侵入他國領空
On February 4, the US military downed a suspected Chinese spy balloon off the coast of the state of South Carolina after it had been tracked across North America in Canadian and US airspace since January 28.
2月4日，美軍在南卡羅來納州外海擊落一顆疑似中國間諜氣球的物體，從1月28日開始北美加拿大和美國領空就不斷偵測到這顆氣球。
track (v.)追蹤airspace (n.)領空
In the immediate aftermath of the operation, China protested against what it called the US’s “indiscriminate use of military force.”
氣球遭美軍擊落後，中國旋即對美國「任意使用武力」表達抗議。
aftermath (n.)後果、不好的事件結束後的一段時間indiscriminate (adj.)任意的、無差別的
According to Chinese officials, the unmanned balloon was being used for civilian weather research, but was blown off course, causing it to enter the US by accident.
中國官員指出，那顆無人氣球是用於民間氣象研究，但被風吹離航道，導致意外進入美國。
official (adj.)官方的，正式的 (n.)官員civilian (n.)平民、百姓 (adj.)平民的、民用的course (n.)航道、航線
China went on to accuse the US of violating “the spirit of international law and international practice” by shooting it down, saying it would respond in kind to the US if given the chance.
中國並指控美國擊落氣球違反了「國際法精神和國際慣例」，中國表示若有機會，將對美方以牙還牙。
go on + to V 繼續接著做～accuse sb. of Ving(N.) 指控某人做了某事respond in kind 以牙還牙、回敬
However, US officials have confidently refuted China’s claim, stating that the balloon was involved in espionage and traversed the United States and Canada “to monitor sensitive military sites,” while posing no physical or military threat.
然而，美國官員堅決駁斥中國的說法，表示氣球從事間諜行動，並穿越美國和加拿大「監視敏感軍事要地」，不過據稱這顆氣球並未構成人員和軍事威脅。
refute (v.)駁斥、反駁espionage (n.)間諜活動、刺探活動traverse (v.)穿越、越過pose (v.)造成、引起
Following the discovery of another Chinese balloon flying over Central and South America on February 3, US authorities noted that it bore “similar technical characteristics” to the one that was shot down.
繼2月3日又發現另一顆中國氣球飛越中南美洲上空後，美國當局表示，那顆氣球跟之前擊落的氣球「搭載類似科技設備」。
bear (v.)帶有、具有
In both cases, the balloon’s surveillance equipment was described as the kind “not usually associated with standard meteorological activities or civilian research.”
這兩起事件中，氣球的監視設備都是與「一般氣象活動或民間研究通常無關」的設備。
surveillance (n.)監視、盯梢keep sb. under surveillance 監視某人be associated with 與……有關聯meteorological (adj.)氣象的
As the US military works to collect debris from the downed balloon from the Atlantic Ocean, the war of words between Washington and Beijing is threatening to stress diplomatic relations between the two even further.
隨著美軍試圖從大西洋搜集擊落氣球的殘骸，美中之間的口水戰很可能使得兩方的外交關係更加緊繃。
debris (n.)殘骸
Meanwhile, Taiwan, which has been a recent flashpoint in US-China relations, weighed in on the balloon incident, calling on China to cease its actions that “breach the airspace of other countries, and violate their sovereignty.”
同時，最近成為美中關係衝突熱點的台灣，也對氣球事件發表意見，呼籲中國停止「侵入他國領空以及侵犯他們的主權」。
flashpoint (n.)爆發點weigh in on 針對……發表意見sovereignty (n.)主權、統治權digital sovereignty 數位主權