VOA标准英语2008年-Bangladesh Prepares New Voter List

Bangladesh has compiled a new voters list that is expected to pave the way for fair elections scheduled to be held later this year. As Anjana Pasricha reports from New Delhi, past elections in the country have been marred¹ by allegations that ruling parties added millions of fake names to electoral rolls.

The Election Commission in Dhaka says officials assisted by army personnel, conducted door-to-door checks for nearly a year to record the identities, photographs and fingerprints² of more than 80 million voters in the country.

Officials say nearly 13 million fake, fictitious³, duplicate or underage voters in the earlier list have been eliminated.

Election Commission officials say the new list is the most accurate in Bangladesh's history.

Ataur Rahman, Professor of Political Science, at Dhaka University, agrees.

"This one is more or less flawless so far," he said. "People in general believe that this is going to be a more credible⁴ voter list than ever before."

The detailed⁵ exercise of compiling a new list began after the army-backed government pledged to reform corrupt⁶ institutions before holding elections, and virtually discarded the old rolls.

There are hopes the new voters list will enable more credible polls. Past elections in the country have been marred by allegations that results were manipulated by stuffing fake names in electoral rolls.

The interim⁷ government plans to hold elections in December. It came to power last year after elections were scrapped⁸ following violent protests by political activists⁹ who believed the polls would be rigged.

The new list is being seen as a big step forward in cleaning-up the election process. But analysts¹⁰ say the army-backed government faces many more challenges to return the country to democracy.

Rahman says the army-backed government will have to engage political parties more closely as they prepare for polls.

"Election is more than a voter list," he said. "The participation¹¹ of the political parties, and also to show that the Election Commission is neutral all along, will be also more important. The trust of the political parties must be earned by the caretaker government as well as the Election Commission before a meaningful election can take place."

The biggest hurdle¹² to a credible election so far is the refusal by some major parties to take part in the polls until their jailed leaders are released. They have been arrested on charges of corruption¹³.

 

1 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。

2 fingerprints   

n.指纹( fingerprint的名词复数 )v.指纹( fingerprint的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• Everyone's fingerprints are unique. 每个人的指纹都是独一无二的。
• They wore gloves so as not to leave any fingerprints behind (them). 他们戴着手套，以免留下指纹。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 fictitious   

adj.虚构的，假设的；空头的

参考例句：

• She invented a fictitious boyfriend to put him off.她虚构出一个男朋友来拒绝他。
• The story my mother told me when I was young is fictitious.小时候妈妈对我讲的那个故事是虚构的。

4 credible   

adj.可信任的，可靠的

参考例句：

• The news report is hardly credible.这则新闻报道令人难以置信。
• Is there a credible alternative to the nuclear deterrent?是否有可以取代核威慑力量的可靠办法？

5 detailed   

adj.详细的，详尽的，极注意细节的，完全的

参考例句：

• He had made a detailed study of the terrain.他对地形作了缜密的研究。
• A detailed list of our publications is available on request.我们的出版物有一份详细的目录备索。

6 corrupt   

v.贿赂，收买；adj.腐败的，贪污的

参考例句：

• The newspaper alleged the mayor's corrupt practices.那家报纸断言市长有舞弊行为。
• This judge is corrupt.这个法官贪污。

7 interim   

adj.暂时的，临时的；n.间歇，过渡期间

参考例句：

• The government is taking interim measures to help those in immediate need.政府正在采取临时措施帮助那些有立即需要的人。
• It may turn out to be an interim technology.这可能只是个过渡技术。

8 scrapped   

废弃(scrap的过去式与过去分词)； 打架

参考例句：

• This machine is so old that it will soon have to be scrapped. 这架机器太旧，快报废了。
• It had been thought that passport controls would be scrapped. 人们曾认为会放开护照管制。

9 activists   

n.（政治活动的）积极分子，活动家( activist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• His research work was attacked by animal rights activists . 他的研究受到了动物权益维护者的抨击。
• Party activists with lower middle class pedigrees are numerous. 党的激进分子中有很多出身于中产阶级下层。 来自《简明英汉词典》

10 analysts   

分析家，化验员( analyst的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• City analysts forecast huge profits this year. 伦敦金融分析家预测今年的利润非常丰厚。
• I was impressed by the high calibre of the researchers and analysts. 研究人员和分析人员的高素质给我留下了深刻印象。

11 participation   

n.参与，参加，分享

参考例句：

• Some of the magic tricks called for audience participation.有些魔术要求有观众的参与。
• The scheme aims to encourage increased participation in sporting activities.这个方案旨在鼓励大众更多地参与体育活动。

12 hurdle   

n.跳栏，栏架；障碍，困难；vi.进行跨栏赛

参考例句：

• The weather will be the biggest hurdle so I have to be ready.天气将会是最大的障碍，所以我必须要作好准备。
• She clocked 11.6 seconds for the 80 metre hurdle.八十米跳栏赛跑她跑了十一秒六。

13 corruption   

n.腐败，堕落，贪污

参考例句：

• The people asked the government to hit out against corruption and theft.人民要求政府严惩贪污盗窃。
• The old man reviled against corruption.那老人痛斥了贪污舞弊。