VOA慢速英语2014 美俄关系跌至新低

 

US, Russia Relations Hit a New Low 美俄关系跌至新低

From VOA Learning English, this is In The News. 

The crisis in Ukraine has hurt relations between the United States and Russia. Evidence of this came recently when U.S. and Russian officials spoke¹ at the United Nations.

President Barack Obama said the international community must urgently face what he called “Russian aggression² in Europe.” He was talking about Russia’s occupation of Crimea and support for Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine. The Russian government denies providing such support. Mr. Obama compared Russia’s moves in Ukraine to two other issues: the spread of the Ebola virus, and what he called “the brutality³ of terrorists in Syria and Iraq.”

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov also spoke at the UN. He accused the United States of seeking what he called an “arrogant” policy in Ukraine. And he accused U.S. officials of attempting to “distort the truth” – failing to say what is really happening there.

John Parker studies Russia for the National Defense⁴ University in Washington, D.C. He believes relations between the two countries are at their lowest level in more than 30 years.

“The worst they've been for the last 30, 35 years. I think we have to go back to the period right after the Soviet⁵ invasion of Afghanistan in late 1979 and also the Soviet shoot-down of the Korean airliner⁶ in 1983 to find a period where relations have been so bad.”

The relationship was very different at the beginning of the Obama administration. The improved ties resulted in a major arms control agreement. Under the treaty, the two sides agreed to reduce long-range nuclear weapons.

Other examples of cooperation included Russia taking a firm position with Iran over its suspected nuclear weapons program. Russia also agreed to let the U.S. military pass through Russian territory on its way to and from Afghanistan. This is an important step as the military reduces its force in the country.

But observers say relations have worsened over the past few years. One reason is Russia’s strong support for Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad. Another is Russia’s decision to let American Edward Snowden spend three years in the country. The former intelligence contract worker is accused of leaking U.S. government documents. And another issue is Russia’s actions in Ukraine. They have led the United States and European Union to approve economic sanctions against Russia.

Stephen Jones is with Mount Holyoke College in Massachusetts. He thinks the two sides could cooperate in some areas, such as the struggle against Islamic State militants⁷.

“Here is somewhere where clearly Russia and the United States have common interests in trying to prevent the Islamic State’s spread into other regions. Russia must be concerned about this and what might happen in Central Asia with the rise of this sort of Islamic fundamentalism.”

But other observers see little if any chance of cooperation in that area. Matthew Rojansky is with the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars in Washington.

“The whole premise⁸ of Putin’s foreign policy is he doesn’t follow anyone, much less America.”

And many experts say they do not expect the relationship between Russia and the United States to change over the next few years. Those observers include John Parker of the National Defense University.

“Whoever is the next U.S. president is still going to have a lot of problems in dealing⁹ with Russia, and likewise Russia with the U.S. I actually see a fairly prolonged ‘Cold War-ish’ period ahead of us that is going to extend deep into certainly the first term of whoever follows President Obama in the White House. And on the other side, of course, there is no sign that Putin is ever going to leave the Kremlin. So on that side, it’s not going to change. Putin is not going to change his political spots.”

Observers also note a lot of distrust between the two sides. In fact, they say, there is so much that it would prevent any kind of forward movement in the relationship.

Words in this Story 

relations – n. understandings or ties between nations

support – n. something able to carry weight, to hold in position

truth – n. something that is correct; the facts about something

treaty – n. a written agreement between two or more nations

cooperate – v. to act or work together

1 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。

2 aggression   

n.进攻，侵略，侵犯，侵害

参考例句：

• So long as we are firmly united, we need fear no aggression.只要我们紧密地团结，就不必惧怕外来侵略。
• Her view is that aggression is part of human nature.她认为攻击性是人类本性的一部份。

3 brutality   

n.野蛮的行为，残忍，野蛮

参考例句：

• The brutality of the crime has appalled the public. 罪行之残暴使公众大为震惊。
• a general who was infamous for his brutality 因残忍而恶名昭彰的将军

4 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

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 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。

7 militants   

激进分子，好斗分子( militant的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The militants have been sporadically fighting the government for years. 几年来，反叛分子一直对政府实施零星的战斗。
• Despite the onslaught, Palestinian militants managed to fire off rockets. 尽管如此，巴勒斯坦的激进分子仍然发射导弹。

8 premise   

n.前提；v.提论，预述

参考例句：

• Let me premise my argument with a bit of history.让我引述一些史实作为我立论的前提。
• We can deduce a conclusion from the premise.我们可以从这个前提推出结论。

9 dealing   

n.经商方法，待人态度

参考例句：

• This store has an excellent reputation for fair dealing.该商店因买卖公道而享有极高的声誉。
• His fair dealing earned our confidence.他的诚实的行为获得我们的信任。