英语听力精选进阶版 7348（在线收听）

四百名俄罗斯海军陆战队员已经抵达法国，准备在法国出售给俄国海军的两艘军舰上接受培训。尽管受到美国和其他盟国的批评，但是法国总统奥朗德拒绝取消这笔军舰交易。

This is a deal worth €1.2 billion to France – not to mention the jobs.

But it sorely undermines France's position – they've been one of the countries pushing Germany to take a tougher line with Russia over the recent unrest in eastern Ukraine.

President Obama has made his feelings clear. "It would have been preferable," he said, "to press the pause button".

The Hollande government says the current sanctions agreement doesn't cover military hardware and the contract, signed by President Sarkozy's government in 2011, is too expensive to cancel.

Quiz 听力测验

1. Which word means 'makes less confident or effective'?

Undermines.

2. True or false: The deal is worth €1.2 billion to France, including the jobs it will create.

False. The report says "not to mention the jobs", which means the figure of 1.2 billion euros doesn't include the jobs.

3. Which metaphor did Barack Obama use to say France should have stopped what it was doing?

He said they should have pressed "the pause button".

4. Would it be a good financial decision for France to cancel the contract with Russia? Why? / Why not?

No, because the contract "is too expensive to cancel".

Glossary 词汇表

sorely 严重地

undermines 破坏，削弱

to take a tougher line 采取一种更为强硬的立场

unrest 动荡局势

to press the pause button 按下暂停键，这里指暂停交易

hardware 硬件设备，装备