VOA双语新闻 Iraqis Favor Kerry over Bush

A new public opinion poll shows more Iraqis favor Democratic challenger John Kerry than President Bush, who launched the invasion that toppled Saddam Hussein. But more than half of the 2,000 peopled polled throughout Iraq don't care who wins the U.S. presidency¹ in next week's election.

一项新的民意调查表明：大多数伊拉克人支持美国民主党总统候选人克里参议员，而不喜欢发动对伊战争，推翻萨达姆的布什总统。不过，在伊拉克接受调查的两千人当中，一半以上的人并不关心在下个星期进行的美国总统大选中到底谁获胜。

The new survey of Iraqi public opinion was conducted last week by Iraq's Center for Research and Strategic Studies in Baghdad. The group, which has been operating in Iraq for about a year, says its latest survey indicates that among Iraqis with a preference, Mr. Kerry leads President Bush by 6.5 percentage points. The poll has a margin² of error of four percent.

这项上个星期对伊拉克人进行的新的民意调查是巴格达战略研究中心主持的。这个在伊拉克工作了一年多的机构说， 最近这次对伊拉克人进行的调查表明，克里参议员领先于布什总统六点五个百分点。正负误差值是百分之四。

But the director of the center, former Iraqi exile Sadoun al-Dulame, says 58 percent of the respondents said they don't care who wins the U.S. presidential election."But in the end, those who said they care about what happens in America, Kerry [is] in front of Bush," he noted³. "22.5 percent said we prefer to see Kerry as the next American president. And those who said we prefer Bush just 16 percent, no more. And, that's a decline for Bush because when we asked the Iraqis two months ago, Bush was in front of Kerry."

但是该研究中心的负责人阿尔杜拉米说，百分之五十八的人说，他们并不关心谁赢得美国的总统职位。他说：“然而到最后，那些表示关心在美国发生的事的人当中，有百分之二十二点五说他们愿意克里参议员出任总统。说支持布什的人只有百分之十六。对布什总统来说，这是下降了。因为在两个月前我们向伊拉克人提出同样的问题时，布什领先于克里。

In a further breakdown⁴ of the statistics, Mr. al-Dulame said 60 percent of Kurdish respondents from northern Iraq said they support Mr. Bush. Most Kurds were staunch opponents of Saddam Hussein.The poll indicated 75 percent of Arab Iraqis who have an opinion support John Kerry. Mr. Dulame said Iraqis from the Shiite muslim majority generally prefer President Bush. But a large majority of Sunnis responding to the survey oppose the president. Saddam Hussein is a Sunni Muslim.

阿尔杜拉米对调查获得的数据进一步分析以后表示，伊拉克北部库尔德人表示支持布什总统。大多数的库尔德人都坚决反对萨达姆。调查表明，百分之75的阿拉伯伊拉克人支持克里参议员。阿尔杜拉米说，来自什叶派穆斯林的多数派伊拉克人支持布什总统。但是接受调查的逊尼派穆斯林的伊拉克人则反对布什总统。萨达姆是逊尼派穆斯林。

A more immediate⁵ gauge⁶ of Iraqi public opinion is often heard on Baghdad's call-in radio station, Radio Dijla. Dijla is Arabic for Tigris, one of Iraq's major rivers.The head of the radio station is Ahmad al-Rikaby. He says President Bush's popularity in Iraq has steadily⁷ been on the decline.Mr. al-Rikaby says, in the beginning, Mr. Bush's popularity was very high because he led the effort to remove Saddam Hussein from power. However, he says many Iraqis now believe President Bush has failed to deliver on promises of reconstruction⁸, improved services and better security. He says Mr. Bush's popularity in Iraq is very low right now.

评估伊拉克人对美国总统大选看法的一个更直接的尺度是底格里斯电台和听众对话的节目。这个电台的负责人说，布什总统在伊拉克的民众支持率正在稳步下降。他说：“一开始的时候，对布什总统的支持率非常高，因为他领导把萨达姆赶下了台。然而，现在许多伊拉克人都相信，布什总统没有能够象他所保证的那样对伊拉克进行重建，也没有改善服务和提高治安水平。现在伊拉克人对布什总统的支持率非常低。”

And, while most Iraqis know little or nothing about John Kerry, Mr. al-Rikaby says many Iraqis are more inclined to support the Democratic Party candidate, in hopes that he would be able to provide more services for Iraqis, especially in the area of security.

尽管大多数伊拉克人都不太了解克里参议员，这位底格里斯电台的主持人说，许多伊拉克人都倾向于支持民主党的候选人，期望他能够为伊拉克提供更多的服务，特别是治安方面的服务。
 

1 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。

2 margin   

n.页边空白；差额；余地，余裕；边，边缘

参考例句：

• We allowed a margin of 20 minutes in catching the train.我们有20分钟的余地赶火车。
• The village is situated at the margin of a forest.村子位于森林的边缘。

3 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。

4 breakdown   

n.垮，衰竭；损坏，故障，倒塌

参考例句：

• She suffered a nervous breakdown.她患神经衰弱。
• The plane had a breakdown in the air,but it was fortunately removed by the ace pilot.飞机在空中发生了故障，但幸运的是被王牌驾驶员排除了。

5 immediate   

adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的

参考例句：

• His immediate neighbours felt it their duty to call.他的近邻认为他们有责任去拜访。
• We declared ourselves for the immediate convocation of the meeting.我们主张立即召开这个会议。

6 gauge   

v.精确计量；估计；n.标准度量；计量器

参考例句：

• Can you gauge what her reaction is likely to be?你能揣测她的反应可能是什么吗？
• It's difficult to gauge one's character.要判断一个人的品格是很困难的。

7 steadily   

adv.稳定地；不变地；持续地

参考例句：

• The scope of man's use of natural resources will steadily grow.人类利用自然资源的广度将日益扩大。
• Our educational reform was steadily led onto the correct path.我们的教学改革慢慢上轨道了。

8 reconstruction   

n.重建，再现，复原

参考例句：

• The country faces a huge task of national reconstruction following the war.战后，该国面临着重建家园的艰巨任务。
• In the period of reconstruction,technique decides everything.在重建时期，技术决定一切。