VOA常速英语2021--英国首相约翰逊宣布结束新冠限制措施

This is VOA News. Reporting by remote, I'm David Byrd.

这里是美国之音新闻。我是大卫·伯德，为您远程报道。

U.S. President Joe Biden says it would be a disaster for Russia if it chooses to invade Ukraine.

美国总统乔·拜登表示，如果俄罗斯选择入侵乌克兰，这对其来说将是一场灾难。

Speaking at a White House news conference Wednesday, Biden said that the United States and its allies are ready to impose sanctions and other consequences on Russia if it does invade Ukraine.

拜登周三在白宫新闻发布会上表示，如果俄罗斯真的入侵乌克兰，美国及其盟友准备对俄罗斯实施制裁并带来其他后果。

The president said that Russian President Vladimir Putin had a stark¹ choice, de-escalation and diplomacy² or confrontation³ and the consequences.

总统表示，俄罗斯总统弗拉基米尔·普京面临一个显而易见的抉择，缓和紧张局势和外交或是对峙并且承担其后果。

"The cost of going into Ukraine in terms of ph ysical loss of life, for the Russians, and they'll, they'll be able to prevail over time, but it's going to be heavy. It's gonna be real. It's gonna be consequential⁴."

“对俄罗斯人来说，入侵乌克兰的代价是人员伤亡，他们将能够在战斗一段时间后取得胜利，但代价将会是沉重的。这是真实的。这非常重要。”

Russia has 100,000 troops stationed along its border with Ukraine, and the United States and its NATO allies are concerned that Moscow might be planning to invade its former Soviet⁵ state.

俄罗斯在其与乌克兰接壤的边境部署了10万名士兵，美国及其北约盟国担心，莫斯科可能正计划入侵其前苏联国家。

Russia has denied it is planning to invade but has demanded guarantees that Ukraine would not be allowed to join NATO, a demand that the United States opposes.

俄罗斯否认计划入侵，但要求保证乌克兰不会被允许加入北约，美国对此表示反对。

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Wednesday announced the end of COVID-19 measures introduced to curb⁶ the rapid spread of the omicron variant⁷ in England as he looks to live with the virus after a peak in cases.

英国首相鲍里斯·约翰逊周三宣布结束为遏制奥米克戎变体在英国迅速传播而施行的新冠措施，因为他希望人们能在新增病例高峰期后与病毒共存。

Speaking in Parliament, Johnson said most of Europe enforced strict COVID restrictions⁸ during the omicron surge but not Britain.

约翰逊在议会发表讲话时表示，欧洲大部分国家在奥米克戎病毒激增期间都实施了严格的限制措施，但英国没有。

"But this government took a different path.

“但本届政府选择了一条不同的道路。

We kept England open.

我们让英国保持开放。

And we supported those businesses which faced reduced demand because of the response to Plan B measures.

我们支持那些因应对B计划措施而面临需求减少的企业。

And while we must continue to remain cautious, the data are showing that time and again this government got the toughest decisions right."

虽然我们必须继续保持谨慎，但数据一次又一次表明，本届政府正确地做出了最艰难的决定。”

The lifting of Plan B measures could help Johnson appease⁹ vocal¹⁰ opponents of restrictions in his own caucus¹¹ following a furor¹² over lockdown gatherings¹³ at his office.

取消B计划措施可能有助于约翰逊平息自己党内对限制措施的强烈反对，此前他的办公室因封锁集会引发公众怒火。

This is VOA News.

这里是美国之音新闻。

1 stark   

adj.荒凉的；严酷的；完全的；adv.完全地

参考例句：

• The young man is faced with a stark choice.这位年轻人面临严峻的抉择。
• He gave a stark denial to the rumor.他对谣言加以完全的否认。

2 diplomacy   

n.外交；外交手腕，交际手腕

参考例句：

• The talks have now gone into a stage of quiet diplomacy.会谈现在已经进入了“温和外交”阶段。
• This was done through the skill in diplomacy. 这是通过外交手腕才做到的。

3 confrontation   

n.对抗，对峙，冲突

参考例句：

• We can't risk another confrontation with the union.我们不能冒再次同工会对抗的危险。
• After years of confrontation,they finally have achieved a modus vivendi.在对抗很长时间后，他们最后达成安宁生存的非正式协议。

4 consequential   

adj.作为结果的，间接的；重要的

参考例句：

• She was injured and suffered a consequential loss of earnings.她受了伤因而收入受损。
• This new transformation is at least as consequential as that one was.这一新的转变至少和那次一样重要。

5 Soviet   

adj.苏联的，苏维埃的；n.苏维埃

参考例句：

• Zhukov was a marshal of the former Soviet Union.朱可夫是前苏联的一位元帅。
• Germany began to attack the Soviet Union in 1941.德国在1941年开始进攻苏联。

6 curb   

n.场外证券市场，场外交易；vt.制止，抑制

参考例句：

• I could not curb my anger.我按捺不住我的愤怒。
• You must curb your daughter when you are in church.你在教堂时必须管住你的女儿。

7 variant   

adj.不同的，变异的；n.变体，异体

参考例句：

• We give professional suggestions according to variant tanning stages for each customer.我们针对每位顾客不同的日晒阶段，提供强度适合的晒黑建议。
• In a variant of this approach,the tests are data- driven.这个方法的一个变种，是数据驱动的测试。

8 restrictions   

约束( restriction的名词复数 )； 管制； 制约因素； 带限制性的条件（或规则）

参考例句：

• I found the restrictions irksome. 我对那些限制感到很烦。
• a snaggle of restrictions 杂乱无章的种种限制

9 appease   

v.安抚，缓和，平息，满足

参考例句：

• He tried to appease the crying child by giving him candy.他试图给那个啼哭的孩子糖果使他不哭。
• The government tried to appease discontented workers.政府试图安抚不满的工人们。

10 vocal   

adj.直言不讳的；嗓音的；n.[pl.]声乐节目

参考例句：

• The tongue is a vocal organ.舌头是一个发音器官。
• Public opinion at last became vocal.终于舆论哗然。

11 caucus   

n.秘密会议；干部会议；v.（参加）干部开会议

参考例句：

• This multi-staged caucus takes several months.这个多级会议常常历时好几个月。
• It kept the Democratic caucus from fragmenting.它也使得民主党的核心小组避免了土崩瓦解的危险。

12 furor   

n.狂热；大骚动

参考例句：

• His choice of words created quite a furor.他的措辞引起了相当大的轰动。
• The half hour lecture caused an enormous furor.那半小时的演讲引起了极大的轰动。

13 gatherings   

聚集( gathering的名词复数 )； 收集； 采集； 搜集

参考例句：

• His conduct at social gatherings created a lot of comment. 他在社交聚会上的表现引起许多闲话。
• During one of these gatherings a pupil caught stealing. 有一次，其中一名弟子偷窃被抓住。