在线英语听力室_免费在线英语听力学习网站

　　With less than two weeks to go before Afghanistan holds its presidential election there is continuing concern about intimidation¹ and insecurity.
离阿富汗举行总统选举还有不到两个星期的时间，对恐吓和不安全的关注在继续。
A report issued by Afghanistan's Independent Human Rights Commission and the United Nations mission gives a mixed assessment² of the ongoing³ campaign.
阿富汗独立的人权委员会和联合国特派团的一份报告对正在进行的阿富汗竞选活动提供了有好有坏的评估。
Monitors say while political rights of candidates and their supporters "have generally been respected" there has been documented violence. Notably⁴ there were four killings⁵ related to the election for the period covered by this report - the second half of July.
选举观察员说，候选人及其支持者的政治权利“普遍得到尊重”，然而仍有暴力活动的记载。值得注意的是，在7月下半月的报告所述期间，已经有四人因选举有关的事件丧生。
The monitors say women candidates have difficulty campaigning and female potential voters are being hindered from registering.
观察员说，女性候选人参加竞选活动遇到困难，另外一些女性潜在选民的登记受到阻碍。
The joint⁶ report cites an upward trend of intimidation by what it calls anti-government elements, as well as rival candidates and their supporters. Security concerns are also limiting freedom of movement and open campaigning.
这份联合报告指出，所谓的反政府分子的恐吓行为有上升趋势，此类恐吓行为也见于对立的候选人和他们的支持者之间。关于安全的顾虑限制了行动的自由和竞选活动的公开。
This all raises the issue as to whether Afghanistan can hold elections that can be deemed "free and fair."
这一切引起了是否可以在阿富汗举行可以被视为“自由和公正”选举的忧虑。
U.N. Special Representative in Afghanistan Kai Eide says the same standards applied⁷ to developed Western democracies should not be used to evaluate a "complex" election in an unstable⁸ country with weak institutions.
联合国在阿富汗的特别代表艾德说，适用于发达西方民主国家的标准不应该用来评估在一个不稳定的政府机构薄弱的国家举行的“复杂”选举。
"What we want to see is credible⁹ elections, inclusive elections and the elections where the results are accepted by the Afghan people," said Eide. I think those are important standards that we see as a basis for how to evaluate the election results."
他说：“我们希望看到的是可信的选举，包容性的选举和阿富汗人民可以接受的选举结果。我认为这些都是重要的标准，我们认为应该在此基础上评估选举结果。”
Another concern cited in the report are allegations that government resources, including public media, are being used to aid particular candidates.
报告中指出的另一个令人关注的问题是政府资源，包括公共媒体，正在被用来援助特定候选人。
Afghanistan's 17 million eligible¹⁰ voters go to the polls on August 20.
阿富汗的1700万合格选民8月20日前往投票站。
Incumbent¹¹ President Hamid Karzai faces several-dozen challengers, but experts say he might be able to secure at least 50 percent of the votes, thus avoiding a second round of balloting¹².
现任总统卡尔扎伊面对12名挑战者，但专家们表示，他可能确保至少50%的选票，从而避免第二轮决选。