美国国家公共电台 NPR--Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro kicks off his reelection campaign

Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro kicks off his reelection campaign

Transcript¹

President Bolsonaro is a far-right populist who likes to cast himself in the same mold as former U.S. President Donald Trump². Bolsonaro is facing a stiff challenge in October's election.

LEILA FADEL, HOST:

Now to Brazil, where the country's presidential campaign is intensifying³.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

PRESIDENT JAIR BOLSONARO: (Speaking Portuguese).

(CHEERING)

FADEL: That's the sound of President Jair Bolsonaro as he kicked off his drive for reelection yesterday. Bolsonaro is a far-right populist who likes to cast himself in the same mold as former President Donald Trump. Often outspoken⁴, anti-establishment, he's often been dubbed⁵ the tropical Trump. But he's facing a stiff challenge in October's election from a former left-wing president. To tell us more, NPR's John Otis joins us from Rio de Janeiro. Hi, John.

JOHN OTIS, BYLINE⁶: Hi. Good to be here.

FADEL: So, John, you were at President Bolsonaro's campaign launch yesterday. What was it like?

OTIS: Well, it was held at a sports stadium right next to Rio's legendary⁷ Maracana soccer stadium. And like soccer fans, Bolsonaro's fans are really quite enthusiastic, as you heard in the clip. Many came dressed in blue and green, the blue and green colors of the Brazilian flag, which Bolsonaro has sort of appropriated as his campaign symbol. In fact, some actually were wrapped in Brazilian flags. And during his speech, Bolsonaro talked a lot about patriotism⁸ and religion and family values. And he also talked about his opposition⁹ to abortion¹⁰, gay rights and how much he hates leftists. Let's take a listen.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

BOLSONARO: (Speaking Portuguese).

(CHEERING)

OTIS: Now, Bolsonaro is saying here that his work as president has all been worthwhile because while he's been in office, he's managed to keep the communists from taking over Brazil. And, you know, he was sort of alluding¹¹ to how left-wing leaders now rule much of Latin America. And Bolsonaro himself is facing a very tough challenge from the left. His main rival in the race is Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva. He's of the opposition, Workers' Party, and he's also a two-term former president.

FADEL: Tell us more about Lula. I mean, this is a man - he was in prison not so long ago.

OTIS: Yeah. That's right. Lula became a hero to many Brazilians for reducing poverty during his presidency¹². That lasted from 2003 to 2010. But after he left office, he got ensnared in a graft¹³ investigation¹⁴ and was sentenced to 12 years in prison. Then in the latest twist, the Supreme¹⁵ Court in 2019 ordered his release. They didn't say he was innocent, but they cited procedural errors. So now Lula is running to get his old job back. I was with him on the campaign trail in northern Brazil last week. He's getting up there. He's 76 years old now, and he's mostly relying on nostalgia¹⁶. He's basically saying - his campaign pitch is, I was a good president two decades ago, so you should elect me again.

FADEL: Now, current polls show Bolsonaro trailing Lula by double digits¹⁷. Why?

OTIS: It's mainly a problem with the economy. It's sluggish¹⁸ right now. And inflation and unemployment are rising. And now some of this has to do with the COVID-19 pandemic, which, according to his critics, Bolsonaro made a lot worse. He shrugged¹⁹ off the disease as nothing more than, like, a common cold or a flu. And he cast doubts on whether or not people should really bother getting vaccinated²⁰. And tragically²¹, Brazil ended up with the world's second-highest COVID death toll²² after the United States. Nearly 700,000 Brazilians have died of COVID.

The big question now is whether Bolsonaro would accept defeat, if, in fact, he actually does lose to Lula, or whether he would try to pull off what would sort of be kind of a Brazilian big lie. He's spent several of the last few months casting doubts on Brazil's electronic voting system, even though it's worked just fine for decades. Bolsonaro is also a former army captain and has suggested that the military should oversee²³ the vote count and has sort of hinted that, well, maybe the military could even step in if they don't like the result. Now, Brazilians take all of this very seriously because this is a country that has a history of military coups²⁴ and a history of authoritarian²⁵ leaders.

FADEL: NPR's John Otis in Rio de Janeiro. Thank you, John.

OTIS: Thanks very much.

(SOUNDBITE OF BONOBO'S "OUTLIER")

1 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

2 trump   

n.王牌，法宝；v.打出王牌，吹喇叭

参考例句：

• He was never able to trump up the courage to have a showdown.他始终鼓不起勇气摊牌。
• The coach saved his star player for a trump card.教练保留他的明星选手，作为他的王牌。

3 intensifying   

v.（使）增强， （使）加剧( intensify的现在分词 )；增辉

参考例句：

• The allies are intensifying their air campaign. 联军部队正加大他们的空战强度。 来自辞典例句
• The rest of the European powers were in a state of intensifying congestion. 其余的欧洲强国则处于越来越拥挤的状态。 来自英汉非文学 - 历史

4 outspoken   

adj.直言无讳的，坦率的，坦白无隐的

参考例句：

• He was outspoken in his criticism.他在批评中直言不讳。
• She is an outspoken critic of the school system in this city.她是这座城市里学校制度的坦率的批评者。

