voa标准英语2008年-Kenya Celebrates President-elect Obama as Nativ

Barack Obama's election victory was greeted with particular enthusiasm in Kenya, where he is viewed by many as a native son. Crowds celebrated¹ in the western village where his grandmother and other relatives live, and the president even announced a national holiday to celebrate the event. For VOA, Derek Kilner has more from Nairobi.

Barack Obama's election victory has been celebrated around the world, but perhaps nowhere as much as in Kenya, where President Mwai Kibaki announced that Thursday will be a national holiday.

"Because of his roots here in Kenya, as a country we are full of pride for his success. I therefore wish to announce that tomorrow, Thursday the sixth of November the year 2008 be observed as a public holiday to enable all Kenyans to celebrate this historic achievement for President-elect Obama," said President Kibaki.
　

The half-brother of US President-elect Barack Obama, Said Obama (L), his grandmother Sarah Obama (C) and his half sister Auma Obama, get ready for a press conference in the village of Kogelo, 05 Nov 2008

In the village of Kogelo in western Kenya, where Mr. Obama's grandmother and other relatives live, crowds danced in celebration as the news of the Obama victory was announced shortly after dawn. Mr. Obama's uncle, Sa'id Obama, spoke² to VOA from the village.

"People are so happy, so excited. People are dancing. People are in a festive³ mood," he said. "And we are also slaughtering⁴ cows, goats, sheep, I mean people are going to feast literally⁵ to celebrate Barack's win."

In the nearby city of Kisumu that is dominated by the Luo group, to which Obama's family and Kenyan Prime Minister Raila Odinga belong, Obama mania⁶ is at its most intense. The celebrations spilled out into the streets.

There is also a large Luo community in Nairobi's biggest slum, Kibera, and there too, raucous⁷ festivities greeted the news of Obama's win. But in Nairobi, Kenyans from different backgrounds packed into the city's bars and restaurants to watch Obama's speech.

Stephen Dunga, whose family is from the country's Eastern Province, watched the speech in the downtown restaurant where he works.

"I have been watching CNN since morning. Each community supports Obama, they are praying for him to win," said Dunga. "I think the celebration is country wide. Not from one province or the other."

At the American ambassador's residence, students, officials and members of civil society, both Kenyan and American, cheered the results.

"This is a big lesson," said Njeri Kabeberi, director of Kenya's Center for Multi-party Politics. "We had our own problems in January, February after we messed up with our own electoral process and messed up with our own tallying⁸ and counting process of the elections. So this is a big lesson that you do not have to steal votes, you do not have to discriminate⁹ against other communities, because we did discriminate against other communities. So what is most important is for the leadership that is going to provide that particular country what that country needs. And in this case, it is change they can believe in, and for Kenya we better actually start believing in some change in our leadership style."

Back on the streets of Nairobi, music shops throughout the city are playing Jamaican reggae star Cocoa Tea's hit song celebrating Mr. Obama.

A shopkeeper says it is the hottest selling CD in town. Bernard has just walked in to purchase the disk after hearing it playing in the street.

"I think Kenyan people have got a lot to learn from the American election. It has shown true democracy, it does not matter how you look like, it does not matter where you come from," he said. "It is about what policies you have for the people, so I think in Kenya next time we make a decision about our leaders we will know what to look for."

The election results arrived early Wednesday, catching¹⁰ many people as they headed to work. But with a holiday declared for Thursday, the celebrations could be even stronger.

1 celebrated   

adj.有名的，声誉卓著的

参考例句：

• He was soon one of the most celebrated young painters in England.不久他就成了英格兰最负盛名的年轻画家之一。
• The celebrated violinist was mobbed by the audience.观众团团围住了这位著名的小提琴演奏家。

2 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。

3 festive   

adj.欢宴的，节日的

参考例句：

• It was Christmas and everyone was in festive mood.当时是圣诞节，每个人都沉浸在节日的欢乐中。
• We all wore festive costumes to the ball.我们都穿着节日的盛装前去参加舞会。

4 slaughtering   

v.屠杀，杀戮，屠宰( slaughter的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• The Revolutionary Tribunal went to work, and a steady slaughtering began. 革命法庭投入工作，持续不断的大屠杀开始了。 来自英汉非文学 - 历史
• \"Isn't it terrific slaughtering pigs? “宰猪的！ 来自汉英文学 - 中国现代小说

5 literally   

adv.照字面意义，逐字地；确实

参考例句：

• He translated the passage literally.他逐字逐句地翻译这段文字。
• Sometimes she would not sit down till she was literally faint.有时候，她不走到真正要昏厥了，决不肯坐下来。

6 mania   

n.疯狂；躁狂症，狂热，癖好

参考例句：

• Football mania is sweeping the country.足球热正风靡全国。
• Collecting small items can easily become a mania.收藏零星物品往往容易变成一种癖好。

7 raucous   

adj.(声音)沙哑的，粗糙的

参考例句：

• I heard sounds of raucous laughter upstairs.我听见楼上传来沙哑的笑声。
• They heard a bottle being smashed,then more raucous laughter.他们听见酒瓶摔碎的声音，然后是一阵更喧闹的笑声。

8 tallying   

v.计算，清点( tally的现在分词 )；加标签（或标记）于；（使）符合；（使）吻合

参考例句：

• In 2007 the state set a U.S. record, tallying 141 twisters. 该州在2007年以总计出现了141个龙卷风而创下了一个美国记录。 来自互联网
• We charge extra fee at 100% of the rates of tallying fees. 我们按理货收费率的100%收取附加费。 来自互联网

9 discriminate   

v.区别，辨别，区分；有区别地对待

参考例句：

• You must learn to discriminate between facts and opinions.你必须学会把事实和看法区分出来。
• They can discriminate hundreds of colours.他们能分辨上百种颜色。

10 catching   

adj.易传染的，有魅力的，迷人的，接住

参考例句：

• There are those who think eczema is catching.有人就是认为湿疹会传染。
• Enthusiasm is very catching.热情非常富有感染力。