2007年VOA标准英语-Umaru Yar'Adua: The Man Tipped To Become Nigeri

By Sarah Simpson
Katsina, Nigeria
06 April 2007

Umaru Yar'Adua is the man most likely to become the president of Africa's most populous² and oil-rich country, Nigeria. But until he emerged as the ruling party candidate in next month's presidential polls, few people paid him much attention. Sarah Simpson has more in this VOA report from his home town of Katsina.

Until Umaru Yar'Adua emerged as the ruling party candidate in crucial April elections, few had paid much attention to this governor from one of Nigeria's most northerly and remote states.

Described as unassuming and soft-spoken, he moves around his home city without any of the flashing lights and security cavalcades³ that accompany other state governors.

In a sitting room of the modest family home, his sister, Habiba, recalls that her brother has never sought special attention, even as a young man working on the family farm.

"Our late brother asked him to go to the farms, because, by that time, the farm was almost spoiled, he said. "And, he stayed there, and he worked, and that was where I saw his sincerity⁴ and honesty. He worked as the manager of the farm, but still he used to work with the laborers⁵ as if he was not the general manager."

Nigeria is known for corruption⁶ and grinding poverty amid the burning gas flares⁷ of a multi-billion-dollar oil industry. Since the end of military rule in 1999, religious and ethnic⁸ violence has soared, killing⁹ thousands.

Outgoing President Olusegun Obasanjo is a former military ruler, who was elected to office eight years ago.

He has spent his last few weeks in office whipping up support at political rallies for his chosen successor.

Critics of Yar'Adua say that he does not have the strength of character to dominate an unruly nation like Nigeria, and that he was chosen to enable the outgoing president to retain the reigns¹⁰ of power after his own departure.

Chief among the critics is Vice¹¹ President , who is currently battling in court to get his name back on the presidential ballot¹² as a candidate, here speaking at a recent press conference.

"It is your right to freely choose your leaders, but this time you must be careful of which leaders you choose. Nobody can take that away from you," said Abubakar.  "Nobody should foist¹³ a leader on you, nobody should foist a leader on you, particularly somebody you do not know and who does not know you."

Abubakar accuses President Obasanjo of using the Nigerian courts and electoral commission to block his candidacy after the two had a very public fall out.

Abubakar is no longer a member of the ruling People's Democratic Party.

Backed by the money and machinery¹⁴ of government, analysts¹⁵ say, PDP candidate Yar'Adua has the strongest chance of winning this month's polls.

billboard16 bearing Umaru Yar'Adua's face looks down on a street vendor17 in Katsina, Nigeria, 19 Mar1 2007" hspace="2" src="/upimg/allimg/070530/1120400.jpg" width="170" vspace="2" border="0" />

A billboard bearing Umaru Yar'Adua's face looks down on a street vendor in Katsina, Nigeria, 19 Mar 2007

His face has become familiar from billboards¹⁸ and posters pasted across the country, but many Nigerians already knew the Yar'Adua family name.

His father was a minister in Nigeria's first post-independence government. His older brother, Shehu, was a soldier and leading force in the coup¹⁹ that put Mr. Obasanjo in power in the 1970s, and worked as Mr. Obasanjo's right-hand man throughout his time as military ruler.

While his older brother worked alongside Mr. Obasanjo, Yar'Adua was a chemistry teacher at his local polytechnic²⁰.

But he has long been active in politics, and for the last eight years, he has been governor of Katsina State, where he has adopted Islamic Sharia Law. In total, 12 northern Nigerian states have adopted Sharia since 1999.

Nigeria is evenly split between Muslims and Christians²¹, and there is periodic violence between the two groups.

Yar'Adua assured Anglican Archbishop Peter Akinola in a special meeting last month that he would respect all religions should he be sworn in as president on May 29.

Dressed in the flowing robes and matching cap favored in northern Nigeria, Yar'Adua told reporters in the federal capital, Abuja, recently that affirming the rule of law would be one of his priorities, should he become president.

