VOA标准英语2009-Clinton Cites 'Huge Credibility Gap' in Iran

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said Monday that a "huge credibility gap" remains¹ among Iranians about their country's June 12 presidential election, despite the partial vote recount that is said to have upheld the announced victory by incumbent² President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Clinton also deplored³ Iran's detention⁴ of several Iranian staff members of the British embassy in Tehran.
　
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, 08 Jun 2009

Clinton says the broad skepticism among Iranians about the electoral process and the apparent re-election of President Ahmadinejad is unlikely to be quelled⁵ by Monday's announcement by Iran's Guardian⁶ Council that a partial recount upheld the originally-announced outcome.

The powerful council, which supervises elections and has wide-ranging powers in the Islamic government, said a random⁷ recount of 10 percent of the ballot⁸ boxes nationwide upheld Mr. Ahmadinejad's landslide⁹ victory over reformist challenger Mir Hossein Mousavi.

Clinton, appearing at the State Department's daily press briefing, said she did not want to speculate on Iran's political future, but she that the reported recount is unlikely to do much to defuse election-related tensions.

"Obviously, they have a huge credibility gap with their own people as to the election process," said Hillary Clinton. "And I don't think that's going to disappear by any finding of a limited review of a relatively-small number of ballots¹⁰. But clearly, these internal matters are for Iranians themselves to address. And we hope that they will be given the opportunity to do so in a peaceful way that respects the right of expression. And it has been my position and that of our administration that we support the fundamental values of peoples' voices being heard, their votes being counted. And we'll have to see how this unfolds."

Clinton declined to say whether the Obama administration will formally recognize Mr. Ahmadinejad's re-election, saying U.S. officials are going to "take this a day at a time" and carefully assess what happens.

She also would not say whether the violent election aftermath has ended U.S. hopes of engaging Iran on its nuclear program and other issues of concern. But Clinton said it certainly is a reason for caution in dealing¹¹ with Tehran.

"We're going to watch this unfold and were going to act in America's national interests," she said. "That's what this has always been about. It has never been about Iran as much as it's been the values, goals and interests of the United States of America. And we remain committed to doing all we can to try to prevent Iran from becoming a nuclear weapons power. So we're going to watch this. And we're going gauge¹² our actions accordingly."

Clinton said Iran's arrest of several Iranian staff members of the British embassy in Tehran for alleged¹³ links to post-election unrest was deplorable and that the United States continues to support Britain in seeking the release of those still held.

1 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

2 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。

3 deplored   

v.悲叹，痛惜，强烈反对( deplore的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• They deplored the price of motor car, textiles, wheat, and oil. 他们悲叹汽车、纺织品、小麦和石油的价格。 来自辞典例句
• Hawthorne feels that all excess is to be deplored. 霍桑觉得一切过分的举动都是可悲的。 来自辞典例句

4 detention   

n.滞留，停留；拘留，扣留；(教育)留下

参考例句：

• He was kept in detention by the police.他被警察扣留了。
• He was in detention in connection with the bribery affair.他因与贿赂事件有牵连而被拘留了。

5 quelled   

v.（用武力）制止，结束，镇压( quell的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Thanks to Kao Sung-nien's skill, the turmoil had been quelled. 亏高松年有本领，弹压下去。 来自汉英文学 - 围城
• Mr. Atkinson was duly quelled. 阿特金森先生被及时地将了一军。 来自辞典例句

6 guardian   

n.监护人；守卫者，保护者

参考例句：

• The form must be signed by the child's parents or guardian. 这张表格须由孩子的家长或监护人签字。
• The press is a guardian of the public weal. 报刊是公共福利的卫护者。

7 random   

adj.随机的；任意的；n.偶然的(或随便的)行动

参考例句：

• The list is arranged in a random order.名单排列不分先后。
• On random inspection the meat was found to be bad.经抽查，发现肉变质了。

8 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。

9 landslide   

n.(竞选中)压倒多数的选票；一面倒的胜利

参考例句：

• Our candidate is predicated to win by a landslide.我们的候选人被预言将以绝对优势取胜。
• An electoral landslide put the Labour Party into power in 1945.1945年工党以压倒多数的胜利当选执政。

10 ballots   

n.投票表决( ballot的名词复数 )；选举；选票；投票总数v.（使）投票表决( ballot的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• They're counting the ballots. 他们正在计算选票。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The news of rigged ballots has rubbed off much of the shine of their election victory. 他们操纵选票的消息使他们在选举中获得的胜利大为减色。 来自《简明英汉词典》

11 dealing   

n.经商方法，待人态度

参考例句：

• This store has an excellent reputation for fair dealing.该商店因买卖公道而享有极高的声誉。
• His fair dealing earned our confidence.他的诚实的行为获得我们的信任。

12 gauge   

v.精确计量；估计；n.标准度量；计量器

参考例句：

• Can you gauge what her reaction is likely to be?你能揣测她的反应可能是什么吗？
• It's difficult to gauge one's character.要判断一个人的品格是很困难的。

13 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