2006年VOA标准英语-A New President Takes Over India's Main Op

By Anjana Pasricha
New Delhi
02 January 2006

Former Indian Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, right, congratulates Rajnath Singh, the new President of Bharatiya Janta Party  
  
A new leader has taken charge of India's main opposition¹ group - the Bharatiya Janata Party. Rajnath Singh faces a mammoth² task in restoring the fortunes of a party that is struggling for direction.

------------------------------------

Rajnath Singh formally took over the reins⁴ of the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party, or BJP, on Monday, a year and a half after the party unexpectedly lost power in general elections. He replaces Lal Krishna Advani.

The 55-year-old regional politician says his aim is to consolidate⁵ the party and make it stronger.

But senior BJP leaders, including former Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee, warn that this could pose a challenge for Mr. Singh.

Mr. Vajpayee says the new BJP president is inheriting a crown of thorns.

Political analysts⁷ agree with that assessment⁸. They say Mr. Singh takes over as the party is beset⁹ with problems.

The BJP's 2004 electoral loss triggered a loss of morale¹⁰ from which it has yet to recover. In recent months, it has been plagued with internal dissensions and squabbles, a corruption¹¹ scandal that forced the resignation of six of its lawmakers, and dwindling¹² support in some of its bastions.

But the party faces an even greater dilemma¹³ as it tries to decide whether to pitch itself as a moderate force in Indian politics, or move closer to its hard-line Hindu ideological¹⁴ mentors¹⁵.

Independent political analyst⁶ Mahesh Rangarajan says the new leader will have to resolve what direction the country's main opposition party takes.

"It has to be very clear about what kind of opposition it wants to be," he said. "Is it going to fine tune³ the core ideological message of emphasizing the Hinduness of India as many of its ideologues would like, or would it like to play the role of a normal opposition party in any democracy to voice the grievances¹⁶ of large sections of the people?"

The change of guard also signals a shift to a younger leadership, and the end of an era when the party was dominated by two of its best-known leaders - Mr. Vajpayee and Mr. Advani. The two men were instrumental in the party's formation 25 years ago, and its subsequent rise to prominence¹⁷.

Mr. Vajpayee, now 81 years old, has announced his intentions to retire from active politics, although he will continue to head a political alliance led by the BJP.

The 77-year-old Mr. Advani, who was forced out of his leadership role because of comments he made praising rival Pakistan's founder¹⁸, will continue to play an active role in BJP. But at the same time, analysts say younger leaders are expected to assume a greater role in the party in the coming years. However, this could throw up new challenges for the BJP as it may trigger a struggle among the second-rung leaders for control of the party.

1 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。

2 mammoth   

n.长毛象；adj.长毛象似的，巨大的

参考例句：

• You can only undertake mammoth changes if the finances are there.资金到位的情况下方可进行重大变革。
• Building the new railroad will be a mammoth job.修建那条新铁路将是一项巨大工程。

3 tune   

n.调子；和谐，协调；v.调音，调节，调整

参考例句：

• He'd written a tune,and played it to us on the piano.他写了一段曲子，并在钢琴上弹给我们听。
• The boy beat out a tune on a tin can.那男孩在易拉罐上敲出一首曲子。

4 reins   

感情，激情； 缰( rein的名词复数 )； 控制手段； 掌管； （成人带着幼儿走路以防其走失时用的）保护带

参考例句：

• She pulled gently on the reins. 她轻轻地拉着缰绳。
• The government has imposed strict reins on the import of luxury goods. 政府对奢侈品的进口有严格的控制手段。

5 consolidate   

v.使加固，使加强；(把...)联为一体，合并

参考例句：

• The two banks will consolidate in July next year. 这两家银行明年7月将合并。
• The government hoped to consolidate ten states to form three new ones.政府希望把十个州合并成三个新的州。

6 analyst   

n.分析家，化验员；心理分析学家

参考例句：

• What can you contribute to the position of a market analyst?你有什么技能可有助于市场分析员的职务？
• The analyst is required to interpolate values between standards.分析人员需要在这些标准中插入一些值。

7 analysts   

分析家，化验员( analyst的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• City analysts forecast huge profits this year. 伦敦金融分析家预测今年的利润非常丰厚。
• I was impressed by the high calibre of the researchers and analysts. 研究人员和分析人员的高素质给我留下了深刻印象。

8 assessment   

n.评价；评估；对财产的估价，被估定的金额

参考例句：

• This is a very perceptive assessment of the situation.这是一个对该情况的极富洞察力的评价。
• What is your assessment of the situation?你对时局的看法如何？

9 beset   

v.镶嵌；困扰，包围

参考例句：

• She wanted to enjoy her retirement without being beset by financial worries.她想享受退休生活而不必为金钱担忧。
• The plan was beset with difficulties from the beginning.这项计划自开始就困难重重。

10 morale   

n.道德准则，士气，斗志

参考例句：

• The morale of the enemy troops is sinking lower every day.敌军的士气日益低落。
• He tried to bolster up their morale.他尽力鼓舞他们的士气。

11 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。

12 dwindling   

adj.逐渐减少的v.逐渐变少或变小( dwindle的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• The number of wild animals on the earth is dwindling. 地球上野生动物的数量正日渐减少。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He is struggling to come to terms with his dwindling authority. 他正努力适应自己权力被削弱这一局面。 来自辞典例句

13 dilemma   

n.困境，进退两难的局面

参考例句：

• I am on the horns of a dilemma about the matter.这件事使我进退两难。
• He was thrown into a dilemma.他陷入困境。

14 ideological   

a.意识形态的

参考例句：

• He always tries to link his study with his ideological problems. 他总是把学习和自己的思想问题联系起来。
• He helped me enormously with advice on how to do ideological work. 他告诉我怎样做思想工作，对我有很大帮助。

15 mentors   

n.（无经验之人的）有经验可信赖的顾问( mentor的名词复数 )v.（无经验之人的）有经验可信赖的顾问( mentor的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• Beacham and McNamara, my two mentors, had both warned me. 我的两位忠实朋友，比彻姆和麦克纳马拉都曾经警告过我。 来自辞典例句
• These are the kinds of contacts that could evolve into mentors. 这些人是可能会成为你导师。 来自互联网

16 grievances   

n.委屈( grievance的名词复数 )；苦衷；不满；牢骚

参考例句：

• The trade union leader spoke about the grievances of the workers. 工会领袖述说工人们的苦情。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• He gave air to his grievances. 他申诉了他的冤情。 来自《简明英汉词典》

17 prominence   

n.突出；显著；杰出；重要

参考例句：

• He came to prominence during the World Cup in Italy.他在意大利的世界杯赛中声名鹊起。
• This young fashion designer is rising to prominence.这位年轻的时装设计师的声望越来越高。

18 Founder   

n.创始者，缔造者

参考例句：

• He was extolled as the founder of their Florentine school.他被称颂为佛罗伦萨画派的鼻祖。
• According to the old tradition,Romulus was the founder of Rome.按照古老的传说，罗穆卢斯是古罗马的建国者。