VOA常速英语2007年-Romania Votes in First European Elections

By Stefan Bos
Budapest
25 November 2007

Voters in Romania are casting ballots² in their country's first European parliamentary elections since it joined the European Union this year. As Stefan Bos reports from Budapest, among those participating is a Reformed bishop³ whose actions helped spark the 1989 revolution that ended decades of Communist rule.

 

More than 18 million people are eligible⁴ to vote for Romania's 35 representatives in the European Parliament. The voters say they hope the parliament members will help improve living standards and the extent to which Romanians can move freely around Europe.

They will replace members who were nominated by Romania's parliament for the first months of E.U. membership.

 

The elections were originally scheduled for May this year, but had to be postponed⁵ due to what analysts⁶ describe as "political infighting", between the country's president, Traian Basescu, and Prime Minister Calin Popescu Tariceanu. A month before the scheduled vote, Mr. Basescu beat off an attempt to impeach⁷ him when he won a landslide⁸ victory in a referendum.

 

Opinion polls indicate the president's centrist Democrats⁹ will win with about 40 percent of ballots, compared with 13 percent for the Liberals of Prime Minister Tariceanu. Analysts say disillusionment in the government has grown since the European Union threatened to cut aid to Romania because of its agricultural and anti-corruption policies.

 

Among the dozen parties running is an independent candidate, Reformed Bishop Laszlo Tokes, who hopes to represent Romania's 1.5 million ethnic¹⁰ Hungarians.

Most of them live in the area of Transylvania, which belonged to Hungary before the 1920 Treaty of Trianon gave the region to Romania.

Bishop Tokes' participation¹¹ in the ballot¹ has been big news on Hungarian television, in part because he also played a key role in the 1989 revolution that overthrew¹² dictator Nicolae Ceausescu.

He has defended his controversial decision to run as an independent against the main ethnic-Hungarian political party, the Democratic Union of Hungarians in Romania.

The elections are giving people the freedom to choose the political party they like, he tells the Budapest-based television network Hir TV. He adds it is no surprise that Hungarians in Romania vote primarily for ethnic-Hungarian politicians. All ethnic Hungarians are living with their national feeling and a strong longing¹³ to their homeland, he says.

Among his announced plans, the bishop wants to promote more autonomy for ethnic Hungarians and improve their educational opportunities. The European parliament election coincides with a referendum on reforms for national elections in Romania, intended to make politicians more accountable to voters and to curb¹⁴ top-level fraud.

 

Romania joined the European Union January 1.

1 ballot   

n.（不记名）投票，投票总数，投票权；vi.投票

参考例句：

• The members have demanded a ballot.会员们要求投票表决。
• The union said they will ballot members on whether to strike.工会称他们将要求会员投票表决是否罢工。

2 ballots   

n.投票表决( ballot的名词复数 )；选举；选票；投票总数v.（使）投票表决( ballot的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• They're counting the ballots. 他们正在计算选票。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The news of rigged ballots has rubbed off much of the shine of their election victory. 他们操纵选票的消息使他们在选举中获得的胜利大为减色。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 bishop   

n.主教，（国际象棋）象

参考例句：

• He was a bishop who was held in reverence by all.他是一位被大家都尊敬的主教。
• Two years after his death the bishop was canonised.主教逝世两年后被正式封为圣者。

4 eligible   

adj.有条件被选中的；(尤指婚姻等)合适(意)的

参考例句：

• He is an eligible young man.他是一个合格的年轻人。
• Helen married an eligible bachelor.海伦嫁给了一个中意的单身汉。

5 postponed   

vt.& vi.延期，缓办，（使）延迟vt.把…放在次要地位；[语]把…放在后面（或句尾）vi.（疟疾等）延缓发作（或复发）

参考例句：

• The trial was postponed indefinitely. 审讯无限期延迟。
• The game has already been postponed three times. 这场比赛已经三度延期了。

6 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。

7 impeach   

v.弹劾；检举

参考例句：

• We must impeach the judge for taking bribes.我们一定要检举法官收受贿赂。
• The committee decided to impeach the President.委员会决定弹劾总统。

8 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。

9 democrats   

n.民主主义者，民主人士( democrat的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The Democrats held a pep rally on Capitol Hill yesterday. 民主党昨天在国会山召开了竞选誓师大会。
• The democrats organize a filibuster in the senate. 民主党党员组织了阻挠议事。 来自《简明英汉词典》

10 ethnic   

adj.人种的，种族的，异教徒的

参考例句：

• This music would sound more ethnic if you played it in steel drums.如果你用钢鼓演奏，这首乐曲将更具民族特色。
• The plan is likely only to aggravate ethnic frictions.这一方案很有可能只会加剧种族冲突。

11 participation   

n.参与，参加，分享

参考例句：

• Some of the magic tricks called for audience participation.有些魔术要求有观众的参与。
• The scheme aims to encourage increased participation in sporting activities.这个方案旨在鼓励大众更多地参与体育活动。

12 overthrew   

overthrow的过去式

参考例句：

• The people finally rose up and overthrew the reactionary regime. 人们终于起来把反动的政权推翻了。
• They overthrew their King. 他们推翻了国王。

13 longing   

n.（for）渴望

参考例句：

• Hearing the tune again sent waves of longing through her.再次听到那首曲子使她胸中充满了渴望。
• His heart burned with longing for revenge.他心中燃烧着急欲复仇的怒火。

14 curb   

n.场外证券市场，场外交易；vt.制止，抑制

参考例句：

• I could not curb my anger.我按捺不住我的愤怒。
• You must curb your daughter when you are in church.你在教堂时必须管住你的女儿。