2007年VOA标准英语-Mali Re-Elects Amani Amadou Toure for Second Te

By Selah Hennessy
Dakar
15 May 2007

The incumbent¹ president of one of Africa's poorest countries, Mali, has been declared the winner of the country's recent presidential election. But, as in several African countries where there have recently been elections, there is growing apathy² for the democratic process, and doubt about what the government can deliver in terms of economic progress. Selah Hennessy reports from the VOA West Africa Bureau in Dakar.

President Amadou Toumani Toure votes, 29 April 2007

President Amani Amadou Toure was a gentleman on voting day, standing³ aside to let a woman cast her own vote before doing so himself. There was some commotion⁴ here, unlike most voting stations. But he did eventually manage to cast his ballot⁵.

Mr. Toure's triumph in the election was no surprise. The former military leader, who calls himself the "soldier of democracy," won a clear victory. It was the fourth democratic election since the end of military rule.

At other polling stations voters seemed somewhat confused about how to vote.

And there was an apathetic⁶ mood in much of the capital. Less than 40 percent of the population turned out for the election. Many people saw the re-election of Mr. Toure, who has been in power since 2002, as a foregone conclusion and said they did not see any point in voting.

But Ibrahim Boubacar Keita, a rival candidate who was once an ally, is one opposition⁷ voice that was heard during the election.

Large crowds listened to his speeches, in which he called for an end to Mr. Toure's-broad-based politics and voiced the need for effective reforms that would improve the lives of the common citizen.

Ibrahima Fadiga is one unemployed⁸ man who agrees with Mr. Keita's views. He says no one has enough money to buy food, electricity or water. He says the government makes a lot of false promises. Fadiga is not the only one angry.

Another opposition activist⁹ says he is tired of seeing the president erect¹⁰ new monuments and begin new projects, when nothing changes for most people. He says the president should stop making election promises that are only lies. He says the president must be more honest.

It seems there are many speeds to Mali's economy. Overall, growth is above five percent.

Peaceful elections bring aid to the country, hundreds of millions of dollars towards building new roads, schools, and hospitals.

But Mali's problems persist. Little gets built and more than half the adult population remain unemployed.

While democracy is being slowly consolidated¹¹ in Mali, like in many underdeveloped countries throughout West African countries, large chunks¹² of the population continue to stagnate¹³ in idleness and disease.

1 incumbent   

adj.成为责任的，有义务的；现任的，在职的

参考例句：

• He defeated the incumbent governor by a large plurality.他以压倒多数票击败了现任州长。
• It is incumbent upon you to warn them.你有责任警告他们。

2 apathy   

n.漠不关心，无动于衷；冷淡

参考例句：

• He was sunk in apathy after his failure.他失败后心恢意冷。
• She heard the story with apathy.她听了这个故事无动于衷。

3 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

4 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。

5 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。

6 apathetic   

adj.冷漠的，无动于衷的

参考例句：

• I realised I was becoming increasingly depressed and apathetic.我意识到自己越来越消沉、越来越冷漠了。
• You won't succeed if you are apathetic.要是你冷淡，你就不能成功。

7 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。

8 unemployed   

adj.失业的，没有工作的；未动用的，闲置的

参考例句：

• There are now over four million unemployed workers in this country.这个国家现有四百万失业人员。
• The unemployed hunger for jobs.失业者渴望得到工作。

9 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。

10 erect   

n./v.树立，建立，使竖立；adj.直立的，垂直的

参考例句：

• She held her head erect and her back straight.她昂着头，把背挺得笔直。
• Soldiers are trained to stand erect.士兵们训练站得笔直。

11 consolidated   

a.联合的

参考例句：

• With this new movie he has consolidated his position as the country's leading director. 他新执导的影片巩固了他作为全国最佳导演的地位。
• Those two banks have consolidated and formed a single large bank. 那两家银行已合并成一家大银行。

12 chunks   

厚厚的一块( chunk的名词复数 )； （某物）相当大的数量或部分

参考例句：

• a tin of pineapple chunks 一罐菠萝块
• Those chunks of meat are rather large—could you chop them up a bIt'smaller? 这些肉块相当大，还能再切小一点吗？

13 stagnate   

v.停止

参考例句：

• Where the masses are not roused,work will stagnate.哪里不发动群众，哪里的工作就死气沉沉。
• Taiwan's economy is likely to stagnate for a long time to come.台湾经济很可能会停滞很长一段时间。