[00:02.00]Pro-Russian activists have been working to take over parts of eastern Ukraine,
[00:05.89]using tactics similar to those that helped Moscow annex Crimea.
[00:10.10]Western nations are already using sanctions
[00:12.70] to punish Russia for seizing Crimea
[00:15.10]and to discourage any possible Russian invasion of other parts of Ukraine.
[00:20.10]U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry says
[00:22.60] economic sanctions could get much tougher.
[00:25.40]"If Russia or its proxies disrupt the election,
[00:29.10]the United States and those countries represented here today
[00:33.00] in the European Union will impose sectoral economic sanctions."
[00:37.59]Russia's vital oil and natural gas industry
[00:40.29] could be one target of stronger sanctions.
[00:43.29]That would be a big change from sanctions that have so far
[00:46.89]been aimed just at people in Russian President Vladimir Putin's inner circle.
[00:51.50]John Chambers, of the Standard and Poor's financial services company,
[00:55.09]says sanctions worry investors because they increase uncertainty.
[00:59.59]"There's already been an impact on the Russian economy.
[01:02.00]You see that in the financial markets.
[01:04.00]You see that in the outward portfolio flows."
[01:09.29]Uncertainty makes it hard for investors to assess risk,
[01:13.09]prompting them to take money out of the country.
[01:15.79]Without capital to buy and build things,
[01:18.39]the economy can stall or even shrink.
[01:21.00]Russia's economy already had problems,
[01:23.59]making it hard to judge the impact of sanctions,
[01:26.20]according to Columbia University Professor Tim Frye,
[01:29.59]who spoke via Skype.
[01:31.09]"There are lots of underlying negative trends in the Russian economy
[01:35.00]that have dramatically slowed growth in the last couple of years.
[01:38.50]At the margins, sanctions may be increasing some economic uncertainty,
[01:42.89]but they are not having a broad economic impact yet."
[01:46.29]An economist who once advised the Russian and Ukrainian governments
[01:49.89]says sanctions could get "a lot tougher."
[01:52.50]Anders Aslund, of the Peterson Institute for International Economics,
[01:56.09]says that sanctions may have kept Moscow
[01:58.70]from taking stronger military action against Ukraine.
[02:02.20]"It is not obvious, but I think they (the sanctions) have worked.
[02:05.59]What we have seen is that the Russian action
[02:09.90] in eastern Ukraine looks as if it is faltering,
[02:14.60]and one of the factors behind it is sanctions."
[02:18.50]Aslund says Russia's economy will shrink
[02:21.30]rather than grow this year, at least, in part, due to sanctions.
词汇解析
impose
难度:4星核心词汇,属常用3000词
英汉解释
v.强加;课征;强迫;征收(税款)
参考例句
用作动词 (v.)
I don't want to impose on you by staying too long.
我不想打扰你,不多耽搁了。
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inner
难度:4星核心词汇,属常用3000词
英汉解释
adj.内心的;内部的;里面的
n.里面
参考例句
用作形容词 (adj.)
He has no inner resources and hates being alone.
他没有内在的精神寄托,因而害怕孤独。
用作名词 (n.)
Time is therefore always ticking in our inner ear.
因此时间总是在我们内耳里面滴滴答答地走。
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outward
难度:3星常用词汇,属常用6000词
英汉解释
adj.向外的;表面的;外部的
adv.向外;在外;表面
参考例句
用作形容词 (adj.)
A detonation projects an instantaneous pulse of pressure outward in all directions.
爆炸的瞬间会朝各个方向发出向外的压力波。
用作副词 (adv.)
The walls of the dilapidated shed lean outward.
那座破棚屋的墙向外倾。
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wealthy
难度:3星常用词汇,属常用6000词
英汉解释
adj.富有的
n.富人
参考例句
用作形容词 (adj.)
A wealthy sponsor came to our rescue with a generous donation.
有个富有的赞助人慷慨捐赠来解救我们。
用作名词 (n.)
Obama says those cuts favor the wealthy.
说这些政策只会对富人有利。
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bureau
难度:4星核心词汇,属常用3000词
英汉解释
n.局;办事处;(带抽屉的)写字台
参考例句
用作名词 (n.)
She put the envelope beneath her underwear in the bureau, a place Richard would never look.
她把信封放在梳妆台抽屉的内衣下面,这里理查德是决不会看的地方。
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shrink
难度:4星核心词汇,属常用3000词
英汉解释
vi.收缩;退缩;萎缩;畏惧,害怕
vt.使收缩
n.收缩;萎缩
n.精神科医生
参考例句
用作不及物动词 (vi.)
Will this woolen sweater shrink when washed?
这件羊毛衫洗后会缩水吗?
用作及物动词 (vt.)
The hot water shrank my pullover.
我的套头毛衣遇热水后收缩了。
用作名词 (n.)
You can expect some shrink when the jeans are washed.
这种牛仔裤洗后要缩些水。
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