美国有线新闻 CNN 美国会就俄干扰总统大选举行听证会

 

A congressional hearing yesterday in Washington, D.C. focused on global cyber threat and almost all of it centered on Russia, which the Obama administration accuses of hacking¹ into American computer systems and interfering² in last year's U.S. Election.

A Republican senator said, quote, "Every American should be alarmed by Russia's attacks on our nation." A Russian spokesman said his country was sick and tired of people, quote, "irresponsibly blaming everything on Russia."

Taking a look at Russian President Vladimir Putin — what makes him tick?

PHIL BLACK, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Some have believed Vladimir Putin could be the most powerful man in the world. Not everyone sees him that way. But Putin has powerful levers, he's often willing to use — including cyber power, military might and a cult³ of personality. Together, they form an often effective web of influence.

While Moscow denies highly skilled hackers⁴ tried to influence the U.S. election, they've also been accused of spying and causing big disruptions in other countries, like Estonia and Ukraine — claims Russia also rejects. Russia's enormous hacking power, state and criminal, isn't a new. It traces back to the USSR when its universities were designed to produce world class engineers.

Putin's power is also hugely enhanced by his very personal control of Russia's vast military, much of it including the nukes, is also a Soviet⁵ legacy⁶. So, Putin is pumping extraordinary amounts of money to modernization⁷, but most analyst⁸ agree Russia's conventional forces are still only mighty⁹ enough to project power close to its borders.

Russia also used limited air power to successful prop¹⁰ up the Syrian regime. But critics say that works because of Putin's willingness to indiscriminately bombard civilian¹¹ areas, something Moscow denies.

One of the biggest sources of Putin's power is his own extraordinary popularity at home. The more other world leaders criticized him, the more Russians celebrate their president. His approval figure soared with Ukraine and spiked¹² again with Syria.

The reason: many Russians really care about their country's ability to influence world events, even if it comes to sanctions and a hit to their own quality of life. They're proud of it. Putin also benefits from a political system and the media landscape with zero tolerance¹³ for criticism.

So, no doubt, Vladimir Putin is powerful and unpredictable, but he's also limited by some pretty big problems. The Russian economy isn't going anywhere. That's why there is another popular theory about Putin and his web of influence, as someone who plays a weak hand very well.

1 hacking   

n.非法访问计算机系统和数据库的活动

参考例句：

• The patient with emphysema is hacking all day. 这个肺气肿病人整天不断地干咳。
• We undertook the task of hacking our way through the jungle. 我们负责在丛林中开路。

2 interfering   

adj. 妨碍的 动词interfere的现在分词

参考例句：

• He's an interfering old busybody! 他老爱管闲事！
• I wish my mother would stop interfering and let me make my own decisions. 我希望我母亲不再干预，让我自己拿主意。

3 cult   

n.异教，邪教；时尚，狂热的崇拜

参考例句：

• Her books aren't bestsellers,but they have a certain cult following.她的书算不上畅销书，但有一定的崇拜者。
• The cult of sun worship is probably the most primitive one.太阳崇拜仪式或许是最为原始的一种。

4 hackers   

n.计算机迷( hacker的名词复数 )；私自存取或篡改电脑资料者，电脑“黑客”

参考例句：

• They think of viruses that infect an organization from the outside.They envision hackers breaking into their information vaults. 他们考虑来自外部的感染公司的病毒，他们设想黑客侵入到信息宝库中。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Arranging a meeting with the hackers took weeks againoff-again email exchanges. 通过几星期电子邮件往来安排见面，他们最终同意了。 来自互联网

5 Soviet   

adj.苏联的，苏维埃的；n.苏维埃

参考例句：

• Zhukov was a marshal of the former Soviet Union.朱可夫是前苏联的一位元帅。
• Germany began to attack the Soviet Union in 1941.德国在1941年开始进攻苏联。

6 legacy   

n.遗产，遗赠；先人(或过去)留下的东西

参考例句：

• They are the most precious cultural legacy our forefathers left.它们是我们祖先留下来的最宝贵的文化遗产。
• He thinks the legacy is a gift from the Gods.他认为这笔遗产是天赐之物。

7 modernization   

n.现代化，现代化的事物

参考例句：

• This will help us achieve modernization.这有助于我们实现现代化。
• The Chinese people are sure to realize the modernization of their country.中国人民必将实现国家现代化。

8 analyst   

n.分析家，化验员；心理分析学家

参考例句：

• What can you contribute to the position of a market analyst?你有什么技能可有助于市场分析员的职务？
• The analyst is required to interpolate values between standards.分析人员需要在这些标准中插入一些值。

9 mighty   

adj.强有力的；巨大的

参考例句：

• A mighty force was about to break loose.一股巨大的力量即将迸发而出。
• The mighty iceberg came into view.巨大的冰山出现在眼前。

10 prop   

vt.支撑；n.支柱，支撑物；支持者，靠山

参考例句：

• A worker put a prop against the wall of the tunnel to keep it from falling.一名工人用东西支撑住隧道壁好使它不会倒塌。
• The government does not intend to prop up declining industries.政府无意扶持不景气的企业。

11 civilian   

adj.平民的，民用的，民众的

参考例句：

• There is no reliable information about civilian casualties.关于平民的伤亡还没有确凿的信息。
• He resigned his commission to take up a civilian job.他辞去军职而从事平民工作。

12 spiked   

adj.有穗的；成锥形的；有尖顶的

参考例句：

• The editor spiked the story. 编辑删去了这篇报道。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• They wondered whether their drinks had been spiked. 他们有些疑惑自己的饮料里是否被偷偷搀了烈性酒。 来自辞典例句

13 tolerance   

n.宽容；容忍，忍受；耐药力；公差

参考例句：

• Tolerance is one of his strengths.宽容是他的一个优点。
• Human beings have limited tolerance of noise.人类对噪音的忍耐力有限。