VOA常速英语2015--俄罗斯销毁西方食物和鲜花

俄罗斯销毁西方食物和鲜花

MOSCOW— Russia has burned flowers from Holland in a battle against Western imports that saw the destruction of hundreds of tons of food in retaliation¹ for sanctions over Ukraine. Critics say the action is unethical while Russia is struggling against rising poverty.

Russia added Dutch flowers to the fire just days after officials destroyed more than 500 tons of banned Western food imports. Authorities say the flowers may have dangerous bugs³. But political analysts⁴ say the timing⁵ with a Dutch-led investigation⁶ into the downing of a Malaysian airliner⁷ over Ukraine is meant to send a message.

就在俄罗斯官方毁掉500多吨被禁的西方进口食品的几天后，又将荷兰的鲜花放火烧了。当局称这些鲜花可能含有危险害虫，但政治分析家称这与荷兰为首对马航飞机在乌克兰被击落事件的调查时间上相巧合也意在传达一个信息。

“I do not think that this is coincidence. This is one more PR [public relations] action in this anti-Western mainstream," said Andrei Kolesnikov, of Moscow's Carnegie Center.

莫斯科卡耐基中心的安德烈·柯列斯尼可夫说，“我认为这不是巧合，这是这场反西方潮流的公关行动。”

Dutch investigators⁸ say they found suspected Russian missile fragments at the crash site. Meanwhile, the Kremlin blames Kyiv and suggests numerous Western conspiracies⁹ seeking to tarnish¹⁰ Russia's image.

荷兰调查人员称他们在坠机地点发现疑似俄罗斯导弹的残片，同时，克里姆林宫指责基辅，称西方为玷污俄罗斯的形象进行了无数场阴谋。

But critics say images of food destruction, when millions of Russians live in poverty, show officials are the ones doing harm.

但批评家称，在数百万俄罗斯人生活在贫困之时，这些毁掉食品的图片表明官方是造成破坏的人。

“This is the main point, ethical² point, of this action. Because, for many many years there was hunger in Russia," said Kolesnikov.

“这就是这一行动的要点，伦理方面的要点，因为多年来俄罗斯一直存在饥饿问题。”

Authorities say the food ban is stimulating¹¹ domestic substitutes, but it is also reducing competition and flooding the market with lower quality products.

当局称食物禁令刺激了国内的替代品，但也减少了竞争，让质量低下的产品进入市场。

“The situation is quite bad. With competition, with inflation, with consumer moods, with ... GDP growth, not growth, but decrease in GDP," continued Kolesnikov.

“这一局面很不好，竞争、通胀、消费者情绪和不增反降的GDP。”

 

Russia bans food from Australia, Canada, the European Union, Norway, and the United States. The Kremlin plans to add more countries to its banned food list to include those supporting EU sanctions against Russia because of its actions in Ukraine.

俄罗斯禁止来自澳大利亚、加拿大、欧盟、挪威和美国的食品，克里姆林宫计划将更多国家加入食品禁令名单中，包括那些支持欧盟因俄罗斯在乌克兰行动而对俄罗斯施加制裁的国家。

1 retaliation   

n.报复，反击

参考例句：

• retaliation against UN workers 对联合国工作人员的报复
• He never said a single word in retaliation. 他从未说过一句反击的话。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 ethical   

adj.伦理的，道德的，合乎道德的

参考例句：

• It is necessary to get the youth to have a high ethical concept.必须使青年具有高度的道德观念。
• It was a debate which aroused fervent ethical arguments.那是一场引发强烈的伦理道德争论的辩论。

3 bugs   

adj.疯狂的，发疯的n.窃听器( bug的名词复数 )；病菌；虫子；[计算机]（制作软件程序所产生的意料不到的）错误

参考例句：

• All programs have bugs and need endless refinement. 所有的程序都有漏洞，都需要不断改进。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The sacks of rice were swarming with bugs. 一袋袋的米里长满了虫子。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 analysts   

分析家，化验员( analyst的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• City analysts forecast huge profits this year. 伦敦金融分析家预测今年的利润非常丰厚。
• I was impressed by the high calibre of the researchers and analysts. 研究人员和分析人员的高素质给我留下了深刻印象。

5 timing   

n.时间安排，时间选择

参考例句：

• The timing of the meeting is not convenient.会议的时间安排不合适。
• The timing of our statement is very opportune.我们发表声明选择的时机很恰当。

6 investigation   

n.调查，调查研究

参考例句：

• In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
• He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。

7 airliner   

n.客机，班机

参考例句：

• The pilot landed the airliner safely.驾驶员使客机安全着陆。
• The passengers were shepherded across the tarmac to the airliner.旅客们被引导走过跑道去上飞机。

8 investigators   

n.调查者，审查者( investigator的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• This memo could be the smoking gun that investigators have been looking for. 这份备忘录可能是调查人员一直在寻找的证据。
• The team consisted of six investigators and two secretaries. 这个团队由六个调查人员和两个秘书组成。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 conspiracies   

n.阴谋，密谋( conspiracy的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• He was still alive and hatching his conspiracies. 他还活着，策划着阴谋诡计。 来自辞典例句
• It appeared that they had engaged in fresh conspiracies from the very moment of their release. 看上去他们刚给释放，立刻开始新一轮的阴谋活动。 来自英汉文学

10 tarnish   

n.晦暗，污点；vt.使失去光泽；玷污

参考例句：

• The affair could tarnish the reputation of the prime minister.这一事件可能有损首相的名誉。
• Stainless steel products won't tarnish.不锈钢产品不会失去光泽。

11 stimulating   

adj.有启发性的，能激发人思考的

参考例句：

• shower gel containing plant extracts that have a stimulating effect on the skin 含有对皮肤有益的植物精华的沐浴凝胶
• This is a drug for stimulating nerves. 这是一种兴奋剂。