VOA标准英语2012--津巴布韦民主进程仍不明朗

 

津巴布韦民主进程仍不明朗

Robert Mugabe will be sworn in for another term as president of Zimbabwe August 22, following a decision by the nation’s Constitutional Court to accept the withdrawal¹ of a challenge to the July 31 election by the main opposition² Movement for Democratic Change.

MDC officials said pursuing the case would be fruitless because they felt it would not get a fair hearing. Without information on how many voters were prevented from casting ballots³ or the number of people not on the voter rolls who nonetheless were permitted to vote, it cannot prove that the elections were fraudulent. Such information so far has been denied them.

According to the national election commission, Mugabe won 61 percent of the vote against 34 percent for Morgan Tsvangirai, paving the way for another five-year term leading the nation he has ruled since 1980.

The United States stands by its assessment⁴ that because of many obvious flaws in the electoral process, those results do not represent a credible⁵ expression of the will of the Zimbabwe people. Our concerns with the electoral process are the same as those of many credible and independent observers, as well as criticisms by the African Union and Southern African Development Community.

That said, however, those organizations appear to be moving toward endorsing⁶ the results and together with the people of Zimbabwe will have to sort out the best way forward. For our part, we remain committed to our long-term relationship with the Zimbabwean people, and to supporting their aspirations⁷ for a peaceful, democratic and prosperous nation.

1 withdrawal   

n.取回，提款；撤退，撤军；收回，撤销

参考例句：

• The police were forced to make a tactical withdrawal.警方被迫进行战术撤退。
• They insisted upon a withdrawal of the statement and a public apology.他们坚持要收回那些话并公开道歉。

2 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。

3 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》

4 assessment   

n.评价；评估；对财产的估价，被估定的金额

参考例句：

• This is a very perceptive assessment of the situation.这是一个对该情况的极富洞察力的评价。
• What is your assessment of the situation?你对时局的看法如何？

5 credible   

adj.可信任的，可靠的

参考例句：

• The news report is hardly credible.这则新闻报道令人难以置信。
• Is there a credible alternative to the nuclear deterrent?是否有可以取代核威慑力量的可靠办法？

6 endorsing   

v.赞同( endorse的现在分词 )；在（尤指支票的）背面签字；在（文件的）背面写评论；在广告上说本人使用并赞同某产品

参考例句：

• Yet Communist leaders are also publicly endorsing religion in an unprecedented way. 不过，共产党领导层对宗教信仰的公开认可也是以前不曾有过的。 来自互联网
• Connecticut Independent Senator Joseph Lieberman is endorsing Republican Senator John McCain. 康涅狄格州独立派参议员约瑟夫。列波曼将会票选共和议员约翰。麦凯恩。 来自互联网

7 aspirations   

强烈的愿望( aspiration的名词复数 )； 志向； 发送气音； 发 h 音

参考例句：

• I didn't realize you had political aspirations. 我没有意识到你有政治上的抱负。
• The new treaty embodies the aspirations of most nonaligned countries. 新条约体现了大多数不结盟国家的愿望。