VOA标准英语2009年-Honduran Economy in Peril From Political C

The forced removal of Honduran President Manuel Zelaya by his country's military on June 28 has left the Central American nation in a state of political turmoil¹. Already one of the poorest nations in the world, Honduras is now facing an even greater economic slowdown and possible sanctions and trade suspensions because of the action most outside nations regard as a coup² d'etat.

Supporters of the interim³ government accuse President Manuel Zelaya of violating the constitution and say his removal was legal.

But Mr. Zelaya's supporters refer to interim President Roberto Micheletti as a gorilla⁴ who has taken power illegally. Both sides have now agreed to attend talks mediated⁵ by Costa Rican President Oscar Arias⁶, but the political standoff could last for months.

Most Hondurans are caught in the middle, living under martial⁷ law conditions with nightly curfews and soldiers on the streets.

A construction worker named Marcial says there has been a slowdown in projects and he blames both sides. He says the politicians are all the same and that the strife⁸ is hurting his chances of finding work to feed his four children.

Some of the economic turndown here can be blamed on the worldwide recession and some on the political divisions that began when President Zelaya began implementing⁹ policies that alienated¹⁰ the business sector¹¹ months ago. His removal by force, however, has made Honduras a pariah¹² among regional nations. If the ousted¹³ leader is not allowed to return soon, many countries could impose trade sanctions and cut off aid to Honduras.
　
Eduardo Facusse

One of the country's leading industrialists¹⁴, Eduardo Facusse, said in a VOA interview that Honduras can withstand sanctions to defend its right to manage its own affairs. He says Hondurans want to work in peace. He says this is a small country, but people here believe liberty is more important than any price they have to pay.

Facusse says Honduras can count for help on its expatriots living in the United States.

He says the half million Hondurans living in the United States who send money home can help the country move forward.

Each year Honduran immigrants send around two and a half billion dollars in remittances¹⁵ to their homeland, but the recession has also affected¹⁶ their ability to save money to send.

Honduras is a poor country with 12 percent of its work force unemployed¹⁷ and over 30 percent underemployed. Many workers who supported Mr. Zelaya complain of being exploited for low wages here and say the rich people and those running factories should also pay more taxes, something the business leaders say would only hurt the economy more.

An important source of jobs is the twin plant or maquiladora sector that still employs over 100 thousand people in spite of the worldwide recession and the turmoil in Honduras. Maquiladoras are plants that bring in parts duty free from the United States and then export completed products back free of tariffs¹⁸.
　
Chris Haughey

Chris Haughey is a US entrepreneur who has plans to manufacture high-quality wooden toys here. He is making arrangements to turn a now empty section of a building in a maquiladora zone outside Tegucigalpa into a factory that one day could employ dozens of Hondurans.

A trade cutoff by the United States could dash his plans. Still, he remains¹⁹ optimistic. "So far we have not seen anything that tells us we should not be making this investment or that we should not be getting our factory up and running," he said.
　
Chris Haughey at factory site

But if no accord is reached to end the political crisis here in Honduras, Haughey realizes he and the investors²⁰ who back his project may have to look elsewhere. "It would be an awful thing for the country because you are going to see even greater unemployment and you are going to see potential projects, potential investments, get canned (cancelled) that would have created jobs in the future," he said.

So Haughey, along with more than seven million Hondurans, is hoping the crisis will be resolved soon. The first meeting between President Arias, deposed²¹ President Zelaya and interim President Roberto Micheletti is set to take place Thursday in San Jose, Costa Rica.

1 turmoil   

n.骚乱，混乱，动乱

参考例句：

• His mind was in such a turmoil that he couldn't get to sleep.内心的纷扰使他无法入睡。
• The robbery put the village in a turmoil.抢劫使全村陷入混乱。

2 coup   

n.政变；突然而成功的行动

参考例句：

• The monarch was ousted by a military coup.那君主被军事政变者废黜了。
• That government was overthrown in a military coup three years ago.那个政府在3年前的军事政变中被推翻。

3 interim   

adj.暂时的，临时的；n.间歇，过渡期间

参考例句：

• The government is taking interim measures to help those in immediate need.政府正在采取临时措施帮助那些有立即需要的人。
• It may turn out to be an interim technology.这可能只是个过渡技术。

