VOA常速英语2013--肯尼亚总统候选人最后一搏

 

Kenyan Presidential Candidates Make Final Push 肯尼亚总统候选人最后一搏

NAIROBI, KENYA — With just under a week to go before Kenya’s presidential election, candidates are making their final efforts to court voters.

肯尼亚首都内罗比，距肯尼亚总统选举只有一周时间，候选人正为拉拢选民做着最后的努力。

Kenya’s presidential race has come down to two main competitors: Uhuru Kenyatta, the son of Kenya’s first president who represents the Jubilee¹ coalition², and Raila Odinga, the current prime minister and head of the CORD alliance.

肯尼亚总统大选的焦点已归结于两个主要对手，代表Jubille联盟的肯尼亚首任总统之子肯雅塔和肯尼亚现任总理，CORD领袖拉伊拉·奥廷加。

The two candidates have drawn³ huge crowds as they cross the country seeking votes.

两名候选人在整个国家内拉取选票，吸引了大量民众。

Some of their most vocal⁴ supporters gather on a street corner in Nairobi in a so-called People’s Parliament. Kenyans meet daily to argue politics and to try to convince each other to change their views.

他们最有力的支持者聚集在坐落于内罗比街角，被叫做人民议会的房子里，肯尼亚人每天见面争论政治，试图劝说其他人改变立场。

CORD supporter Omukoko Shitandi said, "Every Kenyan can agree with me that Raila Odinga, politically, he was the brainchild of the struggle for multiparty in Kenya. And socially he has been the champion of the struggle for the rights of both the poor and the rich in Kenya.”

CORD的支持者欧默卡斯坦迪说：“每一个肯尼亚人都会赞同，从政治上说，拉伊拉?奥廷加是肯尼亚争取多党政治的斗争的产物，从社会上说，他始终是为肯尼亚的穷人和富人的权利而奋斗的战士。”

Jubilee supporters, like Patrick Matho, are unconvinced.

Jubilee的支持者，像帕特里克麦塞，对此表示怀疑。

“There’s a lot of unemployment in Kenya but we believe that in Jubilee, the way we’ve read the manifesto⁵ and the way they have put some funds aside for the youth and women, I think it’s the right party,” said Matho.

“在肯尼亚有许多失业人员，但是从我们已经阅读过的宣言和已经拨给青年和妇女的资金来看，我们相信jubille联盟，我认为它是正确的政党。” 麦塞说。

Kenya Elections:

 肯尼亚选举：

Voters select president, bicameral⁶ legislature, governors and county assembly 

选民选出总统，两议院制立法机关，州长和国家议会。

8 presidential candidates 

8位总统候选人

To win presidency⁷, candidate must get 50% of votes, plus one, and at least 25% of votes in half of Kenya’s 47 counties

要赢得总统选举，候选人需得到一半以上选票，还要在肯尼亚的47个县中得到至少百分之25的选票

If no clear winner, a second round of voting is scheduled for April 11 

如果没有明确的赢家，将在4月11日进行第二轮选举

14.3 million registered voters 

14.3万登记注册选民

Uniting his base

团结在他周围

Jubilee supporters are defensive⁸, though, about the International Criminal Court charges against Kenyatta for his alleged⁹ role in the violence that followed the last election in 2007. Western diplomats¹⁰ have suggested a Kenyatta presidency could weaken ties between the international community and Kenya.

Jubilee阵营的支持者对于国际刑事法院对肯雅塔涉嫌在上次2007年大选中使用暴力的控告是有抵抗的。西方外交家已暗示，一个肯尼亚总统可能会削弱国际社会与肯尼亚的联系。

But professor Joshua Kivuva of the University of Nairobi said the charges have actually helped to unite Mr. Kenyatta’s base.

但是内罗比大学教授约书亚基娃说，国际法庭的指控事实上团结了肯雅塔阵营。

“Without the ICC, the Jubilee would not exist. Uhuru Kenyatta would not even be a factor in this. He was a nobody without the ICC,” said Kivuva.

“没有国际刑事法庭，Jubilee阵营就不会存在。乌呼鲁·肯雅塔甚至都不会成为大选中的一份子，没有国际刑事法庭，他什么都不是。”基娃说。

Supporters from both parties acknowledge that tribalism dominates Kenyan politics.

两个政党的支持者都承认，部落制度控制着肯尼亚政治。

Odinga, who is part of the Luo tribe, is relying on votes from his supporters in the western part of the country.

卢奥族部落的奥丁格，就正依赖于国家西部地区支持者的选票。

Tribal¹¹ politics

部落政治

Kenyatta depends on the Kikuyu tribal vote in central Kenya.

肯雅塔依靠肯尼亚中部地区基库尤部落的选票。

Professor Kivuva said the role of tribe, however, is largely misunderstood.

然而，基娃教授说，人们在很大程度上误解了部落政治所扮演的角色。

“Actually Kenya has never had tribal politics, that is the biggest misnomer¹² that has been perpetrated all the time. Kenyans vote very much on ideological¹³ basis, it’s on that [where] ideology¹⁴ and tribe converge,” he said.

“事实上，肯尼亚从来没有部落政治，这是一直以来人们最大的误读。肯尼亚人依据他们的想法投票，这是思想与部落的集合体。他说。

Other candidates have tried to change the political conversation this year.