"I would like to see that I have a government that is trusted and credible²² and that can be so, if we have proper respect for law and order - in other words the rule of law is placed in an exulted²³ position."

Yar'Adua had to abandon campaigning for several days last month when he was flown to Germany for medical treatment relating to a long-standing kidney problem. Party insiders said it was a routine check-up.

Opponents pounced²⁴ on it as another sign of weakness in a man seeking to take on one of the most challenging jobs in African politics.

Yar'Adua has repeatedly praised President Obasanjo's rule since he was elected.

"After eight years, clearly the country has stabilized²⁵ relative to the situation in 1998, and there is a clear improvement in the living conditions of our people. Democracy really has made possible access to wealth for the greater majority of the population."

But poverty remains²⁶ pervasive²⁷. Despite exporting billions of dollars of oil every year, 70 percent of Nigerians exist on less than $2 a day, according to the United Nations.

Unrest in the oil producing region of the Niger Delta²⁸ has escalated²⁹, with more than 100 foreign oil workers taken hostage by gunmen in the last 12 months. There, militant³⁰ groups say they are fighting for a greater share of the oil wealth to develop their region, where many live without access to electricity or clean drinking water.

Presidential elections are due to take place on April 21, and the new president will be sworn in before June.

1 mar   

vt.破坏，毁坏，弄糟

参考例句：

• It was not the custom for elderly people to mar the picnics with their presence.大人们照例不参加这样的野餐以免扫兴。
• Such a marriage might mar your career.这样的婚姻说不定会毁了你的一生。

2 populous   

adj.人口稠密的，人口众多的

参考例句：

• London is the most populous area of Britain.伦敦是英国人口最稠密的地区。
• China is the most populous developing country in the world.中国是世界上人口最多的发展中国家。

3 cavalcades   

n.骑马队伍，车队( cavalcade的名词复数 )

参考例句：

4 sincerity   

n.真诚，诚意；真实

参考例句：

• His sincerity added much more authority to the story.他的真诚更增加了故事的说服力。
• He tried hard to satisfy me of his sincerity.他竭力让我了解他的诚意。

5 laborers   

n.体力劳动者，工人( laborer的名词复数 )；（熟练工人的）辅助工

参考例句：

• Laborers were trained to handle 50-ton compactors and giant cranes. 工人们接受操作五十吨压土机和巨型起重机的训练。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• Wage-labour rests exclusively on competition between the laborers. 雇佣劳动完全是建立在工人的自相竞争之上的。 来自英汉非文学 - 共产党宣言

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 flares   

n.喇叭裤v.（使）闪耀( flare的第三人称单数 )；（使）（船舷）外倾；（使）鼻孔张大；（使）（衣裙、酒杯等）呈喇叭形展开

参考例句：

• The side of a ship flares from the keel to the deck. 船舷从龙骨向甲板外倾。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He's got a fiery temper and flares up at the slightest provocation. 他是火爆性子，一点就着。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

8 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。

9 killing   

n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财

参考例句：

• Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
• Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。

10 reigns   

n.君主的统治( reign的名词复数 )；君主统治时期；任期；当政期

参考例句：

• In these valleys night reigns. 夜色笼罩着那些山谷。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• The Queen of Britain reigns, but she does not rule or govern. 英国女王是国家元首，但不治国事。 来自辞典例句

11 vice   

n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的

参考例句：

• He guarded himself against vice.他避免染上坏习惯。
• They are sunk in the depth of vice.他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。

12 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。

13 foist   

vt.把…强塞给，骗卖给

参考例句：

• He doesn't try to foist his beliefs on everyone.他不会勉强每个人接受他的信念。
• He tried to foist some inferior goods on me.他企图把一些劣质货强售给我。

14 machinery   

n.(总称)机械，机器；机构

参考例句：

• Has the machinery been put up ready for the broadcast?广播器材安装完毕了吗？
• Machinery ought to be well maintained all the time.机器应该随时注意维护。

