VOA标准英语2010年-UNECA Official Expects “Consultative”

The director of governance at the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa says he expects a change in approach following Malawi President Bingu Wa Mutharika’s election as chairman of the African Union over the weekend.

Peter Clottey | Washington, DC 31 January 2010

 
Malawi President Bingu Wa Mutharika took over from Libyan leader Gaddafi over the weekend as chairman of the African Union

The director of governance at the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa says he expects a change in approach following Malawi President Bingu Wa Mutharika’s election as chairman of the African Union over the weekend.

Okey Onyejekwe expressed the hope that President Mutharika will be “consultative” in leading the continental¹ body.

“My initial reaction was that we had averted² what was being speculated, which was the fact that the incumbent³ chairman was not going to relinquish⁴ his post, and it would have become very troublesome for the institution itself.  So I’m quite glad that the transition went on smoothly⁵, irrespective of attempts to perpetuate⁶ the former chairmanship,” he said.

Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi who was elected African Union chairman last year, wanted to continue for another year.  His bid to stay on ran  contrary to an agreement among African leaders that the position should be rotated every year.

The move attracted a stiff challenge from the Southern African Development Community (SADC), which strongly supported the candidacy of Malawi’s Mutharika.

Onyejekwe said African heads of state refused to extend Gaddafi’s chairmanship.

“President Gaddafi himself thought that he had put in place some major ongoing⁷ changes. For example, the transformation⁸ of the African Union into Africa Union Authority, and subsequently to United States of Africa …And there were quite a number of other leaders too who were supportive, albeit⁹ behind the scene. But ultimately, I think the tradition of transferring power basically overcame all these maneuvers,” Onyejekwe said.

Soon after his election as chairman in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia over the weekend, President Mutharika pledged to champion greater investment in agriculture to end chronic¹⁰ hunger in Africa.

Onyejekwe said he is expecting other changes from Mutharika that differ from Gaddafi’s leadership.

“I expect basically a change in style in terms of how he conducts himself. Rather than one person who towers above everybody else, I think he will be more consultative in his approach, and secondly¹¹, Malawi does not have the deep pocket which Libya has, which allowed President Gaddafi to basically run the show the way he pleased,” Onyejekwe said.

Political observers say Gaddafi wanted a year extension to advance his plan to create what has been described as the United States of Africa. The plan would incorporate the continent’s nations into a political federation¹².

A United States of Africa idea was rejected last year by other leaders who reportedly feared losing their sovereignty.

 

1 continental   

adj.大陆的，大陆性的，欧洲大陆的

参考例句：

• A continental climate is different from an insular one.大陆性气候不同于岛屿气候。
• The most ancient parts of the continental crust are 4000 million years old.大陆地壳最古老的部分有40亿年历史。

2 averted   

防止，避免( avert的过去式和过去分词 )； 转移

参考例句：

• A disaster was narrowly averted. 及时防止了一场灾难。
• Thanks to her skilful handling of the affair, the problem was averted. 多亏她对事情处理得巧妙，才避免了麻烦。

3 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。

4 relinquish   

v.放弃，撤回，让与，放手

参考例句：

• He was forced to relinquish control of the company.他被迫放弃公司的掌控权。
• They will never voluntarily relinquish their independence.他们绝对不会自动放弃独立。

5 smoothly   

adv.平滑地，顺利地，流利地，流畅地

参考例句：

• The workmen are very cooperative,so the work goes on smoothly.工人们十分合作，所以工作进展顺利。
• Just change one or two words and the sentence will read smoothly.这句话只要动一两个字就顺了。

6 perpetuate   

v.使永存，使永记不忘

参考例句：

• This monument was built to perpetuate the memory of the national hero.这个纪念碑建造的意义在于纪念民族英雄永垂不朽。
• We must perpetuate the system.我们必须将此制度永久保持。

7 ongoing   

adj.进行中的，前进的

参考例句：

• The problem is ongoing.这个问题尚未解决。
• The issues raised in the report relate directly to Age Concern's ongoing work in this area.报告中提出的问题与“关心老人”组织在这方面正在做的工作有直接的关系。

8 transformation   

n.变化；改造；转变

参考例句：

• Going to college brought about a dramatic transformation in her outlook.上大学使她的观念发生了巨大的变化。
• He was struggling to make the transformation from single man to responsible husband.他正在努力使自己由单身汉变为可靠的丈夫。

9 albeit   

conj.即使；纵使；虽然

参考例句：

• Albeit fictional,she seemed to have resolved the problem.虽然是虚构的，但是在她看来好象是解决了问题。
• Albeit he has failed twice,he is not discouraged.虽然失败了两次，但他并没有气馁。

10 chronic   

adj.(疾病)长期未愈的，慢性的；极坏的

参考例句：

• Famine differs from chronic malnutrition.饥荒不同于慢性营养不良。
• Chronic poisoning may lead to death from inanition.慢性中毒也可能由虚弱导致死亡。

11 secondly   

adv.第二，其次

参考例句：

• Secondly,use your own head and present your point of view.第二，动脑筋提出自己的见解。
• Secondly it is necessary to define the applied load.其次，需要确定所作用的载荷。

12 federation   

n.同盟，联邦，联合，联盟，联合会

参考例句：

• It is a federation of 10 regional unions.它是由十个地方工会结合成的联合会。
• Mr.Putin was inaugurated as the President of the Russian Federation.普京正式就任俄罗斯联邦总统。