2006年VOA标准英语-Olmert's Approval Rating Plummets Amid Criticis

By Robert Berger
Jerusalem
21 September 2006 

Ehud Olmert (File photo)

Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's approval rating has plummeted¹ in the wake of the war in Lebanon. But Israeli officials have brushed off speculation² that Olmert's center-left coalition³ will suffer the same fate as several previous governments, and collapse⁴.

----

A new poll shows that 68 percent of Israelis disapprove⁵ of Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's performance, amid fierce criticism of his handling of the war in Lebanon. Many people are angry that Israel lost 119 soldiers during the 34-day conflict but failed to deal a knockout to the Islamic guerrilla group Hezbollah.

"The vast majority of Israelis know that this was an abject⁶ failure, that the war was totally mishandled, which lead to a defeat of Israel by a few thousand Hezbollah fighters," said former Defense⁷ Minister Moshe Arens of the opposition⁸ Likud party.

The public mood was evident at a gathering⁹ of Mr. Olmert's Kadima party, when angry reserve soldiers who fought in the war shouted him down during a speech.

"Olmert go home!" shouted one of the reservists. "We want you to take responsibility! Where are the hostages?" He was referring to two Israeli soldiers, who were seized by Hezbollah during a July cross-border raid that sparked the war. The two soldiers remain captive in Lebanon.

Mr. Olmert admits that mistakes were made during the war, and he has appointed a commission of inquiry¹⁰ to examine the shortcomings of the government and army.

But officials in his Kadima party played down the poll, which found that if elections were held today, the Prime Minister would be defeated by hawkish¹¹ opposition leader Benjamin Netanyahu. Kadima officials say Mr. Olmert will remain in power until the end of his term in 2010.

Jerusalem Post diplomatic correspondent Gil Hoffman says Mr. Olmert still has a strong and stable coalition.

"I think it's been exaggerated, the reports about how Ehud Olmert might have to pay a heavy political price for errors that might have been made in the war," he said. "And I think it will be very hard for any opposition party to try to topple the government over the war."

While Prime Minister Olmert may survive politically, one thing is clear six months after his landslide¹² victory in national elections: the honeymoon¹³ is over.

1 plummeted   

v.垂直落下，骤然跌落( plummet的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Share prices plummeted to an all-time low. 股票价格暴跌到历史最低点。
• A plane plummeted to earth. 一架飞机一头栽向地面。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 speculation   

n.思索，沉思；猜测；投机

参考例句：

• Her mind is occupied with speculation.她的头脑忙于思考。
• There is widespread speculation that he is going to resign.人们普遍推测他要辞职。

3 coalition   

n.结合体，同盟，结合，联合

参考例句：

• The several parties formed a coalition.这几个政党组成了政治联盟。
• Coalition forces take great care to avoid civilian casualties.联盟军队竭尽全力避免造成平民伤亡。

4 collapse   

vi.累倒；昏倒；倒塌；塌陷

参考例句：

• The country's economy is on the verge of collapse.国家的经济已到了崩溃的边缘。
• The engineer made a complete diagnosis of the bridge's collapse.工程师对桥的倒塌做了一次彻底的调查分析。

5 disapprove   

v.不赞成，不同意，不批准

参考例句：

• I quite disapprove of his behaviour.我很不赞同他的行为。
• She wants to train for the theatre but her parents disapprove.她想训练自己做戏剧演员，但她的父母不赞成。

6 abject   

adj.极可怜的，卑屈的

参考例句：

• This policy has turned out to be an abject failure.这一政策最后以惨败而告终。
• He had been obliged to offer an abject apology to Mr.Alleyne for his impertinence.他不得不低声下气，为他的无礼举动向艾莱恩先生请罪。

7 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

8 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。

9 gathering   

n.集会，聚会，聚集

参考例句：

• He called on Mr. White to speak at the gathering.他请怀特先生在集会上讲话。
• He is on the wing gathering material for his novels.他正忙于为他的小说收集资料。

10 inquiry   

n.打听，询问，调查，查问

参考例句：

• Many parents have been pressing for an inquiry into the problem.许多家长迫切要求调查这个问题。
• The field of inquiry has narrowed down to five persons.调查的范围已经缩小到只剩5个人了。

11 hawkish   

adj. 鹰派的, 强硬派的

参考例句：

• My staff's advice that first day was amazingly hawkish. 在第一天，我的僚属们的意见是令人吃惊的鹰派意见。
• Antiwar groups fear Barack Obama may create hawkish Cabinet. 反战团体担心巴拉克·奥巴马可以创建强硬派内阁。

12 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。

13 honeymoon   

n.蜜月（假期）；vi.度蜜月

参考例句：

• While on honeymoon in Bali,she learned to scuba dive.她在巴厘岛度蜜月时学会了带水肺潜水。
• The happy pair are leaving for their honeymoon.这幸福的一对就要去度蜜月了。