VOA常速英语2008年-Few Turn Up at Many Rural Polling Stations in Z

By Peta Thornycroft
Harare
29 March 2008

The polls are closing in Zimbabwe after elections to determine the future of longtime President Robert Mugabe. Peta Thornycroft reports from the capital, Harare, that voting was largely peaceful but few voters turned up at many rural polling stations, and one person was killed in apparent political violence.

Many voters in Harare lined up at polling stations hours before the polls opened on Saturday morning. They remembered the last presidential election, in 2002, when some voters never got to cast their votes.

For the first time, people are voting for a new president, parliament, senate and local government councils simultaneously¹. Two opposition² candidates - Morgan Tsvangirai of the Movement for Democratic Change and Simba Makoni, an independent - are challenging Mr. Mugabe, who has ruled the country since 1980.

One voter in Mbare, a high density³ suburb of Harare, said he remembered the last presidential election and how he queued most of the day before he could vote. He said it was much easier this time. "In 2002, there was only one polling station here. I waked up at 6.30 and then I went to vote at 4 pm," he said.

He said this time, he voted within 90 minutes.

Other voters in Mbare said they were voting for change to ease their poverty and for a better life for their children. Zimbabwe has been suffering from runaway⁴ inflation that has reached above 100,000 percent. "We are looking for change....No teachers, no food for breakfast," said one voter.

The independent Zimbabwe Election Support Network says that voter turnout has been good so far.

However, some commentators⁵ said they were surprised to see that so few voters lined up in rural areas where 60 percent of the population lives.

Substantial numbers of voters were turned away, perhaps as much as 15 percent, said one independent election observer Saturday.

The opposition to Mr. Mugabe has said it expects widespread rigging. But Mr. Mugabe has said his conscience does not allow him to cheat.

A young man in Mbare said his name was not on the voters' roll, but he still believed he would be allowed to vote before the end of the day. "I ws not able to vote. I registered at harare High School. They are telling me I must register today and vote," he said.

The day was marred⁶ by two apparent acts of political violence. The dead person in Insiza, in rural Matabeleland province, was apparently⁷ a member of the public who was killed by a moving vehicle. The vehicle, according to the independent Zimbabwe Election Support Network, may have been shot at.

In the city of Bulawayo, a bomb went off at the home of a ruling party parliamentary candidate. No injuries were reported.

Noel Kututwa, chairman of the Zimbabwe Electoral Support Network, said it is too early to say whether the elections have been free and fair. He said that the counting of votes, not the actual voting, could pose problems. "It is quite clear, from a technical aspect, people have freely gone to polling stations and voted. As in past elections, there is very little problem on voting day. The problem issues come at counting and tabulation⁸, and we will wait and see how that happens when the polls have closed," he said.

He said as far as he knew counting would begin immediately after the polls close on Saturday.

1 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。

2 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。

3 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。

4 runaway   

n.逃走的人，逃亡，亡命者；adj.逃亡的，逃走的

参考例句：

• The police have not found the runaway to date.警察迄今没抓到逃犯。
• He was praised for bringing up the runaway horse.他勒住了脱缰之马受到了表扬。

5 commentators   

n.评论员( commentator的名词复数 )；时事评论员；注释者；实况广播员

参考例句：

• Sports commentators repeat the same phrases ad nauseam. 体育解说员翻来覆去说着同样的词语，真叫人腻烦。
• Television sports commentators repeat the same phrases ad nauseam. 电视体育解说员说来说去就是那么几句话，令人厌烦。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 marred   

adj. 被损毁, 污损的

参考例句：

• The game was marred by the behaviour of drunken fans. 喝醉了的球迷行为不轨，把比赛给搅了。
• Bad diction marred the effectiveness of his speech. 措词不当影响了他演说的效果。

7 apparently   

adv.显然地；表面上，似乎

参考例句：

• An apparently blind alley leads suddenly into an open space.山穷水尽，豁然开朗。
• He was apparently much surprised at the news.他对那个消息显然感到十分惊异。

8 tabulation   

作表，表格； 表列结果； 列表； 造表

参考例句：

• A tabulation of a function of two variables is cumbersome, but possible. 二元函数的列表法是不方便的，然而是可能的。
• Such a tabulation cannot represent adequately the complex gradation relationships between the types. 这样的图表不能充分代表各类型之间的复杂级配关系。