美国国家公共电台 NPR--The war in Ukraine is looming large at a meeting of the G7 nations

The war in Ukraine is looming¹ large at a meeting of the G7 nations

Transcript²

Leaders of the seven wealthiest democracies began three days of talks Sunday in Germany's Bavarian Alps — as Russia fired a barrage³ of missiles at the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv.

A MART?NEZ, HOST:

Leaders of the seven wealthiest democracies began three days of talks yesterday in Germany's Bavarian Alps. Russia's invasion of Ukraine is set to dominate the agenda.

RACHEL MARTIN, HOST:

But the other dominant⁴ theme is China. One of the first announcements out of the G-7 was a $600 billion infrastructure⁵ initiative to help developing countries counter China's Belt and Road Initiative.

MART?NEZ: NPR's Rob Schmitz joins us now from Berlin. Rob, G-7 leaders are seeking a deal to impose a price cap on Russian oil and pipeline⁶ gas to curb⁷ Moscow's ability to finance its war in Ukraine. Tell us more about what's on the table here.

ROB SCHMITZ, BYLINE⁸: Yeah, the idea here would be for the U.S. and Europe to set a fixed⁹ price for Russian oil that is below the market rate so that Russia would lose revenue for its war in Ukraine and so that inflationary pressures here in the West recede¹⁰ a little. The argument among G-7 leaders is that, at least in the short term, Russia doesn't have many alternative markets to sell its oil, so it would have to agree to a price cap. But it's clear there is demand for Russian oil in Asia, India and China, for example. So it's unclear whether this would work.

MART?NEZ: And is there a possibility that this price cap idea could maybe backfire?

SCHMITZ: Oh, yeah. The country most skeptical¹¹ of this plan is probably Germany. It relies on Russia for around a third of its natural gas and will continue to import Russian oil alongside much of the rest of the EU through the rest of the year before an EU-wide oil ban kicks in. Germany needs this energy to keep its economy running, and last week Russia cut gas flows into Germany by 60%. So there's concern here that a new price cap on oil could backfire and prompt Russia to simply cut off oil and possibly gas unilaterally, which would be a big blow to the European economy.

MART?NEZ: And I know President Biden used this G-7 summit to announce the Partnership¹² for Global Infrastructure and Investment. What's the aim of this? And why now?

SCHMITZ: Yeah, so this is a $600 billion infrastructure plan to help developing countries deal with climate change, help them build health care infrastructure and help promote gender¹³ equality. President Biden announced a solar farm project in Angola, hospital construction in Ivory Coast and regional energy trading platforms in Southeast Asia. Here's what he said about the plan.

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PRESIDENT JOE BIDEN: I want to be clear. This isn't aid or charity; it's an investment that will deliver returns for everyone, including the American people and the people of all our nations. It'll boost all of our economies. It's a chance for us to share our positive vision for the future.

SCHMITZ: And, A, Biden said it's also a chance to pull the developing world closer to the Democratic West instead of towards the orbit of China, whose Belt and Road Initiative is the competing infrastructure development plan for the developing world.

MART?NEZ: And, Rob, one another thing - because shortly before this summit began, the United Kingdom announced that it, the U.S., Japan and Canada would ban imports of Russian gold as part of the latest measures taken against Russia. What will that mean?

SCHMITZ: Well, the Biden administration said this will be formally announced tomorrow at the summit. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson says banning Russian gold imports will directly hit Russian oligarchs and strike at the heart of Putin's war machine. Russian gold imports to the U.K. reached $15.5 billion dollars last year, and this figure has only gone up since sanctions were imposed. It's been a way that Russia's government has tried to get around the sanctions. But then again, it's unclear whether the EU will join their allies on this initiative.

MART?NEZ: That's NPR's Rob Schmitz joining us from Berlin. Rob, thank you very much.

SCHMITZ: Thank you.

1 looming   

n.上现蜃景（光通过低层大气发生异常折射形成的一种海市蜃楼）v.隐约出现，阴森地逼近( loom的现在分词 )；隐约出现，阴森地逼近

参考例句：

• The foothills were looming ahead through the haze. 丘陵地带透过薄雾朦胧地出现在眼前。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Then they looked up. Looming above them was Mount Proteome. 接着他们往上看，在其上隐约看到的是蛋白质组山。 来自英汉非文学 - 生命科学 - 回顾与展望

2 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。

3 barrage   

n.火力网，弹幕

参考例句：

• The attack jumped off under cover of a barrage.进攻在炮火的掩护下开始了。
• The fierce artillery barrage destroyed the most part of the city in a few minutes.猛烈的炮火几分钟内便毁灭了这座城市的大部分地区。

4 dominant   

adj.支配的，统治的；占优势的；显性的；n.主因，要素，主要的人(或物)；显性基因

参考例句：

• The British were formerly dominant in India.英国人从前统治印度。
• She was a dominant figure in the French film industry.她在法国电影界是个举足轻重的人物。

5 infrastructure   

n.下部构造，下部组织，基础结构，基础设施

参考例句：

• We should step up the development of infrastructure for research.加强科学基础设施建设。
• We should strengthen cultural infrastructure and boost various types of popular culture.加强文化基础设施建设，发展各类群众文化。

6 pipeline   

n.管道，管线

参考例句：

• The pipeline supplies Jordan with 15 per cent of its crude oil.该管道供给约旦15%的原油。
• A single pipeline serves all the houses with water.一条单管路给所有的房子供水。

7 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。

8 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。

9 fixed   

adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的

参考例句：

• Have you two fixed on a date for the wedding yet?你们俩选定婚期了吗？
• Once the aim is fixed,we should not change it arbitrarily.目标一旦确定，我们就不应该随意改变。

10 recede   

vi.退(去)，渐渐远去；向后倾斜，缩进

参考例句：

• The colleges would recede in importance.大学的重要性会降低。
• He saw that the dirty water had begun to recede.他发现那污浊的水开始往下退了。

11 skeptical   

adj.怀疑的，多疑的

参考例句：

• Others here are more skeptical about the chances for justice being done.这里的其他人更为怀疑正义能否得到伸张。
• Her look was skeptical and resigned.她的表情是将信将疑而又无可奈何。

12 partnership   

n.合作关系，伙伴关系

参考例句：

• The company has gone into partnership with Swiss Bank Corporation.这家公司已经和瑞士银行公司建立合作关系。
• Martin has taken him into general partnership in his company.马丁已让他成为公司的普通合伙人。

13 gender   

n.（生理上的）性，（名词、代词等的）性

参考例句：

• French differs from English in having gender for all nouns.法语不同于英语，所有的名词都有性。
• Women are sometimes denied opportunities solely because of their gender.妇女有时仅仅因为性别而无法获得种种机会。