15 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。

16 billboard   

n.布告板，揭示栏，广告牌

参考例句：

• He ploughed his energies into his father's billboard business.他把精力投入到父亲的广告牌业务中。
• Billboard spreads will be simpler and more eye-catching.广告牌广告会比较简单且更引人注目。

17 vendor   

n.卖主；小贩

参考例句：

• She looked at the vendor who cheated her the other day with distaste.她厌恶地望着那个前几天曾经欺骗过她的小贩。
• He must inform the vendor immediately.他必须立即通知卖方。

18 billboards   

n.广告牌( billboard的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Large billboards have disfigured the scenery. 大型告示板已破坏了景色。 来自辞典例句
• Then, put the logo in magazines and on billboards without telling anyone what it means. 接着我们把这个商标刊在杂志和广告看板上，却不跟任何人透漏它的涵意。 来自常春藤生活英语杂志-2006年4月号

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 polytechnic   

adj.各种工艺的，综合技术的；n.工艺(专科)学校；理工(专科)学校

参考例句：

• She was trained as a teacher at Manchester Polytechnic.她在曼彻斯特工艺专科学校就读，准备毕业后做老师。
• When he was 17,Einstein entered the Polytechnic Zurich,Switzerland,where he studied mathematics and physics.17岁时，爱因斯坦进入了瑞士苏黎士的专科学院，学习数学和物理学。

21 Christians   

n.基督教徒( Christian的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Christians of all denominations attended the conference. 基督教所有教派的人都出席了这次会议。
• His novel about Jesus caused a furore among Christians. 他关于耶稣的小说激起了基督教徒的公愤。

22 credible   

adj.可信任的，可靠的

参考例句：

• The news report is hardly credible.这则新闻报道令人难以置信。
• Is there a credible alternative to the nuclear deterrent?是否有可以取代核威慑力量的可靠办法？

23 exulted   

狂喜，欢跃( exult的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The people exulted at the victory. 人们因胜利而欢腾。
• The people all over the country exulted in the success in launching a new satellite. 全国人民为成功地发射了一颗新的人造卫星而欢欣鼓舞。

24 pounced   

v.突然袭击( pounce的过去式和过去分词 )；猛扑；一眼看出；抓住机会（进行抨击）

参考例句：

• As soon as I opened my mouth, the teacher pounced on me. 我一张嘴就被老师抓住呵斥了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The police pounced upon the thief. 警察向小偷扑了过去。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

25 stabilized   

v.（使）稳定， （使）稳固( stabilize的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The patient's condition stabilized. 患者的病情稳定下来。
• His blood pressure has stabilized. 他的血压已经稳定下来了。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

26 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。

27 pervasive   

adj.普遍的；遍布的，(到处)弥漫的；渗透性的

参考例句：

• It is the most pervasive compound on earth.它是地球上最普遍的化合物。
• The adverse health effects of car exhaust are pervasive and difficult to measure.汽车尾气对人类健康所构成的有害影响是普遍的，并且难以估算。

28 delta   

n.（流的）角洲

参考例句：

• He has been to the delta of the Nile.他曾去过尼罗河三角洲。
• The Nile divides at its mouth and forms a delta.尼罗河在河口分岔，形成了一个三角洲。

29 escalated   

v.（使）逐步升级( escalate的过去式和过去分词 )；（使）逐步扩大；（使）更高；（使）更大

参考例句：

• The fighting escalated into a full-scale war. 这场交战逐步扩大为全面战争。
• The demonstration escalated into a pitched battle with the police. 示威逐步升级，演变成了一场同警察的混战。

30 militant   

adj.激进的，好斗的；n.激进分子，斗士

参考例句：

• Some militant leaders want to merge with white radicals.一些好斗的领导人要和白人中的激进派联合。
• He is a militant in the movement.他在那次运动中是个激进人物。