VOA常速英语2023 乌克兰将收到第一批西方援助坦克

This is VOA News.

这里是美国之音新闻。

In Washington, I'm Jeff Caster.

这里是华盛顿，我是杰夫·卡斯特。

Ukraine officials Tuesday described the first wave of tanks the country will receive following pledges from its Western allies.

星期二，乌克兰官员对西方盟国承诺的，乌克兰将收到的第一批坦克进行了说明。

Associated Press correspondent Charles De Ledesma reports.

美联社记者查尔斯·德·莱德斯马报道。

Ukraine Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba says, "in the first wave of contributions, the armed forces of Ukraine will receive from 120 to 140 Western-model tanks," adding that these will include German-made Leopards¹, British Challengers and U.S. M1 Abrams.

乌克兰外长德米特罗·库列巴说：“乌克兰武装部队将收到的第一批援助包括120到140辆西方研制的坦克。”他补充说，这些坦克将包括德国的豹2、英国的挑战者2和美国的M1艾布拉姆斯。

Kuleba has declined to name specific countries contributing, saying "Many of them still have to make formal decisions in accordance with their internal procedures."

库列巴拒绝透露具体的国家，称“这些国家中有很多仍需根据他们的内部程序做出正式决定。”

However, he said that 12 states have pledged tanks so far and Kyiv was working to persuade others to join.

但他表示，到目前为止，已有12个国家承诺向乌克兰提供坦克，乌克兰政府正在努力说服其他国家加入。

I'm Charles De Ledesma.

我是查尔斯·德·莱德斯马。

New data released Tuesday shows the euro zone managed to show economic growth in the final three months of 2022, avoiding a recession even as sky-high energy costs slumping² consumer confidence and rising interest rates have taken a toll³ on the bloc's economy.

周二公布的新数据显示，虽然高昂的能源成本导致消费者信心下降，利率上升也对经济造成了影响，欧元区在2022年第四季度还是成功实现了经济增长，避免了经济衰退。

Reuters correspondent Julian Satterthwaite reports.

路透社记者朱利安·萨特思韦特报道。

Figures out Tuesday showed surprise growth over the final three months of last year.

周二公布的数据显示，去年最后三个月，欧元区的经济出现了令人惊讶的增长。

The bloc's economy eked⁴ out expansion of 0.1 percent over the fourth quarter.

其在第四季度勉强实现了0.1%的增长。

Not much, but better than the drop that economists⁵ had expected.

增幅不大，但好过经济学家预期的衰退。

Among big countries, Germany and Italy saw economic activity contract.

在大国中，德国和意大利的经济活动出现收缩。

But France and Spain posted expansion.

但法国和西班牙则实现了经济增长。

The gains come despite an energy price crunch⁶.

这是在能源价格危机的情况下出现的增长。

Soaring costs for fuel have depleted⁷ household savings⁸ and held back investment.

飙升的燃料成本耗尽了家庭储蓄，抑制了投资。

They've also forced the European Central Bank into unprecedented⁹ rate hikes to cool inflation.

还迫使欧洲中央银行进行了史无前例的加息，以抑制通胀。

But the region's economy has shown unexpected resilience too.

但该地区的经济也表现出了意想不到的韧性。

This week that prompted the IMF to raise its forecasts for growth.

本周，欧元区的经济状况促使国际货币基金组织上调了对经济增长的预测。

It now expects the euro zone economy to expand 0.7 percent this year.

国际货币基金组织目前预计欧元区经济今年将增长0.7%。

That's up from an earlier prediction of 0.5 percent.

这一数字高于此前预测的0.5%。

That's Reuters correspondent Julian Satterthwaite reporting.

以上是路透社记者朱利安·萨特思韦特的报道。

I'm Jeff Caster.

我是杰夫·卡斯特。

This is VOA news.

这里是美国之音新闻。

1 leopards   

n.豹( leopard的名词复数 )；本性难移

参考例句：

• Lions, tigers and leopards are all cats. 狮、虎和豹都是猫科动物。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• For example, airlines never ship leopards and canaries on the same flight. 例如，飞机上从来不会同时运送豹和金丝雀。 来自英语晨读30分（初三）

2 slumping   

大幅度下降，暴跌( slump的现在分词 )； 沉重或突然地落下[倒下]

参考例句：

• Hong Kong's slumping economy also caused a rise in bankruptcy applications. 香港经济低迷，破产申请个案随之上升。
• And as with slumping, over-arching can also be a simple postural habit. 就像弯腰驼背，过度挺直也可能只是一种习惯性姿势。

3 toll   

n.过路(桥)费；损失，伤亡人数；v.敲(钟)

参考例句：

• The hailstone took a heavy toll of the crops in our village last night.昨晚那场冰雹损坏了我们村的庄稼。
• The war took a heavy toll of human life.这次战争夺去了许多人的生命。

4 eked   

v.（靠节省用量）使…的供应持久( eke的过去式和过去分词 )；节约使用；竭力维持生计；勉强度日

参考例句：

• She eked out the stew to make another meal. 她省出一些钝菜再做一顿饭。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• She eked out her small income by washing clothes for other people. 她替人洗衣以贴补微薄的收入。 来自辞典例句

5 economists   

n.经济学家，经济专家( economist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The sudden rise in share prices has confounded economists. 股价的突然上涨使经济学家大惑不解。
• Foreign bankers and economists cautiously welcomed the minister's initiative. 外国银行家和经济学家对部长的倡议反应谨慎。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 crunch   

n.关键时刻；艰难局面；v.发出碎裂声

参考例句：

• If it comes to the crunch they'll support us.关键时刻他们是会支持我们的。
• People who crunch nuts at the movies can be very annoying.看电影时嘎吱作声地嚼干果的人会使人十分讨厌。

7 depleted   

adj. 枯竭的, 废弃的 动词deplete的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• Food supplies were severely depleted. 食物供应已严重不足。
• Both teams were severely depleted by injuries. 两个队都因队员受伤而实力大减。

8 savings   

n.存款，储蓄

参考例句：

• I can't afford the vacation,for it would eat up my savings.我度不起假，那样会把我的积蓄用光的。
• By this time he had used up all his savings.到这时，他的存款已全部用完。

9 unprecedented   

adj.无前例的，新奇的

参考例句：

• The air crash caused an unprecedented number of deaths.这次空难的死亡人数是空前的。
• A flood of this sort is really unprecedented.这样大的洪水真是十年九不遇。