VOA常速英语2021--美国务卿布林肯重申对俄罗斯与乌克兰问题的担忧

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken repeated Saturday that his country has real concerns about Russia's actions and statements on Ukraine as tensions build.

美国国务卿安东尼·布林肯周六重申，随着紧张局势的加剧，美国对俄罗斯在乌克兰问题上的行动和声明感到非常担忧。

Blinken said the concerns were widely shared by U.S. allies but declined to say whether American intelligence believed Russian President Vladimir Putin was aiming to seize land from Ukraine.

布林肯说，美国的盟友普遍都有这样的担忧，但拒绝透露美国情报机构是否认为俄罗斯总统弗拉基米尔·普京的目标是从乌克兰手中夺取土地。

"We've been in very close consultations¹ with partners throughout Europe. And I can tell you that there's a widely shared concern and a real focus on that concern, and ..."

“我们一直在与欧洲各地的合作伙伴进行非常密切的磋商。我可以告诉你，大家普遍有这样的担忧，并且非常担忧，而且……”

Putin on Thursday accused Western nations of escalating² the Ukraine conflict by holding drills in the Black Sea and flying bombers³ near its borders.

普京周四指责西方国家在黑海举行演习，并在其边境附近飞行轰炸机，从而使乌克兰冲突升级。

America's top defense⁴ official has vowed⁵ to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon and to counter its dangerous use of suicide drones in the wider Mideast.

美国最高国防官员誓言要阻止伊朗获得核武器，并打击其在更广泛的中东地区使用自杀式无人机的危险行为。

"The United States remains⁶ committed to preventing Iran from gaining a nuclear weapon.

“美国仍然致力于阻止伊朗获得核武器。

And we remain committed to a diplomatic outcome of the nuclear issue.

我们仍然致力于获得有关核问题的外交结果。

But if Iran isn't willing to engage seriously, then we will look at all the options necessary to keep the United States secure."

但如果伊朗不愿意进行认真的接触，那么我们将考虑所有必要选项以确保美国的安全。”

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin's comment Saturday in Bahrain at the annual Manama Dialogue appeared to be aimed at reassuring⁷ America's Gulf⁸ Arab allies as the Biden administration tries to revive the 2015 nuclear deal, which limited Iran's enrichment of uranium in exchange for the lifting of economic sanctions.

美国国防部长劳埃德·奥斯汀星期六在巴林举行的年度“麦纳麦对话”中发表讲话，似乎是为了安抚美国在海湾地区的盟友。与此同时，拜登政府正在努力恢复2015年的核协议，该协议限制了伊朗的铀浓缩活动，以换取解除经济制裁。

1 consultations   

n.磋商（会议）( consultation的名词复数 )；商讨会；协商会；查找

参考例句：

• Consultations can be arranged at other times by appointment. 磋商可以通过预约安排在其他时间。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• Consultations are under way. 正在进行磋商。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

2 escalating   

v.（使）逐步升级( escalate的现在分词 )；（使）逐步扩大；（使）更高；（使）更大

参考例句：

• The cost of living is escalating. 生活费用在迅速上涨。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The cost of living is escalating in the country. 这个国家的生活费用在上涨。 来自辞典例句

3 bombers   

n.轰炸机( bomber的名词复数 )；投弹手；安非他明胶囊；大麻叶香烟

参考例句：

• Enemy bombers carried out a blitz on the city. 敌军轰炸机对这座城市进行了突袭。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The Royal Airforce sill remained dangerously short of bombers. 英国皇家空军仍未脱离极为缺乏轰炸机的危境。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 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。

5 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。

6 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

7 reassuring   

a.使人消除恐惧和疑虑的，使人放心的

参考例句：

• He gave her a reassuring pat on the shoulder. 他轻拍了一下她的肩膀让她放心。
• With a reassuring pat on her arm, he left. 他鼓励地拍了拍她的手臂就离开了。

8 gulf   

n.海湾；深渊，鸿沟；分歧，隔阂

参考例句：

• The gulf between the two leaders cannot be bridged.两位领导人之间的鸿沟难以跨越。
• There is a gulf between the two cities.这两座城市间有个海湾。