2006年VOA标准英语-Planned Joint NATO-Ukraine Exercises in Crimea

By Bill Gasperini
Moscow
09 June 2006
 
 
Ukraine's Defense¹ Minister Anatoliy Hrytsenko, left, looks on as NATO Secretary-General Jaap de Hoop² Scheffer addresses the media at NATO headquarters in Brussels, June 8, 2006 
  
Joint³ military exercises between NATO and Ukraine have been postponed⁴ after the landing of a U.S. naval⁵ ship in the Crimean peninsula touched off a firestorm of local protests. The political fallout soon spread to Ukraine's federal government and neighboring Russia, which has issued a stark⁶ warning to the United States and NATO.

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June is the month when people from all across the former Soviet⁷ Union head for Ukraine's Crimean peninsula on the Black Sea to enjoy holidays on the beach.

But beachgoers this year are encountering more than sea and surf in Crimea, as crowds of protesters have taken to the streets of several towns to protest against a series of military exercises involving NATO troops.

Most of the people in Crimea are ethnic⁸ Russians who are wary⁹ of the NATO alliance and the United States.
 

People take part in a protest sparked by the arrival of a group of U.S. Marine¹⁰ reservists somewhere at the entrance to the Feodosiya port on Crimean Peninsula, in this Thursday, June 1, 2006, photo  
  
The protests started in the port city of Feodosiya where a U.S naval vessel¹¹ docked in late May to unload equipment intended to help upgrade a Ukrainian military base.

At one point protesters blocked U.S. military personnel from reaching the base.

Demonstrations¹² soon spread to other towns, as many protesters camped out on the streets and vowed¹³ not to move until the NATO forces leave.

A lady says she is prepared to stay on the picket¹⁴ line as long it takes, because NATO troops do not belong in Ukraine.

The military maneuvers¹⁵ were due to last from mid-June until early August, and most of the troops taking part are from the United States and Great Britain.

But Ukrainian officials say the first stage of the maneuvers with British troops has been postponed.

The U.S. embassy in Ukraine issued a statement denying protester's claims that NATO has plans to establish a permanent base in Crimea.

But this did little to appease¹⁶ the regional parliament there, which passed a resolution demanding that the exercises be called off, something rejected by Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko.

 
Ukraine's President Viktor Yushchenko (file photo) 
  
In Kiev, Mr. Yushchenko denounced the Crimean vote, saying that the foreign troops had been invited by his government.

The protests are led by pro-Russian parties in Crimea including the Communists, and reflect the historical divide in Ukraine as a whole.

President Yushchenko came to power in the so-called "Orange Revolution" late in 2004 and has set a goal for Ukraine to join both the NATO alliance and the European Union, something that may be years away.

But this matters little to people in the predominantly Russian eastern half of Ukraine, who strongly oppose Mr. Yushchenko's tilt¹⁷ toward the West.

The president has been further weakened by his party's poor showing in a March parliamentary election, when the main pro-Russian party came in first.

Talks aimed at forming a coalition¹⁸ between Mr. Yushchenko and two other pro-Western parties have stalled, leaving a power vacuum in the country.

This has had repercussions¹⁹ in the national parliament, where disagreement over the NATO issue led to scuffles between deputies from opposition²⁰ parties and the speaker.

Russia has gotten into the act as well, amid signs the Kremlin is again angered by what it sees as Western attempts to meddle²¹ in its "backyard."

Sergei Lavrov (file photo)  
  
Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov took things one step further, telling the Russian parliament that expanding NATO into ex-Soviet republics such as Ukraine would have a "colossal²²" geopolitical impact.

He later accused the United States of planning to introduce new weapon systems into the region, violating arms control agreements by "removing disarmament from public view".

Russia is particularly sensitive about Crimea given that it has been home to the Black Sea naval fleet for more than two centuries.

Russia and Ukraine agreed to divide the fleet between them in the early 1990s after tense negotiations²³, and Moscow now pays rent to Ukraine to maintain its forces there.

The root of the problem is that many Russians feel Crimea really should be in Russia, as claimed in a strongly-worded speech by parliament deputy Sergei Baburin.

Crimea was part of Russia for centuries, but in 1954 Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev "gave" the strategic peninsula to Ukraine to mark 300 years of what he called "pan-Slavic brotherhood²⁴".

At the time no one thought the two nations would one day be separated. And most Russians have never accepted that their cherished land of sun and surf is part of a different country that now wants to take a new political course.

