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.

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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.

解析：选C。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。

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.

解析：选A。A。推理判断题。根据文章第五段Anyone committing … will be brought to justice, no matter who they are可知，任何违法国际法的行为都将被绳之以法的。由此判断，联合国人权官员的态度是非常坚决的，是不会对这种残酷的行为放任不管的。

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.

解析：选B。B。细节理解题。根据文章第七段We were stopped because there was gunfire and what we understand was artillery impacts nearby, very near可知，国际组织受阻的原因是附近有武装分子的炮火袭击，这种严峻的安全形势使他们无法接近马航17失事地点。

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.

解析：选D。D。推理判断题。根据文章最后一段…said both sides in the conflict were using unguided Grad rockets against civilian areas…the rockets were apparently fired …可知，冲突双方使用了未加控制的导弹，对平民地区实施轰炸。由此判断，（美国的这个人权组织认为）MH17极有可能是冲突的一方打下来的。

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

解析：选B。B。主旨大意题。通读全文可知，文章介绍了乌克兰的混乱局势和武装分子使用导弹袭击平民地区的情况，联合国人权官员由此断言，马航17在乌克兰坠毁事件可能是战争犯罪。