VOA标准英语2009年-Chaos Erupts at Zimbabwe Constitution Conf

Tensions threatened to disrupt Zimbabwe's first consitution-writing conference. Many people left the gathering¹ fearing political hostility² would lead to violence, but leaders vowed³ to press ahead with the meeting.
　
Militants⁴ of President Robert Mugabe's Zanu PF party disrupt proceedings⁵ at the national constitution conference in Harare, 13 July 2009

Several thousand people went to the Harare International Conference center for the First All Stakeholders Conference for drafting a new constitution before fresh elections in about two years.

But civil servants organizing registration⁶ Sunday were unable to accredit⁷ more than 200 delegates of 4,000 invited to attend. Some out-of-town delegates slept overnight outside the conference center to be sure they were accredited⁸ before the start of proceedings Monday.

But there were not enough enough personnel, stationery⁹ or cameras to cope with the hastily arranged conference. When it became clear registration was impossible before the start of conference, many delegates left the line and walked into the hall.

Tensions began rising in the hall lobby as Movement for Democratic Change supporters began chanting slogans quickly followed by groups loyal to Zanu PF.

A member of the committee organizing the conference, MDC parliament member Douglas Mwunzoro, shouted to those singing and chanting that no party political slogans were allowed. He was ignored.

Zanu PF supporters complained the national flag was not on display nor was the national anthem¹⁰ on the program, and they insisted it be sung.

Scores of veterans of Zimbabwe's 1970s liberation war began singing war songs and shouting slogans at the top table inside the conference hall and drowned out MDC speaker of parliament Lovemore Moyo's opening address. They also hurled¹¹ empty plastic water bottles, forcing Moyo to leave the podium.

Police eventually stopped the chaos¹², but many people left saying they feared violence.

A founding MDC member, Trudy Stephenson, said she saw a well-known war veteran inside the hall organizing the singing and dancing that frightened many into leaving. She also said that it appeared some Zanu PF aligned¹³ delegates were able to get accreditation¹⁴ more easily than MDC or civil-rights activists¹⁵.

Many observers at the conference center say the chaos reflected tensions in the five-month-old unity¹⁶ government.

There was no sign of President Robert Mugabe or MDC leader Prime Minister Morgan Tvsangirai, who were due at the opening.

Zimbabweans hope a new charter, replacing a 1979 document adopted before independence from Britain, will strengthen the role of parliament and curtail¹⁷ the president's powers, as well as guaranteeing civil liberties and political and media freedom.

1 gathering   

n.集会，聚会，聚集

参考例句：

• He called on Mr. White to speak at the gathering.他请怀特先生在集会上讲话。
• He is on the wing gathering material for his novels.他正忙于为他的小说收集资料。

2 hostility   

n.敌对，敌意；抵制［pl.］交战，战争

参考例句：

• There is open hostility between the two leaders.两位领导人表现出公开的敌意。
• His hostility to your plan is well known.他对你的计划所持的敌意是众所周知的。

3 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。

4 militants   

激进分子，好斗分子( militant的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The militants have been sporadically fighting the government for years. 几年来，反叛分子一直对政府实施零星的战斗。
• Despite the onslaught, Palestinian militants managed to fire off rockets. 尽管如此，巴勒斯坦的激进分子仍然发射导弹。

5 proceedings   

n.进程，过程，议程；诉讼(程序)；公报

参考例句：

• He was released on bail pending committal proceedings. 他交保获释正在候审。
• to initiate legal proceedings against sb 对某人提起诉讼

6 registration   

n.登记，注册，挂号

参考例句：

• Marriage without registration is not recognized by law.法律不承认未登记的婚姻。
• What's your registration number?你挂的是几号？

7 accredit   

vt.归功于，认为

参考例句：

• The president will accredit you as his assistant.董事长将任命你做他的助理。
• We accredit the invention of the electric light to Adison.我们把电灯的发明归功于爱迪生。

8 accredited   

adj.可接受的；可信任的；公认的；质量合格的v.相信( accredit的过去式和过去分词 )；委托；委任；把…归结于

参考例句：

• The discovery of distillation is usually accredited to the Arabs of the 11th century. 通常认为，蒸馏法是阿拉伯人在11世纪发明的。
• Only accredited journalists were allowed entry. 只有正式认可的记者才获准入内。

9 stationery   

n.文具；(配套的)信笺信封

参考例句：

• She works in the stationery department of a big store.她在一家大商店的文具部工作。
• There was something very comfortable in having plenty of stationery.文具一多，心里自会觉得踏实。

10 anthem   

n.圣歌，赞美诗，颂歌

参考例句：

• All those present were standing solemnly when the national anthem was played.奏国歌时全场肃立。
• As he stood on the winner's rostrum,he sang the words of the national anthem.他站在冠军领奖台上，唱起了国歌。

11 hurled   

v.猛投，用力掷( hurl的过去式和过去分词 )；大声叫骂

参考例句：

• He hurled a brick through the window. 他往窗户里扔了块砖。
• The strong wind hurled down bits of the roof. 大风把屋顶的瓦片刮了下来。 来自《简明英汉词典》

12 chaos   

n.混乱，无秩序

参考例句：

• After the failure of electricity supply the city was in chaos.停电后，城市一片混乱。
• The typhoon left chaos behind it.台风后一片混乱。

13 aligned   

adj.对齐的，均衡的

参考例句：

• Make sure the shelf is aligned with the top of the cupboard.务必使搁架与橱柜顶端对齐。

14 accreditation   

n.委派，信赖，鉴定合格

参考例句：

• a letter of accreditation 一份合格证明书
• This paper gives an overview of the Verification, Validation and Accreditation (VV&A) in High Level Architecture(HLA). 对基于高层体系结构(High Level Architecture,简称HLA)的仿真系统的校核、验证与确认(Verification, Validation and Accreditation,简称VV&A)问题进行了详细的介绍及分析。 来自互联网

15 activists   

n.（政治活动的）积极分子，活动家( activist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• His research work was attacked by animal rights activists . 他的研究受到了动物权益维护者的抨击。
• Party activists with lower middle class pedigrees are numerous. 党的激进分子中有很多出身于中产阶级下层。 来自《简明英汉词典》

16 unity   

n.团结，联合，统一；和睦，协调

参考例句：

• When we speak of unity,we do not mean unprincipled peace.所谓团结，并非一团和气。
• We must strengthen our unity in the face of powerful enemies.大敌当前，我们必须加强团结。

17 curtail   

vt.截短，缩短；削减

参考例句：

• The government hopes to curtail public spending.政府希望缩减公共事业开支。
• The minister had to curtail his visit.部长不得不缩短访问日期。