在线英语听力室

VOA标准英语2009-Tech-Savvy Protesters Battle Iranian Governm

时间:2009-07-15 07:18:23

搜索关注在线英语听力室公众号:tingroom,领取免费英语资料大礼包。

(单词翻译)

In the days since Iran's contested presidential vote, demonstrators have proved resourceful and adept1 in bypassing a government clampdown on information sharing. Aided by mobile phones and an array of Internet services, technology-savvy Iranians have organized among themselves and communicated with the outside world, sending personalized and unfiltered accounts of events as they unfold in their country. We examine the role technology is playing in Iran's post-election saga2, and how it is affecting the balance of power between some autocratic regimes and the people.
 
Picture of Mousavi supporters in Tehran 17 Jun 2009 posted on photo-sharing site Twitpic by user 'madyar' via AFP.

Iranians have seized the world's attention through gripping, first-hand people-to-people reporting. Surf the Internet, and you will find countless3 uploaded videos depicting4 defiance5, as well as chaos6 and violence on the streets.

At the same time, messages disseminated7 through Web-based services like Twitter and appearing on social networks like Facebook have helped demonstrators coordinate8 activities, warn each other of danger, and keep the world informed on a minute-by-minute basis.

It is precisely9 the global outreach of ordinary Iranians that impresses Virginia-based social media entrepreneur and author Geoff Livingston.

"To see it happen in Iran and to see the global community embrace it and pick up on it and watch it as it happens - we have never seen anything like this before," he said.

With foreign journalists either forced to leave Iran or confined to their hotels, major news organizations have come to rely heavily on Iran's fledgling crop of citizen journalists.

"There are no reliable [official] sources right now in Iran," said VOA Persian News Network television anchor Hamideh Aramideh. "People are the reliable sources. They are not just one, two, three hundred. They are thousands."

Aramideh's Facebook page has added thousands of new Iranian contacts in recent days.

Iran's demographics help explain the country's post-election dynamic, according to Alex Vatanka, Senior Middle East Analyst10 for Jane's Information Group.

"It is a reflection of the youthfulness of the country," he said. "A country of 70 percent being under the age of 30. It is youthful, it is technologically-savvy, it is able to use the latest gadgets12."

But Vatanka adds that the use of technology is not limited to Iranian demonstrators.

"Authorities also can use Facebook and other social networking services as their own as a way of rallying support," he said. "And, they can monitor what is being said in cyberspace13. Monitor who is saying what."

Iran's authorities have limited options when it comes to blocking communication, according to blogger and author Daniel Drezner, who teaches international politics at Tufts University in Massachusetts.

"The obvious option is to try to disrupt the means of communication," he said. "But it is worth recognizing that, even if you shut down Twitter, word-of-mouth still works, just as it did over a century ago."

Drezner says Iran is only the latest country in which technology has facilitated a popular uprising.

"Democratic movements have undoubtedly14 benefited from this," he said. "We have had a whole series of 'color revolutions' where we have seen this kind of thing. That said, there are two caveats15. The first is: it is a dynamic process where you do have governments over time learning how to thwart16 these things. For example, while you had an Orange Revolution in Ukraine, the government in Belarus was very quick to crack down on any possibility of a social movement. The second [caveat] is that sometimes things happen through these technologies that would have happened anyway. It is simply that we would not have observed them otherwise."

Geoff Livingston says authoritarian17 governments stifle18 their citizen's ability to communicate at their own peril19.

"That really puts them in a dangerous spot, because in order to prevent this [information sharing] from happening, they have to stunt20 their own technological11 development," he said. "Which means they have to stunt their own economic development and their own welfare. Do you become North Korea - walled off from the world with no technology? Or do you embrace this and start moving towards democracy?"

Web-based services have taken special measures in response to developments in Iran. Twitter delayed scheduled maintenance that would have disrupted the service. YouTube is relaxing restrictions21 to allow videos from Iran that contain scenes of violence, saying the images are "important" for the world to see.


分享到:


