VOA标准英语2009年-Afghanistan Tries to Assure Voters About A

Afghanistan's government is trying to assure voters that adequate security is in place for Thursday's national election. The Taliban vow¹ to disrupt the process by attacking polling stations and retaliating² against those who dare to vote. In Kabul, the day before the election, gunmen stormed a bank branch in an attack apparently³ timed to cause further havoc⁴ in the capital.
　
Afghan counter-terrorism officer stands guard in Kabul, 19 Aug 2009

The Afghan capital, which has seen lethal⁵ suicide bombings and mostly harmless rocket attacks in the past week, is under heavy security.

Early on Independence Day Wednesday, a holiday, a trio wearing suicide vests and armed with grenades and AK-47 rifles, stormed a closed bank branch about a kilometer from the Presidential Palace.

Pashtany Bank President Hayat Dayani told VOA the attackers were "real terrorists" who quickly overpowered the guard.

The head of the Interior Ministry's anti-crime unit, General Abdul Jamil Junbish, tells reporters there was a quick response from his forces.

Junbish says his unit and special forces killed three of the "terrorists" and 30 weapons were recovered. He says several policemen were wounded, typical for what he describes as a "battlefield" type of operation.

The Taliban claim responsibility for the attack and promise further violence before and during the election.

The assault comes a day after a suicide bomber⁶ rammed⁷ his explosive-laded vehicle into a foreign military convoy⁸, just east of the city.

Officials say eight people died - including a NATO soldier and two United Nations workers - and more than 50 other people were injured, mostly Afghan civilians⁹.

There were scattered¹⁰ reports of lethal attacks elsewhere in the country on officials and others involved with election preparations.

Election officials say, in some remote and insecure areas, Army helicopters are making last-minute deliveries of polling materials.

Chief electoral officer Daoud Ali Najafi has announced the ballots¹¹ for presidential candidates will be quickly tabulated¹².

"All of the polling stations, they will count the results of the presidential election on Thursday night," Najafi said.

Preliminary results for the top contest are expected 48 hours after polls close, but the outcomes for the advisory¹³ provincial¹⁴ counsels will take longer.

If too many voters are scared away, that could jeopardize¹⁵ the legitimacy¹⁶ of the election, which is already confronting allegations of wholesale¹⁷ vote buying.

Afghan government officials say four tiers of security are in place for Election Day. The outer rings, in the air and on the ground, are being provided by international forces, to protect the thousands of polling stations, nationwide.

There are about 17 million eligible¹⁸ voters. At the top of the ballots - the several dozen presidential candidates, some of whom have dropped out and thrown their support to the incumbent¹⁹, Hamid Karzai. He leads in polls, but may fall short of the 50 percent needed to avoid a runoff against the number-two finisher.

 

1 vow   

n.誓(言)，誓约；v.起誓，立誓

参考例句：

• My parents are under a vow to go to church every Sunday.我父母许愿，每星期日都去做礼拜。
• I am under a vow to drink no wine.我已立誓戒酒。

2 retaliating   

v.报复，反击( retaliate的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• The administration will begin retaliating in six weeks if EC policies remain unchanged. 凯特先生说，如果欧共体一意孤行，美国政府将于六周后开始报复。 来自互联网

3 apparently   

adv.显然地；表面上，似乎

参考例句：

• An apparently blind alley leads suddenly into an open space.山穷水尽，豁然开朗。
• He was apparently much surprised at the news.他对那个消息显然感到十分惊异。

4 havoc   

n.大破坏，浩劫，大混乱，大杂乱

参考例句：

• The earthquake wreaked havoc on the city.地震对这个城市造成了大破坏。
• This concentration of airborne firepower wrought havoc with the enemy forces.这次机载火力的集中攻击给敌军造成很大破坏。

5 lethal   

adj.致死的；毁灭性的

参考例句：

• A hammer can be a lethal weapon.铁锤可以是致命的武器。
• She took a lethal amount of poison and died.她服了致命剂量的毒药死了。

6 bomber   

n.轰炸机，投弹手，投掷炸弹者

参考例句：

• He flew a bomber during the war.他在战时驾驶轰炸机。
• Detectives hunting the London bombers will be keen to interview him.追查伦敦爆炸案凶犯的侦探们急于对他进行讯问。

7 rammed   

v.夯实（土等）( ram的过去式和过去分词 )；猛撞；猛压；反复灌输

参考例句：

• Two passengers were injured when their taxi was rammed from behind by a bus. 公共汽车从后面撞来，出租车上的两位乘客受了伤。
• I rammed down the earth around the newly-planted tree. 我将新栽的树周围的土捣硬。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 convoy   

vt.护送，护卫，护航；n.护送；护送队

参考例句：

• The convoy was snowed up on the main road.护送队被大雪困在干路上了。
• Warships will accompany the convoy across the Atlantic.战舰将护送该船队过大西洋。

9 civilians   

平民，百姓( civilian的名词复数 )； 老百姓

参考例句：

• the bloody massacre of innocent civilians 对无辜平民的血腥屠杀
• At least 300 civilians are unaccounted for after the bombing raids. 遭轰炸袭击之后，至少有300名平民下落不明。

10 scattered   

adj.分散的，稀疏的；散步的；疏疏落落的

参考例句：

• Gathering up his scattered papers,he pushed them into his case.他把散乱的文件收拾起来，塞进文件夹里。

11 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》

12 tabulated   

把（数字、事实）列成表( tabulate的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Results for the test program haven't been tabulated. 试验的结果还没有制成表格。
• A large number of substances were investigated and the relevant properties tabulated. 已经研究了多种物质，并将有关性质列成了表。

13 advisory   

adj.劝告的，忠告的，顾问的，提供咨询

参考例句：

• I have worked in an advisory capacity with many hospitals.我曾在多家医院做过顾问工作。
• He was appointed to the advisory committee last month.他上个月获任命为顾问委员会委员。

14 provincial   

adj.省的，地方的；n．外省人，乡下人

参考例句：

• City dwellers think country folk have provincial attitudes.城里人以为乡下人思想迂腐。
• Two leading cadres came down from the provincial capital yesterday.昨天从省里下来了两位领导干部。

15 jeopardize   

vt.危及，损害

参考例句：

• Overworking can jeopardize your health.工作过量可能会危及你的健康。
• If you are rude to the boss it may jeopardize your chances of success.如果你对上司无礼，那就可能断送你成功的机会。

16 legitimacy   

n.合法，正当

参考例句：

• The newspaper was directly challenging the government's legitimacy.报纸直接质疑政府的合法性。
• Managing from the top down,we operate with full legitimacy.我们进行由上而下的管理有充分的合法性。

17 wholesale   

n.批发；adv.以批发方式；vt.批发，成批出售

参考例句：

• The retail dealer buys at wholesale and sells at retail.零售商批发购进货物，以零售价卖出。
• Such shoes usually wholesale for much less.这种鞋批发出售通常要便宜得多。

18 eligible   

adj.有条件被选中的；(尤指婚姻等)合适(意)的

参考例句：

• He is an eligible young man.他是一个合格的年轻人。
• Helen married an eligible bachelor.海伦嫁给了一个中意的单身汉。

19 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。