典例句

13 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

14 miserable   

adj.悲惨的，痛苦的；可怜的，糟糕的

参考例句：

• It was miserable of you to make fun of him.你取笑他，这是可耻的。
• Her past life was miserable.她过去的生活很苦。