VOA标准英语2009年-Afghan Campaign for Presidential Runoff St

By Sean Maroney
Islamabad
24 October 2009
 
Workers sit near piles of ballot¹ boxes before loading them on to trucks at Independent Election Commission compound in Kabul, 24 Oct 2009
Taliban insurgents² are threatening to target Afghans who vote in the country's November 7 presidential runoff. Afghan election officials are working to improve security while minimizing fraud.

The lead up to Afghanistan's second round of voting is beginning much like the first round under the Taliban's threats of violence.

Campaigning officially began Saturday in the runoff election between incumbent³ President Hamid Karzai and top rival, former Foreign Minister Abdullah Abdullah.

In a statement released Saturday, the Taliban denounced the election as an "American process" and vowed⁴ to disrupt it.

The country's Independent Election Commission spokesman Noor Mohammad Noor says that so far, the preparations are going smoothly⁵.

"The preparations for the second round [are] going on," he said. "Until now, we don't have any specific difficulties or challenges, and we are going to go ahead."

Massive fraud in the August 20 election led officials to call for a runoff.

 
US Special Envoy⁶ to Pakistan, Afghanistan, Richard Holbrooke (file photo)
On Friday, the U.S. special envoy to Afghanistan, Richard Holbrooke, said he believes there will be less fraud this time around because only two candidates will be on the ballot and more international teams will be in place to monitor.

But security is one of the top concerns as election officials hurry to deliver supplies to polling stations before the harsh winter weather cuts off access.

International officials have pledged the services of coalition⁷ forces in order to ensure voter safety.

Reports from the first round of voting detailed⁸ a number of violent attacks by the Taliban, including rocket fire and the amputations of ink-stained fingers on voters' hands.

1 ballot   

n.（不记名）投票，投票总数，投票权；vi.投票

参考例句：

• The members have demanded a ballot.会员们要求投票表决。
• The union said they will ballot members on whether to strike.工会称他们将要求会员投票表决是否罢工。

2 insurgents   

n.起义，暴动，造反( insurgent的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The regular troops of Baden joined the insurgents. 巴登的正规军参加到起义军方面来了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Against the Taliban and Iraqi insurgents, these problems are manageable. 要对付塔利班与伊拉克叛乱分子，这些问题还是可以把握住的。 来自互联网

3 incumbent   

adj.成为责任的，有义务的；现任的，在职的

参考例句：

• He defeated the incumbent governor by a large plurality.他以压倒多数票击败了现任州长。
• It is incumbent upon you to warn them.你有责任警告他们。

4 vowed   

起誓，发誓（vow的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• He vowed quite solemnly that he would carry out his promise. 他非常庄严地发誓要实现他的诺言。
• I vowed to do more of the cooking myself. 我发誓自己要多动手做饭。

5 smoothly   

adv.平滑地，顺利地，流利地，流畅地

参考例句：

• The workmen are very cooperative,so the work goes on smoothly.工人们十分合作，所以工作进展顺利。
• Just change one or two words and the sentence will read smoothly.这句话只要动一两个字就顺了。

6 envoy   

n.使节，使者，代表，公使

参考例句：

• Their envoy showed no sign of responding to our proposals.他们的代表对我方的提议毫无回应的迹象。
• The government has not yet appointed an envoy to the area.政府尚未向这一地区派过外交官。

7 coalition   

n.结合体，同盟，结合，联合

参考例句：

• The several parties formed a coalition.这几个政党组成了政治联盟。
• Coalition forces take great care to avoid civilian casualties.联盟军队竭尽全力避免造成平民伤亡。

8 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。