1 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。

2 hoop   

n.（篮球）篮圈，篮

参考例句：

• The child was rolling a hoop.那个孩子在滚铁环。
• The wooden tub is fitted with the iron hoop.木盆都用铁箍箍紧。

3 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。

4 postponed   

vt.& vi.延期，缓办，（使）延迟vt.把…放在次要地位；[语]把…放在后面（或句尾）vi.（疟疾等）延缓发作（或复发）

参考例句：

• The trial was postponed indefinitely. 审讯无限期延迟。
• The game has already been postponed three times. 这场比赛已经三度延期了。

5 naval   

adj.海军的，军舰的，船的

参考例句：

• He took part in a great naval battle.他参加了一次大海战。
• The harbour is an important naval base.该港是一个重要的海军基地。

6 stark   

adj.荒凉的；严酷的；完全的；adv.完全地

参考例句：

• The young man is faced with a stark choice.这位年轻人面临严峻的抉择。
• He gave a stark denial to the rumor.他对谣言加以完全的否认。

7 Soviet   

adj.苏联的，苏维埃的；n.苏维埃

参考例句：

• Zhukov was a marshal of the former Soviet Union.朱可夫是前苏联的一位元帅。
• Germany began to attack the Soviet Union in 1941.德国在1941年开始进攻苏联。

8 ethnic   

adj.人种的，种族的，异教徒的

参考例句：

• This music would sound more ethnic if you played it in steel drums.如果你用钢鼓演奏，这首乐曲将更具民族特色。
• The plan is likely only to aggravate ethnic frictions.这一方案很有可能只会加剧种族冲突。

9 wary   

adj.谨慎的，机警的，小心的

参考例句：

• He is wary of telling secrets to others.他谨防向他人泄露秘密。
• Paula frowned,suddenly wary.宝拉皱了皱眉头，突然警惕起来。

10 marine   

adj.海的；海生的；航海的；海事的；n.水兵

参考例句：

• Marine creatures are those which live in the sea. 海洋生物是生存在海里的生物。
• When the war broke out,he volunteered for the Marine Corps.战争爆发时，他自愿参加了海军陆战队。

11 vessel   

n.船舶；容器，器皿；管，导管，血管

参考例句：

• The vessel is fully loaded with cargo for Shanghai.这艘船满载货物驶往上海。
• You should put the water into a vessel.你应该把水装入容器中。

12 demonstrations   

证明( demonstration的名词复数 )； 表明； 表达； 游行示威

参考例句：

• Lectures will be interspersed with practical demonstrations. 讲课中将不时插入实际示范。
• The new military government has banned strikes and demonstrations. 新的军人政府禁止罢工和示威活动。

13 vowed   

起誓，发誓（vow的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• He vowed quite solemnly that he would carry out his promise. 他非常庄严地发誓要实现他的诺言。
• I vowed to do more of the cooking myself. 我发誓自己要多动手做饭。

14 picket   

n.纠察队；警戒哨；v.设置纠察线；布置警卫

参考例句：

• They marched to the factory and formed a picket.他们向工厂前进,并组成了纠察队。
• Some of the union members did not want to picket.工会的一些会员不想担任罢工纠察员。

15 maneuvers   

n.策略，谋略，花招( maneuver的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• He suspected at once that she had been spying upon his maneuvers. 他立刻猜想到，她已经侦察到他的行动。 来自辞典例句
• Maneuvers in Guizhou occupied the Reds for four months. 贵州境内的作战占了红军四个月的时间。 来自辞典例句

16 appease   

v.安抚，缓和，平息，满足

参考例句：

• He tried to appease the crying child by giving him candy.他试图给那个啼哭的孩子糖果使他不哭。
• The government tried to appease discontented workers.政府试图安抚不满的工人们。

17 tilt   

v.(使)倾侧；(使)倾斜；n.倾侧；倾斜

参考例句：

• She wore her hat at a tilt over her left eye.她歪戴着帽子遮住左眼。
• The table is at a slight tilt.这张桌子没放平，有点儿歪.

18 coalition   

n.结合体，同盟，结合，联合

参考例句：

• The several parties formed a coalition.这几个政党组成了政治联盟。
• Coalition forces take great care to avoid civilian casualties.联盟军队竭尽全力避免造成平民伤亡。

19 repercussions   

n.后果，反响( repercussion的名词复数 )；余波

参考例句：

• The collapse of the company will have repercussions for the whole industry. 这家公司的垮台将会给整个行业造成间接的负面影响。
• Human acts have repercussions far beyond the frontiers of the human world. 人类行为所产生的影响远远超出人类世界的范围。 来自《简明英汉词典》

20 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

21 meddle   

v.干预，干涉，插手

参考例句：

• I hope he doesn't try to meddle in my affairs.我希望他不来干预我的事情。
• Do not meddle in things that do not concern you.别参与和自己无关的事。

22 colossal   

adj.异常的，庞大的

参考例句：

• There has been a colossal waste of public money.一直存在巨大的公款浪费。
• Some of the tall buildings in that city are colossal.那座城市里的一些高层建筑很庞大。

23 negotiations   

协商( negotiation的名词复数 )； 谈判； 完成（难事）； 通过

参考例句：

• negotiations for a durable peace 为持久和平而进行的谈判
• Negotiations have failed to establish any middle ground. 谈判未能达成任何妥协。

24 brotherhood   

n.兄弟般的关系，手中情谊

参考例句：

• They broke up the brotherhood.他们断绝了兄弟关系。
• They live and work together in complete equality and brotherhood.他们完全平等和兄弟般地在一起生活和工作。