2007年VOA标准英语-Analysts Worry About Effects of Equatorial Guin

By Nico Colombant
Dakar
08 March 2007

The oil boom in Equatorial Guinea has done little to reduce abject¹ poverty or improve the livelihood² of its citizens, even though it creates economic growth of more than 40 percent per year. Analysts⁴ also worry about recent deals the former Spanish colony is making to supply Zimbabwe with oil on credit, and whether its oil industry could cause violence. VOA's Nico Colombant reports from our regional bureau in Dakar.

Equatorial Guinea is Africa's third-biggest oil producer.

Despite a population of less than 500,000 people and a boom that started in the mid⁵ 1990s, oil riches have not yet changed standards of living for most. Life expectancy⁶ remains⁷ less than 50 years. Unemployment is more than 30 percent.

The oil industry offers jobs mostly to foreigners.

Freedom of speech and political opposition⁸ are stifled⁹. Human rights activists¹⁰ say jails are notorious for torture.

A lecturer at the Spanish Open University, Augustin Velloso, says the benefits of oil have had few trickle¹¹ down effects.

"These changes are only for the benefit of the oil industry, for the oil companies and people working for them. You have to take into account that not many Equatorial Guinean people work in the fields, except for covering menial jobs," said Velloso.

He says infrastructure¹² spending goes first and foremost to help wealthy foreigners.

"All the infrastructure, and the buildings, and the reforms that have been carried out are devoted¹³ to expatriates, foreigners, for example, Americans, or Filipinos, or from England, or some other places, but not specifically designed for the benefit of the whole population," he added.

The president, Teodoro Obiang Nguema, in power since overthrowing¹⁵ his uncle in 1979, has bought mansions¹⁶ for himself and his son, possible successor Teodorin, in the United States.

doorway17 of her house in a slum neighbourhood of Malabo, capital of Equatorial Guinea (File)" hspace="2" src="/upimg/allimg/070523/1347230.jpg" width="192" vspace="2" border="0" />

A young girl leans out of the doorway of her house in a slum neighbourhood of Malabo, capital of Equatorial Guinea (file photo)

Inside the country, Velloso says the government is planning to destroy a main slum in the capital to make way for a nice area for foreign oil workers.

"It is a neighborhood made up of many, many houses, made of pieces of wood and things like that," he continued. "This is going to be removed to make space, clean and open space, for new buildings. But these new buildings will be inhabited only by western people who can afford to pay. So where will all these people going to be housed? Nobody knows. Most probably they will just be expelled and they will probably just have to fetch for themselves."

Recently, Zimbabwe's long-standing President Robert Mugabe said Equatorial Guinea was going to supply his country with crude oil at favorable terms. He said his government would only have to pay after three months.

Analyst³ Ian Gary with Oxfam America says this is probably because Zimbabwe recently arrested alleged¹⁸ mercenaries bound for Equatorial Guinea.

"There have been connections in the news regarding Zimbabwe's arrest in the last couple of years of alleged coup¹⁹ plotters who were allegedly planning to try to overthrow¹⁴ the government of Equatorial Guinea," said Gary. "The relationship between the government of Zimbabwe and the government of Equatorial Guinea appears close."

Gary says governments which base their authority on oil wealth are becoming more and more powerful in Africa.

"Those countries are far outnumbered by those countries in sub-Saharan Africa that are oil importers, and who suffer price shocks on their economy, on transportation that people use every day because of the rise in oil prices," he added. "So certainly countries like Equatorial Guinea would have leverage²⁰ that they can use vis- a-vis other African countries because of their oil wealth."

Unlike Nigeria or Angola, Equatorial Guinea has yet to see any major violence surrounding its oil trade.

But Velloso says there could be more coup attempts. Equatorial Guinea has a habit of selling future oil exploitation rights, what are called booty futures²¹, and these can be used to incite²² agitators²³ as well to promise mercenaries future oil revenues.

"There has already been several attempts, to expel and to overthrow [President] Obiang from power," he said. "But at the end of the day, there is not widespread violence. The only violence is the violence from the government on the population. You have to take into account that almost a quarter of the population is living in exile. But a social revolution, or civil war or something like that, there is none at the moment."

No one from the government was available to discuss the effects of the oil sector²⁴.

President Obiang has said he is building his country with oil wealth, and that improvements are being made on a daily basis. He says Equatorial Guinea is working toward becoming a Gulf²⁵ of Guinea maritime²⁶ hub, as well as a major supplier of natural gas. He says key priorities also include developing schooling²⁷, local farming and health centers in poor areas.

