The downing of the Malaysia Airlines jet in Ukraine may be a “war crime”, the UN’s human rights chief says.

Pro-Russia Ukrainian rebels and the Ukrainian officials have accused each other of shooting down flight MH17.

All 298 people on board the airliner - mostly Dutch - died on 17 July.

International police want to help guard the huge site so that plane wreckage and human remains can be examined by international crash experts. Most of the bodies have been removed, many of them sent back to the Netherlands.

“This violation of international law, given the current circumstances, is a war crime,” Navi Pillay, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, said of the downing of MH17. “Anyone committing serious violations of international law including war crimes will be brought to justice, no matter who they are,” Ms Pillay said.

The conflict has forced more than 200,000 people to leave their homeland. Many of them have fled east to neighboring Russia.

A team of Australian and Dutch police and legal medical experts gave up their efforts to reach the site on Monday, blaming the security situation in the area. It was the second failed attempt in as many days. “We were stopped because there was gunfire and what we understand was artillery impacts nearby, very near,” said Alexander Hug, an official from the OSCE group to Ukraine. “We are sick and tired of being interrupted by gunfights despite the fact that we have agreed that there should be a ceasefire.”

In the past 24 hours there has been heavy artillery fire at the city of Horlivka, where several civilians were killed.

Last week, the US-based Human Rights Watch said both sides in the conflict were using unguided Grad rockets against civilian areas, in violation of human rights standards, and urged them to stop doing so. It documented several attacks in which, it said, the rockets were apparently fired by government forces.

1. Why did the UN human rights official say the crash of MH17 was a war crime?

 A. It was the pro-Russia rebels that shot the airliner down.

 B. It was the Ukrainian army that led the airliner to crash.

 C. The violation of international law brought the flight down.

 D. The conflict in Ukraine has forced thousands of people to leave.

2. What do we know from the passage?

 A. UN wouldn’t have those violating the international law going unpunished.

 B. No one is allowed to violate the international law.

 C. The international police came to the site to keep the plane wreckage untouched.

 D. Most of the passengers have been sent back to the Netherlands.

3. Why couldn’t the Australian and Dutch police and legal medical experts reach the site?

 A. They were sick and tired of the conflict.

 B. They were stopped by the artillery attack nearby.

 C. They were sick and tired of the agreement on ceasefire.

 D. They were worried about the security situation in Ukraine.

4. What can be implied in the last paragraph?

 A. Human Right Watch has found the cause of the crash of MH17.

 B. Both sides involved in the conflict used rockets on innocent people.

 C. Human Right Watch has recorded each attack in the conflict.

 D. The unguided Grad rockets might have shot MH17 down.

5. What can be the best title of the passage?

 A. Conflict in Ukraine Forces Civilians to Flee

 B. The Crash of MH17 Might Be A War Crime

 C. Conflict in Ukraine Breaks International Law

 D. International Organizations Stopped Near Crash Site

【语篇导读】

联合国人权委员会官员认为，发生在乌克兰的武装冲突严重违反了国际法，从而导致马航MH17 坠毁，这是严重的战争犯罪，他们决不会让犯罪分子逍遥法外。

1. C。细节理解题。根据文章第一、二自然段可知，发生在乌克兰的武装冲突违法国际法，悍然击落了马航MH17航班。击落马航事件属于战争犯罪。

更多答案解析，请进入“奇速英语时文闯关”！

【生词】

1. wreckage ['rekɪdʒ] n. 残骸

例句：Some residents started venturing out of their homes to pick through the wreckage.  

一些居民开始冒险出门，在废墟间寻找着可以走的路。

2. commit [kə'mɪt] vt. 犯，做

例句：So many children who commit violent crimes have themselves punished by years of abuse and neglect.  

很多犯暴力罪行的孩子们自己反过来受到了多年虐待和漠视的惩罚。

3. site [saɪt] n. 现场；地点

例句：Media rushed to the murder site.  

记者们纷纷赶往谋杀现场。

4. artillery [ɑː'tɪlərɪ] n. 大炮；火炮

例句：Our artillery smashed the enemy defenses.

我们的炮兵摧毁了敌人的防御工事。

【长难句分析】

We are sick and tired of being interrupted by gunfights despite the fact that we have agreed that there should be a ceasefire.

尽管事实是我们已经达成停火的协议，但是仍然被枪战阻挠，我们对此感到十分厌倦。

despite the fact that…为介词短语，做让步状语。that引导的名词性从句做fact的同位语。

 

 

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