2016.5.25
news from BBC
Russia 'frees Ukraine pilot Savchenko in prisoner swap'
1. Russia has released jailed Ukrainian pilot Nadiya Savchenko following a prisoner swap, local media say.
pilot 【paɪlət】 飞行员
jail 【dʒeɪl】 监狱
swap 【swɒp】 交换
2. Ukraine said the two men were elite members of Russian military intelligence but Russia insisted they were not on active duty when they were captured in eastern Ukraine.
elite 【eɪˈli:t】 精英
3. The pair were sentenced to 14 years in jail last month after being found guilty of waging an "aggressive war" against Ukraine, committing a terrorist act and using weapons to provoke an armed conflict.
sentence 宣判，判决
aggressive 【əˈgresɪv】 侵略的，侵犯的
wage a war 发动战争
延伸阅读
Nadiya Savchenko: Ukraine's pilot hero on Russian murder charge
Nadiya Savchenko is a hero in Ukraine. The military pilot, who says she was abducted by pro-Russian rebels and smuggled into Russia, has become a symbol of resistance at home. She has been elected an MP in her absence and awarded Ukraine's highest honour.
1. She cut a defiant figure during her trial. From the glass cage that was her dock, she swore at the judge and refused to recognise the court's authority. She became ill during a hunger strike in protest at her treatment.
defiant 【dɪˈfaɪənt】 挑衅的，目中无人的（竖起了中指）
swear 【sweə(r)】 发誓 （过去式 swore）
2. Ms Savchenko was born in Kiev in 1981, when Ukraine was still part of the Soviet Union. She was raised, along with her younger sister Vira, in a Ukrainian-speaking household and attended the city district's only Ukrainian-speaking school.
the Soviet Union 【səʊviət】 前苏联
household 【ˈhaʊshəʊld】 家庭
district 【dɪstrɪkt】 地区，行政区
3. "I believe you can only become an officer after enlisting and taking part in live combat, getting the smell of gunpowder," she told a Ukrainian television reporter in Iraq in 2005.
officer 军官，警官，高级职员
enlist 【ɪnˈlɪst】 征募，入伍
gunpowder 【ˈgʌnpaʊdə(r)】 火药
- In December that year, she declared a hunger strike in protest at her detention, and lost 20kg in bodyweight. She abandoned her fast after 83 days, amid serious concern for her health.
a hunger strike 绝食抗议
detention 【dɪˈtenʃn】 拘留，扣留
5. Then earlier this month, as her trial neared its end, she announced another hunger strike, saying she would also refuse to drink water. The hunger strike was later aborted as her health deteriorated.
deteriorate 【dɪˈtɪəriəreɪt】 恶化
Afghan Taliban announce successor to Mullah Mansour
The Afghan Taliban have announced a new leader to replace Mullah Akhtar Mansour who was killed in a US drone strike.
1. The new leader is not as controversial as his predecessor, who led the militants for two years before news emerged that Mullah Omar was actually dead.
controversial 【kɒntrəˈvɜ:ʃl】 有争议的
2. A Taliban statement said the new appointment had been unanimous, the same word the Taliban used when Mullah Mansour took over. Splits soon emerged after that - this time there could still be some disagreements, but probably not enough to challenge the new leader's authority.
appointment 任命
unannimous 【juˈnænɪməs】 全体一致的，无异议的