2006年VOA标准英语-Nepal's Economy Suffers as Political Crisi

By Patricia Nunan
Kathmandu
24 April 2006

As Nepal's political stalemate and communist insurgency¹ drags on, the economy is feeling the impact - with shops bearing the brunt of government-imposed curfews and a general strike called by opposition² parties. The crisis is also affecting the nation's tourist industry, as the number of trekkers and tourists eager to spend time in the Himalayan mountain kingdom dwindles⁵.

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A Nepalese woman makes her way through Katmandu as curfew approaches Monday, April 24, 2006  
  

The Everest Mart, in Kathmandu's tourist district, is open - one of the few shops in the area to defy a day-long curfew imposed by the government. But the managers are being very careful.

Every time a police or military patrol comes near, they pull down the grate over the shop's front door.

Manager Ravi Shresta says, that so far, the curfew has actually been pretty good for the business. All the other places are closed, he says, so the tourists come here. But, he adds, pretty soon the shop will run out of supplies, and then they will have nothing to sell.

Shresta mostly blames the government of King Gyanendra for the economic problems facing his shop and others here in Thamel, Kathmandu's tourist distict.

For the fifth day, King Gyanendra has imposed an all-day curfew on Kathmandu, forbidding shops to open and vehicles from traveling the streets. The curfews are intended to stop nearly three weeks of massive anti-government demonstrations⁶, but the move has been largely unsuccessful.

On April 6, Nepal's seven main opposition parties called an indefinite nationwide general strike, as part of their campaign to pressure King Gyanendra to give up absolute power. The strike has kept most trucks and cars off the road, meaning fuel and food in the capital are in short supply. Many local markets are no longer opening.

The political stalemate began last February, when King Gyanendra dismissed parliament and restricted democratic freedoms. He says the move was justified⁷, because the parties failed to bring stability to Nepal, which is facing a communist insurgency that has claimed more than 11,000 lives.

The king offered to form an interim⁸ government. But an alliance of seven main opposition parties rejected the offer. The parties are instead demanding the reinstatement of parliament. They have also pledged to carry on with anti-government demonstrations.

With no solution in sight, it is the vendors⁹ who are bearing the brunt of the political stalemate.

Nearby, Bhakti Shresta has kept open his music and DVD shop, mostly because he had no way to get home before the curfew hour and got stuck at the shop. He used to earn up to $40 a day. Recently his earnings¹⁰ have fallen to around $14 a day.

The music shop owner says he blames the political parties for the problems. He says Nepalese look up to the king, so the people talk to him about what their needs are and what they want.

Tourism is a key sector¹¹ in Nepal's economy. The country has long been popular with trekkers and mountaineers - attracted to the tiny kingdom for expeditions in the Himalayas. But according to some reports, the number of tourists visiting Nepal annually¹² has been falling.

It is not just the political stalemate in the capital that is to blame. For the past 10 years, communist insurgents¹³ who call themselves "Maoists," have taken control of parts of Nepal's countryside in their campaign to overthrow¹⁴ the monarchy¹⁵.

The rebels have been known to stop trekkers and ask for small amounts of money - two or three dollars - as a so-called "tax" for letting them pass.

Now, the word on the street is that taxes have been raised. Sally Anne Zammit, a British backpacker, decided¹⁶ to cut her trip to Nepal short. First, with the curfew and strike, she found she has no way of getting out of the capital for the trek³ she planned in central Nepal. Then, after talking with a more experienced trekker⁴, she decided she no longer considers it worth the risk.

"She just said the Annapurna Circuit is not a good idea, because, she says, the Maoists are stopping people and asking for quite big amounts of money. When we were in Goa, we heard it was kind of 200-300 rupees, and they would give you some kind of receipt to say that you paid them," she said. "But now they're asking for 2.5 or 3,000 per person ... It is just not a chance I want to take really."

With the rebels in the countryside - and both the king and the political parties refusing to back down in the cities - it may be some time before Nepal's reputation as a tourist destination is restored and the shop owners can start making money again.

