VOA慢速英语2011-Mubarak Moves to Replace Government After

Egypt is a nation of eighty million people -- the largest in the Arab world. Hosni Mubarak came to power in nineteen eighty-one.

The president said early Saturday that he had asked his government to resign and would quickly appoint a new cabinet. Mr. Mubarak promised political and economic reforms and said days of protests were a plot to weaken Egypt.

The protests led by young people became more violent Friday. Military vehicles moved into Cairo and other cities.

A spokesman for President Obama urged the Egyptian government and protesters to show "strong restraint." He said the United States would be "reviewing" its assistance program to Egypt.

Protesters have used social media sites like Facebook and Twitter to organize. But Egypt's four main Internet providers all stopped service early Friday. Telecom company Vodafone said the government also ordered all mobile phone operators to suspend service in parts of the country.

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton urged the Egyptian government to end what she called "the unprecedented¹ steps it has taken to cut off communications." She also called for economic, political and social reforms.

A protester watches as an Egyptian army vehicle burns in downtown Cairo on Friday

HILLARY RODHAM CLINTON: "We want to partner with the Egyptian people and their government to realize their aspirations² to live in a democratic society that respects basic human rights. When I was recently in the region I met with a wide range of civil society groups, and I heard from them about ideas they have that would improve their countries. The people of the Middle East, like people everywhere, are seeking a chance to contribute and to have a role in the decisions that will shape their lives."

On Friday, Egyptian police briefly³ detained former diplomat⁴ Mohamed ElBaradei. Mister ElBaradei has said he is willing to lead an opposition⁵ movement.

Egypt's largest opposition group, the Muslim Brotherhood⁶, has said it will join the protests.

But not all the people in the streets were demanding the removal of Mr. Mubarak.

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"The average Egyptian is suffering from low wages," says this man in Cairo. "All we want is a solution to this."

On Thursday, President Obama discussed the situation during an appearance on YouTube. He said President Mubarak has been an American ally on important issues. But he also said the need for political reform in Egypt has long been evident.

BARACK OBAMA: "I’ve always said to him that making sure that they are moving forward on reform, political reform, economic reform, is absolutely critical to the long-term well being of Egypt. And you can see these pent-up frustrations⁷ that are being displayed on the streets."

Stephen Cook, a Middle East expert for the Council on Foreign Relations, returned to Washington from Cairo late Thursday.

President Hosni Mubarak during a broadcast in which he said he had asked his cabinet to resign

STEPHEN COOK: "There have been demonstrations⁸ going on in Egypt regularly throughout the last five or six years."

But he says demonstrations held Tuesday on the Egyptian holiday of Police Day gained strength because of the revolution in Tunisia.

STEPHEN COOK: "And the Tunisian situation only gave those protests momentum⁹ and a sense among the protesters that there was a real possibility that an Arab leader can be dislodged from office by people power."

Tunisian President Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali fled to Saudi Arabia on January fourteenth.

Other Arab countries facing protests include Jordan and Yemen, where President Abdullah Saleh has held power for more than thirty years.

And that's IN THE NEWS in VOA Special English. For more news, go to voaspecialenglish.com. I'm Steve Ember.

1 unprecedented   

adj.无前例的，新奇的

参考例句：

• The air crash caused an unprecedented number of deaths.这次空难的死亡人数是空前的。
• A flood of this sort is really unprecedented.这样大的洪水真是十年九不遇。

2 aspirations   

强烈的愿望( aspiration的名词复数 )； 志向； 发送气音； 发 h 音

参考例句：

• I didn't realize you had political aspirations. 我没有意识到你有政治上的抱负。
• The new treaty embodies the aspirations of most nonaligned countries. 新条约体现了大多数不结盟国家的愿望。

3 briefly   

adv.简单地，简短地

参考例句：

• I want to touch briefly on another aspect of the problem.我想简单地谈一下这个问题的另一方面。
• He was kidnapped and briefly detained by a terrorist group.他被一个恐怖组织绑架并短暂拘禁。

4 diplomat   

n.外交官，外交家；能交际的人，圆滑的人

参考例句：

• The diplomat threw in a joke, and the tension was instantly relieved.那位外交官插进一个笑话，紧张的气氛顿时缓和下来。
• He served as a diplomat in Russia before the war.战前他在俄罗斯当外交官。

5 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。

6 brotherhood   

n.兄弟般的关系，手中情谊

参考例句：

• They broke up the brotherhood.他们断绝了兄弟关系。
• They live and work together in complete equality and brotherhood.他们完全平等和兄弟般地在一起生活和工作。

7 frustrations   

挫折( frustration的名词复数 )； 失败； 挫败； 失意

参考例句：

• The temptation would grow to take out our frustrations on Saigon. 由于我们遭到挫折而要同西贡算帐的引诱力会增加。
• Aspirations will be raised, but so will frustrations. 人们会产生种种憧憬，但是种种挫折也会随之而来。

8 demonstrations   

证明( demonstration的名词复数 )； 表明； 表达； 游行示威

参考例句：

• Lectures will be interspersed with practical demonstrations. 讲课中将不时插入实际示范。
• The new military government has banned strikes and demonstrations. 新的军人政府禁止罢工和示威活动。

9 momentum   

n.动力，冲力，势头；动量

参考例句：

• We exploit the energy and momentum conservation laws in this way.我们就是这样利用能量和动量守恒定律的。
• The law of momentum conservation could supplant Newton's third law.动量守恒定律可以取代牛顿第三定律。