VOA标准英语2014--Merits of Giving Ukraine Lethal Aid Debated

 

Merits of Giving Ukraine Lethal¹ Aid Debated

STATE DEPARTMENT—

U.S. Vice² President Joe Biden has condemned³ what he calls Russia’s “aggression” in Ukraine, but stopped short of saying the United States will provide Ukraine with lethal aid during comments made before wrapping up a visit to Ukraine that included talks with President Petro Poroshenko. But the White House nominee⁴ to fill the number two position at the State Department has said the United States should consider giving Ukraine lethal military equipment.

In a joint⁵ appearance with Poroshenko, Biden said Russian action in Ukraine is in violation⁶ of a September peace deal.

“We have seen more provocative⁷ actions, more blatant⁸ disregard for the agreement that was signed not long ago by Russia,” said Biden.

The United States and other Western powers have accused Russia of backing pro-Russian separatists in Ukraine with weapons and troops.

The United States has restricted its help to Ukraine to non-lethal aid, such as body armor and vehicles. But the question of defensive⁹ lethal assistance to Ukraine has never been off the table, said Deputy National Security Advisor¹⁰ Tony Blinken.

“It remains¹¹ on the table. It is something that we are looking at,” Blinken said.

Blinken told a Senate panel that Russia’s actions in Ukraine warrant a stronger response.

“I believe that given the serious Russian violations¹² of the agreement that they signed, the Minsk accord, that one element that could hopefully get them to think twice and deter¹³ them from further action is strengthening the capacity of the Ukrainian forces, including with defensive lethal equipment,” he said.

Blinken appears to have support for his position. Ukraine needs to defend itself, said Republican Congressman¹⁴ Steve Stockman.

“The photographs, if you see what is happening [in Ukraine], are important and people who look at them cannot even look at what is happening.  And yet, we stand silent.  You cannot defend a nation without defensive weapons,” said Stockman.

But Russia-Ukraine researcher Keith Darden thinks the Ukrainian government’s problem lies more with its internal organization, rather than its military hardware.  

“Strengthening the Ukrainian state does not mean arming Ukraine with American weapons, because they are a weapons producer.  This is not the problem for them,” said Darden.

Meanwhile, Russia has warned that U.S. lethal aid to Ukraine would further destabilize the country's crisis. 

1 lethal   

adj.致死的；毁灭性的

参考例句：

• A hammer can be a lethal weapon.铁锤可以是致命的武器。
• She took a lethal amount of poison and died.她服了致命剂量的毒药死了。

2 vice   

n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的

参考例句：

• He guarded himself against vice.他避免染上坏习惯。
• They are sunk in the depth of vice.他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。

3 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。

4 nominee   

n.被提名者；被任命者；被推荐者

参考例句：

• His nominee for vice president was elected only after a second ballot.他提名的副总统在两轮投票后才当选。
• Mr.Francisco is standing as the official nominee for the post of District Secretary.弗朗西斯科先生是行政书记职位的正式提名人。

5 joint   

adj.联合的，共同的；n.关节，接合处；v.连接，贴合

参考例句：

• I had a bad fall,which put my shoulder out of joint.我重重地摔了一跤，肩膀脫臼了。
• We wrote a letter in joint names.我们联名写了封信。

6 violation   

n.违反(行为)，违背(行为)，侵犯

参考例句：

• He roared that was a violation of the rules.他大声说，那是违反规则的。
• He was fined 200 dollars for violation of traffic regulation.他因违反交通规则被罚款200美元。

7 provocative   

adj.挑衅的，煽动的，刺激的，挑逗的

参考例句：

• She wore a very provocative dress.她穿了一件非常性感的裙子。
• His provocative words only fueled the argument further.他的挑衅性讲话只能使争论进一步激化。

8 blatant   

adj.厚颜无耻的；显眼的；炫耀的

参考例句：

• I cannot believe that so blatant a comedy can hoodwink anybody.我无法相信这么显眼的一出喜剧能够欺骗谁。
• His treatment of his secretary was a blatant example of managerial arrogance.他管理的傲慢作风在他对待秘书的态度上表露无遗。

9 defensive   

adj.防御的；防卫的；防守的

参考例句：

• Their questions about the money put her on the defensive.他们问到钱的问题，使她警觉起来。
• The Government hastily organized defensive measures against the raids.政府急忙布置了防卫措施抵御空袭。

10 advisor   

n.顾问，指导老师，劝告者

参考例句：

• They employed me as an advisor.他们聘请我当顾问。
• The professor is engaged as a technical advisor.这位教授被聘请为技术顾问。

11 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

12 violations   

违反( violation的名词复数 )； 冒犯； 违反（行为、事例）； 强奸

参考例句：

• This is one of the commonest traffic violations. 这是常见的违反交通规则之例。
• These violations of the code must cease forthwith. 这些违犯法规的行为必须立即停止。

13 deter   

vt.阻止，使不敢，吓住

参考例句：

• Failure did not deter us from trying it again.失败并没有能阻挡我们再次进行试验。
• Dogs can deter unwelcome intruders.狗能够阻拦不受欢迎的闯入者。

14 Congressman   

n.（美）国会议员

参考例句：

• He related several anecdotes about his first years as a congressman.他讲述自己初任议员那几年的几则轶事。
• The congressman is meditating a reply to his critics.这位国会议员正在考虑给他的批评者一个答复。