点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 adept EJIyO     
adj.老练的,精通的
参考例句:
  • When it comes to photography,I'm not an adept.要说照相,我不是内行。
  • He was highly adept at avoiding trouble.他十分善于避开麻烦。
2 saga aCez4     
n.(尤指中世纪北欧海盗的)故事,英雄传奇
参考例句:
  • The saga of Flight 19 is probably the most repeated story about the Bermuda Triangle.飞行19中队的传说或许是有关百慕大三角最重复的故事。
  • The novel depicts the saga of a family.小说描绘了一个家族的传奇故事。
3 countless 7vqz9L     
adj.无数的,多得不计其数的
参考例句:
  • In the war countless innocent people lost their lives.在这场战争中无数无辜的人丧失了性命。
  • I've told you countless times.我已经告诉你无数遍了。
4 depicting eaa7ce0ad4790aefd480461532dd76e4     
描绘,描画( depict的现在分词 ); 描述
参考例句:
  • a painting depicting the Virgin and Child 一幅描绘童贞马利亚和圣子耶稣的画
  • The movie depicting the battles and bloodshed is bound to strike home. 这部描写战斗和流血牺牲的影片一定会取得预期效果。
5 defiance RmSzx     
n.挑战,挑衅,蔑视,违抗
参考例句:
  • He climbed the ladder in defiance of the warning.他无视警告爬上了那架梯子。
  • He slammed the door in a spirit of defiance.他以挑衅性的态度把门砰地一下关上。
6 chaos 7bZyz     
n.混乱,无秩序
参考例句:
  • After the failure of electricity supply the city was in chaos.停电后,城市一片混乱。
  • The typhoon left chaos behind it.台风后一片混乱。
7 disseminated c76621f548f3088ff302305f50de1f16     
散布,传播( disseminate的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句:
  • Their findings have been widely disseminated . 他们的研究成果已经广为传播。
  • Berkovitz had contracted polio after ingesting a vaccine disseminated under federal supervision. 伯考维茨在接种了在联邦监督下分发的牛痘疫苗后传染上脊髓灰质炎。
8 coordinate oohzt     
adj.同等的,协调的;n.同等者;vt.协作,协调
参考例句:
  • You must coordinate what you said with what you did.你必须使你的言行一致。
  • Maybe we can coordinate the relation of them.或许我们可以调和他们之间的关系。
9 precisely zlWzUb     
adv.恰好,正好,精确地,细致地
参考例句:
  • It's precisely that sort of slick sales-talk that I mistrust.我不相信的正是那种油腔滑调的推销宣传。
  • The man adjusted very precisely.那个人调得很准。
10 analyst gw7zn     
n.分析家,化验员;心理分析学家
参考例句:
  • What can you contribute to the position of a market analyst?你有什么技能可有助于市场分析员的职务?
  • The analyst is required to interpolate values between standards.分析人员需要在这些标准中插入一些值。
11 technological gqiwY     
adj.技术的;工艺的
参考例句:
  • A successful company must keep up with the pace of technological change.一家成功的公司必须得跟上技术变革的步伐。
  • Today,the pace of life is increasing with technological advancements.当今, 随着科技进步,生活节奏不断增快。
12 gadgets 7239f3f3f78d7b7d8bbb906e62f300b4     
n.小机械,小器具( gadget的名词复数 )
参考例句:
  • Certainly. The idea is not to have a house full of gadgets. 当然。设想是房屋不再充满小配件。 来自超越目标英语 第4册
  • This meant more gadgets and more experiments. 这意味着要设计出更多的装置,做更多的实验。 来自英汉非文学 - 科学史
13 cyberspace YvfzLi     
n.虚拟信息空间,网络空间,计算机化世界
参考例句:
  • She travels in cyberspace by sending messages to friends around the world.她利用电子空间给世界各地的朋友们发送信件。
  • The teens spend more time in cyberspace than in the real world of friends and family.青少年花费在电脑上的时间比他们和真正的朋友及家人在一起的时间要多。
14 undoubtedly Mfjz6l     
adv.确实地,无疑地
参考例句:
  • It is undoubtedly she who has said that.这话明明是她说的。
  • He is undoubtedly the pride of China.毫无疑问他是中国的骄傲。
15 caveats 48df864755bcc93c76f4c52b05b18aeb     
警告
参考例句:
  • I would offer a caveat for those who want to join me in the dual calling. 为防止发生误解,我想对那些想要步我后尘的人提出警告。 来自辞典例句
  • As I have written before, that's quite a caveat. 正如我以前所写,那确实是个警告。 来自互联网
16 thwart wIRzZ     
v.阻挠,妨碍,反对;adj.横(断的)
参考例句:
  • We must thwart his malevolent schemes.我们决不能让他的恶毒阴谋得逞。
  • I don't think that will thwart our purposes.我认为那不会使我们的目的受到挫折。
17 authoritarian Kulzq     
n./adj.专制(的),专制主义者,独裁主义者
参考例句:
  • Foreign diplomats suspect him of authoritarian tendencies.各国外交官怀疑他有着独裁主义倾向。
  • The authoritarian policy wasn't proved to be a success.独裁主义的政策证明并不成功。
18 stifle cF4y5     
vt.使窒息;闷死;扼杀;抑止,阻止
参考例句:
  • She tried hard to stifle her laughter.她强忍住笑。
  • It was an uninteresting conversation and I had to stifle a yawn.那是一次枯燥无味的交谈,我不得不强忍住自己的呵欠。
19 peril l3Dz6     
n.(严重的)危险;危险的事物
参考例句:
  • The refugees were in peril of death from hunger.难民有饿死的危险。
  • The embankment is in great peril.河堤岌岌可危。
20 stunt otxwC     
n.惊人表演,绝技,特技;vt.阻碍...发育,妨碍...生长
参考例句:
  • Lack of the right food may stunt growth.缺乏适当的食物会阻碍发育。
  • Right up there is where the big stunt is taking place.那边将会有惊人的表演。
21 restrictions 81e12dac658cfd4c590486dd6f7523cf     
约束( restriction的名词复数 ); 管制; 制约因素; 带限制性的条件(或规则)
参考例句:
  • I found the restrictions irksome. 我对那些限制感到很烦。
  • a snaggle of restrictions 杂乱无章的种种限制

本文本内容来源于互联网抓取和网友提交,仅供参考,部分栏目没有内容,如果您有更合适的内容,欢迎 点击提交 分享给大家。