VOA常速英语2014--Venezuelans Divided on Who to Blame for Economic, Social Woes 委内瑞拉民众在谁为经济社会困境负责的问题上存在分歧

 

Venezuelans Divided on Who to Blame for Economic, Social Woes¹ 委内瑞拉民众在谁为经济社会困境负责的问题上存在分歧

Continuing anti-government protests in Venezuela are posing the greatest threat to the socialist² government of President Nicolas Maduro since the handpicked successor to the late Hugo Chavez narrowly won election to office last year.  In this oil-rich country nearly everyone is angry about food shortages, soaring inflation, and the high crime rate but there are sharp divisions over who is to blame and how to fix the problems.

自从去年被选定的接班人乌戈查韦斯在选举中险胜，委内瑞拉国内的反政府抗议活动愈演愈烈，这对以尼古拉斯马杜罗为首的社会主义政府来说是一个极大的威胁。在这个石油大国，几乎所有人都因食物短缺、通货膨胀和高犯罪率而愤怒。但是，国内人民就谁该为此负责以及如何解决这些问题存在严重分歧。

The student-led protests in Venezuela, that began weeks ago, have led to some violent and deadly confrontations³ with police, and have sharpened the political divisions in the country.

在委内瑞拉，学生领导的抗议活动早在几个星期之前就开始发展。这些抗议活动已经演变成了与警察对峙的暴力流血事件，并且加剧了国内的政治分歧。

All Venezuelans are frustrated⁴ with near hyper inflation rates, chronic⁵ shortages of basic goods, and violent crime.  But Eric Olsen, a Latin America analyst⁶ with the Woodrow Wilson Center, says they are divided over who to blame.

所有委内瑞拉人民都对超通胀率、基本商品的长期短缺和暴力犯罪感到沮丧。然而，在伍德罗威尔逊中心的拉丁美洲分析师埃里克奥尔森说，他们在谁该为此负责的问题上存在分歧。

“People who are protesting are trying to hold the government accountable for this, pointing the finger at mismanagement or policy problems on the part of the government," he said. "The government itself is blaming agitators⁷, it's blaming the United States.”

“抗议者认为政府应对此负责，他们把矛头指向了政府内部部分问题的管理不周和政策漏洞，”他说道。“委内瑞拉政府指责煽动者，它还职责美国。”

Olsen says President Maduro’s recent expulsion of three U.S. diplomats⁸ for allegedly helping⁹ the student protests bolsters¹⁰ his popularity among his supporters.

奥尔森说，马杜罗总理最近驱逐三位美国外交官，据说这三位外交官帮助学生抗议者在他的支持者中增加人气。

Meanwhile, Maduro says he wants to directly engage the U.S. on these charges and will send an ambassador to Washington to fill the long-vacant post.

与此同时，马杜罗称他将亲自与美国就这些指控进行交涉，并且将送一位大使到华盛顿来担任这个空缺已久的职位。

“I call for the dialogue now, I accept this challenge," he said. "Let's initiate¹¹ a high-level dialogue and let's put the truth out on the table.”

他说：“我现在需要这次对话，我接受这个挑战。我们将开始一次高端的对话，让我们用事实说话。”

For its part, the United States has denied any involvement in the Venezuelan protests and has reciprocated¹² by expelling three Venezuelan diplomats.  

在这个事情上，美国政府已经表明在委内瑞拉国内抗议活动中没有任何进展，并且也已经将三位委内瑞拉外交官驱逐出美国。

“When President Maduro calls for a dialogue with the U.S. president and an exchange of ambassadors, he should focus instead on a dialogue with the Venezuelan people, because that is what is at issue here," said White House press secretary Jay Carney. "This is not about the United States.”

“马杜罗总理在与美国总统开展对话并且呼唤大使之前，应该致力于与委内瑞拉国内人民进行交流，这才是问题所在。这些事情根本与美国没有关系。”白宫新闻发言人杰伊卡尼如是说。

Despite having the world's largest oil reserves, spending for the socialist programs providing free housing, health care and other services to the poor have burdened the economy.  Olsen says Venezuela has to find a way to live within its means while preserving these popular programs.

