VOA标准英语2009年-Clinton Says Liberia Making Progress in Fi

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton says Liberian President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf's government is making significant progress in the fight against corruption¹. Secretary Clinton addressed Liberia's National Assembly in Monrovia.
　
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton (r) with Liberia's President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf in Monrovia, 13 Aug, 2009

Secretary Clinton says President Sirleaf's administration is taking action to increase transparency with a strong Anti-Corruption Commission at the center of efforts to rebuild from years of civil war.

"Today, Liberia is a model of successful transition from conflict to post-conflict, from lawlessness to democracy, from despair to hope," said Hillary Clinton. "In the last three years, the people of this country have been working to promote reform, reconstruction², and reconciliation³. Liberia has adopted sound fiscal⁴ policies and seen strong economic growth."

Liberia ranks 138 on the 180-nation corruption index established by the good-governance group Transparency International. Reigning-in corruption is crucial to attracting foreign investment to a nation where 80 percent of people are unemployed⁵.

President Sirleaf says strengthening Liberia's General Auditing⁶ Commission and complying with the Norwegian-based Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative has reduced corruption.

"I am pleased that corruption, long entrenched⁷, long covered, is now being exposed," said Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf. "We have to expose it so that we can deal with it."

With those legal and regulatory frameworks in place, President Sirleaf says the challenge now is making sure that they continue to be implemented⁸ properly. She says a new team at the Justice Ministry⁹ is committed to punishing those responsible for corruption both inside and outside of government.

"We have also reduced people's vulnerabilities by increasing civil service pay, by settling arrears¹⁰, all of which have contributed to corruption," she said. "We now need for the public and the media to recognize the progress and to join us in this fight which is not limited to government but has taken root in all of the society."

At Liberia's National Assembly, Secretary Clinton spoke¹¹ of the need to create institutions that are strong enough to engender¹² the faith and confidence of the people and will survive both good leaders and what she called not-so-good leaders.

"Ending corruption is necessary to growing and sustaining such institutions and restoring the public's trust," she said.

She suggested that Liberian lawmakers establish a code of conduct to hold each other accountable.

"You have to have codes of conduct, regulatory frameworks, ethical¹³ standards that guide the pursuit of the common good," she said.

Former rebel leader and Liberian President Charles Taylor used embezzled¹⁴ timber revenues to fund conflict in both his own country and neighboring Sierra Leone. He is now in The Hague facing war crimes charges for his involvement in Sierra Leone's civil war.

1 corruption   

n.腐败，堕落，贪污

参考例句：

• The people asked the government to hit out against corruption and theft.人民要求政府严惩贪污盗窃。
• The old man reviled against corruption.那老人痛斥了贪污舞弊。

2 reconstruction   

n.重建，再现，复原

参考例句：

• The country faces a huge task of national reconstruction following the war.战后，该国面临着重建家园的艰巨任务。
• In the period of reconstruction,technique decides everything.在重建时期，技术决定一切。

3 reconciliation   

n.和解，和谐，一致

参考例句：

• He was taken up with the reconciliation of husband and wife.他忙于做夫妻间的调解工作。
• Their handshake appeared to be a gesture of reconciliation.他们的握手似乎是和解的表示。

4 fiscal   

adj.财政的，会计的，国库的，国库岁入的

参考例句：

• The increase of taxation is an important fiscal policy.增税是一项重要的财政政策。
• The government has two basic strategies of fiscal policy available.政府有两个可行的财政政策基本战略。

5 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。

6 auditing   

n.审计，查账，决算

参考例句：

• Auditing standards are the rules governing how an audit is performed.收支检查标准是规则统治一个稽核如何被运行。
• The auditing services market is dominated by a few large accounting firms.审计服务市场被几家大型会计公司独占了。

7 entrenched   

adj.确立的，不容易改的(风俗习惯)

参考例句：

• Television seems to be firmly entrenched as the number one medium for national advertising.电视看来要在全国广告媒介中牢固地占据头等位置。
• If the enemy dares to attack us in these entrenched positions,we will make short work of them.如果敌人胆敢进攻我们固守的阵地，我们就消灭他们。

8 implemented   

v.实现( implement的过去式和过去分词 )；执行；贯彻；使生效

参考例句：

• This agreement, if not implemented, is a mere scrap of paper. 这个协定如不执行只不过是一纸空文。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• The economy is in danger of collapse unless far-reaching reforms are implemented. 如果不实施影响深远的改革，经济就面临崩溃的危险。 来自辞典例句

9 ministry   

n.(政府的)部；牧师

参考例句：

• They sent a deputation to the ministry to complain.他们派了一个代表团到部里投诉。
• We probed the Air Ministry statements.我们调查了空军部的记录。

10 arrears   

n.到期未付之债，拖欠的款项；待做的工作

参考例句：

• The payments on that car loan are in arrears by three months.购车贷款的偿付被拖欠了三个月。
• They are urgent for payment of arrears of wages.他们催讨拖欠的工钱。

11 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

12 engender   

v.产生，引起

参考例句：

• A policy like that tends to engender a sense of acceptance,and the research literature suggests this leads to greater innovation.一个能够使员工产生认同感的政策，研究表明这会走向更伟大的创新。
• The sense of injustice they engender is a threat to economic and political security.它们造成的不公平感是对经济和政治安全的威胁。

13 ethical   

adj.伦理的，道德的，合乎道德的

参考例句：

• It is necessary to get the youth to have a high ethical concept.必须使青年具有高度的道德观念。
• It was a debate which aroused fervent ethical arguments.那是一场引发强烈的伦理道德争论的辩论。

14 embezzled   

v.贪污，盗用（公款）( embezzle的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The clerk embezzled a thousand pounds from the bank where he worked. 那个职员在他工作的银行里贪污了一千英镑。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The cashier embezzled ＄ 50,000 from the bank. 出纳员盗用了银行5万美元。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》