美国国家公共电台 NPR Near The Russian Border, U.S. And NATO Beef Up Their Presence

Near The Russian Border, U.S. And NATO Beef Up Their Presence

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During the presidential campaign, Donald Trump² questioned the U.S. commitment to NATO. And this came at a moment when the alliance has been increasing its presence in Eastern Europe to counter Russia. The United States has actually been leading that military buildup, and NPR's Lucian Kim spent a day with the 173rd Airborne Brigade on a firing range in Estonia.

LUCIAN KIM, BYLINE³: On a ridge⁴ overlooking a snowy field, U.S. paratroopers fire heavy machine guns at a make believe enemy bunker on the tree line, providing their comrades below with covering fire. Lieutenant⁵ Colonel Mike Kloepper, who's overseeing the exercise, watches as his soldiers prepare to destroy an enemy tank.

MIKE KLOEPPER: So we should be careful. You'll see these guys up here on the left are about to fire a Javelin⁶ anti-tank missile, so we'll want to stay away from that thing when it goes off, obviously.

(SOUNDBITE OF ROCKET LAUNCHING)

KIM: The enemy in this exercise is unnamed, but with the Russian border just 70 miles away, it's clear enough what kind of scenario⁷ is being played out. Two years ago, Russia annexed⁸ Crimea and backed an insurgency⁹ in eastern Ukraine. In response, the U.S. started rotating forces through Eastern Europe to reassure¹⁰ new NATO allies that they would be defended.

KLOEPPER: So what you're seeing today is not special or unique, necessarily, in terms of frequency. We're doing something like this here every week.

KIM: The 173rd Airborne is training in all three Baltic nations - Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania. Last summer, NATO decided¹¹ to begin rotating battalions¹³ through those countries and Poland. The planned deployment¹⁴ may become the first big foreign policy test for the incoming U.S. president. Kristi Raik of the Finnish Institute of International Affairs, just across the Baltic Sea in Helsinki, says everyone in the region will be looking to see whether Trump confirms U.S. commitments to its allies.

KRISTI RAIK: One clear example is, then, whether the agreement that has been made on increased NATO presence in the Baltic states will be maintained and actually implemented¹⁵.

KIM: The Estonians certainly think so. At the Tapa army base, where the 173rd Airborne is exercising, construction is in full swing to build barracks for British troops due here early next year. Tiny Estonia has only a small military with no tanks and no warplanes of its own. Hannes Hanso was, until recently, Estonia's defense¹⁶ minister.

HANNES HANSO: It's also important to understand that the U.S. troops and soon, you know, coming British battalion¹², they are not here for Estonia's defense. From here, we defend Copenhagen, Paris, London and Washington because this is where the tensions are right now because of our eastern neighbor, Russia.

(SOUNDBITE OF GUNSHOTS)

KIM: Back on the range, the soldiers are still pounding the enemy bunker. I'm standing¹⁷ next to Captain Anthony Formica.

So you're expecting to see a white flag pretty soon from that bunker?

ANTHONY FORMICA: Not against the enemies that we're likely to fight, no.

KIM: Minutes later, the forward observer cries out.

UNIDENTIFIED MAN: We took bunker one. Get them ready.

KIM: The exercise might be ending for these American soldiers, but for Estonia, the real test of its allies is still to come. Lucian Kim, NPR News, at the Tapa military range in Estonia.

1 browser   

n.浏览者

参考例句：

• View edits in a web browser.在浏览器中看编辑的效果。
• I think my browser has a list of shareware links.我想在浏览器中会有一系列的共享软件链接。

2 trump   

n.王牌，法宝；v.打出王牌，吹喇叭

参考例句：

• He was never able to trump up the courage to have a showdown.他始终鼓不起勇气摊牌。
• The coach saved his star player for a trump card.教练保留他的明星选手，作为他的王牌。

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 ridge   

n.山脊；鼻梁；分水岭

参考例句：

• We clambered up the hillside to the ridge above.我们沿着山坡费力地爬上了山脊。
• The infantry were advancing to attack the ridge.步兵部队正在向前挺进攻打山脊。

5 lieutenant   

n.陆军中尉，海军上尉；代理官员，副职官员

参考例句：

• He was promoted to be a lieutenant in the army.他被提升为陆军中尉。
• He prevailed on the lieutenant to send in a short note.他说动那个副官，递上了一张简短的便条进去。

6 javelin   

n.标枪，投枪

参考例句：

• She achieved a throw of sixty metres in the javelin event.在掷标枪项目中，她掷了60米远。
• The coach taught us how to launch a javelin.教练教我们投标枪。

7 scenario   

n.剧本，脚本；概要

参考例句：

• But the birth scenario is not completely accurate.然而分娩脚本并非完全准确的。
• This is a totally different scenario.这是完全不同的剧本。

8 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。

9 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

10 reassure   

v.使放心，使消除疑虑

参考例句：

• This seemed to reassure him and he continued more confidently.这似乎使他放心一点，于是他更有信心地继续说了下去。
• The airline tried to reassure the customers that the planes were safe.航空公司尽力让乘客相信飞机是安全的。

11 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

12 battalion   

n.营；部队；大队(的人)

参考例句：

• The town was garrisoned by a battalion.该镇由一营士兵驻守。
• At the end of the drill parade,the battalion fell out.操练之后，队伍解散了。

13 battalions   

n.（陆军的）一营（大约有一千兵士）( battalion的名词复数 )；协同作战的部队；军队；（组织在一起工作的）队伍

参考例句：

• God is always on the side of the strongest battalions. 上帝总是帮助强者。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• Two battalions were disposed for an attack on the air base. 配置两个营的兵力进攻空军基地。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

14 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。

15 implemented   

v.实现( implement的过去式和过去分词 )；执行；贯彻；使生效

参考例句：

• This agreement, if not implemented, is a mere scrap of paper. 这个协定如不执行只不过是一纸空文。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• The economy is in danger of collapse unless far-reaching reforms are implemented. 如果不实施影响深远的改革，经济就面临崩溃的危险。 来自辞典例句

16 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。

17 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。