(单词翻译:单击)
听力文本
From VOA Learning English, this is In The News.
Pro-Russian rebels shot down two Ukrainian helicopters in eastern Ukraine on Friday. Two airmen were killed. Ukraine's Defense Ministry said a third helicopter was also hit.
In a statement, Ukraine's government reported that missiles brought down the two helicopters. It said the firing of missiles was evidence that Russian forces were present in the city. Russia denies its troops are on Ukrainian soil.
News of the attacks came as Ukrainian government forces strengthened their positions around the rebel-held city of Slovyansk. Ukrainian military vehicles moved to neighborhoods just outside Slovyansk. But rebels still controlled most of the city of 130,000 people.
Reporters there heard shooting and saw one helicopter opening fire before sunrise. Twelve hours later, the city was largely quiet with armed separatists in control. About 100 people gathered outside government buildings. They appealed to Russian President Vladimir Putin to send troops to help them.
The Russian military has tens of thousands of troops across the border. Russia had earlier claimed the right to invade if needed to protect Russian speakers in eastern Ukraine.
On Friday, Russian officials accused the Ukrainian government of launching a "criminal" assault that wrecked hopes of peace. A spokesman for President Putin accused Ukrainian forces of firing on civilians from the air in what he called a "punitive operation."
President Putin demanded on Thursday that Ukraine withdraw all military personnel from territory along the Russian border. He made the comment to German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who was on her way to Washington.
On Friday, the German leader met with President Barack Obama at the White House. The two leaders expressed hope for a diplomatic resolution to the crisis. The president warned of expanding sanctions on Mr. Putin and others if Russia continued to fuel the unrest in Ukraine.
The European Union says it is watching events in eastern Ukraine with growing concern. But Ukraine is not a member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. And Western leaders have made clear that they will not defend Ukraine.
Separatists and Russian intervention are not the only threats to Ukraine. Many Ukrainians think their country is in crisis. A new study found that nearly 80 percent of those questioned in eastern Ukraine think the government is unlawful. Rakesh Sharma was the director of the survey.
"In Kharkiv and Donetsk, in those focus group, what we heard were people saying primarily that this government does not represent us, we do not feel like our interests are being represented by this government, and that there was a lot of dissatisfaction with the direction of the country and the way it was headed."
A Washington-based pro-democracy group organized the survey. The group receives most of its money from the United Nations and the United States Agency for International Development.
Pro-Russian separatists are seeking a vote on May 11 on whether to break with Ukraine's government. Local officials in Crimea held a similar vote earlier this year. Russia took control of the Crimean peninsula shortly after the vote.
And that's In The News, from VOA Learning English. I'm Steve Ember.
文本来自51voa，译文属可可原创，仅供学习交流使用，未经许可请勿转载
词汇解释
1.missile n. 导弹；投射物 adj. 导弹的；可投掷的；用以发射导弹的
The authorities offered to stop firing missiles if the rebels agreed to stop attacking civilian targets.
当局提出如果叛乱者同意停止袭击民用目标，他们就停止发射导弹。
2.punitive adj. 惩罚性的；刑罚的
There are calls for more punitive measures against people who drink and drive.
有人呼吁对酒后驾车的人要有更具处罚性的措施。
3.peninsula n. 半岛
Dalian is in the south of the Liaodong Peninsula.
大连位于辽东半岛南部。
内容解析
1.Pro-Russian separatists are seeking a vote on May 11 on whether to break with Ukraine's government.
break with 结束；与…绝交，和…断绝关系；和…决裂
She broke with her family.
她与家庭断绝了关系。
He broke with his girlfriend.
他与女友分手了。
参考译文
这里是美国之音慢速英语新闻报道。
周五，亲俄罗斯叛军在乌克兰东部击落了两架乌克兰直升机，两名飞行员死亡，乌克兰国防部称还有一架直升机遇袭。
乌克兰政府在声明中说导弹击落了两架直升机，称发射导弹说明俄罗斯军队目前就在该市。俄罗斯否认其部队在乌克兰领土上，袭击的消息传来时，乌克兰政府部队正在被叛军占领的斯拉扬斯克市集结兵力。乌克兰军队车辆开到斯拉扬斯克市外的郊区，但叛军仍控制着这个有着13万人城市的大部分地区。
当地记者听到枪声，看到直升机在黎明之前开火。12个小时候，该市安静了下来，这里已经被武装分裂分子控制。约有100人在政府大楼外集合，他们要求俄罗斯总统普京派兵帮助他们。
俄罗斯军队在边境处有成千上万兵力，俄罗斯早些时候声称如果有必要保护乌克兰东部讲俄罗斯语的人，就会发动入侵。
周五，俄罗斯官员指责乌克兰政府发起暴力入侵，破坏了和平的希望。普京总统的发言人指责乌克兰部队在所谓“惩罚性行动”中从空中向平民开火。
普京总统周四要求乌克兰从俄罗斯边境处撤出所有军事人员，他向当时在前往华盛顿途中的德国总理安吉拉·默克尔表达了这个想法。
周五，默克尔在白宫回见了巴拉克·奥巴马总统，两位领导人表示希望通过外交途径解决这场危机。总统警告说如果俄罗斯继续加剧乌克兰的动荡，将要对普京施加更多制裁。
欧盟称目前正密切关注乌克兰东部的事态，但乌克兰并非北约成员国。西方领导人明确表示不会捍卫乌克兰。
分裂分子和俄罗斯的干预不是乌克兰面临的唯一威胁，很多乌克兰人认为本国处在危机中。一项新研究表明乌克兰东部近80%的受访者认为政府是非法的，拉科什·沙尔马是该调查的负责人。
“在哈尔科夫和顿涅茨克，在我们的重点调查对象中，我们听到的是，人们说政府不代表他们，感到政府没有代表他们的利益，他们对政府未来的方向和前途感到非常不满。”
一家总部在华盛顿的亲民主组织负责此次调查，该组织的资金大多来自联合国和美国国际开发署。
亲俄罗斯分裂分子要求5月11日举行投票来决定是否从乌克兰政府脱离出去，克里米亚官员在今年早些时候进行了类似投票，俄罗斯在那次投票后不久就控制了克里米亚半岛。
这就是美国之音慢速英语新闻报道，我是斯蒂夫·恩波。
