VOA慢速英语2013 Reformer Wins Surprise Victory in Iranian Presidential Election

 

Reformer Wins Surprise Victory in Iranian Presidential Election

From VOA Learning English, this is In the News.

Last week, voters in Iran elected 64-year-old Shi’ite clergyman Hassan Rowhani president. The reform candidate had criticized Iran’s current president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, and repression¹ of civil society. Days before the vote, Mr. Rowhani promised Iranians he would bring major changes.

President-elect Hassan Rowhani had not been considered likely to win. But, Iranians gave him more than 51 percent of the vote. He described the election as a “victory of moderation over extremism.”  

He promised to undo² all of the locks that he said had been placed on the Iranian people in the past eight years.

Western diplomats³ have praised the new president for his diplomatic skills when he served as Iran’s chief nuclear negotiator. Mr. Rowhani resigned that position after the election of President Ahmadinejad. Negotiations⁴ over the country’s disputed nuclear program did not progress during Mr. Ahmadinejad’s presidency⁵.

Iran says it has an undisputed right to nuclear development. It says its nuclear enrichment activities are for its own medical and energy uses. Israel, the United States and some other western nations suspect that Iran is attempting to build nuclear weapons.

Mr. Rowhani began his campaign as one of eight men approved to run for president by the religious and legal experts of Iran’s Guardian⁶ Council. The Council blocked more than 600 other candidates. All the women candidates were blocked, as was former president Ayatollah Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani.

When two of the eight approved candidates withdrew, Mr. Rowhani  became the only reform candidate.

During the campaign, Mr. Rowhani spoke⁷ of Iran’s separation from the rest of the world and the economic effects of the nuclear dispute. Western restrictions⁸ that limit Iran’s oil exports have severely⁹ reduced Iran’s foreign income.  The official inflation rate is 30 percent and increasing yearly. Many young people in Iran are unemployed¹⁰.

Mr. Rowhani also spoke to voters of the need to free political prisoners and guarantee civil rights. He had been very critical of government attacks against peaceful demonstrations¹¹ that followed the disputed presidential elections in 2009. Iranians marched for days to protest what they believed to be a dishonest vote count. 

News reports said Iranians seemed uninterested in this presidential election until reform leaders from the 2009 elections declared support for Mr. Rowhani. Statements from former president Mohammad Khatami and former president Rafsanjani pushed Mr. Rowhani to a strong lead.

Although his campaign statements were critical of current conditions, President-elect Rowhani has been part of the country’s leadership since 1979. At that time, a revolution created the Islamic Republic of Iran.

Mr. Rowhani is to be sworn in on August 3. Iranians hoping for reforms are waiting to see who the new president will include in his cabinet.

And that’s In the News, written by Onka Dekker. I’m Faith Lapidus.

1 repression   

n.镇压，抑制，抑压

参考例句：

• The repression of your true feelings is harmful to your health.压抑你的真实感情有害健康。
• This touched off a new storm against violent repression.这引起了反对暴力镇压的新风暴。

2 undo   

vt.解开，松开；取消，撤销

参考例句：

• His pride will undo him some day.他的傲慢总有一天会毁了他。
• I managed secretly to undo a corner of the parcel.我悄悄地设法解开了包裹的一角。

3 diplomats   

n.外交官( diplomat的名词复数 )；有手腕的人，善于交际的人

参考例句：

• These events led to the expulsion of senior diplomats from the country. 这些事件导致一些高级外交官被驱逐出境。
• The court has no jurisdiction over foreign diplomats living in this country. 法院对驻本国的外交官无裁判权。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 negotiations   

协商( negotiation的名词复数 )； 谈判； 完成（难事）； 通过

参考例句：

• negotiations for a durable peace 为持久和平而进行的谈判
• Negotiations have failed to establish any middle ground. 谈判未能达成任何妥协。

5 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。

6 guardian   

n.监护人；守卫者，保护者

参考例句：

• The form must be signed by the child's parents or guardian. 这张表格须由孩子的家长或监护人签字。
• The press is a guardian of the public weal. 报刊是公共福利的卫护者。

7 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

8 restrictions   

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

9 severely   

adv.严格地；严厉地；非常恶劣地

参考例句：

• He was severely criticized and removed from his post.他受到了严厉的批评并且被撤了职。
• He is severely put down for his careless work.他因工作上的粗心大意而受到了严厉的批评。

10 unemployed   

adj.失业的，没有工作的；未动用的，闲置的

参考例句：

• There are now over four million unemployed workers in this country.这个国家现有四百万失业人员。
• The unemployed hunger for jobs.失业者渴望得到工作。

11 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。