美国国家公共电台 NPR--The U.N. brokered a deal but can Ukraine's grain shipments be exported safely?

The U.N. brokered¹ a deal but can Ukraine's grain shipments be exported safely?

Transcript²

Less than 24 hours after Ukraine and Russia formalized a deal to reopen Black Sea ports and resume agricultural exports, Russian missiles hit the port in Odesa.

A MART?NEZ, HOST:

Ukraine says it's preparing to reopen ports on the Black Sea as part of a United Nations brokered deal to export millions of tons of grain trapped by the war.

LEILA FADEL, HOST:

But can the grain be exported safely? That's in doubt now because Russia dropped missiles on the main port of Odesa less than 24 hours after signing this deal, a deal that the U.N. and Turkey worked on to address global food shortages and rising prices.

MART?NEZ: NPR's Joanna Kakissis has been following this story from Kyiv. Joanna, tell us why this deal is so important and why it's now in question.

JOANNA KAKISSIS, BYLINE³: So the U.N. and Turkey brokered this deal between Russia and Ukraine because these countries are top producers of grain, cooking oil and fertilizer. Russia's invasion of Ukraine has blocked those exports, and food prices are soaring. People in some countries are also going hungry because they lack food staples⁴ like wheat and sunflower oil. So this deal is supposed to secure the shipment of Ukrainian grain from Black Sea ports, including Odesa. It's also supposed to facilitate the shipment of Russian grain and fertilizer, which are blocked because of Western sanctions on Russian banking⁵ and transport.

On Saturday, however, less than 24 hours after this deal was signed, Russia hit the port of Odesa with missiles. World leaders condemned⁶ the strike, but Ukraine says it still wants to move forward with shipping⁷ that grain.

MART?NEZ: And why is exporting this grain so important for Ukraine?

KAKISSIS: So Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says agricultural exports would bring in $10 billion to the Ukrainian economy, and that is lifesaving cash for a country that's expected to lose up to half of its GDP this year. Ukraine usually exports at least 4 million metric tons of grain a month, but just about half of that is getting out now. Ukraine also has about 20 million tons of grain from last year's harvest in storage. And now this year's harvest is coming in, and it risks going bad because there's nowhere to store it. I spoke⁸ to Ukraine's deputy agriculture minister, Taras Vysotsky, and he worries farmers won't be able to begin planting this fall.

TARAS VYSOTSKY: And if farmers stop planting, this means we will have much worse problems later. If we don't plant, then we lose a whole year. And even if we open logistics after, we won't have goods to be exported.

KAKISSIS: He says if happens, the country's agriculture industry could collapse⁹.

MART?NEZ: Joanna, what's Russia saying about this deal and the global food shortages?

KAKISSIS: So Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov is in Africa this weekend. He insists Russian grain and fertilizer can actually do more to ease the food crisis. His spokesperson also admitted that Russian missiles did actually strike the port of Odesa, but she claims Russia did not actually violate the grain transport deal because it hit a military target at the port. The language in this deal is very vague about what port and - about, like, what port infrastructure¹⁰ is protected. So Ukraine is asking for more security guarantees to safely transport the grain the world, you know, needs so badly to feed, you know, countries that need it.

MART?NEZ: All right, that's NPR's Joanna Kakissis reporting from Kyiv. Joanna, thanks.

KAKISSIS: You're welcome.

1 brokered   

adj.由权力经纪人安排（或控制）的v.做掮客（或中人等）( broker的过去式和过去分词 )；作为权力经纪人进行谈判；以中间人等身份安排…

参考例句：

• a peace plan brokered by the UN 由联合国出面协商的和平计划
• Your husband brokered the deal to go in, transfrer the assets and get our man out. 你丈夫后来插了一脚，把生意都抢了过去，我们的人也被挤了出来。 来自电影对白

2 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

3 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

4 staples   

n.（某国的）主要产品( staple的名词复数 )；钉书钉；U 形钉；主要部份v.用钉书钉钉住( staple的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• The anvil onto which the staples are pressed was not assemble correctly. 订书机上的铁砧安装错位。 来自辞典例句
• I'm trying to make an analysis of the staples of his talk. 我在试行分析他的谈话的要旨。 来自辞典例句

5 banking   

n.银行业，银行学，金融业

参考例句：

• John is launching his son on a career in banking.约翰打算让儿子在银行界谋一个新职位。
• He possesses an extensive knowledge of banking.他具有广博的银行业务知识。

6 condemned   

adj. 被责难的, 被宣告有罪的 动词condemn的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• He condemned the hypocrisy of those politicians who do one thing and say another. 他谴责了那些说一套做一套的政客的虚伪。
• The policy has been condemned as a regressive step. 这项政策被认为是一种倒退而受到谴责。

7 shipping   

n.船运（发货，运输，乘船）

参考例句：

• We struck a bargain with an American shipping firm.我们和一家美国船运公司谈成了一笔生意。
• There's a shipping charge of ￡5 added to the price.价格之外另加五英镑运输费。

8 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。

9 collapse   

vi.累倒；昏倒；倒塌；塌陷

参考例句：

• The country's economy is on the verge of collapse.国家的经济已到了崩溃的边缘。
• The engineer made a complete diagnosis of the bridge's collapse.工程师对桥的倒塌做了一次彻底的调查分析。

10 infrastructure   

n.下部构造，下部组织，基础结构，基础设施

参考例句：

• We should step up the development of infrastructure for research.加强科学基础设施建设。
• We should strengthen cultural infrastructure and boost various types of popular culture.加强文化基础设施建设，发展各类群众文化。