2007年VOA标准英语-SAF President Urges Citizens to Fight Crime in

By Scott Bobb
Johannesburg
27 April 2007

South Africa's President, Thabo Mbeki, has urged fellow citizens to work together to fight crime, poverty and racism¹. Mr. Mbeki made the remarks in a speech marking the anniversary of his country's first democratic elections. Correspondent Scott Bobb reports from Johannesburg.

South African President Thabo Mbeki Friday issued one of his strongest statements to date against violent crime in a country with one of the highest crime rates in the world.

"There is a minority in our country who have made crime their business, who terrorize our communities, robbing our people of their hard-earned valuables, raping² women and children and in the process using unimaginable violence against law abiding³ citizens," he said.

Mr. Mbeki urged citizens to fight back by reporting crime and corruption⁴ to the authorities.

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South African army artillery group fire canons to celebrate Freedom day at Victoria and Albert waterfront in Cape Town, 27 Apr 2007

He made the remarks during a rally marking the 13th anniversary of the country's first multi-racial elections that brought democracy to South Africa and ended the apartheid era.

The South African leader spoke⁷ in the city of Bisho, on the eastern Cape coast 800 kilometers south of Johannesburg. Bisho was the site of a 1992 massacre⁸ by right-wing extremists who opposed negotiations⁹ that eventually ended apartheid.

Mr. Mbeki said that since then South Africa has made great progress, but it still faces challenges such as eradicating¹⁰ what he called the legacy¹¹ of its terrible past.

"Freedom and democracy in our country gave birth to a culture of human rights," he said. "At the center of that new culture of human rights is the promotion¹² of non-sexism and non-racialism."

Mr. Mbeki also acknowledged growing political pressure to extend equality to the economic sector¹³ in a society where two-thirds of the population lives on less than two dollars per day.

"Let all today on this day, Freedom Day, rededicate ourselves to build a better society in which we can defeat poverty, unemployment, homelessness and economic marginalization," he said.

Mr. Mbeki is due to step down as head of the ruling African National Congress at the end of the year. A fierce battle to succeed him is being waged behind the scenes.

The head of the ANC will likely be the party's candidate in presidential elections due in two years. Nearly a dozen senior leaders have been mentioned as possible contenders.

1 racism   

n.民族主义；种族歧视(意识)

参考例句：

• He said that racism is endemic in this country.他说种族主义在该国很普遍。
• Racism causes political instability and violence.种族主义道致政治动荡和暴力事件。

2 raping   

v.以暴力夺取，强夺( rape的现在分词 )；强奸

参考例句：

• In response, Charles VI sent a punitive expedition to Brittany, raping and killing the populace. 作为报复，查理六世派军讨伐布列塔尼，奸淫杀戮平民。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The conquerors marched on, burning, killing, raping and plundering as they went. 征服者所到之处烧杀奸掠，无所不做。 来自互联网

3 abiding   

adj.永久的，持久的，不变的

参考例句：

• He had an abiding love of the English countryside.他永远热爱英国的乡村。
• He has a genuine and abiding love of the craft.他对这门手艺有着真挚持久的热爱。

4 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。

5 artillery   

n.(军)火炮，大炮；炮兵(部队)

参考例句：

• This is a heavy artillery piece.这是一门重炮。
• The artillery has more firepower than the infantry.炮兵火力比步兵大。

6 cape   

n.海角，岬；披肩，短披风

参考例句：

• I long for a trip to the Cape of Good Hope.我渴望到好望角去旅行。
• She was wearing a cape over her dress.她在外套上披着一件披肩。

7 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

8 massacre   

n.残杀，大屠杀；v.残杀，集体屠杀

参考例句：

• There was a terrible massacre of villagers here during the war.在战争中，这里的村民惨遭屠杀。
• If we forget the massacre,the massacre will happen again!忘记了大屠杀，大屠杀就有可能再次发生！

9 negotiations   

协商( negotiation的名词复数 )； 谈判； 完成（难事）； 通过

参考例句：

• negotiations for a durable peace 为持久和平而进行的谈判
• Negotiations have failed to establish any middle ground. 谈判未能达成任何妥协。

10 eradicating   

摧毁，完全根除( eradicate的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• Objective: To study the acute and chronic toxicity of Ten-flavor-acne eradicating-capsule. 目的：探讨复方中药合剂十味平痤胶囊的急性及慢性毒性。
• We are on the verge of eradicating polio in the world. 我们已在世界消除小儿？痹症的边缘了。

11 legacy   

n.遗产，遗赠；先人(或过去)留下的东西

参考例句：

• They are the most precious cultural legacy our forefathers left.它们是我们祖先留下来的最宝贵的文化遗产。
• He thinks the legacy is a gift from the Gods.他认为这笔遗产是天赐之物。

12 promotion   

n.提升，晋级；促销，宣传

参考例句：

• The teacher conferred with the principal about Dick's promotion.教师与校长商谈了迪克的升级问题。
• The clerk was given a promotion and an increase in salary.那个职员升了级，加了薪。

13 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。