The exercise is based on an article in The Guardian (theguardian.com), with minor adaptations.
Your task is to find suitable words or expressions to fill in the gaps, taking into account syntax as well as register, and bringing to bear your background knowledge.
I have given some suggestions following the exercise.
Exercise
President Volodymyr Zelensky has publicly ___________ that a treaty of neutrality may be on offer; and he is right to do so. For two things have been made absolutely clear by this war: that Russia will fight to prevent Ukraine becoming a military ally of the West, and the West will not fight to defend Ukraine. In view of this, to keep open the possibility of an offer of Nato membership that Nato has no intention of ever _______________, and asking Ukrainians to ____________, is worse than ______________.
As to “demilitarisation” and “denazification”, the meaning and terms of these will have to be negotiated. Demilitarisation is obviously unacceptable if it means that Ukraine must unilaterally _______________ its armed forces; but the latest statement by Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has suggested that Russia would accept a ban on missiles based in Ukraine. This could be _____________ on a similar guarantee to the US that ended the Cuba Missile Crisis.
There remains the demand for recognition of the Russian annexation of Crimea. Here, respect for international law (slightly ambiguous in the case of Crimea, which was only transferred from Russia to Ukraine by Soviet decree in 1954) must ______________ considerations of reality, the prevention of future conflict, and the interests of ordinary people in the region – which is essentially what we have been asking Russia to do in the case of Kosovo.
These proposals will be ____________ as “_____________ Russian aggression”; but if Putin’s original aim really was to ___________ the whole of Ukraine, then by such an agreement Moscow would ___________ maximal goals. Moreover, such an agreement would give Russia nothing that it had not in practice already achieved before launching the invasion. The West is morally right to oppose the monstrous and illegal war ____________ Russia and to have imposed exceptionally severe sanctions on Russia in response, but would be morally wrong to oppose a decision by Ukraine to ___________with a reasonable agreement that would end the invasion and _____________the people of Ukraine terrible suffering.
President Volodymyr Zelensky has publicly hinted that a treaty of neutrality may be on offer; and he is right to do so. For two things have been made absolutely clear by this war: that Russia will fight to prevent Ukraine becoming a military ally of the West, and the West will not fight to defend Ukraine. In view of this, to keep open the possibility of an offer of Nato membership that Nato has no intention of ever honouring, and asking Ukrainians to die for this fiction, is worse than hypocritical. [You could say suggested instead of ‘hinted’. Stated or declared are grammatically correct, but the meaning is different. For ‘honouring’, since the meaning here is close to ‘keeping a promise’, you could say fulfilling, or making good on. You may have struggled to find a solution for ‘die for this fiction’, because you may not have had enough information to go on. Other options include asking Ukrainians to sacrifice themselves or to make the ultimate sacrifice or to fight to the end. ]
As to “demilitarisation” and “denazification”, the meaning and terms of these will have to be negotiated. Demilitarisation is obviously unacceptable if it means that Ukraine must unilaterally dissolve its armed forces; but the latest statement by Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has suggested that Russia would accept a ban on missiles based in Ukraine. This could be modelled on a similar guarantee to the US that ended the Cuba Missile Crisis. [You could replace ‘dissolve’ with disband or do away with, and ‘modelled on’ with based on.]
There remains the demand for recognition of the Russian annexation of Crimea. Here, respect for international law (slightly ambiguous in the case of Crimea, which was only transferred from Russia to Ukraine by Soviet decree in 1954) must betemperedby considerations of reality, the prevention of future conflict, and the interests of ordinary people in the region – which is essentially what we have been asking Russia to do in the case of Kosovo. [‘tempered by’ means ‘softened by’, but you might be better off here with alternatives such as go hand in hand with, be reconciled with, leave room for.]
These proposals will be denounced as “rewarding Russian aggression”; but if Putin’s original aim really was to subjugate the whole of Ukraine, then by such an agreement Moscow would fall far short of its maximal goals. Moreover, such an agreement would give Russia nothing that it had not in practice already achieved before launching the invasion. The West is morally right to oppose the monstrous and illegal war prosecuted by Russia and to have imposed exceptionally severe sanctions on Russia in response, but would be morally wrong to oppose a decision by Ukraine to sue for peace with a reasonable agreement that would end the invasion and spare the people of Ukraine terrible suffering. [For ‘denounced’: criticised, reviled, decried; for ‘rewarding Russian aggression’: pandering to. For ‘subjugate’: conquer, vanquish, crush, tame, triumph over, bring to heel, rule over, keep under his thumb – but the word order is getting a little dodgy here. For ‘fall far short of its maximal goals’: fail to achieve, be thwarted in its maximal goals. For the war ‘prosecuted by’, you could say waged by; or you could say initiated, started, or launched. The sentence containing ‘sue for peace’ is a little tricky. You could replace ‘sue for peace’ with seek a diplomatic settlement or seek an agreement with Russia or something of that ilk, if not for the following phrase (‘with a reasonable agreement’). I suppose you could say something like a decision by Ukraine to move forward with a reasonable agreement, or a decision by Ukraine to put an end to the conflict with a reasonable agreement. As for ‘spare the people of Ukraine’, there are not many other options; save is one of them.]
———————————————————————————————————————
Interested in more material like this to help you boost your retour? Why not join my monthly membership site, Rock your Retour, with tailor-made written materials and weekly live group classes (online)?
Sophie Llewellyn Smith, writing as The Interpreting Coach, is a coach, interpreter trainer, conference interpreter, designer of online teaching materials, and creator of Speechpool. Follow the blog to pick up tips on how to improve your interpreting skills.
By continuing to use the site, you agree to the use of cookies. more information
The cookie settings on this website are set to "allow cookies" to give you the best browsing experience possible. If you continue to use this website without changing your cookie settings or you click "Accept" below then you are consenting to this.
Hello Sophie,
This is a good exercise.
Glad you liked it!