美国国家公共电台 NPR Russia Pulls Back From The Brink Of Retaliation Against U.S. Sanctions

 

ARI SHAPIRO, HOST: 

We begin with Russia a day after President Obama announced sanctions against the Kremlin for allegedly interfering¹ in U.S. elections. Among other measures, Obama ordered out 35 Russian diplomats² believed to be intelligence agents.

ROBERT SIEGEL, HOST: 

It looked like Russia would respond in kind until the very last moment. President Vladimir Putin proved once again his ability to surprise. NPR's Lucian Kim reports on a day of high political theater in Moscow.

LUCIAN KIM, BYLINE³: Within hours after the White House announced the expulsions, Russian officials took to social media to express their outrage⁴. The Russian Embassy in London tweeted a picture of a duckling with the word lame⁵ stamped over it. It was retweeted more than 19,000 times. Then Maria Zakharova, the spokeswoman of Russia's foreign ministry⁶, posted on Facebook. She accused the Obama administration of being, quote, "a group of foreign policy losers who have humiliated⁷ America more than any foreign enemy could have."

Everything was set up for a big announcement on Friday, and sure enough, at lunchtime, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov went on national TV.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

SERGEY LAVROV: (Speaking Russian).

KIM: "Of course we can't leave such antics without a response," Lavrov said. "That's why the foreign ministry was recommending the expulsion of 35 American diplomats working in Russia." Done and dusted it seemed. In Vladimir Putin's top-down power structure, there's generally no public discussion and no dissent⁸. But that's why this came as a surprise.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

UNIDENTIFIED MAN: (Speaking Russian).

KIM: Newsflash - Putin has declined the recommendations of his foreign minister. Putin's statement was so important that a news anchor read it out in its entirety.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

UNIDENTIFIED WOMAN: (Speaking Russian).

KIM: "We will not expel anyone," she read from his statement. "Moreover, I invite all children of U.S. diplomats to view the Christmas tree in the Kremlin." Putin went on to send holiday greetings to the entire American people.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

UNIDENTIFIED WOMAN: (Speaking Russian).

KIM: And in the new year, Putin said in his statement, he will work to restore Russian-U.S. relations based on the policies of incoming president Donald Trump⁹. Lucian Kim, NPR News, Moscow.

1 interfering   

adj. 妨碍的 动词interfere的现在分词

参考例句：

• He's an interfering old busybody! 他老爱管闲事！
• I wish my mother would stop interfering and let me make my own decisions. 我希望我母亲不再干预，让我自己拿主意。

2 diplomats   

n.外交官( diplomat的名词复数 )；有手腕的人，善于交际的人

参考例句：

• These events led to the expulsion of senior diplomats from the country. 这些事件导致一些高级外交官被驱逐出境。
• The court has no jurisdiction over foreign diplomats living in this country. 法院对驻本国的外交官无裁判权。 来自《简明英汉词典》

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 outrage   

n.暴行，侮辱，愤怒；vt.凌辱，激怒

参考例句：

• When he heard the news he reacted with a sense of outrage.他得悉此事时义愤填膺。
• We should never forget the outrage committed by the Japanese invaders.我们永远都不应该忘记日本侵略者犯下的暴行。

5 lame   

adj.跛的，(辩解、论据等)无说服力的

参考例句：

• The lame man needs a stick when he walks.那跛脚男子走路时需借助拐棍。
• I don't believe his story.It'sounds a bit lame.我不信他讲的那一套。他的话听起来有些靠不住。

6 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。

7 humiliated   

感到羞愧的

参考例句：

• Parents are humiliated if their children behave badly when guests are present. 子女在客人面前举止失当，父母也失体面。
• He was ashamed and bitterly humiliated. 他感到羞耻，丢尽了面子。

8 dissent   

n./v.不同意，持异议

参考例句：

• It is too late now to make any dissent.现在提出异议太晚了。
• He felt her shoulders gave a wriggle of dissent.他感到她的肩膀因为不同意而动了一下。

9 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。