Political crisis in Pakistani averted

    ISLAMABAD, Jan. 7 (Xinhua) -- Political crisis in Pakistan was averted¹ on Friday as the Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani succeeded in persuading a key political group to withdraw（撤回） its decision of joining the opposition².
    The Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM)（全国移民运动） or United National Movement decided³ on Sunday to part ways with the government of the Prime Minister Gilani, reducing his majority to minority in the parliament. Two ministers of the MQM had also quit the federal cabinet.
    The MQM's decision had posed serious threat to the coalition⁴ government of Gilani and reduced its parliamentary majority into minority.
    Prime Minister Gilani Friday visited the headquarters of the MQM in Karachi with a request to review its earlier decision and to save his government.
    MQM announced to rejoin the treasury⁵ benches but will not rejoin the cabinet. Threat to the PM Gilani's government has now subsided⁶ as it has regained⁷ majority in the parliament. MQM had protested over the recent nine percent increase in the oil prices announced by the government on Jan. 1.
    On Thursday Gilani withdrew the hike in the fuel prices to win the support from MQM. MQM had also made several other demands including end to corruption⁸ and imposition of tax on landlords. The other demands have not yet been accepted, but MQM said that it will not send the prime minister back empty handed and announced support to him after Gilani held talks with MQM in Karachi.
    Prime Minister Gilani had launched series of meetings with some opposition parties to avoid collapse⁹ of his government as he had been under pressure to seek fresh vote of confidence in the parliament.
    Although the MQM's decision has given some sigh of relief to the prime minister, the crisis will remain as the main opposition party Pakistan Muslim League-N of former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has given a few-day deadline for the acceptance of several tough demands.
    Sharif had earlier set a deadline for the prime minister to respond in three days whether or not accepting the demands. He extended the deadline for another three days due to the assassination¹⁰ of the governor of Punjab province Salman Taseer, which has plunged¹¹ the country into a critical situation. Sharif's demands are tough and Prime Minister Gilani has not responded to his call yet.(本文由在线英语听力室整理编辑)

1 averted   

防止，避免( avert的过去式和过去分词 )； 转移

参考例句：

• A disaster was narrowly averted. 及时防止了一场灾难。
• Thanks to her skilful handling of the affair, the problem was averted. 多亏她对事情处理得巧妙，才避免了麻烦。

2 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

3 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

4 coalition   

n.结合体，同盟，结合，联合

参考例句：

• The several parties formed a coalition.这几个政党组成了政治联盟。
• Coalition forces take great care to avoid civilian casualties.联盟军队竭尽全力避免造成平民伤亡。

5 treasury   

n.宝库；国库，金库；文库

参考例句：

• The Treasury was opposed in principle to the proposals.财政部原则上反对这些提案。
• This book is a treasury of useful information.这本书是有价值的信息宝库。

6 subsided   

v.（土地）下陷（因在地下采矿）( subside的过去式和过去分词 )；减弱；下降至较低或正常水平；一下子坐在椅子等上

参考例句：

• After the heavy rains part of the road subsided. 大雨过后，部分公路塌陷了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• By evening the storm had subsided and all was quiet again. 傍晚， 暴风雨已经过去，四周开始沉寂下来。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

7 regained   

复得( regain的过去式和过去分词 )； 赢回； 重回； 复至某地

参考例句：

• The majority of the people in the world have regained their liberty. 世界上大多数人已重获自由。
• She hesitated briefly but quickly regained her poise. 她犹豫片刻，但很快恢复了镇静。

8 corruption   

n.腐败，堕落，贪污

参考例句：

• The people asked the government to hit out against corruption and theft.人民要求政府严惩贪污盗窃。
• The old man reviled against corruption.那老人痛斥了贪污舞弊。

9 collapse   

vi.累倒；昏倒；倒塌；塌陷

参考例句：

• The country's economy is on the verge of collapse.国家的经济已到了崩溃的边缘。
• The engineer made a complete diagnosis of the bridge's collapse.工程师对桥的倒塌做了一次彻底的调查分析。

10 assassination   

n.暗杀；暗杀事件

参考例句：

• The assassination of the president brought matters to a head.总统遭暗杀使事态到了严重关头。
• Lincoln's assassination in 1865 shocked the whole nation.1865年，林肯遇刺事件震惊全美国。

11 plunged   

v.颠簸( plunge的过去式和过去分词 )；暴跌；骤降；突降

参考例句：

• The train derailed and plunged into the river. 火车脱轨栽进了河里。
• She lost her balance and plunged 100 feet to her death. 她没有站稳，从100英尺的高处跌下摔死了。