VOA标准英语2010年-Madagascar to Vote in Controversial Co

Voters in Madagascar will decide Wednesday on a new constitution that its supporters hope will end the crisis caused by the ouster of President Marc Ravalomanana.
In the days leading up to Wednesday's Madagascar referendum, supporters of the proposed constitution - led by the president of the transitional government, Andry Rajoelina - campaigned across the island nation.
They were promoting the new charter as a step toward stability, following a political crisis marked by the military-backed coup¹ that ousted² Mr. Ravalomanana nearly two years ago.
Constitutional changes The new constitution, if passed, would consolidate³ Mr. Rajoelina's hold on power and lead to elections next year.
It would lower the minimum age for a presidential candidate from 40 to 35 years old. Mr. Rajoelina is 36, but has said he would not be a candidate for the presidency⁴.
The new constitution also would require presidential candidates to live in the country for at least six months prior to the elections. This would block Mr. Ravalomanana, who has been in exile since the coup.
The document does not set a time limit on the transitional government, which would allow Mr. Rajoelina to remain in power as long as the standoff continued.
Opposition⁵ groupsThe three main opposition groups, led by Mr. Ravalomanana and two other former presidents, reject the vote and have called for a boycott⁶.
A resident of Antananarivo, Jacqueline Ramamonjisoa, said the opposition is the problem because the people want elections. She said the opposition groups should "not try to cause trouble. The right to vote does not belong to one person, but to all the Malagasy people."Another resident of the Malagasy capital, Njaka Rabenatoandro, said the referendum cannot restore stability to the country unless it is supported by the international community. He said the election will not solve anything because the solution is to find a way for the international community to recognize Madagascar - and as of now, it does not.
International support lackingThe African Union and Southern African Development Community suspended Madagascar following the coup. Western donors⁷ have withheld⁸ hundreds of millions of dollars worth of non-humanitarian aid.
International negotiators mediated⁹ a series of power-sharing deals between Mr. Rajoelina and the main opposition leaders. They collapsed¹⁰, though, after the rivals failed to agree on how to share the top posts.
A coordinator¹¹ with the Johannesburg-based Electoral Institute for the Sustainability of Democracy (in Africa), Nirina Rajaonarivo, said the vote is not likely to change the situation.
Rajaonarivo said if the "yes" vote wins and voter participation¹² is very low, that will undermine the credibility of the referendum.
If the "yes" vote wins and turnout is very high, she said the transitional government will declare victory and legitimacy¹³.
Finally, she said, a question hanging over the process is if the "no" vote were to win, would the transitional government accept the verdict and seek another round of the negotiations¹⁴ with the opposition?
Rajaonarivo said the lengthy¹⁵ political confrontation¹⁶ has hurt the economy and jobs. She said many Malagasies and observers foresee an even deeper crisis, especially in the economic and social sectors¹⁷, because Madagascar is heavily dependent on foreign aid. Without the support of the international community she said conditions are not likely to improve.
Mr. Rajoelina has said he is prepared to seek economic partners other than his country's traditional allies. He reportedly has made overtures¹⁸ to China, Turkey, Pakistan and Iran, among others.

1 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。

2 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。

3 consolidate   

v.使加固，使加强；(把...)联为一体，合并

参考例句：

• The two banks will consolidate in July next year. 这两家银行明年7月将合并。
• The government hoped to consolidate ten states to form three new ones.政府希望把十个州合并成三个新的州。

4 presidency   

n.总统(校长，总经理)的职位(任期)

参考例句：

• Roosevelt was elected four times to the presidency of the United States.罗斯福连续当选四届美国总统。
• Two candidates are emerging as contestants for the presidency.两位候选人最终成为总统职位竞争者。

5 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

6 boycott   

n./v.(联合)抵制，拒绝参与

参考例句：

• We put the production under a boycott.我们联合抵制该商品。
• The boycott lasts a year until the Victoria board permitsreturn.这个抗争持续了一年直到维多利亚教育局妥协为止。

7 donors   

n.捐赠者( donor的名词复数 )；献血者；捐血者；器官捐献者

参考例句：

• Please email us to be removed from our active list of blood donors. 假如你想把自己的名字从献血联系人名单中删去，请给我们发电子邮件。
• About half this amount comes from individual donors and bequests. 这笔钱大约有一半来自个人捐赠及遗赠。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 withheld   

withhold过去式及过去分词

参考例句：

• I withheld payment until they had fulfilled the contract. 他们履行合同后，我才付款。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• There was no school play because the principal withheld his consent. 由于校长没同意，学校里没有举行比赛。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 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。

10 collapsed   

adj.倒塌的

参考例句：

• Jack collapsed in agony on the floor. 杰克十分痛苦地瘫倒在地板上。
• The roof collapsed under the weight of snow. 房顶在雪的重压下突然坍塌下来。

11 coordinator   

n.协调人

参考例句：

• The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, headed by the Emergency Relief Coordinator, coordinates all UN emergency relief. 联合国人道主义事务协调厅在紧急救济协调员领导下，负责协调联合国的所有紧急救济工作。
• How am I supposed to find the client-relations coordinator? 我怎么才能找到客户关系协调员的办公室？

12 participation   

n.参与，参加，分享

参考例句：

• Some of the magic tricks called for audience participation.有些魔术要求有观众的参与。
• The scheme aims to encourage increased participation in sporting activities.这个方案旨在鼓励大众更多地参与体育活动。

13 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。

14 negotiations   

协商( negotiation的名词复数 )； 谈判； 完成（难事）； 通过

参考例句：

• negotiations for a durable peace 为持久和平而进行的谈判
• Negotiations have failed to establish any middle ground. 谈判未能达成任何妥协。

15 lengthy   

adj.漫长的，冗长的

参考例句：

• We devoted a lengthy and full discussion to this topic.我们对这个题目进行了长时间的充分讨论。
• The professor wrote a lengthy book on Napoleon.教授写了一部有关拿破仑的巨著。

16 confrontation   

n.对抗，对峙，冲突

参考例句：

• We can't risk another confrontation with the union.我们不能冒再次同工会对抗的危险。
• After years of confrontation,they finally have achieved a modus vivendi.在对抗很长时间后，他们最后达成安宁生存的非正式协议。

17 sectors   

n.部门( sector的名词复数 )；领域；防御地区；扇形

参考例句：

• Berlin was divided into four sectors after the war. 战后柏林分成了4 个区。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Industry and agriculture are the two important sectors of the national economy. 工业和农业是国民经济的两个重要部门。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

18 overtures   

n.主动的表示，提议；（向某人做出的）友好表示、姿态或提议( overture的名词复数 )；（歌剧、芭蕾舞、音乐剧等的）序曲，前奏曲

参考例句：

• Their government is making overtures for peace. 他们的政府正在提出和平建议。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He had lately begun to make clumsy yet endearing overtures of friendship. 最近他开始主动表示友好，样子笨拙却又招人喜爱。 来自辞典例句