俄制导弹击毁MH17航班

AS IT IS 2015-10-14 Russian-Made Missile Destroyed Flight MH17 俄制导弹击毁MH17航班

International investigators¹ say Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 was shot down last year by a Russian-made missile.

The airplane crashed in eastern Ukraine on July 17, 2014. All 298 passengers and crew were killed.

Dutch officials announced the investigation² findings Tuesday in the Dutch capital, The Hague.

The Dutch Safety Board led the investigation. Its chairman, Tjibbe Joustra, spoke³ to family members and media. He said the plane was hit by pieces from a missile explosion. He said the missile was fired from the ground. He also said the plane broke apart while still in the air.

He said Ukraine was responsible for not closing its airspace. Russian-backed rebels and Ukrainian forces were fighting below the flight path.

"Nobody considered the possibility that civil aircraft at cruising altitude was at risk," he said.

Mr. Joustra said nations in armed conflict should put more effort into the safety of their airspace. He said flight operators should be transparent⁴ about the flight path they choose.

The majority of passengers were Dutch. But citizens of Australia, Belgium, Malaysia and Ukraine were also on board. Representatives from those countries were part of the investigation. The plane was flying from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur.

The investigators did not assign blame for the crash. Western nations have accused Russia-backed rebels of mistaking the plane for a military aircraft and shooting it down.

Russia has denied responsibility. The government’s missile manufacturer also investigated the incident. It says the missile was an old model no longer used by the Russian military. It also says the missile was launched from an area under Ukrainian government control. 

Words in This Story

chairman - n. a person who is in charge of a company or organization

cruising altitude – n. the height in the sky at which an airplane stays for most of a flight

transparent – adj. honest and open: not secretive

on board – prepositional phrase in or on a train, boat, plane etc.

assign – v. to say that someone has (something, such as blame or responsibility)

1 investigators   

n.调查者，审查者( investigator的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• This memo could be the smoking gun that investigators have been looking for. 这份备忘录可能是调查人员一直在寻找的证据。
• The team consisted of six investigators and two secretaries. 这个团队由六个调查人员和两个秘书组成。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 investigation   

n.调查，调查研究

参考例句：

• In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
• He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。

3 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。

4 transparent   

adj.明显的，无疑的；透明的

参考例句：

• The water is so transparent that we can see the fishes swimming.水清澈透明，可以看到鱼儿游来游去。
• The window glass is transparent.窗玻璃是透明的。