普京下令军队撤离乌克兰边境

　　Russian President Vladimir Putin has ordered troops he said were staging military drills in areas near Ukraine to return to their home bases.
The Kremlin made the announcement Monday, just days before a crucial presidential election in Ukraine.
Western countries have protested the deployment¹ of tens of thousands of Russian troops near the Ukraine border, expressing concern the deployment might be preparation for a land grab after Russia annexed² Crimea in March.
NATO said on Monday it has yet to see any signs of troop movements.
Putin Orders Troops Away from Ukraine Border
"Now I think it's the third Putin statement on withdrawal³ of Russian troops, but so far we haven't seen any withdrawal, at all," said NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen.
He added that an actual withdrawal of Russian troops would be a first important contribution to de-escalating the crisis.
The Pentagon, too, has said it has seen no signs of a withdrawal.
Moscow calls on Kyiv
Moscow called on Kyiv on Monday to immediately withdraw its troops from eastern Ukraine, where they have been battling a pro-Russian insurgency⁶.
“Russia calls for an immediate⁴ cessation of the punitive⁷ operation, all violent actions, a withdrawal of troops and for the resolution of all existing problems only by peaceful means,” a Kremlin statement said.
Ukrainian authorities say they are fighting “terrorists” and “separatists” in the eastern part of the country.
Armed pro-Russian rebels in two of Ukraine’s eastern regions have declared their independence from Ukraine and voiced support for joining Russia. Violent skirmishes have broken out in numerous eastern cities between Ukrainian security forces and the insurgents⁸.
US, EU warn Russia on election interference
The United States and its European allies have warned Moscow that they will impose new sanctions against key economic sectors⁹ of the Russian economy if it disrupts an presidential election to be held on Sunday.
The Ukraine Central Election Commission on Saturday said the unrest could prevent almost two million people from voting.
Ukraine’s prime minister, Arseniy Yatsenyuk insisted on Monday that balloting¹⁰ will be held throughout the country.
“We are aware that in some places polling will be difficult but there won’t be many such places, and this will not impact the election results,” Interfax-Ukraine quoted him as saying.
Yatsenyuk said the vote will be legitimate¹¹ and Ukraine will get “a legitimately¹² elected president.”
Ukrainian confectionery tycoon¹³ Petro Poroshenko commands a decisive lead in pre-election opinion polls, and could secure the more than 50 percent of votes needed to win in the first round.
Lavrov strikes conciliatory tone
Speaking in Moscow Monday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov struck a somewhat more conciliatory tone on the Ukraine crisis and tensions it has produced between Russia and the West.
He said Moscow's ties with the European Union and NATO needed a "rethink'' in light of deep differences over the crisis:
"These relations require a substantial rethink, and together with our partners from the EU and NATO nations we are trying to conduct an analysis in order to better understand where we are, where our assessments¹⁴ coincide and where we disagree, and what to do to bring those relations back, those documents that form the basis for Russia and NATO cooperation, as well as European Union and Russian engagement,'' said Lavrov.
Lavrov also said the so-called round table discussions that began last week with Ukrainian ministers, regional deputies and business leaders, while imperfect, were a good start toward resolving the crisis in Ukraine.
He called on the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe to mediate⁵ in the effort.
Separately, President Putin spoke¹⁵ with German Chancellor¹⁶ Angela Merkel by phone on Monday, with both agreeing that the crisis in Ukraine should be resolved peacefully, a Kremlin statement said.
Odessa violence probe
Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has called on the OSCE and the United Nations to ensure an “open and impartial” probe by Kyiv into deaths that occurred in the Ukrainian city of Odessa earlier this month, the Foreign Ministry¹⁷ said on Monday.
At least 37 people in the southern port city died after a riot on May 2 ended with dozens of pro-Russia protesters being trapped in a burning building.
Lavrov’s call follows an announcement by Ukrainian officials that the protesters might have been poisoned with chloroform before the fire broke out.
The chief of Ukraine's General Investigative Directorate, Vitaliy Sakal, told reporters earlier on Monday that chloroform had been found by investigators¹⁸ in the charred¹⁹ remains²⁰ of the Trade Unions building in Odessa. Inhaling²¹ the substance causes breathing failure.
Sakal added that Ukrainian investigators have contacted the Israeli Embassy, asking for profess²².ional experts to help investigate any traces of the chemical in the building.
The circumstances under which the fire broke out and who is to blame for the protesters’ deaths remain in dispute.（本文由在线英语听力室整理编辑）

1 deployment   

n. 部署,展开

参考例句：

• He has inquired out the deployment of the enemy troops. 他已查出敌军的兵力部署情况。
• Quality function deployment (QFD) is a widely used customer-driven quality, design and manufacturing management tool. 质量功能展开(quality function deployment,QFD)是一个广泛应用的顾客需求驱动的设计、制造和质量管理工具。

2 annexed   

[法] 附加的，附属的

参考例句：

• Germany annexed Austria in 1938. 1938年德国吞并了奥地利。
• The outlying villages were formally annexed by the town last year. 那些偏远的村庄于去年正式被并入该镇。

