VOA慢速英语2015--新加坡“国父”李光耀逝世 享年91岁

AS IT IS 2015-03-24 Singapore's Founding Father Lee Kuan Yew¹ Dies at 91 新加坡“国父”李光耀逝世 享年91岁

Former Singapore Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew died early Monday. He was 91 years old.

Mr. Lee was Singapore’s leader from 1959 until 1990. In recent years, he remained a highly influential² person in the city-state, off the coast of Malaysia.

The president of the United States offered his sympathy to the Lee family. President Barack Obama described Lee Kuan Yew as a "visionary" who built "one of the most prosperous countries in the world today."

Mr. Obama said the former leader was "a true giant of history who will be remembered for generations to come as the father of modern Singapore and as one the great strategists of Asian affairs."

Chinese President Xi Jinping praised Mr. Lee as “an old friend of the Chinese people” who “was respected by the international community as a strategist and a statesman.”

Fourth-generation Singaporean

“Harry” Lee Kuan Yew was a fourth generation Singaporean. His ancestors moved there from China’s Guangdong Province in the 1860s.

Mr. Lee was a survivor³ of the Japanese occupation of Singapore during World War II. After the war, he studied economics in London, and received a law degree from Cambridge University.

His political life began in 1954 with the formation of the People’s Action Party, also known as PAP. The group represented a coalition⁴ of middle class parties and trade unionists.

In 1955, Lee Kwan Yew was the opposition⁵ in the legislature. But disagreements within the PAP led to arrests of pro-communist members two years later.

The PAP won elections in 1959, with Mr. Lee becoming Singapore’s first Prime Minister. He held the position until 1990, when he became a senior minister.

Political scientist Carl Thayer is with the University of New South Wales in Australia. He says the appointment of Lee Kwan Yew was important to Singapore’s future.

“The story of modern day Singapore can’t be told without reference to Lee Kuan Yew. He took the country from colonial rule to independence. He fended⁶ off challenges from the socialist⁷ left and then he dominated politics.”

Political challenges

One of Mr. Lee’s early goals was to form a Federation⁸ of Malaysia, bringing together Singapore, Malaya, Sabah and Sarawak. But he had differences with the leader of Peninsular Malaysia, Tunku Abdul Rahman.

Historians say Mr. Lee disagreed with Mr. Abdul Rahman’s support for local Malays over the area’s ethnic⁹ Chinese. The Chinese and Muslims clashed in 1964 and again in 1965. After the unrest, Mr. Abdul Rahman called for the separation of Malaysia from Singapore.

At the age of 42, Lee Kuan Yew became the leader of the city-state. He began working in support of Singapore’s most valuable resource – its people. Foreign investment followed. With economic growth of near 10 percent for many years, Singapore helped define economic development for “Asian Tigers” such as Hong Kong, Taiwan and South Korea.

Modern city-state

Michael Barr is a political scientist at Flinders University in South Australia. He says that as Singapore industrialized, it rose as a modern city-state.

“One of Lee Kuan Yew’s great achievements, I think -- his positive legacies¹⁰ -- is how he recognized and built on Singapore’s natural advantages - and capitalized on them in a way that really is exceptional.”

Singapore became a center for transportation, oil refining and finance. It developed a world famous national airline. It also was the world’s busiest seaport¹¹ until recently when Shanghai was recognized as the busiest.

Michael Barr says Mr. Lee also brought together administrators¹² to shape Singapore’s future.

“He brought serious political leadership and political mass to what was a group of strong-minded and imaginative men and competent administrators. And without his political leadership would not have been able to establish the political hegemony that they have been able to.”

Some critics use the word “authoritarianism” to describe Lee Kuan Yew’s actions and position toward his opponents. The government used the Internal Security Act to detain opposing politicians, activists¹³ and trade unionists.

In 1963, the government arrested 100 people, including Said Zahari, a newspaper editor who was held for 17 years without trial.

In 1987, the government detained 22 Roman Catholic Church officials, social activists and professionals. The government accused them of a “left wing conspiracy¹⁴.” When local and foreign media criticized the action, Lee Kuan Yew brought a case against the media in Singapore’s courts.

“Whoever governs Singapore must have that iron in him or give it up. This is not a game of cards. This is your life and mine," he said. "I’ve spent a whole life in building this and as long as I am in charge nobody’s going to knock it down.”

