俄罗斯飞机坠毁原因复杂

AS IT IS 2015-11-08 Airliner¹ Crash Complicates² Migration³ Wave to Europe 俄罗斯飞机坠毁原因复杂

Intelligence officials are questioning the security at the Sharm el-Sheikh airport in Egypt.

And investigators⁴ say they suspect the crash of an airliner that took off from Sharm el-Sheikh was caused by a bomb onboard.

A Russian Metrojet airliner bound for Russia crashed and killed all 224 people onboard 20 minutes after leaving Sharm el-Sheikh airport. The crash happened Saturday.

The Islamic State (IS) terrorist group claimed responsibility for the crash. That claim is unproven. IS says it retaliated⁵ against Russian military action in Syria.

Russia has bombed targets in Syria since late September to support Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. Russia says it targets IS terrorist camps.

The Russian presence is expected to continue. It could escalate⁶ in response to the suspected airline bombing.

Experts say Russia also hits non-IS targets, such as Syrians fighting against Assad.

The director of the Kurdistan Regional Government's intelligence agency said, “Their support role of Assad is very clear."

U.S. fighter planes help support Syrian fighters on the ground against IS in the northeastern part of Syria, U.S. Col. Steve Warren said Wednesday.

European Union member countries say they worry about Middle East tensions and terrorism moving into their countries through immigration. Refugees and migrants from the Middle East, Africa and other countries surge into Europe through Turkey and Greece.

The International Organization for Migration estimates 700,000 migrants have made their way to Europe this year. The river of migrants over land and sea started in 2015. Those refugees and migrants come from war-torn countries like Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan and Ukraine.

The EU announced a plan Oct. 25 to accept 160,000 migrants. But only a fraction of the migrants and refugees have been registered officially. Many are wandering and without shelter.

EU nations launched a program to relocate migrants from Greece to other countries. On Wednesday, 30 Iraqi and Syrian migrants flew from Athens to Luxembourg.

Critics say it will not lessen⁷ the huge number of people arriving in Europe waiting to be registered and relocated.

Pawel Swidlicki is from the policy group Open Europe. He says many European governments are reluctantly involved in the program in the first place.

Words in This Story

airline – n. a company that owns and operates many airplanes which are used for carrying passengers and goods to different places

fraction – n. a part or amount of something

river – n. a large flow of something

retaliation⁸ – n. the act of doing something bad to someone who has hurt you or treated you badly

1 airliner   

n.客机，班机

参考例句：

• The pilot landed the airliner safely.驾驶员使客机安全着陆。
• The passengers were shepherded across the tarmac to the airliner.旅客们被引导走过跑道去上飞机。

2 complicates   

使复杂化( complicate的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• What complicates the issue is the burden of history. 历史的重负使问题复杂化了。
• Russia as a great and ambitious power gravely complicates the situation. 俄国作为一个强大而有野心的国家，使得局势异常复杂。

3 migration   

n.迁移，移居，（鸟类等的）迁徙

参考例句：

• Swallows begin their migration south in autumn.燕子在秋季开始向南方迁移。
• He described the vernal migration of birds in detail.他详细地描述了鸟的春季移居。

4 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》

5 retaliated   

v.报复，反击( retaliate的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• When he once teased her for her inexperience, she retaliated. 有一次，他讥讽她没有经验，她便反唇相讥。 来自辞典例句
• The terrorists retaliated by killing three policemen. 恐怖分子以杀死三名警察相报复。 来自辞典例句

6 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。

7 lessen   

vt.减少，减轻；缩小

参考例句：

• Regular exercise can help to lessen the pain.经常运动有助于减轻痛感。
• They've made great effort to lessen the noise of planes.他们尽力减小飞机的噪音。

8 retaliation   

n.报复，反击

参考例句：

• retaliation against UN workers 对联合国工作人员的报复
• He never said a single word in retaliation. 他从未说过一句反击的话。 来自《简明英汉词典》