VOA常速英语2021--俄罗斯指责西方煽动乌克兰周边紧张局势

The Kremlin on Sunday accused the West of artificially whipping up tensions around Ukraine with repeated statements suggesting Russia was poised¹ to launch an attack on its neighbor and told Washington and its allies to stop a military build-up nearby.

克里姆林宫周日指责西方国家人为地加剧了乌克兰周边的紧张局势，西方国家多次发表声明暗示俄罗斯准备对其邻国发动袭击，克里姆林宫还要求华盛顿及其盟友停止在乌克兰附近的军事集结。

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Saturday that his country has real concerns, widely shared with partners in Europe, over Russian activities at the Ukrainian border, after Ukraine said it feared Russia might be preparing an attack.

美国国务卿布林肯周六表示，美国对俄罗斯在乌克兰边境的活动感到切实担忧，欧洲的伙伴也普遍如此。此前乌克兰表示，它担心俄罗斯可能正在准备发动袭击。

U.S., NATO and Ukrainian officials have been making similar statements for nearly two weeks, referring to what they say are unusual Russian troop movements in the proximity² of Ukraine.

近两个星期来，美国、北约和乌克兰官员一直在发表类似的声明，涉及他们所说的俄罗斯军队在乌克兰附近的不寻常行动。

Moscow has dismissed such suggestions as inflammatory and complained about what it says is increasing activity in the region by the NATO alliance.

莫斯科驳斥了这种说法，称其具有煽动性，并抱怨北约联盟在该地区的活动不断增加。

In comments broadcast on Sunday on state television, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said "a provocation³" in the area could not be ruled out given all the U.S. rhetoric⁴.

在俄罗斯国家电视台周日播出的评论中，克里姆林宫发言人德米特里·佩斯科夫表示，鉴于美国的种种言论，不排除会在该地区进行“挑衅”的可能。

Turnout for Brazil's standardized⁵ university admission exam appears to be the lowest in 15 years.

巴西标准大学入学考试的参加人数似乎达到15年来最低。

Experts say that's largely because of the pandemic's effect on the nation's education.

专家表示，这在很大程度上是由于疫情对国家教育的影响。

Just over three million students signed up to take the annual exam.

报名参加年度考试的学生只有300多万。

That's down 44 percent from last year's registration⁶.

这比去年的报名率下降了44%。

The test held over two weekends is the main admission standard for Brazilian universities.

为期两个周末的考试是巴西大学的主要录取标准。

Experts say they expect many of those who registered early this year to be absent on Sunday.

专家表示，他们预计今年早些时候报名的许多人周日会缺席。

Extensive school closures and frustration⁷ with online teaching affected⁸ millions of students during the pandemic.

疫情期间，大量学校关闭和对在线教学的失望影响了数百万学生。

The pandemic also caused the economic hardships that pushed many to work rather than study.

疫情还造成了经济困难，迫使许多人工作而无法学习。

Via remote, I'm Marissa Melton, VOA News.

我是玛丽莎·梅尔顿，为您远程报道，美国之音新闻。

1 poised   

a.摆好姿势不动的

参考例句：

• The hawk poised in mid-air ready to swoop. 老鹰在半空中盘旋，准备俯冲。
• Tina was tense, her hand poised over the telephone. 蒂娜心情紧张，手悬在电话机上。

2 proximity   

n.接近，邻近

参考例句：

• Marriages in proximity of blood are forbidden by the law.法律规定禁止近亲结婚。
• Their house is in close proximity to ours.他们的房子很接近我们的。

3 provocation   

n.激怒，刺激，挑拨，挑衅的事物，激怒的原因

参考例句：

• He's got a fiery temper and flares up at the slightest provocation.他是火爆性子，一点就着。
• They did not react to this provocation.他们对这一挑衅未作反应。

4 rhetoric   

n.修辞学，浮夸之言语

参考例句：

• Do you know something about rhetoric?你懂点修辞学吗？
• Behind all the rhetoric,his relations with the army are dangerously poised.在冠冕堂皇的言辞背后，他和军队的关系岌岌可危。

5 standardized   

adj.标准化的

参考例句：

• We use standardized tests to measure scholastic achievement. 我们用标准化考试来衡量学生的学业成绩。
• The parts of an automobile are standardized. 汽车零件是标准化了的。

6 registration   

n.登记，注册，挂号

参考例句：

• Marriage without registration is not recognized by law.法律不承认未登记的婚姻。
• What's your registration number?你挂的是几号？

7 frustration   

n.挫折，失败，失效，落空

参考例句：

• He had to fight back tears of frustration.他不得不强忍住失意的泪水。
• He beat his hands on the steering wheel in frustration.他沮丧地用手打了几下方向盘。

8 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。