Singapore remains¹⁵ a country where the government exercises tight controls over free speech. In 2014, Reporters without Borders rated Singapore among the lowest countries in Southeast Asia for press freedoms, behind Myanmar, Cambodia, Thailand and Indonesia. 

Words in This Story

sympathy – n. a sharing of feelings or emotions with another person, usually feelings of sadness

generation – n. a group of individuals born and living about the same time

coalition – n. forces, groups, nations joined together

1 yew   

n.紫杉属树木

参考例句：

• The leaves of yew trees are poisonous to cattle.紫杉树叶会令牛中毒。
• All parts of the yew tree are poisonous,including the berries.紫杉的各个部分都有毒，包括浆果。

2 influential   

adj.有影响的，有权势的

参考例句：

• He always tries to get in with the most influential people.他总是试图巴结最有影响的人物。
• He is a very influential man in the government.他在政府中是个很有影响的人物。

3 survivor   

n.生存者，残存者，幸存者

参考例句：

• The sole survivor of the crash was an infant.这次撞车的惟一幸存者是一个婴儿。
• There was only one survivor of the plane crash.这次飞机失事中只有一名幸存者。

4 coalition   

n.结合体，同盟，结合，联合

参考例句：

• The several parties formed a coalition.这几个政党组成了政治联盟。
• Coalition forces take great care to avoid civilian casualties.联盟军队竭尽全力避免造成平民伤亡。

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 fended   

v.独立生活，照料自己( fend的过去式和过去分词 )；挡开，避开

参考例句：

• He neatly fended off a jab at his chest. 他利落地挡开了当胸的一击。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• I fended off his sword thrust with my spear. 他一刀砍来，我拿枪架住。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

7 socialist   

n.社会主义者；adj.社会主义的

参考例句：

• China is a socialist country,and a developing country as well.中国是一个社会主义国家，也是一个发展中国家。
• His father was an ardent socialist.他父亲是一个热情的社会主义者。

8 federation   

n.同盟，联邦，联合，联盟，联合会

参考例句：

• It is a federation of 10 regional unions.它是由十个地方工会结合成的联合会。
• Mr.Putin was inaugurated as the President of the Russian Federation.普京正式就任俄罗斯联邦总统。

9 ethnic   

adj.人种的，种族的，异教徒的

参考例句：

• This music would sound more ethnic if you played it in steel drums.如果你用钢鼓演奏，这首乐曲将更具民族特色。
• The plan is likely only to aggravate ethnic frictions.这一方案很有可能只会加剧种族冲突。

10 legacies   

n.遗产( legacy的名词复数 )；遗留之物；遗留问题；后遗症

参考例句：

• Books are the legacies that a great genius leaves to mankind. 书是伟大的天才留给人类的精神财富。 来自辞典例句
• General legacies are subject to the same principles as demonstrative legacies. 一般的遗赠要与指定数目的遗赠遵循同样的原则。 来自辞典例句

11 seaport   

n.海港，港口，港市

参考例句：

• Ostend is the most important seaport in Belgium.奥斯坦德是比利时最重要的海港。
• A seaport where ships can take on supplies of coal.轮船能够补充煤炭的海港。

12 administrators   

n.管理者( administrator的名词复数 )；有管理（或行政）才能的人；（由遗嘱检验法庭指定的）遗产管理人；奉派暂管主教教区的牧师

参考例句：

• He had administrators under him but took the crucial decisions himself. 他手下有管理人员，但重要的决策仍由他自己来做。 来自辞典例句
• Administrators have their own methods of social intercourse. 办行政的人有他们的社交方式。 来自汉英文学 - 围城

13 activists   

n.（政治活动的）积极分子，活动家( activist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• His research work was attacked by animal rights activists . 他的研究受到了动物权益维护者的抨击。
• Party activists with lower middle class pedigrees are numerous. 党的激进分子中有很多出身于中产阶级下层。 来自《简明英汉词典》

14 conspiracy   

n.阴谋，密谋，共谋

参考例句：

• The men were found guilty of conspiracy to murder.这些人被裁决犯有阴谋杀人罪。
• He claimed that it was all a conspiracy against him.他声称这一切都是一场针对他的阴谋。

15 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。