VOA标准英语2009年-Mozambican Voters Poised for Wednesday Ele

By Scott Bobb
Maputo
27 October 2009

 
Supporters attend ruling Frelimo party election rally in Nampula city, Mozambique, 25 Oct 2009
Election officials in Mozambique say they are ready for Wednesday's national elections. Voters are to elect a president, parliament and provincial¹ assemblies in what is seen as an important test for opposition² parties.

Election officials have assured Mozambique's nearly nine million registered voters that materials have been distributed to all the country's 13,000 polling centers in time for Wednesday's vote.

Several thousand candidates from 19 political parties have been campaigning for weeks, promising³ to fight poverty, create jobs, build infrastructure⁴ and improve health and education services.

The Front for the Liberation of Mozambique, or Frelimo, which led the struggle for independence, has dominated politics for the past 35 years. Its candidate, President Armando Guebuza, is seeking a second, five-year term.

He is being challenged by Afonso Dhlakama of the opposition National Resistance Movement, or Renamo, which fought a 16-year civil war with Frelimo.

Analysts⁶ say Renamo has been weakened by a split that led to the formation in March of a new party, the Mozambique Democratic Movement led by Daviz Simango.

Simango is the mayor of the country's second city, Beira. He was expelled from Renamo, but ran for re-election as an independent in municipal elections last year and won.

A political analyst⁵ with the Mozambican News Agency, Paul Faubet, says the elections do not appear to be generating much excitement in the capital area, a Frelimo stronghold. But he says the contest is intense in central and northern parts of the country.

"There certainly seems to be great interest in areas of the country that are more competitive, in the most populous⁷ provinces, Zambezia and Nampula, where the three candidates put most of their effort," Faubet said.

Professor Gil Lauriciano of Maputo's Institute for International Relations, says 45 year-old Simango is trying to energize⁸ young voters, much like U.S. President Barack Obama did in his campaign last year.

"This time, yes, we have this new phenomenon of the youth," he said. " I think we are experiencing some Obama-mania here in Mozambique as well."

He says he hopes Simango's candidacy will boost voter turnout, which fell to 36 percent in national elections five years ago.

The campaign has been marred⁹ by isolated¹⁰ incidents of intimidation¹¹ and violence. And opposition parties have accused the election commission of disqualifying some of their candidates on technical grounds.

But the campaign has been largely violence-free and well-covered in the news media.

1 provincial   

adj.省的，地方的；n．外省人，乡下人

参考例句：

• City dwellers think country folk have provincial attitudes.城里人以为乡下人思想迂腐。
• Two leading cadres came down from the provincial capital yesterday.昨天从省里下来了两位领导干部。

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 promising   

adj.有希望的，有前途的

参考例句：

• The results of the experiments are very promising.实验的结果充满了希望。
• We're trying to bring along one or two promising young swimmers.我们正设法培养出一两名有前途的年轻游泳选手。

4 infrastructure   

n.下部构造，下部组织，基础结构，基础设施

参考例句：

• We should step up the development of infrastructure for research.加强科学基础设施建设。
• We should strengthen cultural infrastructure and boost various types of popular culture.加强文化基础设施建设，发展各类群众文化。

5 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。

6 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。

7 populous   

adj.人口稠密的，人口众多的

参考例句：

• London is the most populous area of Britain.伦敦是英国人口最稠密的地区。
• China is the most populous developing country in the world.中国是世界上人口最多的发展中国家。

8 energize   

vt.给予(某人或某物)精力、能量

参考例句：

• It is used to energize the city.它的作用是为城市供给能量。
• This is a great way to energize yourself and give yourself more power!这种方法非常棒，可以激活你的能量，让你有更多的活力！

9 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。

10 isolated   

adj.与世隔绝的

参考例句：

• His bad behaviour was just an isolated incident. 他的不良行为只是个别事件。
• Patients with the disease should be isolated. 这种病的患者应予以隔离。

11 intimidation   

n.恐吓，威胁

参考例句：

• The Opposition alleged voter intimidation by the army.反对党声称投票者受到军方的恐吓。
• The gang silenced witnesses by intimidation.恶帮用恐吓的手段使得证人不敢说话。