VOA常速英语2008年-Zimbabwe Opposition Leader Says Zimbabweans Bey

By Peta Thornycroft
Harare
23 March 2008

Opposition¹ leader Morgan Tsvangirai held his last election rally in Harare Sunday and promised that a new Zimbabwe, driven by love and not fear, is on the horizon. Mr. Tsvangirai, enjoying a huge surge of popularity around the country, is standing² against President Robert Mugabe in elections next Saturday. Peta Thornycoft reports for VOA from Harare.

Tsvangiriai, founding president of the Movement for Democratic Change, told about 20,000 supporters gathered on the edge of the city they should go out and vote.

The rally was held in an open field because the police denied the MDC access to any of the city's stadiums, according to party officials.

Nevertheless, the rally was well organized. People sang popular MDC songs, some of which mock Mr. Mugabe and his colleagues in the ruling ZANU-PF party.

Tsvangirai told the crowd that Zimbabweans are beyond fear now. He said the road for the opposition has been long and painful, but that victory is at hand.

"We will stand together, we will stand for food, we will stand for jobs, for justice," he said. "We will stand for freedom as one, for a new Zimbabwe. We will line up at those polling stations and we are going to vote in our millions."

Tsvangirai said people want jobs, food and a decent life, and that the current economic chaos³ was caused by bad government.

He praised President Mugabe for delivering Zimbabwe from colonial rule, but said it was now time for the 84-year-old leader to go. He said that so many people would vote for the MDC next Saturday that any rigging and cheating would be overcome.

"We expect the enemies of justice to engage in every trick in the book. We are ready for them," Tsvangirai said. "We are ready for those that would like to subvert⁴ the people's victory."

On Saturday, during rallies in high density⁵ suburbs in Harare, President Mugabe blamed businessmen for what he called exorbitant⁶ prices.

He also said that after the elections he would nationalize British-owned companies and ensure that new legislation giving majority ownership of all businesses to black Zimbabweans is quickly implemented⁷.

Zimbabweans are, for the first time, voting in four elections simultaneously⁸ including presidential, parliamentary and local government contests.

On Sunday, civil rights leaders briefed a group of observers from the Southern African Development Community or SADC.

Western observers are not being allowed to monitor these elections. And the government says it will not allow any white Western journalists to cover them.

1 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。

2 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。

3 chaos   

n.混乱，无秩序

参考例句：

• After the failure of electricity supply the city was in chaos.停电后，城市一片混乱。
• The typhoon left chaos behind it.台风后一片混乱。

4 subvert   

v.推翻；暗中破坏；搅乱

参考例句：

• The rebel army is attempting to subvert the government.反叛军队企图颠覆政府统治。
• They tried to subvert our state and our Party. This is the crux of the matter.他们是要颠覆我们的国家，颠覆我们的党，这是问题的实质。

5 density   

n.密集，密度，浓度

参考例句：

• The population density of that country is 685 per square mile.那个国家的人口密度为每平方英里685人。
• The region has a very high population density.该地区的人口密度很高。

6 exorbitant   

adj.过分的；过度的

参考例句：

• More competition should help to drive down exorbitant phone charges.更多的竞争有助于降低目前畸高的电话收费。
• The price of food here is exorbitant. 这儿的食物价格太高。

7 implemented   

v.实现( implement的过去式和过去分词 )；执行；贯彻；使生效

参考例句：

• This agreement, if not implemented, is a mere scrap of paper. 这个协定如不执行只不过是一纸空文。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• The economy is in danger of collapse unless far-reaching reforms are implemented. 如果不实施影响深远的改革，经济就面临崩溃的危险。 来自辞典例句

8 simultaneously   

adv.同时发生地，同时进行地

参考例句：

• The radar beam can track a number of targets almost simultaneously.雷达波几乎可以同时追着多个目标。
• The Windows allow a computer user to execute multiple programs simultaneously.Windows允许计算机用户同时运行多个程序。