4 gorilla   

n.大猩猩，暴徒，打手

参考例句：

• I was awed by the huge gorilla.那只大猩猩使我惊惧。
• A gorilla is just a speechless animal.猩猩只不过是一种不会说话的动物。

5 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。

6 arias   

n.咏叹调( aria的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Can you pick out the operatic arias quoted in this orchestral passage? 你能听出这段管弦乐曲里有歌剧式的咏叹调吗？ 来自辞典例句
• The actions are large and colour, there are arias and recitatives. 动作夸张而华美，有唱段也有宣叙部。 来自辞典例句

7 martial   

adj.战争的，军事的，尚武的，威武的

参考例句：

• The sound of martial music is always inspiring.军乐声总是鼓舞人心的。
• The officer was convicted of desertion at a court martial.这名军官在军事法庭上被判犯了擅离职守罪。

8 strife   

n.争吵，冲突，倾轧，竞争

参考例句：

• We do not intend to be drawn into the internal strife.我们不想卷入内乱之中。
• Money is a major cause of strife in many marriages.金钱是造成很多婚姻不和的一个主要原因。

9 implementing   

v.实现( implement的现在分词 )；执行；贯彻；使生效

参考例句：

• -- Implementing a comprehensive drug control strategy. ――实行综合治理的禁毒战略。 来自汉英非文学 - 白皮书
• He was in no hurry about implementing his unshakable principle. 他并不急于实行他那不可动摇的原则。 来自辞典例句

10 alienated   

adj.感到孤独的，不合群的v.使疏远( alienate的过去式和过去分词 )；使不友好；转让；让渡（财产等）

参考例句：

• His comments have alienated a lot of young voters. 他的言论使许多年轻选民离他而去。
• The Prime Minister's policy alienated many of her followers. 首相的政策使很多拥护她的人疏远了她。 来自《简明英汉词典》

11 sector   

n.部门，部分；防御地段，防区；扇形

参考例句：

• The export sector will aid the economic recovery. 出口产业将促进经济复苏。
• The enemy have attacked the British sector.敌人已进攻英国防区。

12 pariah   

n.被社会抛弃者

参考例句：

• Shortly Tom came upon the juvenile pariah of the village.不一会儿，汤姆碰上了村里的少年弃儿。
• His landlady had treated him like a dangerous criminal,a pariah.房东太太对待他就像对待危险的罪犯、对待社会弃儿一样。

13 ousted   

驱逐( oust的过去式和过去分词 )； 革职； 罢黜； 剥夺

参考例句：

• He was ousted as chairman. 他的主席职务被革除了。
• He may be ousted by a military takeover. 他可能在一场军事接管中被赶下台。

14 industrialists   

n.工业家，实业家( industrialist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• This deal will offer major benefits to industrialists and investors. 这笔交易将会让实业家和投资者受益匪浅。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The government has set up a committee of industrialists and academics to advise it. 政府已成立了一个实业家和学者的委员会来为其提供建议。 来自《简明英汉词典》

15 remittances   

n.汇寄( remittance的名词复数 )；汇款，汇款额

参考例句：

• He sends regular remittances to his parents. 他定期汇款给他父母。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Remittances sometimes account for as much as 20% of GDP. 在这些国家中，此类汇款有时会占到GDP的20%之多。 来自互联网

16 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

17 unemployed   

adj.失业的，没有工作的；未动用的，闲置的

参考例句：

• There are now over four million unemployed workers in this country.这个国家现有四百万失业人员。
• The unemployed hunger for jobs.失业者渴望得到工作。

18 tariffs   

关税制度； 关税( tariff的名词复数 )； 关税表； （旅馆或饭店等的）收费表； 量刑标准

参考例句：

• British industry was sheltered from foreign competition by protective tariffs. 保护性关税使英国工业免受国际竞争影响。
• The new tariffs have put a stranglehold on trade. 新的关税制对开展贸易极为不利。

19 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。

20 investors   

n.投资者，出资者( investor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• a con man who bilked investors out of millions of dollars 诈取投资者几百万元的骗子
• a cash bonanza for investors 投资者的赚钱机会

21 deposed   

v.罢免( depose的过去式和过去分词 )；（在法庭上）宣誓作证

参考例句：

• The president was deposed in a military coup. 总统在军事政变中被废黜。
• The head of state was deposed by the army. 国家元首被军队罢免了。 来自《简明英汉词典》