VOA慢速英语2013 AS IT IS 2014-02-14 Supporters Call on Britain to Return Jailed Governor to Nigeria 支持者呼吁英国释放James Ibori返回尼日利亚

 

AS IT IS 2014-02-14 Supporters Call on Britain to Return Jailed Governor to Nigeria 支持者呼吁英国释放James Ibori返回尼日利亚

Welcome back to the program. I’m Caty Weaver¹.

In January, Britain and Nigeria signed a prisoner exchange agreement.  Now, Nigerians are questioning what will happen with a well-known Nigerian politician currently in a British jail. If the former Delta² state governor returns to Nigeria will he be loved or hated? Will he be jailed or freed?

Then we talk about the growing popularity of games of Chance among Liberian youth.  Some say the activity could be damaging to the country.

James Ibori: Hero or Criminal in Nigeria?

Britain is preparing to send some Nigerians jailed in the country back to Nigeria. British officials say any Nigerian serving a sentence of more than 12 months will be sent home, if both governments agree to the prisoner exchange.

One of the prisoners could be James Ibori, a popular former governor.  He is serving 13 years for corruption⁴.  Unlike other prisoners, Ibori may be treated like a hero if he comes home. 

Two years ago, a court in London sentenced James Ibori to 13 years in a British prison.  He was earlier accused of stealing $250 million in public money from the Nigerian government.  Before that, he was accused two times of corruption in Nigeria.  But he was never found guilty of any crime.

Ibori supporters say the accusations⁵ and the British court ruling were moves by politicians seeking to crush Ibori’s support.  They say they would welcome him home. 

Davidson Okparamidevi worked on Ibori’s two successful campaigns for governor.  He says Ibori’s popularity in Delta State is indisputable.

“Ibori became so popular because of his clear-cut achievements that have impacted positively⁶ on the lives of the entire Deltans. The list of his achievements as impacted on the people is inexhaustible.”

He says Ibori built roads, bridges and hospitals.  He says President Goodluck Jonathan would do well to get Ibori back home and pardon him.  The president is expected to seek re-election in 2015.

In recent months, Mr. Jonathan’s ruling People’s Democratic Party has lost several top officials, including five state governors.  Rebellion in the north and poverty around the nation has also damaged the president’s popularity.

Again Davidson Okparamidevi.

“So if Ibori shows up it will be a boost.  A real boost to Goodluck Jonathan to office.”  

But other Nigerians are not so sure.  Onyiye Gandhi is a lawyer in the oil-rich but poor city of Warri in Delta state.  He says that Ibori used money from oil to pay back his followers⁷ and buy loyalty⁸.

“Giving him freedom would indict⁹ Jonathan and confirm the allegations, very widespread now among Nigerians, that his government is massively corrupt³, and pampers¹⁰ corruption.”

The British-Nigerian prisoner exchange was announced in early January.  Under the proposal, hundreds of Nigerians in British prisons could be sent home, as well as one British citizen in Nigeria.

Amnesty International says it is “extremely concerned” that poor conditions in Nigerian prisons could make the exchange inhumane. 

Observers in Nigeria say if James Ibori is sent home but not freed, there is no way he will serve the rest of his sentence in a dirty jail cell. 

You are listening to As It Is from VOA Learning English.

Betting for a Living in Liberia

 

Several sports betting companies have set up operations in Liberia.  Young people who are unemployed¹¹ gather at these betting parlors¹³ in hopes of winning money on things like televised football matches.  Some say betting can provide the money they need -- just like having a good-paying job.  But others are not so sure these games of chance are a good idea. Christopher Cruise has the story.

At a betting parlor¹² in Monrovia, a group of young men place their bets on a football match.  Then they wait for the results on television. 

Harris Kokeh is 37 years old.  He completed a college degree program, but could not find a job.  He says he started betting and is making a living from it.

“I’ve really been living by it.  It has been helping¹⁴ me a lot.  The last time I won about 700 United States dollars.  It was a great help to me.”

But not everyone is sure betting is a good thing.  Harrison Myers is about the same age as Harris Kokeh.  He says students are playing games of chance instead of going to school.

“This gambling¹⁵ thing is bad for our society. Our youth are not going to school any longer. They spend the entire day at the gambling center.”

Back at the betting parlor, Theo Varney says he does not have much choice.  He is out of work, and has two children.

