2007年VOA标准英语-Will Chavez Inherit Castro's Revolutionary Mant

By Michael Bowman
Washington, DC
30 January 2007
 
watch Chavez Mantle¹ report

For nearly 50 years, Cuban President Fidel Castro has been Latin America's best-known leftist revolutionary.  Who will wear the revolutionary mantle in the post-Castro era?  Many analysts³ believe President Hugo Chavez of Venezuela will pick up Castro's banner, but others question whether Mr. Chavez will ever attain⁴ the Cuban leader's international stature⁵.  VOA's Michael Bowman reports from Washington.

Until disappearing from public view in 2006, Fidel Castro lambasted the United States at every turn.  Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, a self-proclaimed socialist⁶, does the same.

"The hegemonic pretensions⁷ of the American empire are placing at risk the very survival of the human species," Chavez told the UN General Assembly.

 
Hugo Chavez (file photo)
Hugo Chavez viewed Fidel Castro as a mentor⁸ and friend.  Campaigning for re-election last year, he dedicated⁹ his victory to the man he called "the bearded one."

Cuba expert Wayne Smith of the Center for International Policy says, "Fidel Castro is seen as the revolutionary leader, the historical figure opposed to the United States.  It is that which gave Castro his position, his standing¹⁰, his stature in Latin America.  Hugo Chavez, clearly, wants to receive that mantle, wants to receive that heritage."

Can he succeed?  Mr. Chavez is already emulating¹¹ the Cuban leader's style of governance, according to Michael Shifter of the Inter-American Dialogue, a policy analysis group.

"I think his commitment to democracy -- in terms of rule of law, checks and balances, constraints¹² on his power -- I think [is] not too far away from Fidel Castro's.  [Mr. Chavez] has a tremendous desire to consolidate¹³ and concentrate power in his own hands, to make all decisions.  Just as Fidel Castro made all decisions in running Cuba, he wants to make all decisions in running Venezuela."

But can Mr. Chavez capture Fidel Castro's larger-than-life stature?

"Fidel Castro fought the revolution, fought against the Batista government.  He had his troops, he went to the mountains,” explains Shifter. “This is somebody who is seen as having made a sacrifice, having fought on the basis of ideas and convictions.  Hugo Chavez is somebody seen as being lucky for presiding over a situation of high oil prices and using that as a political instrument."

In the 1960s and '70s, Fidel Castro tried to export communism across Latin America.  In recent years, President Chavez has used his country's vast oil wealth to forge new economic and political ties in the region.  Analyst² Wayne Smith says Mr. Chavez' international overtures¹⁴ appear to be meeting less resistance than did Fidel Castro's.

"Castro, for all practical purposes, most of the time, was alone.  There was no one else [championing socialism in Latin America].  Now, Hugo Chavez has all sorts of leftist friends in Latin America to hold hands with," Smith says.

Chavez allies include Bolivian President Evo Morales, Ecuadorean President Rafael Correa and Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega.  However, Mr. Chavez' tendency to declare his favorites in other countries' presidential races has led to friction¹⁵ with Peru, and elsewhere in Latin America.

Friction could also be on the horizon between Caracas and Havana, according to analyst Ian Vasquez of the Cato Institute.

"Raul Castro, it is rumored¹⁶, is not that fond of Hugo Chavez, and will be very careful not to come under his thumb.  He has been under the thumb of his own brother for more than 40 years.  He certainly is not going to want to be under the thumb of a new upstart trying to model himself on his brother.  So there are inevitably¹⁷ going to be some tensions between Cuba and Venezuela."

In an era of growing global energy consumption, analyst Vazquez says, Venezuela's vast oil wealth automatically makes it a player on the world stage, in a way that Cuba never was under Fidel Castro.  But, he adds, the Venezuelan model, relying heavily on petrodollars to satisfy people's needs, is one that few other nations can follow.

1 mantle   

n.斗篷，覆罩之物，罩子；v.罩住，覆盖，脸红

参考例句：

• The earth had donned her mantle of brightest green.大地披上了苍翠欲滴的绿色斗篷。
• The mountain was covered with a mantle of snow.山上覆盖着一层雪。

2 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。

3 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。

4 attain   

vt.达到，获得，完成

参考例句：

• I used the scientific method to attain this end. 我用科学的方法来达到这一目的。
• His painstaking to attain his goal in life is praiseworthy. 他为实现人生目标所下的苦功是值得称赞的。

5 stature   

n.（高度）水平，（高度）境界，身高，身材

参考例句：

• He is five feet five inches in stature.他身高5英尺5英寸。
• The dress models are tall of stature.时装模特儿的身材都较高。

6 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。

7 pretensions   

自称( pretension的名词复数 )； 自命不凡； 要求； 权力

参考例句：

• The play mocks the pretensions of the new middle class. 这出戏讽刺了新中产阶级的装模作样。
• The city has unrealistic pretensions to world-class status. 这个城市不切实际地标榜自己为国际都市。

8 mentor   

n.指导者，良师益友；v.指导

参考例句：

• He fed on the great ideas of his mentor.他以他导师的伟大思想为支撑。
• He had mentored scores of younger doctors.他指导过许多更年轻的医生。

9 dedicated   

adj.一心一意的；献身的；热诚的

参考例句：

• He dedicated his life to the cause of education.他献身于教育事业。
• His whole energies are dedicated to improve the design.他的全部精力都放在改进这项设计上了。

10 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

11 emulating   

v.与…竞争( emulate的现在分词 )；努力赶上；计算机程序等仿真；模仿

参考例句：

• The possibilities of producing something entirely new by emulating nature's very wide crosses are enticing. 用自然界的非常广泛的杂交方法创造出全新植物种的可能性是诱人的。 来自辞典例句
• The human emulating this archetypal patterning will be quite the accomplished businessperson. 这类原型模式者会是一个很成功的商人。 来自互联网

12 constraints   

强制( constraint的名词复数 )； 限制； 约束

参考例句：

• Data and constraints can easily be changed to test theories. 信息库中的数据和限制条件可以轻易地改变以检验假设。 来自英汉非文学 - 科学史
• What are the constraints that each of these imply for any design? 这每种产品的要求和约束对于设计意味着什么？ 来自About Face 3交互设计精髓

13 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。

14 overtures   

n.主动的表示，提议；（向某人做出的）友好表示、姿态或提议( overture的名词复数 )；（歌剧、芭蕾舞、音乐剧等的）序曲，前奏曲

参考例句：

• Their government is making overtures for peace. 他们的政府正在提出和平建议。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He had lately begun to make clumsy yet endearing overtures of friendship. 最近他开始主动表示友好，样子笨拙却又招人喜爱。 来自辞典例句

15 friction   

n.摩擦，摩擦力

参考例句：

• When Joan returned to work,the friction between them increased.琼回来工作后，他们之间的摩擦加剧了。
• Friction acts on moving bodies and brings them to a stop.摩擦力作用于运动着的物体，并使其停止。

16 rumored   

adj.传说的，谣传的v.传闻( rumor的过去式和过去分词 )；[古]名誉；咕哝；[古]喧嚷

参考例句：

• It is rumored that he cheats on his wife. 据传他对他老婆不忠。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• It was rumored that the white officer had been a Swede. 传说那个白人军官是个瑞典人。 来自辞典例句

17 inevitably   

adv.不可避免地；必然发生地

参考例句：

• In the way you go on,you are inevitably coming apart.照你们这样下去，毫无疑问是会散伙的。
• Technological changes will inevitably lead to unemployment.技术变革必然会导致失业。