VOA标准英语10月-Nigerian President Sacks 20 Ministers in Cabinet

Nigerian President Umaru Yar'Adua dismissed 20 cabinet ministers in a government shake-up following growing criticism of the government's performance in the past 18 months. The administration has made little progress in the sectors¹ the president set as his priorities. For VOA, Gilbert da Costa reports from Abuja.
　

Nigerian President Umaru YarAdua (file photo)

The presidency² said the cabinet shake-up was to rejuvenate³ the Yar'Adua administration. The president is facing increasing criticism of his inability to meet the expectations of most Nigerians, particularly improving their lot.

The head of the non-governmental Civil Society Legislative⁴ Advocacy Centre, Auwal Rafsanjani, said the long-awaited changes could strengthen the administration to deliver on its promises.

"This is something a lot of people have been calling for, given the lack of direction in this government," he added. "The government was completely stagnated⁵ where you could not see any serious performance in any of the ministries⁶. Nigerians have been concerned that both the president and the ministers are not performing. I think there are a lot of concerns by many Nigerians and they believe that it is time for those ministers who are not performing to go."

The reorganization did not affect key ministries such as finance, defense⁷ and foreign affairs. President Yar'Adua presides over a 44-member cabinet, with a representative from each of Nigeria's 36 states.

The president is expected to submit a list of nominees⁸, to replace the dismissed ministers, to the parliament for approval. The ruling party has an overwhelming majority in both houses of parliament.

Mr. Yar'Adua made sweeping⁹ changes to the structure of his ministries last month in a prelude¹⁰ to the reorganization.

The 57-year-old leader is most certain to announce a minister for a separate ministry¹¹ tasked with pacifying¹² the oil-rich Niger Delta¹³ where militants¹⁴ are fighting for a greater share of the region's oil wealth.

The president's victory at the 2007 presidential election is being challenged at the Supreme¹⁵ Court amid persistent¹⁶ rumors¹⁷ that he has health problems.

Mr. Yar'Adua says he will step down if the court eventually rules the poll was invalid¹⁸.

1 sectors   

n.部门( sector的名词复数 )；领域；防御地区；扇形

参考例句：

• Berlin was divided into four sectors after the war. 战后柏林分成了4 个区。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Industry and agriculture are the two important sectors of the national economy. 工业和农业是国民经济的两个重要部门。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

2 presidency   

n.总统(校长，总经理)的职位(任期)

参考例句：

• Roosevelt was elected four times to the presidency of the United States.罗斯福连续当选四届美国总统。
• Two candidates are emerging as contestants for the presidency.两位候选人最终成为总统职位竞争者。

3 rejuvenate   

v.(使)返老还童；(使)恢复活力

参考例句：

• The mountain air will rejuvenate you.山里的空气会使你恢复活力。
• Exercise is perhaps the most effective way to rejuvenate your skin.锻炼可能是使皮肤恢复活力的最好手段。

4 legislative   

n.立法机构，立法权；adj.立法的，有立法权的

参考例句：

• Congress is the legislative branch of the U.S. government.国会是美国政府的立法部门。
• Today's hearing was just the first step in the legislative process.今天的听证会只是展开立法程序的第一步。

5 stagnated   

v.停滞，不流动，不发展( stagnate的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The balloting had stagnated, he couldn't win. 投票工作陷于停顿，他不能得胜。 来自辞典例句
• His mind has stagnated since his retirement. 他退休后头脑迟钝了。 来自辞典例句

6 ministries   

（政府的）部( ministry的名词复数 )； 神职； 牧师职位； 神职任期

参考例句：

• Local authorities must refer everything to the central ministries. 地方管理机构应请示中央主管部门。
• The number of Ministries has been pared down by a third. 部委的数量已经减少了1/3。

7 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

8 nominees   

n.被提名者，被任命者( nominee的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• She's one of the nominees. 她是被提名者之一。 来自超越目标英语 第2册
• A startling number of his nominees for senior positions have imploded. 他所提名的高级官员被否决的数目令人震惊。 来自互联网

9 sweeping   

adj.范围广大的，一扫无遗的

参考例句：

• The citizens voted for sweeping reforms.公民投票支持全面的改革。
• Can you hear the wind sweeping through the branches?你能听到风掠过树枝的声音吗？

10 prelude   

n.序言，前兆，序曲

参考例句：

• The prelude to the musical composition is very long.这首乐曲的序曲很长。
• The German invasion of Poland was a prelude to World War II.德国入侵波兰是第二次世界大战的序幕。

11 ministry   

n.(政府的)部；牧师

参考例句：

• They sent a deputation to the ministry to complain.他们派了一个代表团到部里投诉。
• We probed the Air Ministry statements.我们调查了空军部的记录。

12 pacifying   

使（某人）安静( pacify的现在分词 )； 息怒； 抚慰； 在（有战争的地区、国家等）实现和平

参考例句：

• The papers put the emphasis on pacifying rather than suppressing the protesters. 他们强调要安抚抗议者而不是动用武力镇压。
• Hawthorn products have the function of pacifying the stomach and spleen, and promoting digestion. 山楂制品，和中消食。

13 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。

14 militants   

激进分子，好斗分子( militant的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The militants have been sporadically fighting the government for years. 几年来，反叛分子一直对政府实施零星的战斗。
• Despite the onslaught, Palestinian militants managed to fire off rockets. 尽管如此，巴勒斯坦的激进分子仍然发射导弹。

15 supreme   

adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的

参考例句：

• It was the supreme moment in his life.那是他一生中最重要的时刻。
• He handed up the indictment to the supreme court.他把起诉书送交最高法院。

16 persistent   

adj.坚持不懈的，执意的；持续的

参考例句：

• Albert had a persistent headache that lasted for three days.艾伯特连续头痛了三天。
• She felt embarrassed by his persistent attentions.他不时地向她大献殷勤，使她很难为情。

17 rumors   

n.传闻( rumor的名词复数 )；[古]名誉；咕哝；[古]喧嚷v.传闻( rumor的第三人称单数 )；[古]名誉；咕哝；[古]喧嚷

参考例句：

• Rumors have it that the school was burned down. 有谣言说学校给烧掉了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Rumors of a revolt were afloat. 叛变的谣言四起。 来自《简明英汉词典》

18 invalid   

n.病人，伤残人；adj.有病的，伤残的；无效的

参考例句：

• He will visit an invalid.他将要去看望一个病人。
• A passport that is out of date is invalid.护照过期是无效的。