VOA标准英语2012--Egypt's Conservative Rural Vote Appears Split

 

Egypt's Conservative Rural Vote Appears Split

As Egyptians await the results of their first truly open presidential election, fault lines between Islamists and old guard secularists appear to cut across the nation.

In the village of Kafr Kandil, south of Cairo, the choice plays well with the largely conservative rural vote: some seek stability in religion, others in past performance.

Many of the latter look to veteran diplomat¹ Amr Moussa, who along with former Air Force chief Ahmed Shafik, promises a return to pre-uprising law and order, minus the corruption².

Outside the village school, which is serving as the village polling station, Shadia Ewis, a housewife and mother of five, hopes Moussa wins.

She thinks he's a "respectable man" who "could control the country."

Her friend and fellow housewife, Magda Hassan, agrees.

She says she wants Moussa to institute reforms, so that it won't be like it was under the old government, when everything was exploited.

Getting a fair shake from the government is a key concern of Islamist candidates' supporters, too. Farmer Ali Hassan Abdel Baki believes the best man for the job is the Muslim Brotherhood's Mohamed Morsi.

Sitting in the bright sunshine, his fields of tomatoes and grains behind him, Abdel Baki says "there is unfinished business." He says a lot of people are out of work, and the next leader, "with God's help, will look after the poor."

Abdel Baki says he and his friends are split between Morsi and independent Islamist Abdel Moneim Aboul Fotouh, adding he would be happy if either won.

But some fear the Islamist candidates might not get a chance - that the ruling military council could throw the vote against them.

Down the road from Abdel Baki's farm, blacksmith Suleiman Ibrahim Suleiman says that so far, the process has gone well. He takes a break from welding a gate to say there's no reason to doubt the outcome of the vote, even if some inevitably³ will.

He says that last year's parliamentary elections proved that voting can go ahead fairly. But he adds, smiling, "whoever fails will say it's forged and whoever wins will be happy."

For Suleiman, confidence his vote will matter is the most inspiring part of this election. 

As for the revolution that brought it about, it too has instilled⁴ a sense of empowerment, including in the conservative countryside.

Farmer Abdel Baki says he will use that newfound power even if his candidate wins.

He says, if he does a good job, that's good enough for him. But if the new president strays from the course, Abdel Baki says he will join in a new round of protests. "We'll change him and bring another one," he adds. "It's not a problem." 

1 diplomat   

n.外交官，外交家；能交际的人，圆滑的人

参考例句：

• The diplomat threw in a joke, and the tension was instantly relieved.那位外交官插进一个笑话，紧张的气氛顿时缓和下来。
• He served as a diplomat in Russia before the war.战前他在俄罗斯当外交官。

2 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。

3 inevitably   

adv.不可避免地；必然发生地

参考例句：

• In the way you go on,you are inevitably coming apart.照你们这样下去，毫无疑问是会散伙的。
• Technological changes will inevitably lead to unemployment.技术变革必然会导致失业。

4 instilled   

v.逐渐使某人获得（某种可取的品质），逐步灌输( instill的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Nature has instilled in our minds an insatiable desire to see truth. 自然给我们心灵注入了永无休止的发现真理的欲望。 来自辞典例句
• I instilled the need for kindness into my children. 我不断向孩子们灌输仁慈的必要。 来自辞典例句