VOA常速英语2007年-President Putin Says Elections Will Bring New L

By Peter Fedynsky
Moscow
21 November 2007

Russian President Vladimir Putin says the country's parliamentary and presidential elections will bring a total renewal¹ of the country's top leadership. VOA Correspondent Peter Fedynsky has details from Moscow.

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Russian President Vladimir Putin addresses the raucous crowd at the rally, organized by backers at a stadium in downtown Moscow, 21 Nov 2007

President Putin's appearance at a partisan³ political rally in Moscow led the news on all three of Russia's nationwide television channels.

Mr. Putin told about 5,000 supporters at a local stadium, Luzhniki, that victory of his United Russia Party in December 2 parliamentary elections will also ensure a win for the organization's candidate in presidential balloting⁴ three months later.

Mr. Putin says parliamentary and presidential elections will bring a total renewal of the country's top leadership. He adds that in order for the new president and lawmakers to cooperate effectively, United Russia must win.

Mr. Putin agreed to put his name at the top of the party list in parliamentary balloting. Voters will not choose individual candidates, but rather a party, which will appoint its parliamentary delegation⁵.

The Kremlin leader said the good of the country depends not only on United Russia's control of the new parliament, but also on its ability to influence the policies of federal and regional governments, the courts, and Central Bank.

In addition, Mr. Putin said parliament should not be turned into what he called "a collection of populists paralyzed by demagoguery and corruption⁶." He directly accused opponents of behaving like jackals who count on financial support of foreign governments, but not of their own people.

The organizer of the Putin rally, attorney Pavel Astakhov told VOA that Putin supporters represent people throughout Russia who seek to strengthen the country and thereby⁷ guarantee a better future.

Astakhov says strong leaders enjoy strong popular support. He adds that leaders need to know why people lend their support, and why they criticize if there is need for criticism.

Speaking at a news conference at the Interfax News Agency, the leader of the opposition⁸ Yabloko Party, Grigory Yavlinsky, warned that Russia is on the verge⁹ of restoring a one-party system. His remarks did not make national television news. Yavlinsky added that elections are a prologue¹⁰ to a semi-dictatorial state in which the Putin administration is preserved for life.

Russian opposition and human rights activist¹¹ Lev Ponomarev told the VOA that Mr. Putin's support does not come from the grassroots.

Ponomarev says people around the president are making a commotion¹² to get a better deal for themselves, and to have rock-solid, but comfortable place to sit in.

The Russian Public Opinion Research Center indicates United Russia enjoys an overwhelming lead in the polls, with 56 percent support. That of other parties is in the single digits¹³.

1 renewal   

adj.(契约)延期，续订，更新，复活，重来

参考例句：

• Her contract is coming up for renewal in the autumn.她的合同秋天就应该续签了。
• Easter eggs symbolize the renewal of life.复活蛋象征新生。

2 raucous   

adj.(声音)沙哑的，粗糙的

参考例句：

• I heard sounds of raucous laughter upstairs.我听见楼上传来沙哑的笑声。
• They heard a bottle being smashed,then more raucous laughter.他们听见酒瓶摔碎的声音，然后是一阵更喧闹的笑声。

3 partisan   

adj.党派性的；游击队的；n.游击队员；党徒

参考例句：

• In their anger they forget all the partisan quarrels.愤怒之中，他们忘掉一切党派之争。
• The numerous newly created partisan detachments began working slowly towards that region.许多新建的游击队都开始慢慢地向那里移动。

4 balloting   

v.（使）投票表决( ballot的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• Clark took a commanding leading in the early balloting. 在最初投票时，克拉克遥遥领先。 来自辞典例句
• The balloting had stagnated, he couldn't win. 投票工作陷于停顿，他不能得胜。 来自辞典例句

5 delegation   

n.代表团；派遣

参考例句：

• The statement of our delegation was singularly appropriate to the occasion.我们代表团的声明非常适合时宜。
• We shall inform you of the date of the delegation's arrival.我们将把代表团到达的日期通知你。

6 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。

7 thereby   

adv.因此，从而

参考例句：

• I have never been to that city,,ereby I don't know much about it.我从未去过那座城市，因此对它不怎么熟悉。
• He became a British citizen,thereby gaining the right to vote.他成了英国公民，因而得到了投票权。

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 verge   

n.边，边缘；v.接近，濒临

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。
• She was on the verge of bursting into tears.她快要哭出来了。

10 prologue   

n.开场白，序言；开端，序幕

参考例句：

• A poor wedding is a prologue to misery.不幸的婚姻是痛苦的开始。
• The prologue to the novel is written in the form of a newspaper account.这本小说的序言是以报纸报道的形式写的。

11 activist   

n.活动分子，积极分子

参考例句：

• He's been a trade union activist for many years.多年来他一直是工会的积极分子。
• He is a social activist in our factory.他是我厂的社会活动积极分子。

12 commotion   

n.骚动，动乱

参考例句：

• They made a commotion by yelling at each other in the theatre.他们在剧院里相互争吵，引起了一阵骚乱。
• Suddenly the whole street was in commotion.突然间，整条街道变得一片混乱。

13 digits   

n.数字( digit的名词复数 )；手指，足趾

参考例句：

• The number 1000 contains four digits. 1000是四位数。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The number 410 contains three digits. 数字 410 中包括三个数目字。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》