英语名人堂：罗伯特·加布里埃尔·穆加贝

罗伯特·加布里埃尔·穆加贝（Robert Gabriel Mugabe，1924年2月21日－），现任津巴布韦总统。

罗伯特·加布里埃尔·穆加贝生于南罗得西亚索尔兹伯里市（津巴布韦首都哈拉雷）；早年就读于南非赫尔堡大学，获文学学士和教育学学士学位，后通过函授获伦敦大学法律硕士和经济学硕士学位。曾任不结盟运动首脑会议主席、英联邦国家首脑会议主席和南部非洲前线国家主席，并获1989年度国际理解尼赫鲁奖。

 

Robert Mugabe has served as Zimbabwe’s leader since 1980. He was Prime Minister from 1980 to 1987 and has been President since 1987. He became a hero across Africa after leading rebel forces to victory against white minority rule in the 1970s. In recent years, many have accused him of ruling with an iron fist and destroying his country’s economy and democracy.

 

Mugabe was born in 1924 in what was then the British colony Rhodesia. He was described as a loner at school who preferred his own company. Mugabe left Rhodesia to continue his education. On his travels, he met many influential¹ African leaders and politicians. He earned a total of five Bachelor’s and two Master’s degrees from different universities around the world.

 

Mugabe joined the Zimbabwe African National Union in 1963. A year later he was arrested for making a “subversive speech” in which he called for greater equality for blacks. He spent the next ten years in prison. From 1975, Mugabe led the resistance against white rule. He won the general election in 1980 and changed his country’s colonial name.

 

Mugabe spent his first seven years in power trying to control bitter fighting between rival groups. He crushed opposition² forces in 1987. Zimbabwe under Mugabe has slipped from being the breadbasket of Africa to one of the world’s poorest countries. Mugabe blames his country’s woes³ on the actions of its former colonizers. Many in Zimbabwe and around the world accuse him of being a dictator.

1 influential   

adj.有影响的，有权势的

参考例句：

• He always tries to get in with the most influential people.他总是试图巴结最有影响的人物。
• He is a very influential man in the government.他在政府中是个很有影响的人物。

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 woes   

困境( woe的名词复数 )； 悲伤； 我好苦哇； 某人就要倒霉

参考例句：

• Thanks for listening to my woes. 谢谢您听我诉说不幸的遭遇。
• She has cried the blues about its financial woes. 对于经济的困难她叫苦不迭。