Spiiker新聞萬花筒，VOA新聞，帶您看世界，聽世界，
感受世界的點點滴滴。
練聽力，提能力，小編與您共努力！
Under Siege, Ukraine Awaits Decision on Lethal Aid
At the last checkpoint before the battle zone, Ukrainian troops keep a careful watch on who goes in, while families squeeze into cars to leave and busloads of children head out to relatives or shelters.
Just beyond is the mostly deserted town of Papasna, which has repeatedly been hit by shelling. Many of those who remain support the rebels and are not happy to see Western visitors.
Mayor Yuriy Onishenko and a handful of his staff members, who are loyal to the Kyiv government, try to keep working amid the shelling.
“As mayor, I can not even list all my functions, because everything depends on me now," Onishenko said. "The first half of my working day, my deputy and I go in my personal car, and the seven or eight city workers I still have also go out, and we bring hot food to the people taking shelter in the basements.”
Not far away is Debaltseve, where Ukrainian troops are holding on, in the face of a siege that's lasted more than a week.
The new governor of the partly occupied Donetsk region, Ukrainian Army General Alexander Kihtenko, is clear on what is needed.
“Of course, as a military man, as a general of the Ukrainian army, I can say that, yes, we really need military aid today, including communication and reconnaissance equipment, and other modern weaponry, probably anti-tank weapons," Kihtenko said. "We have specialists who can use modern weapons. But of course some instructors would also be helpful.”
The governor has a new artifact in his office: a piece of one of the shells officials say hit the city of Mariupol two weeks ago, killing 30 people.
Western economic sanctions have not persuaded Russian President Vladimir Putin to back off on his support for the rebels. Providing weapons would increase the pressure, but the reaction is hard to predict, said analyst Yaroslav Voitko of the International Center for Policy Studies in Kyiv.
Provision of lethal weapons might convince Putin "that the world is serious in stopping this," Voitko said. "But his reactions could not be predicted, and anything, unfortunately, is possible.”
It is that unpredictability that has kept the foreign weapons out so far. But beleaguered troops may soon be getting more help, as they struggle to hold the line.
詞匯解析
extend
難度：4星核心詞匯，屬常用3000詞
英漢解釋
v.延伸；延長；伸展；擴展；提供；使竭盡全力
參考例句
用作動詞 (v.)
Our playing fields extend as far as those trees.
我們的操場延伸到那些樹前。
************************
involve
難度：5星基本詞匯，屬常用1000詞
英漢解釋
vt.包含；使忙于；牽涉；使卷入；使陷入
參考例句
用作及物動詞 (vt.)
A letter of credit will involve unnecessary extra charges.
信用證包含有不必要的額外開支。
************************
poverty
難度：4星核心詞匯，屬常用3000詞
英漢解釋
n.貧困；貧乏；劣質(zhì)
參考例句
用作名詞 (n.)
They were handicapped by (a) poverty of resources.
他們因資源短缺處境窘迫。
************************
moderate
難度：4星核心詞匯，屬常用3000詞
英漢解釋
adj.適度的；溫和的；穩(wěn)健的；中等的
v.節(jié)制；使 ... 穩(wěn)定，使 ... 緩和
n.穩(wěn)健的人
參考例句
用作形容詞 (adj.)
The team enjoyed only moderate success last season.
上個賽季，這個球隊只取得了中等成績。
用作動詞 (v.)
He moderated his tone when the students burst out in tears.
當(dāng)這個學(xué)生掉下眼淚時，他緩和了他的聲音。
用作名詞 (n.)
He is a moderate.
他是個穩(wěn)健的人
************************
sponsor
難度：2星擴展詞匯，屬常用10000詞
英漢解釋
n.保證人；贊助者；發(fā)起者；主辦者
v.發(fā)起；贊助；倡議
參考例句
用作名詞 (n.)
Your sponsor may assist in organising this insurance.
你的擔(dān)保人可以幫助你辦理此類保險。
用作動詞 (v.)
The senator announced that he would sponsor the health care plan.
這位參議員宣布他將發(fā)起這一保健計劃。
************************
academic
難度：4星核心詞匯，屬常用3000詞
英漢解釋
adj.學(xué)院的；學(xué)術(shù)的；理論的
n.大學(xué)教師，大學(xué)生；學(xué)者，學(xué)究
參考例句
用作形容詞 (adj.)
Sir Lawrence Alma-Tadema was an English painter in the academic tradition.
阿爾瑪·臺德瑪是學(xué)院派的英國畫家。
************************
funeral
難度：3星常用詞匯，屬常用6000詞
英漢解釋
adj.葬禮(的)
n.葬禮
參考例句
用作形容詞 (adj.)
Their cars headed the funeral procession.
他們的車隊在葬禮隊伍的最前面。
用作名詞 (n.)
They held a state funeral in honour of the statesman.
他們?yōu)檫@位政治家舉行了國葬。
See more information, you can visit us
英語口語測試 http://www.spiiker.com/daily/
在線學(xué)英語口語 http://www.spiiker.com/english-plaza.jsp
