VOA标准英语2009年-Zimbabwe's PM Designate Morgan Tsvangirai Annou

Zimbabwe's main opposition¹ leader and prime minister-designate, Morgan Tsvangirai, has named Movement for Democratic Change Secretary-General Tendai Biti to be his finance minister.
　
Morgan Tsvangirai, leader of Zimbabwe's main opposition party, addreses a press conference in Harare, 10 Feb 2009

A day before being sworn into office, Prime Minister-designate Morgan Tsvangirai announced his cabinet of ministers and deputies. The cabinet is almost equally divided between the two factions² of the Movement for Democratic Change and President Robert Mugabe's ZANU-PF.

Tendai Biti will be the finance minister, who many analysts³ say is tough and principled enough to take on the powerful governor of the reserve bank Gideon Gono, who usurped⁴ most of the finance ministry's powers in the last five years.

Mr. Mugabe re-appointed Gono for an additional five years, despite the fact he has been in office while Zimbabwe suffered record - breaking inflation and complete devaluation of its currency.

Mr. Tsvangirai also named Roy Bennett as deputy agriculture minister. The white Zimbabwean politician is a former commercial farmer whose coffee farm was taken from him several years ago.

Bennett was jailed for eight months in 2004 after pushing former Justice Minister Patrick Chinamasa to the floor during a debate in parliament. He fled the country in 2006 to live in South Africa after he was implicated⁵ in an alleged⁶ plot to kill Mr. Mugabe. He only returned to Zimbabwe two weeks ago when prospects⁷ of a power-sharing government brightened.

The MDC's Arthur Mutambara is expected to be sworn in Wednesday as a deputy prime minister. He has not announced his three ministers and one deputy assigned during negotiations⁸. however, many are speculating that Senator David Coltart will be chosen to one of the toughest posts: minister of education. Ninety percent of Zimbabwe's children are not in school because teachers are not paid enough to get to school to teach them.

Mr. Tsvangirai and Mr. Mugabe signed a power-sharing deal on September 15, but the pact⁹ quickly stalled over disputes about who would control key ministries¹⁰. They only agreed to a deal under intense regional pressure and after lengthy¹¹ talks mediated¹² by South Africa.

Mr. Tsvangirai is set to be sworn in as prime minister on Wednesday, with the cabinet taking office on Friday.

Mr. Tsvangirai is holding a rally in Harare to celebrate what many in the MDC believe is the beginning of the end of Mr. Mugabe's nearly 30 years in power.

1 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。

2 factions   

组织中的小派别，派系( faction的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The gens also lives on in the "factions." 氏族此外还继续存在于“factions〔“帮”〕中。 来自英汉非文学 - 家庭、私有制和国家的起源
• rival factions within the administration 政府中的对立派别

3 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。

4 usurped   

篡夺，霸占( usurp的过去式和过去分词 )； 盗用； 篡夺，篡权

参考例句：

• That magazine usurped copyrighted material. 那杂志盗用了版权为他人所有的素材。
• The expression'social engineering'has been usurped by the Utopianist without a shadow of light. “社会工程”这个词已被乌托邦主义者毫无理由地盗用了。

5 implicated   

adj.密切关联的；牵涉其中的

参考例句：

• These groups are very strongly implicated in the violence. 这些组织与这起暴力事件有着极大的关联。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Having the stolen goods in his possession implicated him in the robbery. 因藏有赃物使他涉有偷盗的嫌疑。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

6 alleged   

a.被指控的，嫌疑的

参考例句：

• It was alleged that he had taken bribes while in office. 他被指称在任时收受贿赂。
• alleged irregularities in the election campaign 被指称竞选运动中的不正当行为

7 prospects   

n.希望，前途(恒为复数)

参考例句：

• There is a mood of pessimism in the company about future job prospects. 公司中有一种对工作前景悲观的情绪。
• They are less sanguine about the company's long-term prospects. 他们对公司的远景不那么乐观。

8 negotiations   

协商( negotiation的名词复数 )； 谈判； 完成（难事）； 通过

参考例句：

• negotiations for a durable peace 为持久和平而进行的谈判
• Negotiations have failed to establish any middle ground. 谈判未能达成任何妥协。

9 pact   

n.合同，条约，公约，协定

参考例句：

• The two opposition parties made an electoral pact.那两个反对党订了一个有关选举的协定。
• The trade pact between those two countries came to an end.那两国的通商协定宣告结束。

10 ministries   

（政府的）部( ministry的名词复数 )； 神职； 牧师职位； 神职任期

参考例句：

• Local authorities must refer everything to the central ministries. 地方管理机构应请示中央主管部门。
• The number of Ministries has been pared down by a third. 部委的数量已经减少了1/3。

11 lengthy   

adj.漫长的，冗长的

参考例句：

• We devoted a lengthy and full discussion to this topic.我们对这个题目进行了长时间的充分讨论。
• The professor wrote a lengthy book on Napoleon.教授写了一部有关拿破仑的巨著。

12 mediated   

调停，调解，斡旋( mediate的过去式和过去分词 )； 居间促成； 影响…的发生； 使…可能发生

参考例句：

• He mediated in the quarrel between the two boys. 他调解两个孩子之间的争吵。
• The government mediated between the workers and the employers. 政府在工人与雇主间搞调和。