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In an appeal to Congress, Ukrainian President Zelenskyy asked the U.S. to help Ukraine

Transcript¹

Ukraine's president addressed a joint² meeting of Congress Wednesday morning. He appeared virtually and referenced Pearl Harbor and the 9/11 attacks in his speech.

A MARTINEZ, HOST:

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy addressed a joint session of Congress virtually this morning. He received multiple standing³ ovations⁴ from lawmakers, and he pleaded for the U.S. to send more military support to fight the Russian invasion and spoke⁵ directly to President Biden.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

PRESIDENT VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY: President Biden, you are the leader of the nation. I wish you to be the leader of the world. Being the leader of the world means to be the leader of peace.

MARTINEZ: NPR congressional correspondent Susan Davis joins us now. Susan, it was a short speech - spoke for 10 minutes. What were his main messages to Congress?

SUSAN DAVIS, BYLINE⁶: You know, he really tried to appeal to the American sensibility and our own history. He talked about - remember Pearl Harbor. Remember 9/11. Remember that feeling of your own cities being under attack. He cited the words of Martin Luther King, saying I have a dream, you know, for the protection of democracy and future in Ukraine. He even played a video of images of a peaceful Ukraine before the Russian invasion and then backed up against images of those very same cities being bombed today. He did seem to make a little bit of news in that he conceded to lawmakers that the U.S. is not going to support a so-called no-fly zone. The Biden administration has been very clear they don't support it, that they will not move the U.S. closer to direct engagement with Russia. However, Zelenskyy said that, in his words, there could be an alternative, and he made a plea for more defense⁷ systems.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

ZELENSKYY: (Through interpreter) You know what kind of defense systems we need - aircraft that can help Ukraine, help Europe. And you know that they exist, and you have them, but they are on earth, not in the Ukrainian sky.

MARTINEZ: And, Susan, when he referenced MLK with that I have a dream, he also added some wordplay there by saying, I have a need as well. So I'm wondering, overall, how has this been received so far?

DAVIS: You know, he has had tremendous bipartisan support on Capitol Hill, certainly for sending more military and intelligence support. Leaders have been really moved by Zelenskyy's leadership on this. Senator Chris Coons - he's a Democrat⁸ from Delaware - talked to reporters before the speech. He had spoken with Zelenskyy earlier this month in a private Zoom⁹ call with a handful of lawmakers, and he said he's been moved to tears by him and how he's handled himself and his leadership. So there's certainly bipartisan support in Congress. Congress doesn't necessarily need to give any authority to transfer more weapons. There's a lot of power rested in the Pentagon and the executive branch on this. But Congress has been very interested in sending public messages of support and certainly to the administration to say, do this. Do it faster. We support these actions.

MARTINEZ: And in the room where they were watching the speech, there were Democrats¹⁰ and Republicans sitting, mingled¹¹ amongst each other. They weren't on one side of the other in that whole place. I know President Biden is expected to announce another 800 million in military aid. What else is Congress looking to do?

DAVIS: Well, just last week, they approved a $14 billion package in military and humanitarian¹² aid. If Ukraine were to ask for more, if the administration were to ask for more, it's very likely that lawmakers will continue to have some bipartisan support for more aid there. The House has already passed legislation affirming the Biden administration's ban on Russian oil and gas imports. This week the House is going to vote on repealing¹³ normal trade relations status with Russia. Biden has already announced this, but Congress needs to codify¹⁴ it. The Senate says they're going to look on moving on that fast. And just last night the Senate passed a resolution by unanimous support condemning¹⁵ Russian President Vladimir Putin and the Russian military for what they say are alleged¹⁶ war crimes against the people of Ukraine.

MARTINEZ: That's NPR congressional correspondent Susan Davis. Susan, thank you very much.

DAVIS: You're welcome.

1 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

2 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。

3 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

4 ovations   

n.热烈欢迎( ovation的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Everywhere they appeared there were ovations. 他们出现在哪儿，哪儿就是一片欢呼声。 来自辞典例句
• There were notable standing ovations for the Iraqi and the Palestinian teams. 而且引人注目的是，伊拉克和巴勒斯坦代表团还受到了持久的掌声欢迎。 来自互联网

5 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

6 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

7 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

8 democrat   

n.民主主义者，民主人士；民主党党员

参考例句：

• The Democrat and the Public criticized each other.民主党人和共和党人互相攻击。
• About two years later,he was defeated by Democrat Jimmy Carter.大约两年后，他被民主党人杰米卡特击败。

9 zoom   

n.急速上升；v.突然扩大，急速上升

参考例句：

• The airplane's zoom carried it above the clouds.飞机的陡直上升使它飞到云层之上。
• I live near an airport and the zoom of passing planes can be heard night and day.我住在一个飞机场附近，昼夜都能听到飞机飞过的嗡嗡声。

10 democrats   

n.民主主义者，民主人士( democrat的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The Democrats held a pep rally on Capitol Hill yesterday. 民主党昨天在国会山召开了竞选誓师大会。
• The democrats organize a filibuster in the senate. 民主党党员组织了阻挠议事。 来自《简明英汉词典》

11 mingled   

混合，混入( mingle的过去式和过去分词 )； 混进，与…交往[联系]

参考例句：

• The sounds of laughter and singing mingled in the evening air. 笑声和歌声交织在夜空中。
• The man and the woman mingled as everyone started to relax. 当大家开始放松的时候，这一男一女就开始交往了。

12 humanitarian   

n.人道主义者，博爱者，基督凡人论者

参考例句：

• She has many humanitarian interests and contributes a lot to them.她拥有很多慈善事业，并作了很大的贡献。
• The British government has now suspended humanitarian aid to the area.英国政府现已暂停对这一地区的人道主义援助。

13 repealing   

撤销，废除( repeal的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• In addition, repealing the alternative minimum tax would also help. 此外，废除替代性最低税也会有所帮助。
• Repealing the investment tax credit. 取消投资税款扣除。

14 codify   

v.将法律、法规等编成法典

参考例句：

• The noble,Dracon,was asked to codify the laws.贵族德拉古被选为立法者。
• The new government promised to codify the laws.新政府应允要编纂法典。

15 condemning   

v.（通常因道义上的原因而）谴责( condemn的现在分词 )；宣判；宣布…不能使用；迫使…陷于不幸的境地

参考例句：

• The government issued a statement condemning the killings. 政府发表声明谴责这些凶杀事件。
• I concur with the speaker in condemning what has been done. 我同意发言者对所做的事加以谴责。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

16 alleged   

a.被指控的，嫌疑的

参考例句：

• It was alleged that he had taken bribes while in office. 他被指称在任时收受贿赂。
• alleged irregularities in the election campaign 被指称竞选运动中的不正当行为