美国关注乌克兰东部25日投票

 　　WASHINGTON — Referendums went forward Sunday in eastern Ukraine in two regions seeking possible independence from Kyiv, despite widespread statements condemning¹ the votes as illegal and illegitimate. The controversial votes were held as Ukraine prepares for a nationwide poll on May 25 to elect a new president.

　　Adding to the tension is that there is no sign Russian President Vladimir Putin is making good on last week’s promise to withdraw troops from the Ukrainian border, said U.S. Defense² Secretary Chuck Hagel.

　　“They are not leaving as far as we can tell. You would have to ask President Putin as to why he says they are leaving, when in fact they are not,” Hagel said on ABC's This Week news program.

　　Sanctions imposed by the United States and its NATO allies do not appear to have altered Moscow’s aggressive posture³ toward Ukraine.

　　“Russia continues to isolate⁴ itself for a short term gain. The Russians may feel that somehow they are winning. But the world is not just about short term,” Hagel added.

　　Senator Kelly Ayotte, a Republican, wants the United States to target entire sectors⁵ of the Russian economy before Ukraine’s presidential elections May 25.

　　“This is the same playbook that we saw in Crimea playing out in eastern Ukraine. It is an insurgency-type action by the Russians to create unrest,” Ayotte said.

　　“It is time for the administration to issue the sectoral⁶ sanctions before the [May 25] elections, so those elections will not be disrupted, so they can go forward. I believe issuing the sanctions when the elections are interfered⁷ with are too late,” she said.

　　Senator Lindsey Graham, also a Republican, wants President Barack Obama to seek formal congressional approval of further punitive⁸ measures against Russia.

　　“Instead of doing this by executive order, Mr. President, come to the Congress and see if you could get bipartisan buy-in (support) for sectoral sanctions, which would send a stronger message to Putin. It would hurt the Russian economy more, and I think it would bolster⁹ our allies,” Graham said.

　　Senator Chris Murphy, a Democrat¹⁰, agrees Russia must pay a heavier price, but says the United States cannot do it alone.

　　“I think we should be pushing the Europeans hard for sectoral-based sanctions,” Murphy said.

　　“The fact is, the United States acting¹¹ unilaterally on sanctions may harm our security interests, not advance them. U.S. sanctions alone are not enough to change the calculus¹² on the ground in Moscow. And ultimately they may give political impetus¹³ to Putin within Russia to continue his provocations,” he added.

　　Late Saturday, the Obama administration restated its threat to “impose greater costs on Russia", but did not say when it might do so.（本文由在线英语听力室整理编辑）

1 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》

2 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。

3 posture   

n.姿势，姿态，心态，态度；v.作出某种姿势

参考例句：

• The government adopted an uncompromising posture on the issue of independence.政府在独立这一问题上采取了毫不妥协的态度。
• He tore off his coat and assumed a fighting posture.他脱掉上衣，摆出一副打架的架势。

4 isolate   

vt.使孤立，隔离

参考例句：

• Do not isolate yourself from others.不要把自己孤立起来。
• We should never isolate ourselves from the masses.我们永远不能脱离群众。

5 sectors   

n.部门( sector的名词复数 )；领域；防御地区；扇形

参考例句：

• Berlin was divided into four sectors after the war. 战后柏林分成了4 个区。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Industry and agriculture are the two important sectors of the national economy. 工业和农业是国民经济的两个重要部门。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

6 sectoral   

adj.扇形的

参考例句：

• Is agriculture actually taxed by sectoral policies, or is It'subsidized? 按照部门政策，农业实际上是上缴了税还是得到了补贴呢？ 来自辞典例句
• In the 1980s this concept was used to buttress several so-called sectoral reciprocity proposals. 80年代这一原则曾被用来支持几个所谓部分互惠建议。 来自英汉非文学 - 政府文件

7 interfered   

v.干预( interfere的过去式和过去分词 )；调停；妨碍；干涉

参考例句：

• Complete absorption in sports interfered with his studies. 专注于运动妨碍了他的学业。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• I am not going to be interfered with. 我不想别人干扰我的事情。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 punitive   

adj.惩罚的，刑罚的

参考例句：

• They took punitive measures against the whole gang.他们对整帮人采取惩罚性措施。
• The punitive tariff was imposed to discourage tire imports from China.该惩罚性关税的征收是用以限制中国轮胎进口的措施。

9 bolster   

n.枕垫；v.支持，鼓励

参考例句：

• The high interest rates helped to bolster up the economy.高利率使经济更稳健。
• He tried to bolster up their morale.他尽力鼓舞他们的士气。

10 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。

11 acting   

n.演戏，行为，假装；adj.代理的，临时的，演出用的

参考例句：

• Ignore her,she's just acting.别理她，她只是假装的。
• During the seventies,her acting career was in eclipse.在七十年代，她的表演生涯黯然失色。

12 calculus   

n.微积分；结石

参考例句：

• This is a problem where calculus won't help at all.对于这一题，微积分一点也用不上。
• After studying differential calculus you will be able to solve these mathematical problems.学了微积分之后，你们就能够解这些数学题了。

13 impetus   

n.推动，促进，刺激；推动力

参考例句：

• This is the primary impetus behind the economic recovery.这是促使经济复苏的主要动力。
• Her speech gave an impetus to my ideas.她的讲话激发了我的思绪。