五角大楼首席重申美国支持乌克兰

 　　WASHINGTON, April 10 (Xinhua) -- En route home from his Asia- Pacific trip Thursday, U.S. Defense¹ Secretary Chuck Hagel placed an in-flight call to Ukraine's Acting² Minister of Defense Mykhaylo Koval, reaffirming American help to Ukraine.

　　According to Pentagon's Assistant Press Secretary Carl Woog, Hagel spoke³ by phone with Koval on his return flight from Beijing to Washington, D.C.. It was their first conversation since the Ukrainian official took office last month.

　　Hagel told Minister Koval that the United States will continue to stand with Ukraine. They both pledged to remain in close contact going forward, Woog said in a statement.

　　Hagel commended Koval for his leadership of the Armed Forces during this critical time for Ukraine and thanked him for hosting recent bilateral⁴ defense consultations⁵ in Kiev, capital of Ukraine, Woog said.

　　The two defense officials also discussed the situation in Crimea, as well as Russia's military activities along Ukraine's borders.

1 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。

2 acting   

n.演戏，行为，假装；adj.代理的，临时的，演出用的

参考例句：

• Ignore her,she's just acting.别理她，她只是假装的。
• During the seventies,her acting career was in eclipse.在七十年代，她的表演生涯黯然失色。

3 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。

4 bilateral   

adj.双方的，两边的，两侧的

参考例句：

• They have been negotiating a bilateral trade deal.他们一直在商谈一项双边贸易协定。
• There was a wide gap between the views of the two statesmen on the bilateral cooperation.对双方合作的问题，两位政治家各自所持的看法差距甚大。

5 consultations   

n.磋商（会议）( consultation的名词复数 )；商讨会；协商会；查找

参考例句：

• Consultations can be arranged at other times by appointment. 磋商可以通过预约安排在其他时间。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• Consultations are under way. 正在进行磋商。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》