“We have no much facility to take care of our affairs, so what do you expect? We are not betting because we want to bet. We are betting because we want to make our living.”

Randall Kaybee works for a betting company named Winner’s Incorporated.  He says the business employs young people across the country, creating hundreds of jobs.

He also says betting companies are changing people’s lives for just a few Liberian dollars per bet. 

“As you just enter my office, as you can see from this evidence. This is a ticket. Somebody bet 50 LD (Liberian dollars) and winning 233,275 Liberian dollars.”

One American dollar is worth about 86 Liberian dollars.

Winner’s Incorporated says more than 7,000 Liberians bet each week at its parlors around the country.  And there are 300 to 400 weekly winners.

The Liberian government controls all legal betting in the country.  Liberian officials say the betting shops “help promote government poverty reduction strategy.” 

I’m Christopher Cruise.

And that’s As It Is for today.  I’m Caty Weaver.

1 weaver   

n.织布工；编织者

参考例句：

• She was a fast weaver and the cloth was very good.她织布织得很快，而且布的质量很好。
• The eager weaver did not notice my confusion.热心的纺织工人没有注意到我的狼狈相。

2 delta   

n.（流的）角洲

参考例句：

• He has been to the delta of the Nile.他曾去过尼罗河三角洲。
• The Nile divides at its mouth and forms a delta.尼罗河在河口分岔，形成了一个三角洲。

3 corrupt   

v.贿赂，收买；adj.腐败的，贪污的

参考例句：

• The newspaper alleged the mayor's corrupt practices.那家报纸断言市长有舞弊行为。
• This judge is corrupt.这个法官贪污。

4 corruption   

n.腐败，堕落，贪污

参考例句：

• The people asked the government to hit out against corruption and theft.人民要求政府严惩贪污盗窃。
• The old man reviled against corruption.那老人痛斥了贪污舞弊。

5 accusations   

n.指责( accusation的名词复数 )；指控；控告；（被告发、控告的）罪名

参考例句：

• There were accusations of plagiarism. 曾有过关于剽窃的指控。
• He remained unruffled by their accusations. 对于他们的指控他处之泰然。

6 positively   

adv.明确地，断然，坚决地；实在，确实

参考例句：

• She was positively glowing with happiness.她满脸幸福。
• The weather was positively poisonous.这天气着实讨厌。

7 followers   

追随者( follower的名词复数 )； 用户； 契据的附面； 从动件

参考例句：

• the followers of Mahatma Gandhi 圣雄甘地的拥护者
• The reformer soon gathered a band of followers round him. 改革者很快就获得一群追随者支持他。

8 loyalty   

n.忠诚，忠心

参考例句：

• She told him the truth from a sense of loyalty.她告诉他真相是出于忠诚。
• His loyalty to his friends was never in doubt.他对朋友的一片忠心从来没受到怀疑。

9 indict   

v.起诉，控告，指控

参考例句：

• You can't indict whole people for the crudeness of a few.您不能因少数人的粗暴行为就控诉整个民族。
• I can indict you for abducting high school student.我可以告你诱拐中学生。

10 pampers   

v.纵容，宠，娇养( pamper的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• The biggest is Pampers nappies, which collected more than $7 billion last year. 最大的是帮宝适(Pampers)纸尿裤，去年收获超过70亿美元。 来自互联网
• She pampers her own spoiled children and brings Jane up as little better than a servant. 她对她那些被宠坏了的孩子娇生惯养，但对简则有如对待佣仆。 来自辞典例句

11 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。

12 parlor   

n.店铺，营业室；会客室，客厅

参考例句：

• She was lying on a small settee in the parlor.她躺在客厅的一张小长椅上。
• Is there a pizza parlor in the neighborhood?附近有没有比萨店？

13 parlors   

客厅( parlor的名词复数 )； 起居室； （旅馆中的）休息室； （通常用来构成合成词）店

参考例句：

• It had been a firm specializing in funeral parlors and parking lots. 它曾经是一个专门经营殡仪馆和停车场的公司。
• I walked, my eyes focused into the endless succession of barbershops, beauty parlors, confectioneries. 我走着，眼睛注视着那看不到头的、鳞次栉比的理发店、美容院、糖果店。

14 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

15 gambling   

n.赌博；投机

参考例句：

• They have won a lot of money through gambling.他们赌博赢了很多钱。
• The men have been gambling away all night.那些人赌了整整一夜。