聽力原文:

Dutch referendum on Ukraine
荷蘭就烏歐聯(lián)系國協(xié)定公投
A hard Dutch kick
荷蘭這一腳好狠
Voting down the EU’s treaty with Ukraine would hand Vladimir Putin a win
公投烏克蘭和歐盟聯(lián)系國協(xié)定會抬佛拉基米爾普京一手
IN November 2013 Viktor Yanukovych, then the president of Ukraine, succumbed to Russian pressure and renounced an association agreement with the European Union that he and his predecessors had spent six years negotiating. Many Ukrainians thought their country’s best hope for transforming itself from a corrupt gangster state into an orderly democracy (or, as they put it, a “normal country”) had been sacrificed on the orders of Vladimir Putin, Russia’s president. Thousands set up camp on Kiev’s Maidan, chanting “Ukraine is Europe”. Police attacked, touching off a cycle of protest and violence that ended in Mr Yanukovych’s flight to Russia, a new government—and the signing of the Ukraine-EU agreement.

重點詞匯：

1 treaty（國家之間的）條約，協(xié)定
2 succumb屈服；屈從；抵擋不住（攻擊、疾病、誘惑等）
3 renounce聲明放棄；宣布放棄
4 association 聯(lián)合；合伙；關聯(lián)；交往
5 predecessor前任
6 Kiev 基輔（烏克蘭共和國首都）
7 maidan草地，廣場，空地
8 chant反復唱；反復呼喊
9 touch off 觸發(fā)，引發(fā)，引起（困難或暴力的局面）

聽力原文:

Mr Putin then sent troops into Ukraine to win back Russian influence by stealth and force. He succeeded in seizing Crimea, splitting off a few rebel areas and embittering Ukrainians’ once-warm feelings towards Russia. Yet the Ukraine-EU association agreement is in trouble again. This time the sticking-point is the Netherlands, the only one of the EU’s 28 members that has not ratified it.

重點詞匯：

1 stealth偷偷摸摸；不聲張的活動；秘密行動
2 crimea 克里米亞（半島）;
3 splitting off （使）脫離，分裂出去，分離
4 embitter使怨憤；使沮喪；使苦惱
5 sticking-point 癥結
6 ratify正式批準；使正式生效

聽力原文:

Dutch Eurosceptics want to stop their government from doing so, and have gathered enough signatures to stage a referendum on April 6th. They argue that what Ukrainians call their “European choice” was actually imposed on them by Brussels. They describe Ukraine as a country “divided” between pro-European and pro-Russian regions; in fact, outside the rebel Donbas, the country has united against the Russian threat. They observe that the past two years have been an economic catastrophe, without acknowledging that it was Russia’s embargo and military interventions that did the damage.

重點詞匯：

1 Eurosceptic 歐洲統(tǒng)一懷疑論者；反對英國親近歐盟的人;
2 pro贊成；支持
3 Donbas 位于烏克蘭的頓涅茨盆地;
4 catastrophe 災難；災禍；橫禍
5 embargo禁止貿易令；禁運

聽力原文:

The Dutch government and all the main parties are campaigning for a Yes vote in the referendum. Yet the polls point to a No. That would be a tragedy. Ukraine is torn between a corrupt oligarchy and a nascent reform movement; between a moribund post-Soviet economy and the promise of farm exports and computing services for the European market. If Ukraine really is to become normal, it needs Europe to meet it part-way. For that to happen, the Dutch need to vote Yes.

重點詞匯：

1oligarchy寡頭政治
2 nascent新生的；萌芽的；未成熟的
3 moribund行將滅亡的；即將倒閉的；瀕于崩潰的

4 part-way 贊成

聽力原文:

The Dutch worry about being tied to a large, poor, corrupt state .
When their leaders say that the deal involves little risk, they are reminded of similar promises before Greece was admitted to the EU. But the association agreement is overwhelmingly about trade. It does not allow Ukrainians to work in the EU. It refers to political and military co-operation, but without NATO-like obligations. Ukraine will need decades of reform before it could be a candidate for EU accession.

重點詞匯：

1 overwhelming巨大的；壓倒性的；無法抗拒的
2 NATONorth Atlantic Treaty Organization 北約；北大西洋公約組織
3 accession正式加入（國際組織） Chaos v control 混亂和控制

聽力原文:

For Ukraine, the economic promise of the deal is immense. For the Dutch, the reason to ratify it is to deny Mr Putin the fulfilment of his wish for a corrupt and anti-European Ukraine. Ever since Maidan, Russia has been trying to reassert control by spreading chaos on Ukraine’s border. The Dutch learned better than any other country what such chaos can mean, when scores of their countrymen were killed in 2014, in the downing of flight MH-17. When Ukrainians turned towards Europe, their dream was for their country to escape the pit of corruption and chaos. They are still struggling to climb out. Dutch voters should not step on their fingers.

重點詞匯：

1 ratify正式批準；使正式生效
2 fulfilment 履行;實現;完成;滿足
3 reassert重新發(fā)揮作用
4 scores of 大量的，許多的;

5 pit 深洞；深

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