津巴布韦土地改革问题写上联邦议程

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Zimbabwe's Land Reform on Commonwealth¹'s Agenda

Ivan Watson

Abuja

6 Sep 2001 01:57 UTC

 

Foreign ministers from Britain, Zimbabwe and six other British Commonwealth countries arrived in the Nigerian capital of Abuja late Wednesday night to discuss Zimbabwe's 1)controversial land reform program.

One day before talks with Commonwealth ministers, Zimbabwe's government has agreed to buy some of the land it has been 2)seizing from white farmers. The government has accepted a three-month old offer from a 3)union of mostly white farmers to sell farmland that was already due to be confiscated². But the government in Harare says it wants Britain to help foot the bill.

The decision comes as a 4)delegation³ led by Zimbabwe's foreign minister is preparing to discuss the country's controversial land reform program with British counterparts in the Nigerian capital. The policy has attracted widespread international 5)condemnation⁴ as well as anger from Britain, Zimbabwe's former 6)colonial master.

For more than a year, Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe has encouraged groups of veterans to 7)forcibly occupy more than 1,000 white-owned farms. Mr. Mugabe says the fast-track redistribution of farm land to Zimbabwe's black population will destroy a 8)relic of 9)racist British colonialism. But the land seizures⁵, in addition to a government record of 10)persecution of journalists and opposition⁶ political leaders, have led to calls for 11)sanctions against the southern African country.

On Tuesday, the European Parliament passed a 12)resolution blaming Mr. Mugabe for "deterioration⁷ of law and order" in Zimbabwe. Parliament members called for Zimbabwe's suspension from the British Commonwealth, as well as a European Union travel ban against Mr. Mugabe and his family.

Commonwealth Secretary-General Don McKinnon has pressed for a much softer position of engagement.

Zimbabwe's foreign minister is to meet a British delegation, led by Foreign Secretary Jack⁸ Straw. Officials from Australia, Canada, India, Kenya and Nigeria will also be in attendance.

 

 

(1)      controversial[kRntrE5v:F(E)l]adj.争论的, 争议的

(2)      seizing[`si:zIN]n.抓, 夺, 捆绑, 扣押

(3)      union[5ju:njEn]n.联合, 合并, 结合, 联盟, 协会

(4)      delegation[delI5^eIF(E)n]n.代表团, 授权, 委托

(5)      condemnation n.谴责, 指责, 定罪

(6)      colonial[kE5lEJnIEl]adj.殖民的, 殖民地的 n.殖民地居民

(7)      forcibly[5fC:sEbElI]adv.强制地, 用力, 硬

(8)      relic[5relIk]n.遗物, 遗迹, 废墟, 纪念物

(9)      racist[ `reIsIst ]n.种族主义者

(10)      persecution[p:sI5kju:F(E)n]n.迫害, 烦扰

(11)      sanction[5sANkF(E)n]n. v.支持, 制裁, 认可

(12)      resolution[rezE5lu:F(E)n]n.坚定, 决定, 决议

 

 

 

1 commonwealth   

n.共和国，联邦，共同体

参考例句：

• He is the chairman of the commonwealth of artists.他是艺术家协会的主席。
• Most of the members of the Commonwealth are nonwhite.英联邦的许多成员国不是白人国家。

2 confiscated   

没收，充公( confiscate的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Their land was confiscated after the war. 他们的土地在战后被没收。
• The customs officer confiscated the smuggled goods. 海关官员没收了走私品。

3 delegation   

n.代表团；派遣

参考例句：

• The statement of our delegation was singularly appropriate to the occasion.我们代表团的声明非常适合时宜。
• We shall inform you of the date of the delegation's arrival.我们将把代表团到达的日期通知你。

4 condemnation   

n.谴责; 定罪

参考例句：

• There was widespread condemnation of the invasion. 那次侵略遭到了人们普遍的谴责。
• The jury's condemnation was a shock to the suspect. 陪审团宣告有罪使嫌疑犯大为震惊。

5 seizures   

n.起获( seizure的名词复数 )；没收；充公；起获的赃物

参考例句：

• Seizures of illicit drugs have increased by 30% this year. 今年违禁药品的扣押增长了30%。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Other causes of unconsciousness predisposing to aspiration lung abscess are convulsive seizures. 造成吸入性肺脓肿昏迷的其他原因，有惊厥发作。 来自辞典例句

6 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。

7 deterioration   

n.退化；恶化；变坏

参考例句：

• Mental and physical deterioration both occur naturally with age. 随着年龄的增长，心智和体力自然衰退。
• The car's bodywork was already showing signs of deterioration. 这辆车的车身已经显示出了劣化迹象。

8 jack   

n.插座，千斤顶，男人；v.抬起，提醒，扛举；n.（Jake）杰克

参考例句：

• I am looking for the headphone jack.我正在找寻头戴式耳机插孔。
• He lifted the car with a jack to change the flat tyre.他用千斤顶把车顶起来换下瘪轮胎。