military exercises: 军事演习

北京时间18日上午8时，中国人民解放军总参谋长梁光烈上将和俄罗斯联邦武装力量总参谋长巴卢耶夫斯基大将共同宣布，"和平使命-2005"中俄联合军事演习正式开始。中俄联合军演18日至25日在俄罗斯符拉迪沃斯托克和中国山东半岛及附近海域举行。中俄双方派出陆、海、空军和空降兵、海军陆战队以及保障部队近万人参加演习。报道如下：

Russia and China launched their first-ever joint military exercises Thursday on a Chinese peninsula jutting into the Yellow Sea — an eight-day event that symbolizes the two countries' bolstered ties, the Associated Press reported.

"Peace Mission 2005" exercises include some 10,000 troops from land, sea and air forces.

The war games began with the chiefs of the Chinese and Russian general staffs starting strategic consultations at the Vladivostok headquarters of Russia's Pacific Fleet, Xinhua News Agency reported.

military exercises 是"军事演习"的意思，此处的exercise是指an action or actions intended to improve something or make something happen。如：Ships from eight navies will be taking part in an exercise in the pacific to improve their efficiency in combat. （有八国海军的舰只将参加太平洋上的演习以提高他们的作战效率）。