尽管委内瑞拉有世界上最丰富的石油储备，实施社会主义计划向穷人提供免费住房，但是穷人的医疗保健和其它服务都是其经济的负担。奥尔森说委内瑞拉必须要寻找一哥方法，不仅要量入为出，同时还要保留这些受欢迎的项目。

"So the question is can you continue those kinds of programs but have a better and more reformed economic policy that doesn’t create such a crisis and I think that’s the challenge for both the government and for the opposition¹³ to some extent,” he said.

他还指出，因此问题在于是继续保持这些项目，还是制定一些更好的经济改革政策来保证解决危机。一定程度上来说，这对政府及其反对派都是一个挑战。

 

But so far the country remains¹⁴ divided over what to do and who to blame.

然而，目前为止，委内瑞拉人们仍然在怎么做和谁该为此负责的问题上存在分歧。

1 woes   

困境( woe的名词复数 )； 悲伤； 我好苦哇； 某人就要倒霉

参考例句：

• Thanks for listening to my woes. 谢谢您听我诉说不幸的遭遇。
• She has cried the blues about its financial woes. 对于经济的困难她叫苦不迭。

2 socialist   

n.社会主义者；adj.社会主义的

参考例句：

• China is a socialist country,and a developing country as well.中国是一个社会主义国家，也是一个发展中国家。
• His father was an ardent socialist.他父亲是一个热情的社会主义者。

3 confrontations   

n.对抗，对抗的事物( confrontation的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• At times, this potential has escalated into actual confrontations. 有时，这一矛盾升级为实际的对抗。 来自英汉非文学 - 行政法
• These confrontations and uncertainties were bing played out for the first time on a global scale. 所有这一切对抗和不稳定，第一次在全球范围内得到充分的表演。 来自辞典例句

4 frustrated   

adj.挫败的，失意的，泄气的v.使不成功( frustrate的过去式和过去分词 )；挫败；使受挫折；令人沮丧

参考例句：

• It's very easy to get frustrated in this job. 这个工作很容易令人懊恼。
• The bad weather frustrated all our hopes of going out. 恶劣的天气破坏了我们出行的愿望。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 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。

6 analyst   

n.分析家，化验员；心理分析学家

参考例句：

• What can you contribute to the position of a market analyst?你有什么技能可有助于市场分析员的职务？
• The analyst is required to interpolate values between standards.分析人员需要在这些标准中插入一些值。

7 agitators   

n.（尤指政治变革的）鼓动者( agitator的名词复数 )；煽动者；搅拌器；搅拌机

参考例句：

• The mud is too viscous, you must have all the agitators run. 泥浆太稠，你们得让所有的搅拌机都开着。 来自辞典例句
• Agitators urged the peasants to revolt/revolution. 煽动者怂恿农民叛变（革命）。 来自辞典例句

8 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》

9 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

10 bolsters   

n.长枕( bolster的名词复数 )；垫子；衬垫；支持物v.支持( bolster的第三人称单数 )；支撑；给予必要的支持；援助

参考例句：

• He used a couple of bolsters to elevate his head. 他用两个垫枕垫头。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The double-row piles with both inclined and horizontal bolsters also analyzed in consideration of staged excavation. 本文亦分析了考虑开挖过程的安置斜撑与带支撑的双排桩支护结构。 来自互联网

11 initiate   

vt.开始，创始，发动；启蒙，使入门；引入

参考例句：

• A language teacher should initiate pupils into the elements of grammar.语言老师应该把基本语法教给学生。
• They wanted to initiate a discussion on economics.他们想启动一次经济学讨论。

12 reciprocated   

v.报答，酬答( reciprocate的过去式和过去分词 )；（机器的部件）直线往复运动

参考例句：

• Her passion for him was not reciprocated. 她对他的热情没有得到回应。
• Their attraction to each other as friends is reciprocated. 作为朋友，他们相互吸引着对方。 来自辞典例句

13 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。

14 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。