（每日一读）高考英语考前突破 阅读理解能力 国际时事要闻 乌克兰停火会谈即将展开素材

乌克兰停火会谈即将展开Ukraine's President Petro Poroshenko has raised hopes that a deal could be struck with Russia to end fighting in the east of his country.乌克兰总统佩特罗·波罗申科让人们看到了与俄罗斯达成协议结束国内东部地区混乱局面的希望。 Ukraine, Russia and pro-Russia rebels are set to begin afternoon talks in Belarus. However, there are new reports of shelling near the town of Mariupol. Meanwhile, Western countries are preparing to tighten1 sanctions on Russia in case talks come to nothing. They are attending the second day of a Nato summit in Newport, Wales. The West accuses Russia of sending arms and troops to back the rebels in eastern Ukraine. Moscow denies this. More than 2,600 people have died during the five-month conflict. Leaders will also discuss the grow ing threat of Islamic State (IS) in Iraq and Syria. An IS video released on Tuesday showed the killing2 of US journalist Steven Sotloff, just days after the group beheaded another American reporter, James Foley. In the latest video, an IS militant3 is seen threatening to kill a UK hostage, aid worker David Haines, who was seized in March 2013 in Syria's Idlib province. Nato Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said Nato had pledged "seriously" to examine any plea by Iraq to fight IS militants4. UK Prim e Minister David Cameron said that his countr y was deciding whether to arm the Kurds. Also on the agenda is the situation in Afghanistan, where the alliance is due to end its combat operations at the end of this year. However, there is no government in place in Kabul to complete the handover because the outcome of presidential elections earlier this year is still being contested.1 tighten v.(使)变紧；(使)绷紧参考例句：Turn the screw to the right to tighten it.向右转动螺钉把它拧紧。Some countries tighten monetary policy to avoid inflation.一些国家实行紧缩银根的货币政策，以避免通货膨胀。2 killing n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财参考例句：Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。3 militant adj.激进的，好斗的；n.激进分子，斗士参考例句：Some militant leaders want to merge with white radicals.一些好斗的领导人要和白人中的激进派联合。He is a militant in the movement.他在那次运动中是个激进人物。4 militants 激进分子，好斗分子( militant 的名词复数 )参考例句：The militants have been sporadically fighting the government for years. 几年来，反叛分子一直对政府实施零星的战斗。 Despite the onslaught, Palestinian militants managed to fire off rockets. 尽管如此，巴勒斯坦的激进分子仍然发射导弹。