5 dubbed   

v.给…起绰号( dub的过去式和过去分词 )；把…称为；配音；复制

参考例句：

• Mathematics was once dubbed the handmaiden of the sciences. 数学曾一度被视为各门科学的基础。
• Is the movie dubbed or does it have subtitles? 这部电影是配音的还是打字幕的？ 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

7 legendary   

adj.传奇（中）的，闻名遐迩的；n.传奇（文学）

参考例句：

• Legendary stories are passed down from parents to children.传奇故事是由父母传给孩子们的。
• Odysseus was a legendary Greek hero.奥狄修斯是传说中的希腊英雄。

8 patriotism   

n.爱国精神，爱国心，爱国主义

参考例句：

• His new book is a demonstration of his patriotism.他写的新书是他的爱国精神的证明。
• They obtained money under the false pretenses of patriotism.他们以虚伪的爱国主义为借口获得金钱。

9 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。

10 abortion   

n.流产，堕胎

参考例句：

• She had an abortion at the women's health clinic.她在妇女保健医院做了流产手术。
• A number of considerations have led her to have a wilful abortion.多种考虑使她执意堕胎。

11 alluding   

提及，暗指( allude的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• He didn't mention your name but I was sure he was alluding to you. 他没提你的名字，但是我确信他是暗指你的。
• But in fact I was alluding to my physical deficiencies. 可我实在是为自己的容貌寒心。

12 presidency   

n.总统(校长，总经理)的职位(任期)

参考例句：

• Roosevelt was elected four times to the presidency of the United States.罗斯福连续当选四届美国总统。
• Two candidates are emerging as contestants for the presidency.两位候选人最终成为总统职位竞争者。

13 graft   

n.移植，嫁接，艰苦工作，贪污；v.移植，嫁接

参考例句：

• I am having a skin graft on my arm soon.我马上就要接受手臂的皮肤移植手术。
• The minister became rich through graft.这位部长透过贪污受贿致富。

14 investigation   

n.调查，调查研究

参考例句：

• In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
• He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。

15 supreme   

adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的

参考例句：

• It was the supreme moment in his life.那是他一生中最重要的时刻。
• He handed up the indictment to the supreme court.他把起诉书送交最高法院。

16 nostalgia   

n.怀乡病，留恋过去，怀旧

参考例句：

• He might be influenced by nostalgia for his happy youth.也许是对年轻时幸福时光的怀恋影响了他。
• I was filled with nostalgia by hearing my favourite old song.我听到这首喜爱的旧歌，心中充满了怀旧之情。

17 digits   

n.数字( digit的名词复数 )；手指，足趾

参考例句：

• The number 1000 contains four digits. 1000是四位数。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The number 410 contains three digits. 数字 410 中包括三个数目字。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

18 sluggish   

adj.懒惰的，迟钝的，无精打采的

参考例句：

• This humid heat makes you feel rather sluggish.这种湿热的天气使人感到懒洋洋的。
• Circulation is much more sluggish in the feet than in the hands.脚部的循环比手部的循环缓慢得多。

19 shrugged   

vt.耸肩（shrug的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• Sam shrugged and said nothing. 萨姆耸耸肩膀，什么也没说。
• She shrugged, feigning nonchalance. 她耸耸肩，装出一副无所谓的样子。 来自《简明英汉词典》

20 vaccinated   

[医]已接种的，种痘的，接种过疫菌的

参考例句：

• I was vaccinated against tetanus. 我接种了破伤风疫苗。
• Were you vaccinated against smallpox as a child? 你小时候打过天花疫苗吗？

21 tragically   

adv. 悲剧地，悲惨地

参考例句：

• Their daughter was tragically killed in a road accident. 他们的女儿不幸死于车祸。
• Her father died tragically in a car crash. 她父亲在一场车祸中惨死。

22 toll   

n.过路(桥)费；损失，伤亡人数；v.敲(钟)

参考例句：

• The hailstone took a heavy toll of the crops in our village last night.昨晚那场冰雹损坏了我们村的庄稼。
• The war took a heavy toll of human life.这次战争夺去了许多人的生命。

23 oversee   

vt.监督，管理

参考例句：

• Soldiers oversee the food handouts.士兵们看管着救济食品。
• Use a surveyor or architect to oversee and inspect the different stages of the work.请一位房产检视员或建筑师来监督并检查不同阶段的工作。

24 coups   

n.意外而成功的行动( coup的名词复数 )；政变；努力办到难办的事

参考例句：

• China has seen many political coups within the ruling class. 中国统治阶级内部发生过很多政变。 来自互联网
• Thailand has had eighteen coups or coup attendance since nineteen thirty-two. 泰国1932年以来有18次政变或参加政变。 来自互联网

25 authoritarian   

n./adj.专制(的)，专制主义者，独裁主义者

参考例句：

• Foreign diplomats suspect him of authoritarian tendencies.各国外交官怀疑他有着独裁主义倾向。
• The authoritarian policy wasn't proved to be a success.独裁主义的政策证明并不成功。