1 insurgency   

n.起义；暴动；叛变

参考例句：

• And as in China, unrest and even insurgency are widespread. 而在中国，动乱甚至暴乱都普遍存在。 来自互联网
• Dr Zyphur is part an insurgency against this idea. 塞弗博士是这一观点逆流的一部分。 来自互联网

2 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。

3 trek   

vi.作长途艰辛的旅行；n.长途艰苦的旅行

参考例句：

• We often go pony-trek in the summer.夏季我们经常骑马旅行。
• It took us the whole day to trek across the rocky terrain.我们花了一整天的时间艰难地穿过那片遍布岩石的地带。

4 trekker   

背包客

参考例句：

5 dwindles   

v.逐渐变少或变小( dwindle的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• Her husband grows rich in crime, her significance dwindles. 她的丈夫罪恶累累，她的形象也受到损害。 来自辞典例句
• The voice died away and ceased, as an insect's tiny trumpet dwindles swiftly into silence. 这声音逐渐消失，就象昆虫的小喇叭嘎然而止。 来自辞典例句

6 demonstrations   

证明( demonstration的名词复数 )； 表明； 表达； 游行示威

参考例句：

• Lectures will be interspersed with practical demonstrations. 讲课中将不时插入实际示范。
• The new military government has banned strikes and demonstrations. 新的军人政府禁止罢工和示威活动。

7 justified   

a.正当的，有理的

参考例句：

• She felt fully justified in asking for her money back. 她认为有充分的理由要求退款。
• The prisoner has certainly justified his claims by his actions. 那个囚犯确实已用自己的行动表明他的要求是正当的。

8 interim   

adj.暂时的，临时的；n.间歇，过渡期间

参考例句：

• The government is taking interim measures to help those in immediate need.政府正在采取临时措施帮助那些有立即需要的人。
• It may turn out to be an interim technology.这可能只是个过渡技术。

9 vendors   

n.摊贩( vendor的名词复数 )；小贩；（房屋等的）卖主；卖方

参考例句：

• The vendors were gazundered at the last minute. 卖主在最后一刻被要求降低房价。
• At the same time, interface standards also benefIt'software vendors. 同时，界面标准也有利于软件开发商。 来自About Face 3交互设计精髓

10 earnings   

n.工资收人；利润，利益，所得

参考例句：

• That old man lives on the earnings of his daughter.那个老人靠他女儿的收入维持生活。
• Last year there was a 20% decrease in his earnings.去年他的收入减少了20%。

11 sector   

n.部门，部分；防御地段，防区；扇形

参考例句：

• The export sector will aid the economic recovery. 出口产业将促进经济复苏。
• The enemy have attacked the British sector.敌人已进攻英国防区。

12 annually   

adv.一年一次，每年

参考例句：

• Many migratory birds visit this lake annually.许多候鸟每年到这个湖上作短期逗留。
• They celebrate their wedding anniversary annually.他们每年庆祝一番结婚纪念日。

13 insurgents   

n.起义，暴动，造反( insurgent的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The regular troops of Baden joined the insurgents. 巴登的正规军参加到起义军方面来了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Against the Taliban and Iraqi insurgents, these problems are manageable. 要对付塔利班与伊拉克叛乱分子，这些问题还是可以把握住的。 来自互联网

14 overthrow   

v.推翻，打倒，颠覆；n.推翻，瓦解，颠覆

参考例句：

• After the overthrow of the government,the country was in chaos.政府被推翻后，这个国家处于混乱中。
• The overthrow of his plans left him much discouraged.他的计划的失败使得他很气馁。

15 monarchy   

n.君主，最高统治者；君主政体，君主国

参考例句：

• The monarchy in England plays an important role in British culture.英格兰的君主政体在英国文化中起重要作用。
• The power of the monarchy in Britain today is more symbolical than real.今日英国君主的权力多为象徵性的，无甚实际意义。

16 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。