2006年VOA标准英语-Senegal Commemorates Its 'Poet President'

By Jordan Davis
Dakar
10 October 2006

This year the French-speaking world has celebrated¹ the life of late Senegalese "Poet President" Leopold Sedar Senghor. He is widely celebrated for his influential² writing about panafricanism and African identity beginning in the 1940s. This week Senegal celebrated the 100th anniversary of the independence-era statesman's birth.

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Former Senegalese President Leopold Sedar Senghor (File photo)

When Senegal gained independence from France in 1960, its new president, renowned³ poet Leopold Sedar Senghor, wrote the lyrics⁴ to the new national anthem⁵.

Students in a Dakar high school ceremony commemorating⁶ Mr. Senghor's birth sang that song.

In classrooms, literature students discussed Senghor's writings about what he termed negritude, or blackness, a staple⁷ of the Senegalese curriculum. The poems and philosophical⁸ texts urged Africans to take pride in their dark skin, and their culture.

Nasseyni Oumou Diallo says she first learned about Mr. Senghor from her brothers and sisters. Diallo says she particularly liked that Senghor wrote how Africa could be a "promised land."

In the high school courtyard, Senegal's Minister of Culture and National Heritage, Mame Biram Diouf, told students and reporters that the Senghor message is still relevant. Diouf lauded⁹ Mr. Senghor's dream of a universal civilization created by blending of races and cultures that would lead to a new humanism for the twenty-first century.

The event was reported on state-run television's evening newscast-where Senegal's poet-president was remembered much more for his literary legacy¹⁰ than as a head of state. He was president for 20 years.

At official ceremonies in Mr. Senghor's childhood home in the coastal¹¹ town of Joal, the Senegalese government sent a minor¹² official - its minister of postal¹³ services and telecommunications.

Senegal's current President Abdoulaye Wade¹⁴ was a longtime rival of Mr. Senghor.

Even some of Senghor's former government ministers have mixed views on his legacy as president.

Assane Seck served in a number of government posts from the 1960s through the 1980s. In his office, lined with yellowing stacks of newspapers dating back decades, he says Mr. Senghor's cultural contributions was his legacy.

Seck says that in terms of democracy, Senghor did not have a perfect track record. He says the former president ran what was essentially¹⁵ a one-party system until the early 1970s when he allowed the creation of four political parties: Communist, Socialist¹⁶, Liberal, and Conservative.

The law structuring the political landscape was overturned a decade later. Today Senegal has more than 100 political parties. Mr. Senghor's Socialist Party today holds just a small fraction of the country's parliamentary seats.

Though the Senghor brand of African socialism has fallen out of favor for the market-driven economic policies of his successors, Assane Seck credits President Senghor for creating a relatively¹⁷ stable state based on the rule of law.

In 1980 Mr. Senghor did what at the time was something rare for an African leader: he left office voluntarily. When his successor, Abdou Diouf, was beaten in elections in 2000 by current President Abdoulaye Wade, he handed over power peacefully.

Seck says that while Senegal's democracy is not perfect, pointing to concerns about press freedom, he says with a proud smile that Senegal is the only country in West Africa to have avoided a successful military coup¹⁸ in its more than 40 years of independence.

That pride is shared by many Senegalese, who hope presidential elections this February will not mark a break with that aspect of their poet-president's legacy.

1 celebrated   

adj.有名的，声誉卓著的

参考例句：

• He was soon one of the most celebrated young painters in England.不久他就成了英格兰最负盛名的年轻画家之一。
• The celebrated violinist was mobbed by the audience.观众团团围住了这位著名的小提琴演奏家。

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 renowned   

adj.著名的，有名望的，声誉鹊起的

参考例句：

• He is one of the world's renowned writers.他是世界上知名的作家之一。
• She is renowned for her advocacy of human rights.她以提倡人权而闻名。

4 lyrics   

n.歌词

参考例句：

• music and lyrics by Rodgers and Hart 由罗杰斯和哈特作词作曲
• The book contains lyrics and guitar tablatures for over 100 songs. 这本书有100多首歌的歌词和吉他奏法谱。

5 anthem   

n.圣歌，赞美诗，颂歌

参考例句：

• All those present were standing solemnly when the national anthem was played.奏国歌时全场肃立。
• As he stood on the winner's rostrum,he sang the words of the national anthem.他站在冠军领奖台上，唱起了国歌。

6 commemorating   

v.纪念，庆祝( commemorate的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• He was presented with a scroll commemorating his achievements. 他被授予一幅卷轴，以表彰其所做出的成就。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The post office issued a series commemorating famous American entertainers. 邮局发行了一个纪念美国著名演艺人员的系列邮票。 来自互联网

7 staple   

n.主要产物，常用品，主要要素，原料，订书钉，钩环；adj.主要的，重要的；vt.分类

参考例句：

• Tea is the staple crop here.本地产品以茶叶为大宗。
• Potatoes are the staple of their diet.土豆是他们的主要食品。

8 philosophical   

adj.哲学家的，哲学上的，达观的

参考例句：

• The teacher couldn't answer the philosophical problem.老师不能解答这个哲学问题。
• She is very philosophical about her bad luck.她对自己的不幸看得很开。

9 lauded   

v.称赞，赞美( laud的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• They lauded the former president as a hero. 他们颂扬前总统为英雄。 来自辞典例句
• The nervy feats of the mountaineers were lauded. 登山者有勇气的壮举受到赞美。 来自辞典例句

10 legacy   

n.遗产，遗赠；先人(或过去)留下的东西

参考例句：

• They are the most precious cultural legacy our forefathers left.它们是我们祖先留下来的最宝贵的文化遗产。
• He thinks the legacy is a gift from the Gods.他认为这笔遗产是天赐之物。

11 coastal   

adj.海岸的，沿海的，沿岸的

参考例句：

• The ocean waves are slowly eating away the coastal rocks.大海的波浪慢慢地侵蚀着岸边的岩石。
• This country will fortify the coastal areas.该国将加强沿海地区的防御。

12 minor   

adj.较小(少)的，较次要的；n.辅修学科；vi.辅修

参考例句：

• The young actor was given a minor part in the new play.年轻的男演员在这出新戏里被分派担任一个小角色。
• I gave him a minor share of my wealth.我把小部分财产给了他。

13 postal   

adj.邮政的，邮局的

参考例句：

• A postal network now covers the whole country.邮路遍及全国。
• Remember to use postal code.勿忘使用邮政编码。

14 wade   

v.跋涉，涉水；n.跋涉

参考例句：

• We had to wade through the river to the opposite bank.我们只好涉水过河到对岸。
• We cannot but wade across the river.我们只好趟水过去。

15 essentially   

adv.本质上，实质上，基本上

参考例句：

• Really great men are essentially modest.真正的伟人大都很谦虚。
• She is an essentially selfish person.她本质上是个自私自利的人。

16 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。

17 relatively   

adv.比较...地，相对地

参考例句：

• The rabbit is a relatively recent introduction in Australia.兔子是相对较新引入澳大利亚的物种。
• The operation was relatively painless.手术相对来说不痛。

18 coup   

n.政变；突然而成功的行动

参考例句：

• The monarch was ousted by a military coup.那君主被军事政变者废黜了。
• That government was overthrown in a military coup three years ago.那个政府在3年前的军事政变中被推翻。