VOA标准英语2012--Pressure Mounts on Nigerian Government Over Fuel Prices

Pressure Mounts on Nigerian Government Over Fuel Prices

Tens of Thousands of Nigerians took to the streets for a third straight day Wednesday in the main commercial city of Lagos and the capital, Abuja, to protest soaring fuel costs, sparked by a government move to end a popular fuel subsidy¹.
Despite the growing public outcry, the government has shown no sign of reversing its decision to cut the popular subsidy, which it said would bankrupt the country in the long-term, and has vowed² to withhold³ wages for public employees who are on strike.
That tactic⁴ has proven somewhat effective, but workers remain on strike in numbers that could force an economic crisis in the short-term. Sonny Enehuvwedia, a civil servant in Warri, did not cross the picket⁵ line and he is not discouraged by the defectors.
"Every struggle is always like that," said Enehuvwedia. "You must have betrayals. The whole people cannot be in the struggle together. But there are those who will be there to sustain it and, at the end of it all, victory will be ours."
In addition to the paralysis⁶ of Africa's second-largest economy, the strike and accompanying protests have exacerbated⁷ Nigeria's security problems.
Most of the recent violence has stemmed from religious tensions and the government's conflict with the radical⁸ Islamist sect⁹ Boko Haram. President Goodluck Jonathan declared a state of emergency in 15 locations last week but violence continues, including an attack on a mosque¹⁰ in southern Nigeria Tuesday.
Abubakar Kari is a lecturer in the University of Abuja's Department of Sociology. He says that, between the two crises, a potential sectarian conflict is the greater threat to Nigeria.
"This issue of oil price increase is a government policy which can be resolved, if the two sides want, in a matter of hours or minutes," said Kari. "But the second one has been a protracted¹¹ an intractable problem and there appears to be no solution in sight."
But Kari says that the fuel crisis must be resolved quickly if the government hopes to address the security crisis, which he says is an economic issue as well.
"Because if poverty increases and unemployment worsens, it will be very easy to recruit people to engage in violence and terrorism," Kari added.
Some in the international community fear the possibility of another civil war in Nigeria. But Kari says those people are incorrectly using other countries as indicators¹² and they underestimate the majority of Nigerians.

1 subsidy   

n.补助金，津贴

参考例句：

• The university will receive a subsidy for research in artificial intelligence.那个大学将得到一笔人工智能研究的补助费。
• The living subsidy for senior expert's family is included in the remuneration.报酬已包含高级专家家人的生活补贴。

2 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。

3 withhold   

v.拒绝，不给；使停止，阻挡

参考例句：

• It was unscrupulous of their lawyer to withhold evidence.他们的律师隐瞒证据是不道德的。
• I couldn't withhold giving some loose to my indignation.我忍不住要发泄一点我的愤怒。

4 tactic   

n.战略，策略；adj.战术的，有策略的

参考例句：

• Reducing prices is a common sales tactic.降价是常用的销售策略。
• She had often used the tactic of threatening to resign.她惯用以辞职相威胁的手法。

5 picket   

n.纠察队；警戒哨；v.设置纠察线；布置警卫

参考例句：

• They marched to the factory and formed a picket.他们向工厂前进,并组成了纠察队。
• Some of the union members did not want to picket.工会的一些会员不想担任罢工纠察员。

6 paralysis   

n.麻痹(症)；瘫痪(症)

参考例句：

• The paralysis affects his right leg and he can only walk with difficulty.他右腿瘫痪步履维艰。
• The paralysis affects his right leg and he can only walk with difficulty.他右腿瘫痪步履维艰。

7 exacerbated   

v.使恶化，使加重( exacerbate的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The symptoms may be exacerbated by certain drugs. 这些症状可能会因为某些药物而加重。
• The drugs they gave her only exacerbated the pain. 他们给她吃的药只是加重了她的痛楚。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 radical   

n.激进份子，原子团，根号；adj.根本的，激进的，彻底的

参考例句：

• The patient got a radical cure in the hospital.病人在医院得到了根治。
• She is radical in her demands.她的要求十分偏激。

9 sect   

n.派别，宗教，学派，派系

参考例句：

• When he was sixteen he joined a religious sect.他16岁的时候加入了一个宗教教派。
• Each religious sect in the town had its own church.该城每一个宗教教派都有自己的教堂。

10 mosque   

n.清真寺

参考例句：

• The mosque is a activity site and culture center of Muslim religion.清真寺为穆斯林宗教活动场所和文化中心。
• Some years ago the clock in the tower of the mosque got out of order.几年前，清真寺钟楼里的大钟失灵了。

11 protracted   

adj.拖延的；延长的v.拖延“protract”的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• The war was protracted for four years. 战争拖延了四年。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• We won victory through protracted struggle. 经过长期的斗争，我们取得了胜利。 来自《简明英汉词典》

12 indicators   

（仪器上显示温度、压力、耗油量等的）指针( indicator的名词复数 )； 指示物； （车辆上的）转弯指示灯； 指示信号

参考例句：

• The economic indicators are better than expected. 经济指标比预期的好。
• It is still difficult to develop indicators for many concepts used in social science. 为社会科学领域的许多概念确立一个指标仍然很难。