VOA标准英语2009年-Africans Await Obama Inauguration with Mixed Ex

People around the world are looking forward to the inauguration¹ of Barack Obama on January 20 as president of the United States. Many hope he will bring change to a world they believe is in crisis. For others, Mr. Obama's ancestral roots in Africa mean even more.
　

Kenyans in Kisumu, Kenya, celebrate the victory of Barack Obama in US presidential election, 05 Nov 2008

Millions of members of the African diaspora stayed up all night, like many people in America, to cheer when Barack Obama was declared the next president of the United States.

A professor at Johannesburg's Witwatersrand University, Veronique Tadjo, says for people with African ancestry² it was an emotional as well as historic moment.

"Obama has brought a big hope and has changed a lot of things for a lot of people in terms of how they view themselves. A black man becoming the most powerful man on the planet is something that is very important," she said.

But an African-American researcher who has lived on the continent for 13 years, Francis Kornegay of Johannesburg's Institute for Policy Studies, says African commentators³ are warning against expecting too much from the Obama presidency⁴.

"There is a lot of euphoria around his becoming president and a feeling that because of that he will give the continent a lot of attention. But there is nothing that really goes beyond that, that critically looks at what is in prospect⁵," he said.
　

Barack Obama

Kornegay notes that the Obama administration will inherit several crises that are priorities for U.S. policy, namely Iraq, Afghanistan, the Middle East conflict, Pakistan and India.

"That is where the focus of U.S. policy is going to be. So there is no realistic prospect that Africa would overtake any of those concerns. On the other hand there are some pressing security concerns on the continent," said Kornegay.

For example, he says new ideas are needed for the crisis in Somalia, which after two decades as a failed state and millions of dollars in aid is about to be overtaken by Islamic militants⁶.

Darfur and eastern Congo are simmering conflicts that risk exploding into war again. And Zimbabwe will need concerted international action, preferably through African multilateral groups, to prevent a massive humanitarian⁷ crisis.

Tadjo says she hopes the Obama administration will adopt a tough stance with African leaders who abuse their powers and their people.

"Our main problem is leadership and bad governance so until we sort this out, there is nothing we can do," she said. "In Africa there are countries that are extremely rich in terms of natural resources, but nothing is happening. So, governance, governance, governance."

But Senegalese analyst⁸ Lamine Savane says whatever the policy goals, a new style of leadership is needed.

"What is it [leadership] going to be? Is it going to be a big brother-little brother in a positive way? Or is it going to be a big brother in a bully⁹ way? I think the way the world is today, the bully thing does not work anymore," said Savane.

Tadjo, who is of French-Ivorian heritage, says she fears Mr. Obama will face additional challenges because of his mixed-race heritage.

"It will be a hard presidency, and from both sides, from the white side people waiting for him to fail, and from the black side because people have always looked at mixed-race people with a bit of suspicion, who are they, who do they represent? So he is going to have a tough job," she said.

But many believe Mr. Obama can also be a bridge between races, cultures and peoples. And they hope he will listen and bring greater balance to relations between Africa and the United States.

1 inauguration   

n.开幕、就职典礼

参考例句：

• The inauguration of a President of the United States takes place on January 20.美国总统的就职典礼于一月二十日举行。
• Three celebrated tenors sang at the president's inauguration.3位著名的男高音歌手在总统就职仪式上演唱。

2 ancestry   

n.祖先，家世

参考例句：

• Their ancestry settled the land in 1856.他们的祖辈1856年在这块土地上定居下来。
• He is an American of French ancestry.他是法国血统的美国人。

3 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》

4 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。

5 prospect   

n.前景，前途；景色，视野

参考例句：

• This state of things holds out a cheerful prospect.事态呈现出可喜的前景。
• The prospect became more evident.前景变得更加明朗了。

6 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。

7 humanitarian   

n.人道主义者，博爱者，基督凡人论者

参考例句：

• She has many humanitarian interests and contributes a lot to them.她拥有很多慈善事业，并作了很大的贡献。
• The British government has now suspended humanitarian aid to the area.英国政府现已暂停对这一地区的人道主义援助。

8 analyst   

n.分析家，化验员；心理分析学家

参考例句：

• What can you contribute to the position of a market analyst?你有什么技能可有助于市场分析员的职务？
• The analyst is required to interpolate values between standards.分析人员需要在这些标准中插入一些值。

9 bully   

n.恃强欺弱者，小流氓；vt.威胁，欺侮

参考例句：

• A bully is always a coward.暴汉常是懦夫。
• The boy gave the bully a pelt on the back with a pebble.那男孩用石子掷击小流氓的背脊。