South Sudan declares independence

 　　JUBA, July 9 (Xinhua) -- The Republic of South Sudan declared independence Saturday, waiting to be recognized as the 193rd member of the United Nations and hoping to keep peace with the north after decades of war.

　　Speaker of South Sudan Legislative¹ Assembly James Wani Igga read the Proclamation of the Independence of South Sudan, sparking wild cheers of hundreds of thousands of people who gathered at the Mausoleum of John Garang, the late leader of the ruling Sudan People's Liberation Movement.

　　Based on the will of the people of South Sudan, and as confirmed by the outcome of the referendum of self-determination, we "hereby declare South Sudan to be an independent and sovereign nation," Igga said.

　　The new state would be a multi-ethnic and multi-confessional character, and it is committed to establishing friendly relations with all countries "including the Republic of Sudan", Igga said.

　　The ecstatic crowd drummed and danced. Many burst into tears when the national flag of South Sudan was hoisted². Slogans of " South Sudan Oyee" and "Freedom Oyee" were shouted repeatedly by hundreds of thousands of people.

　　Salva Kiir Mayardit took the oath of office as President of the new republic after he signed the Transitional Constitution of South Sudan.

　　Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir stood beside Kiir to watch the military parade led by the Sudan People's Liberation Army, who had fought decades of war with the Sudanese government troops.

　　"Finally we are independent. Millions of lives have not been lost in vain," SPLA Chief of Staff General James Hoth Mai told Xinhua. "We want to keep peace with the north and we are confident to guard our people."

　　"There is no battle in the border areas today although the situation in the contested Abyei region is still tense," he said.

　　"As a newly founded nation, we want to communicate with all the members of the international community," he said, "We have oil, fertile land and brave people, but we have no skills or infrastructure³. We need the world to help us develop from almost zero."

　　Senior officials including United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon and representatives from the Arab League, African Union and European Union spoke⁴ at the ceremony.

　　Ban commended in his speech Kiir and Bashir for the "difficult decisions and compromises," but said that Sudan and South Sudan have not yet resolved all of their political issues and the Comprehensive Peace Agreement signed by the two sides in 2005 have not be completed. The status of the contentious⁵ border region of Abyei remains⁶ unsettled.

　　"Let their differences be resolved around the negotiating table, " Ban said.

　　Jiang Weixin, a special envoy⁷ of Chinese President Hu Jintao, noted⁸ at the ceremony that the birth of South Sudan is the achievement of peaceful process that ended the longest civil war in Africa and successful referendum where Southern people choose independence.(本文由在线英语听力室整理编辑)

1 legislative   

n.立法机构，立法权；adj.立法的，有立法权的

参考例句：

• Congress is the legislative branch of the U.S. government.国会是美国政府的立法部门。
• Today's hearing was just the first step in the legislative process.今天的听证会只是展开立法程序的第一步。

2 hoisted   

把…吊起，升起( hoist的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He hoisted himself onto a high stool. 他抬身坐上了一张高凳子。
• The sailors hoisted the cargo onto the deck. 水手们把货物吊到甲板上。

3 infrastructure   

n.下部构造，下部组织，基础结构，基础设施

参考例句：

• We should step up the development of infrastructure for research.加强科学基础设施建设。
• We should strengthen cultural infrastructure and boost various types of popular culture.加强文化基础设施建设，发展各类群众文化。

4 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

5 contentious   

adj.好辩的，善争吵的

参考例句：

• She was really not of the contentious fighting sort.她委实不是好吵好闹的人。
• Since then they have tended to steer clear of contentious issues.从那时起，他们总想方设法避开有争议的问题。

6 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

7 envoy   

n.使节，使者，代表，公使

参考例句：

• Their envoy showed no sign of responding to our proposals.他们的代表对我方的提议毫无回应的迹象。
• The government has not yet appointed an envoy to the area.政府尚未向这一地区派过外交官。

8 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。