美国国家公共电台 NPR President Trump Cancels Putin Meeting On Eve Of G-20

 

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

Leaders of the world's largest economies spend this weekend in the southern hemisphere. They meet in Argentina. And President Trump¹ will take the chance for a string of one-on-one meetings with other leaders. Those meetings are expected to include a meeting with Russia's Vladimir Putin. Their last summit included a press conference in which Trump was widely seen as weak and submissive. And then there is dinner with China's president amid a trade war.

NPR's Tamara Keith is in Buenos Aires waiting for the summit and is on the line. Hi there, Tam.

TAMARA KEITH, BYLINE²: Hello.

INSKEEP: So let's talk about that meeting with Xi Jinping. What is the business that the two presidents need to get done?

KEITH: It's all about trade, and there's a deadline coming up. In this trade fight that has been escalating³, it's set to escalate⁴ again January 1. That's when the 10 percent tariffs⁵ that the Trump administration imposed on China would amp up to 25 percent if they can't come up with some way to head that off. And if those tariffs are raised, of course, China would retaliate⁶, as it has following earlier U.S. tariffs. So it would just continue the back and forth⁷. So they are coming to this dinner not really expecting to be able to resolve all of their problems but hoping that a face-to-face meeting could begin the process of avoiding a continuing trade war.

INSKEEP: I suppose we should note the United States has been demanding some fairly fundamental changes in the way that China runs its economy, does business and allows for outside businesses to operate in China. Is this something you can really improve over dinner?

KEITH: Probably not. Experts who watch China and trade say that the groundwork really hasn't been done to come out and announce a big deal that solves all of these problems. Some these problems include intellectual property theft, forced technology transfers, tariffs and other barriers to free and fair trade. There is a lot going on in this relationship, not to mention President Trump's insistence⁸ that the trade deficit⁹ come down, even though that is sort of less based in a sort of a genuine economic concern.

INSKEEP: So that's the meeting with Xi Jinping. Then there's this expected meeting with President Putin, assuming the two do meet. You don't know until they do. What is the business they need to address?

KEITH: The big issue is something that came up over the weekend, which is Russian aggression¹⁰ toward Ukraine that intensified¹¹ with Russian vessels¹² reportedly firing on Ukrainian ships in the Black Sea, seizing three vessels and injuring Ukrainian soldiers - sailors. The question here, you know, the U.S. officials, including Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, have strongly condemned¹³ that Russian action. The question with this meeting is - if it happens - will President Trump publicly push back on Putin - Putin has denied it - or will President Trump sort of defer¹⁴ to Putin's denials as he did with election interference in - and that press conference that was held over the summer?

INSKEEP: Quite a few instances in which the president - if he favors someone, he will say they strongly deny accusations¹⁵ against them. And that, for the president, is the end of it. Tamara, thanks so much.

KEITH: You're welcome.

INSKEEP: That's NPR's Tamara Keith.

1 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。

2 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。

3 escalating   

v.（使）逐步升级( escalate的现在分词 )；（使）逐步扩大；（使）更高；（使）更大

参考例句：

• The cost of living is escalating. 生活费用在迅速上涨。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The cost of living is escalating in the country. 这个国家的生活费用在上涨。 来自辞典例句

4 escalate   

v.(使)逐步增长(或发展)，(使)逐步升级

参考例句：

• It would tempt Israel's neighbors to escalate their demands.它将诱使以色列的邻国不断把他们的要求升级。
• Defeat could cause one side or other to escalate the conflict.失败可能会导致其中一方将冲突升级。

5 tariffs   

关税制度； 关税( tariff的名词复数 )； 关税表； （旅馆或饭店等的）收费表； 量刑标准

参考例句：

• British industry was sheltered from foreign competition by protective tariffs. 保护性关税使英国工业免受国际竞争影响。
• The new tariffs have put a stranglehold on trade. 新的关税制对开展贸易极为不利。

6 retaliate   

v.报复，反击

参考例句：

• He sought every opportunity to retaliate against his enemy.他找机会向他的敌人反击。
• It is strictly forbidden to retaliate against the quality inspectors.严禁对质量检验人员进行打击报复。

7 forth   

adv.向前；向外，往外

参考例句：

• The wind moved the trees gently back and forth.风吹得树轻轻地来回摇晃。
• He gave forth a series of works in rapid succession.他很快连续发表了一系列的作品。

8 insistence   

n.坚持；强调；坚决主张

参考例句：

• They were united in their insistence that she should go to college.他们一致坚持她应上大学。
• His insistence upon strict obedience is correct.他坚持绝对服从是对的。

9 deficit   

n.亏空，亏损；赤字，逆差

参考例句：

• The directors have reported a deficit of 2.5 million dollars.董事们报告赤字为250万美元。
• We have a great deficit this year.我们今年有很大亏损。

10 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。

11 intensified   

v.（使）增强， （使）加剧( intensify的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Violence intensified during the night. 在夜间暴力活动加剧了。
• The drought has intensified. 旱情加剧了。 来自《简明英汉词典》

12 vessels   

n.血管( vessel的名词复数 )；船；容器；（具有特殊品质或接受特殊品质的）人

参考例句：

• The river is navigable by vessels of up to 90 tons. 90 吨以下的船只可以从这条河通过。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• All modern vessels of any size are fitted with radar installations. 所有现代化船只都有雷达装置。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

13 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。

14 defer   

vt.推迟，拖延；vi.(to)遵从，听从，服从

参考例句：

• We wish to defer our decision until next week.我们希望推迟到下星期再作出决定。
• We will defer to whatever the committee decides.我们遵从委员会作出的任何决定。

15 accusations   

n.指责( accusation的名词复数 )；指控；控告；（被告发、控告的）罪名

参考例句：

• There were accusations of plagiarism. 曾有过关于剽窃的指控。
• He remained unruffled by their accusations. 对于他们的指控他处之泰然。