喜剧演员以压倒性优势当选乌克兰总统

Comedian¹ Elected President of Ukraine in Landslide²

World leaders congratulated comedian Volodymyr Zelenskiy Monday on being elected president of Ukraine.

The country’s Central Election Commission reported that Zelenskiy received 73 percent of the vote, with nearly all ballots³ counted. Incumbent⁴ President Petro Poroshenko received 24 percent.

Zelenskiy had no political experience before running for president. He is best known for playing the president in a Ukrainian comedy show. The show, called “Servant of the People,” is about a Ukrainian high school teacher who becomes president by chance.

One of Zelenskiy’s campaign messages centered on his desire to unify⁵ the country. Ukraine has been divided over repeated debates about national identity. The country is also at war with rebels in the east. The rebels receive support from Russia’s government.

Election experts said Zelenskiy appeared to have won in both western and eastern areas, a rare happening in post-Soviet Ukraine.

Poroshenko had appealed to voters to choose him so he could continue on a path to bring Ukraine closer to the West. He had also campaigned on a promise to fight government corruption⁶.

Election monitors from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) were in Ukraine for the voting. The group said the election respected “fundamental freedoms” and prepared the way for a “democratic and orderly” change of power.

Declaring victory Sunday night, Zelenskiy told supporters he would not let the Ukrainian people down. “As a citizen of Ukraine, I can say to all countries in the post-Soviet Union: Look at us. Anything is possible.”

Zelenskiy has promised to reduce corruption, which many Ukrainians see as the reason for rising prices and worsening living conditions. Zelenskiy said he also plans to continue the pro-European path that Poroshenko began, and will aim to improve his country’s ties with Russia.

A spokesman for Russian President Vladimir Putin, Dmitry Peskov, said on Monday it was "too early to talk about (Putin) congratulating Mr Zelenskiy, or about the possibility of working together." Peskov added that Russia “respects the choice of the Ukrainian people” and will wait for steps by Zelenskiy before making judgments⁷.

U.S. President Donald Trump⁸ and French leader Emmanuel Macron called to congratulate Zelenskiy on his win. German Chancellor⁹ Angela Merkel also pledged her support.

In a joint¹⁰ letter to Zelenskiy, EU Council President Donald Tusk¹¹ and European Commission head Jean-Claude Juncker praised Ukrainians for their "strong attachment¹² to democracy and the rule of law."

I’m Bryan Lynn.

Words in This Story

comedian – n. a person who performs in front of an audience and makes people laugh by telling jokes or funny stories or by acting¹³ in a way that is funny

incumbent – n. a person who holds a particular office or position

fundamental – adj. relating to the most important or main part of something

1 comedian   

n.喜剧演员；滑稽演员

参考例句：

• The comedian tickled the crowd with his jokes.喜剧演员的笑话把人们逗乐了。
• The comedian enjoyed great popularity during the 30's.那位喜剧演员在三十年代非常走红。

2 landslide   

n.(竞选中)压倒多数的选票；一面倒的胜利

参考例句：

• Our candidate is predicated to win by a landslide.我们的候选人被预言将以绝对优势取胜。
• An electoral landslide put the Labour Party into power in 1945.1945年工党以压倒多数的胜利当选执政。

3 ballots   

n.投票表决( ballot的名词复数 )；选举；选票；投票总数v.（使）投票表决( ballot的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• They're counting the ballots. 他们正在计算选票。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The news of rigged ballots has rubbed off much of the shine of their election victory. 他们操纵选票的消息使他们在选举中获得的胜利大为减色。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 incumbent   

adj.成为责任的，有义务的；现任的，在职的

参考例句：

• He defeated the incumbent governor by a large plurality.他以压倒多数票击败了现任州长。
• It is incumbent upon you to warn them.你有责任警告他们。

5 unify   

vt.使联合，统一；使相同，使一致

参考例句：

• How can we unify such scattered islands into a nation?我们怎么才能把如此分散的岛屿统一成一个国家呢？
• It is difficult to imagine how the North and South could ever agree on a formula to unify the divided peninsula.很难想象南北双方在统一半岛的方案上究竟怎样才能达成一致。

6 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。

7 judgments   

判断( judgment的名词复数 )； 鉴定； 评价； 审判

参考例句：

• A peculiar austerity marked his judgments of modern life. 他对现代生活的批评带着一种特殊的苛刻。
• He is swift with his judgments. 他判断迅速。

8 trump   

n.王牌，法宝；v.打出王牌，吹喇叭

参考例句：

• He was never able to trump up the courage to have a showdown.他始终鼓不起勇气摊牌。
• The coach saved his star player for a trump card.教练保留他的明星选手，作为他的王牌。

9 chancellor   

n.(英)大臣；法官；(德、奥)总理；大学校长

参考例句：

• They submitted their reports to the Chancellor yesterday.他们昨天向财政大臣递交了报告。
• He was regarded as the most successful Chancellor of modern times.他被认为是现代最成功的财政大臣。

10 joint   

adj.联合的，共同的；n.关节，接合处；v.连接，贴合

参考例句：

• I had a bad fall,which put my shoulder out of joint.我重重地摔了一跤，肩膀脫臼了。
• We wrote a letter in joint names.我们联名写了封信。

11 tusk   

n.獠牙，长牙，象牙

参考例句：

• The wild boar had its tusk sunk deeply into a tree and howled desperately.野猪的獠牙陷在了树里，绝望地嗥叫着。
• A huge tusk decorated the wall of his study.他书房的墙上装饰着一支巨大的象牙。

12 attachment   

n.附属物，附件；依恋；依附

参考例句：

• She has a great attachment to her sister.她十分依恋她的姐姐。
• She's on attachment to the Ministry of Defense.她现在隶属于国防部。

13 acting   

n.演戏，行为，假装；adj.代理的，临时的，演出用的

参考例句：

• Ignore her,she's just acting.别理她，她只是假装的。
• During the seventies,her acting career was in eclipse.在七十年代，她的表演生涯黯然失色。