3 withdrawal   

n.取回，提款；撤退，撤军；收回，撤销

参考例句：

• The police were forced to make a tactical withdrawal.警方被迫进行战术撤退。
• They insisted upon a withdrawal of the statement and a public apology.他们坚持要收回那些话并公开道歉。

4 immediate   

adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的

参考例句：

• His immediate neighbours felt it their duty to call.他的近邻认为他们有责任去拜访。
• We declared ourselves for the immediate convocation of the meeting.我们主张立即召开这个会议。

5 mediate   

vi.调解，斡旋；vt.经调解解决；经斡旋促成

参考例句：

• The state must mediate the struggle for water resources.政府必须通过调解来解决对水资源的争夺。
• They may be able to mediate between parties with different interests.他们也许能在不同利益政党之间进行斡旋。

6 insurgency   

n.起义；暴动；叛变

参考例句：

• And as in China, unrest and even insurgency are widespread. 而在中国，动乱甚至暴乱都普遍存在。 来自互联网
• Dr Zyphur is part an insurgency against this idea. 塞弗博士是这一观点逆流的一部分。 来自互联网

7 punitive   

adj.惩罚的，刑罚的

参考例句：

• They took punitive measures against the whole gang.他们对整帮人采取惩罚性措施。
• The punitive tariff was imposed to discourage tire imports from China.该惩罚性关税的征收是用以限制中国轮胎进口的措施。

8 insurgents   

n.起义，暴动，造反( insurgent的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The regular troops of Baden joined the insurgents. 巴登的正规军参加到起义军方面来了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Against the Taliban and Iraqi insurgents, these problems are manageable. 要对付塔利班与伊拉克叛乱分子，这些问题还是可以把握住的。 来自互联网

9 sectors   

n.部门( sector的名词复数 )；领域；防御地区；扇形

参考例句：

• Berlin was divided into four sectors after the war. 战后柏林分成了4 个区。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Industry and agriculture are the two important sectors of the national economy. 工业和农业是国民经济的两个重要部门。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

10 balloting   

v.（使）投票表决( ballot的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• Clark took a commanding leading in the early balloting. 在最初投票时，克拉克遥遥领先。 来自辞典例句
• The balloting had stagnated, he couldn't win. 投票工作陷于停顿，他不能得胜。 来自辞典例句

11 legitimate   

adj.合法的，合理的，合乎逻辑的；v.使合法

参考例句：

• Sickness is a legitimate reason for asking for leave.生病是请假的一个正当的理由。
• That's a perfectly legitimate fear.怀有这种恐惧完全在情理之中。

12 legitimately   

ad.合法地；正当地，合理地

参考例句：

• The radio is legitimately owned by the company. 该电台为这家公司所合法拥有。
• She looked for nothing save what might come legitimately and without the appearance of special favour. 她要的并不是男人们的额外恩赐，而是合法正当地得到的工作。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹

13 tycoon   

n.有钱有势的企业家，大亨

参考例句：

• The tycoon is on the verge of bankruptcy.那名大亨濒临破产的边缘。
• The tycoon has many servants to minister to his needs.那位大亨有很多人服侍他。

14 assessments   

n.评估( assessment的名词复数 )；评价；（应偿付金额的）估定；（为征税对财产所作的）估价

参考例句：

• He was shrewd in his personal assessments. 他总能对人作出精明的评价。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Surveys show about two-thirds use such assessments, while half employ personality tests. 调查表明，约有三分之二的公司采用了这种测评；而一半的公司则采用工作人员个人品质测试。 来自百科语句

15 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。

16 chancellor   

n.(英)大臣；法官；(德、奥)总理；大学校长

参考例句：

• They submitted their reports to the Chancellor yesterday.他们昨天向财政大臣递交了报告。
• He was regarded as the most successful Chancellor of modern times.他被认为是现代最成功的财政大臣。

17 ministry   

n.(政府的)部；牧师

参考例句：

• They sent a deputation to the ministry to complain.他们派了一个代表团到部里投诉。
• We probed the Air Ministry statements.我们调查了空军部的记录。

18 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》

19 charred   

v.把…烧成炭( char的过去式)；烧焦

参考例句：

• the charred remains of a burnt-out car 被烧焦的轿车残骸
• The intensity of the explosion is recorded on the charred tree trunks. 那些烧焦的树干表明爆炸的强烈。 来自《简明英汉词典》

20 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。

21 inhaling   

v.吸入( inhale的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• He was treated for the effects of inhaling smoke. 他因吸入烟尘而接受治疗。 来自辞典例句
• The long-term effects of inhaling contaminated air is unknown. 长期吸入被污染空气的影响还无从知晓。 来自互联网

22 profess   

v.声称，冒称，以...为业，正式接受入教，表明信仰

参考例句：

• I profess that I was surprised at the news.我承认这消息使我惊讶。
• What religion does he profess?他信仰哪种宗教？