 今年其他候选人试图改变政治对话。

Peter Kenneth ran on a campaign that rejected tribalism and tried to court Kenyans from across ethnic¹⁵ lines. While he has been popular on the campaign trail, he has ranked near the bottom in recent polls.

彼得·肯尼斯领导着一个拒绝部落政治，并试图团结肯尼亚各种族战线的阵营。他在竞选活动中很受欢迎，然而在最近的民意测试中，他的排名接近榜底。

All parties say they want to avoid a repeat of the violence that killed more than 1,100 people following the last disputed election.

所有的政党都声明，他们想要避免重蹈上次激烈竞选中，暴力致超过1100人死亡的覆辙。

The vote on Monday is likely to be incredibly close, though, with the two leading politicians separated by only a couple of percentage points in recent polls. Candidates have already started trading accusations¹⁶ of vote rigging, raising tensions and the possibility that the results again could be disputed.

周一的投票很可能是惊人的接近。根据民调显示，两位候选人的支持率仅差几个百分点。候选人已将开始相互指责在大选中舞弊，这使局势更加紧张，并使结果出现争议的可能性加强了。

1 jubilee   

n.周年纪念；欢乐

参考例句：

• They had a big jubilee to celebrate the victory.他们举行盛大的周年纪念活动以祝贺胜利。
• Every Jubilee,to take the opposite case,has served a function.反过来说，历次君主巡幸，都曾起到某种作用。

2 coalition   

n.结合体，同盟，结合，联合

参考例句：

• The several parties formed a coalition.这几个政党组成了政治联盟。
• Coalition forces take great care to avoid civilian casualties.联盟军队竭尽全力避免造成平民伤亡。

3 drawn   

v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的

参考例句：

• All the characters in the story are drawn from life.故事中的所有人物都取材于生活。
• Her gaze was drawn irresistibly to the scene outside.她的目光禁不住被外面的风景所吸引。

4 vocal   

adj.直言不讳的；嗓音的；n.[pl.]声乐节目

参考例句：

• The tongue is a vocal organ.舌头是一个发音器官。
• Public opinion at last became vocal.终于舆论哗然。

5 manifesto   

n.宣言，声明

参考例句：

• I was involved in the preparation of Labour's manifesto.我参与了工党宣言的起草工作。
• His manifesto promised measures to protect them.他在宣言里保证要为他们采取保护措施。

6 bicameral   

adj.两院制的

参考例句：

• The United States Congress is a bicameral body.美国国会由两个议院组成。
• The Upper House is usually the smaller branch of a bicameral legislature.上议院通常是两院制议会中较小的一个。

7 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。

8 defensive   

adj.防御的；防卫的；防守的

参考例句：

• Their questions about the money put her on the defensive.他们问到钱的问题，使她警觉起来。
• The Government hastily organized defensive measures against the raids.政府急忙布置了防卫措施抵御空袭。

9 alleged   

a.被指控的，嫌疑的

参考例句：

• It was alleged that he had taken bribes while in office. 他被指称在任时收受贿赂。
• alleged irregularities in the election campaign 被指称竞选运动中的不正当行为

10 diplomats   

n.外交官( diplomat的名词复数 )；有手腕的人，善于交际的人

参考例句：

• These events led to the expulsion of senior diplomats from the country. 这些事件导致一些高级外交官被驱逐出境。
• The court has no jurisdiction over foreign diplomats living in this country. 法院对驻本国的外交官无裁判权。 来自《简明英汉词典》

11 tribal   

adj.部族的，种族的

参考例句：

• He became skilled in several tribal lingoes.他精通几种部族的语言。
• The country was torn apart by fierce tribal hostilities.那个国家被部落间的激烈冲突弄得四分五裂。

12 misnomer   

n.误称

参考例句：

• Herbal"tea"is something of a misnomer because these drinks contain no tea at all.花草“茶”是一个误称，因为这类饮料里面根本不含茶。
• Actually," Underground "is a misnomer,because more than half the shops are above ground.实际上，“ 地下 ” 这个名称用之不当，因为半数以上的店铺是在地面上的。

13 ideological   

a.意识形态的

参考例句：

• He always tries to link his study with his ideological problems. 他总是把学习和自己的思想问题联系起来。
• He helped me enormously with advice on how to do ideological work. 他告诉我怎样做思想工作，对我有很大帮助。

14 ideology   

n.意识形态，(政治或社会的)思想意识

参考例句：

• The ideology has great influence in the world.这种思想体系在世界上有很大的影响。
• The ideal is to strike a medium between ideology and inspiration.我的理想是在意识思想和灵感鼓动之间找到一个折衷。

15 ethnic   

adj.人种的，种族的，异教徒的

参考例句：

• This music would sound more ethnic if you played it in steel drums.如果你用钢鼓演奏，这首乐曲将更具民族特色。
• The plan is likely only to aggravate ethnic frictions.这一方案很有可能只会加剧种族冲突。

16 accusations   

n.指责( accusation的名词复数 )；指控；控告；（被告发、控告的）罪名

参考例句：

• There were accusations of plagiarism. 曾有过关于剽窃的指控。
• He remained unruffled by their accusations. 对于他们的指控他处之泰然。