英语听力精选进阶版 14117

Philippines vote machines fail

Summary

12 May 2010

Early results from the Philippines' presidential election show that Benigno Aquino, known as Noy Noy, has a big lead. But officials are assessing the impact of problems with the voting machines which were used for the first time.

Reporter:

Kate McGeown

Report

Tens of thousands of people in the Philippines have had to wait for hours in the hot sun to cast their votes due to problems with the new automated¹ voting system.

Critics had warned of problems in the days before the polls when tests revealed a glitch² in the memory cards. Votes for one candidate were being incorrectly registered as votes for someone else.

Nothing this serious has been discovered yet on polling day but several machines have jammed and even the main presidential front runner Noy Noy Aquino had difficulties. The machine he was about to use broke down before he could cast his ballot³.

The main concern is that problems with the voting could lead to problems on the ground. Elections in the Philippines are often marred⁴ by unrest and there have been several fatal shooting incidents already since the polls opened.

Kate McGeown, BBC News

1 automated   

a.自动化的

参考例句：

• The entire manufacturing process has been automated. 整个生产过程已自动化。
• Automated Highway System (AHS) is recently regarded as one subsystem of Intelligent Transport System (ITS). 近年来自动公路系统(Automated Highway System,AHS)，作为智能运输系统的子系统之一越来越受到重视。

2 glitch   

n.干扰；误操作，小故障

参考例句：

• There is a glitch in the computer program somewhere.这个计算机程序中的某个部分有点小问题。
• It could just be a random glitch that can be solved by restarting the machine.可能只是一个小故障，重新启动主机就能解决了。

3 ballot   

n.（不记名）投票，投票总数，投票权；vi.投票

参考例句：

• The members have demanded a ballot.会员们要求投票表决。
• The union said they will ballot members on whether to strike.工会称他们将要求会员投票表决是否罢工。

4 marred   

adj. 被损毁, 污损的

参考例句：

• The game was marred by the behaviour of drunken fans. 喝醉了的球迷行为不轨，把比赛给搅了。
• Bad diction marred the effectiveness of his speech. 措词不当影响了他演说的效果。