介绍:
A hollow superpower
Don’t be fooled by Syria. Vladimir Putin’s foreign policy is born of weakness and made for television
hollow [ˈhɒləʊ] 空洞的;无用的;无价值的
JUBILANT crowds waved Russian flags; homecoming pilots were given fresh-baked bread by women in traditional dress. Judging by the pictures on television, Vladimir Putin won a famous victory in Syria this week. After his unexpected declaration that the campaign is over, Mr Putin is claiming credit for a ceasefire and the start of peace talks. He has shown off his forces and, heedless of civilian lives, saved the regime of his ally, Bashar al-Assad (though Mr Assad himself may yet prove dispensable). He has “weaponised” refugees by scattering Syrians among his foes in the European Union. And he has outmanoeuvred Barack Obama, who has consistently failed to grasp the enormity of the Syrian civil war and the threat it poses to America’s allies in the Middle East and Europe.
1 jubilant |ˈdʒu:bɪlənt| 喜气洋洋的；欢欣鼓舞的；欢呼雀跃的 2 heedless |ˈhi:dləs| ~ (of sb/sth) (formal) not paying careful attention to sb/sth 不加注意；掉以轻心
3 regime [reɪˈʒi:m] （尤指未通过公正选举的）统治方式，统治制度，政权，政体4 Bashar al-Assad 巴沙尔阿萨德 5 dispensable [dɪˈspensəbl] 不必要；可有可无；不重要
6 refugee [ˌrefjuˈdʒi:] 避难者，难民; 7 scatter |ˈskætə(r)| 撒；撒播 8 foe [fəʊ] 敌人；仇敌 9 outmanoeuvre |ˌaʊtməˈnu:və(r)| 比…高明；比…技高一筹 10 consistent
|kənˈsɪstənt| 一致的；始终如一的 11 enormity [ɪˈnɔ:məti] 巨大；深远影响；严重性 12 pose |pəʊz|（威胁、问题等）；引起；产生
claim credit for oneself 居功
Look closer, however, and Russia’s victory rings hollow. Islamic State (IS) remains. The peace is brittle. Even optimists doubt that diplomacy in Geneva will prosper (see article). Most important, Mr Putin has exhausted an important tool of propaganda. As our briefing explains, Russia’s president has generated stirring images of war to persuade his anxious citizens that their ailing country is once again a great power, first in Ukraine and recently over the skies of Aleppo. The big question for the West is where he will stage his next drama.
1 ring (说法、讨论、辩论等的)特性，特点 例句： His proud boast of leading 'the party of low taxation' has a hollow ring. 他洋洋得意地吹嘘自己领导着“一个主张低税收的政党”，这听起来很空洞。2 brittle |ˈbrɪtl| 脆弱的；不稳固的；易变的 3 exhaust |ɪgˈzɔ:st| 用完；花光；耗尽 4 propaganda|ˌprɒpəˈgændə | 宣传；鼓吹 5 stirring |ˈstɜ:rɪŋ|令人激情澎湃的；激动人心的
6 ailing |ˈeɪlɪŋ| 处境困难的；每况愈下的 7 aleppo [ə'lepəʊ] 阿勒颇（叙利亚西北部城市）;
Make Russia great again
Mr Putin’s Russia is more fragile than he pretends. The economy is failing. The rise in oil prices after 2000, when Mr Putin first became president, provided $1.1 trillion of windfall export revenues for him to spend as he wished. But oil prices are three-quarters down from their peak. Russian belts have tightened further because of sanctions imposed after Mr Putin attacked Ukraine. Living standards have fallen for the past two years and are falling still. The average salary in January 2014 was $850 a month; a year later it was $450.
1 windfall 意外之财；意外获得的东西 2 trilion 万亿
Mr Putin was losing legitimacy even before the economy shrivelled. Many Russians took to the streets in the winter of 2011-12 to demand that their country become a modern state with contested elections. Mr Putin responded by annexing Crimea and vowing to restore Russian greatness after the Soviet collapse—“the greatest geopolitical catastrophe” of the 20th century, he called it. Part of his plan has been to modernise the armed forces, with a $720 billion weapons-renewal programme in 2010; part to use the media to turn Russia into a fortress against a hostile West; and part to intervene abroad.
1 legitimate |lɪˈdʒɪtɪmət| 合法的；法律认可的；法定的 2 shrivel |ˈʃrɪvl| 枯萎，干枯，皱缩 3 annex |əˈneks| 强占，并吞（国家、地区等） 4 crimea [kraiˈmiə] 克里米亚 5 restore 恢复
6 geopolitics |ˌdʒi:əʊˈpɒlətɪks | 地缘政治；地理政治学 7 catastrophe |kəˈtæstrəfi| 灾难；灾祸；横祸 同义词：disaster 8 fortress |ˈfɔ:trəs| 堡垒，要塞;9 hostile |ˈhɒstaɪl| 敌意的；敌对的 10 renewal [rɪˈnju:əl] 恢复；更新；重新开始 10 intervene|ˌɪntəˈvi:n; | 出面；介入
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