新西兰英语 282 Violence in Thailand

　　Since March there has been conflict in the streets of Bangkok between the Red Shirt protestors, who support the last Prime² Minister, and the Thai army. However in the last fortnight the violence has increased, with over 60 people dead and more than 1600 injured. A state of emergency has been declared by the Thai government and there is a night time curfew, or ban on going out into the streets.
The biggest problems are in the centre of Bangkok, where many shopping malls and embassies³ of foreign countries are located. Both the US and the New Zealand embassies have been closed and it has now been reported that a New Zealander has been injured in the fighting. The New Zealand government is telling Kiwis not to go to Thailand unless their visit is urgent⁴.
Now the violence seems to be spreading to other parts of Thailand, especially the north and east, where many poorer people live. They do not agree with the policies of the current Prime Minister and feel that poor people should get more help from the government than they receive at present.
One of the Red Shirt leaders has asked the United Nations to set up talks between both sides, but the Prime Minister wants the Red Shirts to end their protest¹ first. He thinks Thailand should solve its own political problems without help from outside.
Thailand is a very popular holiday place for tourists from all over the world including New Zealand. They enjoy the shopping, the beaches and Thai culture. Tourism is one of Thailand’s biggest industries, so the reduced number of visitors means that the Thai economy is losing a lot of money. There have been political protests⁵ in Thailand since 1992 and the country now needs to have a stable government to make sure tourism and the economy can start growing again.
Contributed by Chris Mahoney
Questions to think about
1. Find a map of Thailand and find Bangkok on it. Use direction words such as north, west, near, etc to describe its location in Thailand and in South-East Asia.
2. What is the United Nations? Is your country a member of this organisation⁶?
3. Do you think it is better for a country to solve its own political problems or should other countries or organisations help them?

1 protest   

v.反对，抗议；宣称；n.抗议；宣称

参考例句：

• I can't pass the matter by without a protest.我不能对此事视而不见，我要提出抗议。
• We translated his silence as a protest.我们把他的沉默解释为抗议。

2 prime   

adj.首要的，主要的；最好的，第一流的

参考例句：

• The prime minister spoke of the general insecurity in the country.总理谈到了全国普遍存在的不安全。
• He met with the Prime Minister of Japan for an hour.他和日本首相会见了一个小时。

3 embassies   

n.大使馆( embassy的名词复数 )；大使馆全体成员

参考例句：

• The representatives of other countries have their embassies there. 许多国家都在此设有大使馆。 来自英语晨读30分（高二）
• Demonstrators protested outside the country's embassies all over Europe. 该国驻欧洲各国的大使馆外都有群众进行示威抗议。 来自辞典例句

4 urgent   

a.紧急的，急迫的，紧要的

参考例句：

• He asked to see the manager for something urgent. 他有急事求见经理。
• A part of this urgent task was allotted to us. 这项紧急任务的一部分分给了我们。

5 protests   

n.[体]抗议；抗议，反对( protest的名词复数 )v.声明( protest的第三人称单数 )；坚决地表示；申辩

参考例句：

• The protests have forced the government to back-pedal on the new tax. 抗议活动已迫使政府撤销新的税目。
• Plans to build a new mall were deep-sixed after protests from local residents. 修建新室内购物中心的计划由于当地居民反对而搁浅。

6 organisation   

n.组织，安排，团体，有机休

参考例句：

• The method of his organisation work is worth commending.他的组织工作的方法值得称道。
• His application for membership of the organisation was rejected.他想要加入该组织的申请遭到了拒绝。