1 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。

2 livelihood   

n.生计，谋生之道

参考例句：

• Appropriate arrangements will be made for their work and livelihood.他们的工作和生活会得到妥善安排。
• My father gained a bare livelihood of family by his own hands.父亲靠自己的双手勉强维持家计。

3 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。

4 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。

5 mid   

adj.中央的，中间的

参考例句：

• Our mid-term exam is pending.我们就要期中考试了。
• He switched over to teaching in mid-career.他在而立之年转入教学工作。

6 expectancy   

n.期望，预期，（根据概率统计求得）预期数额

参考例句：

• Japanese people have a very high life expectancy.日本人的平均寿命非常长。
• The atomosphere of tense expectancy sobered everyone.这种期望的紧张气氛使每个人变得严肃起来。

7 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

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 stifled   

（使）窒息， （使）窒闷( stifle的过去式和过去分词 )； 镇压，遏制； 堵

参考例句：

• The gas stifled them. 煤气使他们窒息。
• The rebellion was stifled. 叛乱被镇压了。

10 activists   

n.（政治活动的）积极分子，活动家( activist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• His research work was attacked by animal rights activists . 他的研究受到了动物权益维护者的抨击。
• Party activists with lower middle class pedigrees are numerous. 党的激进分子中有很多出身于中产阶级下层。 来自《简明英汉词典》

11 trickle   

vi.淌，滴，流出，慢慢移动，逐渐消散

参考例句：

• The stream has thinned down to a mere trickle.这条小河变成细流了。
• The flood of cars has now slowed to a trickle.汹涌的车流现在已经变得稀稀拉拉。

12 infrastructure   

n.下部构造，下部组织，基础结构，基础设施

参考例句：

• We should step up the development of infrastructure for research.加强科学基础设施建设。
• We should strengthen cultural infrastructure and boost various types of popular culture.加强文化基础设施建设，发展各类群众文化。

13 devoted   

adj.忠诚的，忠实的，热心的，献身于...的

参考例句：

• He devoted his life to the educational cause of the motherland.他为祖国的教育事业贡献了一生。
• We devoted a lengthy and full discussion to this topic.我们对这个题目进行了长时间的充分讨论。

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 overthrowing   

v.打倒，推翻( overthrow的现在分词 )；使终止

参考例句：

• They succeeded in overthrowing the fascist dictatorship. 他们成功推翻了法西斯独裁统治。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• I always delight in overthrowing those kinds of schemes. 我一向喜欢戳穿人家的诡计。 来自辞典例句

16 mansions   

n.宅第，公馆，大厦( mansion的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Fifth Avenue was boarded up where the rich had deserted their mansions. 第五大道上的富翁们已经出去避暑，空出的宅第都已锁好了门窗，钉上了木板。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹
• Oh, the mansions, the lights, the perfume, the loaded boudoirs and tables! 啊，那些高楼大厦、华灯、香水、藏金收银的闺房还有摆满山珍海味的餐桌！ 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹

17 doorway   

n.门口，(喻)入门；门路，途径

参考例句：

• They huddled in the shop doorway to shelter from the rain.他们挤在商店门口躲雨。
• Mary suddenly appeared in the doorway.玛丽突然出现在门口。

18 alleged   

a.被指控的，嫌疑的

参考例句：

• It was alleged that he had taken bribes while in office. 他被指称在任时收受贿赂。
• alleged irregularities in the election campaign 被指称竞选运动中的不正当行为

19 coup   

n.政变；突然而成功的行动

参考例句：

• The monarch was ousted by a military coup.那君主被军事政变者废黜了。
• That government was overthrown in a military coup three years ago.那个政府在3年前的军事政变中被推翻。

20 leverage   

n.力量，影响；杠杆作用，杠杆的力量

参考例句：

• We'll have to use leverage to move this huge rock.我们不得不借助杠杆之力来移动这块巨石。
• He failed in the project because he could gain no leverage. 因为他没有影响力，他的计划失败了。

21 futures   

n.期货，期货交易

参考例句：

• He continued his operations in cotton futures.他继续进行棉花期货交易。
• Cotton futures are selling at high prices.棉花期货交易的卖价是很高的。

22 incite   

v.引起，激动，煽动

参考例句：

• I wanted to point out he was a very good speaker, and could incite a crowd.我想说明他曾是一个非常出色的演讲家，非常会调动群众的情绪。
• Just a few words will incite him into action.他只需几句话一将，就会干。

23 agitators   

n.（尤指政治变革的）鼓动者( agitator的名词复数 )；煽动者；搅拌器；搅拌机

参考例句：

• The mud is too viscous, you must have all the agitators run. 泥浆太稠，你们得让所有的搅拌机都开着。 来自辞典例句
• Agitators urged the peasants to revolt/revolution. 煽动者怂恿农民叛变（革命）。 来自辞典例句

24 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。

25 gulf   

n.海湾；深渊，鸿沟；分歧，隔阂

参考例句：

• The gulf between the two leaders cannot be bridged.两位领导人之间的鸿沟难以跨越。
• There is a gulf between the two cities.这两座城市间有个海湾。

26 maritime   

adj.海的，海事的，航海的，近海的，沿海的

参考例句：

• Many maritime people are fishermen.许多居于海滨的人是渔夫。
• The temperature change in winter is less in maritime areas.冬季沿海的温差较小。

27 schooling   

n.教育；正规学校教育

参考例句：

• A child's access to schooling varies greatly from area to area.孩子获得学校教育的机会因地区不同而大相径庭。
• Backward children need a special kind of schooling.天赋差的孩子需要特殊的教育。