在线英语听力室

VOA慢速英语2013 AS IT IS 2013-06-03 Kenyan President Linked to 2007-2008 Violence

时间:2013-06-13 09:07:01

搜索关注在线英语听力室公众号:tingroom,领取免费英语资料大礼包。

(单词翻译)

 

AS IT IS 2013-06-03 Kenyan President Linked to 2007-2008 Violence

Hello, and welcome once again to As It Is, VOA’s daily magazine show for people learning American English.

I’m Christopher Cruise.

Today, we tell about a reported link between human rights abuses in Kenya and several of the country’s leaders, including the current president…

“The whole purpose of (the) Truth, Justice, Reconciliation1 Commission is to find a closure.”

Also in our show, hope for Kenyans who suffered abuse in the 1950s under British colonial rule…

“Our desire has always been to bring this to a speedy conclusion because of the age and the infirmity of the old men and women involved.”

Then, we go back to June 3rd, 1965 -- when an astronaut climbed out of his Gemini space vehicle and became the first American to walk in space…

“The flight director says ‘Get back in!’”

You probably do not know the name of that astronaut. Later in our show, we will tell you about him.

Report Links Kenya’s President to Violence 

In Kenya, the Truth, Justice and Reconciliation Commission has linked several Kenyan leaders to abuses in the country’s history. The commission identified current President Uhuru Kenyatta as one of those leaders in its long-awaited report.

VOA Correspondent Gabe Joselow says the group has called for further investigation2 of those whom it claims are responsible for the abuses.

In the past five years, the Truth, Justice and Reconciliation Commission held 600 meetings across the country. The commission collected over 40,000 statements. It gave its final report to President Kenyatta late last month.

The Commission was formed after the violence that followed the Kenyan elections in 2007. It investigated human rights abuses committed by Kenyan officials since the country became independent in 1963.

President Kenyatta and his top aide -- William Ruto -- are both named in the report. They are accused of inciting3 and providing financial support for the violence five years ago. But the Commission did not call for action against the two men. They are already facing trial at the International Criminal Court for the same crimes.

Bethuel Kiplagat is the head of the Commission. He says he hopes the report helps the country look to the future.

“The whole purpose of (the) Truth, Justice, Reconciliation Commission is to find a closure -- a closure to issues related to violations4, gross violations of human rights, murders, rape5, abduction, marginalization, whatever.”

The report names hundreds of people accused of involvement in abuses including economic crimes and political assassinations6.

Bethuel Kiplagat is named in the report. He is accused of taking part in the “Wagalla Massacre” in 1984. Hundreds -- possibly thousands -- of ethnic7 Somalis were killed by government forces at an air field in northeast Kenya.

At the time of the killings8, Mr. Kiplagat was serving in the government of then-President Daniel arap Moi. The commission chairman says he will cooperate with an investigation into the attack.

The report says Kenya has made progress on many of the issues examined by the commission since it began its work. These include the enactment9 of a new constitution and the formation of an anti-corruption commission.

The Commission is calling for additional action, including an apology from the current government for the abuses. It has also proposed creation of a program for making payments to those who suffered abuse.

I’m Gabe Joselow.

Justice for Kenyans Abused by Britain in the 1950s 

Thousands of Kenyans are waiting for payments from Britain to make up for abuses they suffered in the 1950s under colonial rule. Their lawyers have begun final negotiations10 with the British Foreign Office on a settlement.

During the Kenyan struggle for independence, the Mau Mau resistance movement launched a guerrilla war against British colonial rule. British forces detained hundreds of thousands of Kenyans they suspected of taking part in the movement. Some suspects were tortured, while others were executed.

Last October, the British High Court said the Foreign Office must be put on trial for the crimes committed during the 1950s in colonial Kenya.

The British government announced plans to appeal the decision. But Foreign Office lawyers have been negotiating with representatives of the surviving Mau Mau rebels. The negotiations could soon result in a settlement.

Gitu wa Kahengeri is the spokesman for the Mau Mau War Veterans Association.

“They have offered to negotiate out of court. We have agreed. Then, it all depends what offer they are going to give.”

George Morara is working on the case for the Kenyan Human Rights Commission.

“Our desire has always been to bring this to a speedy conclusion because of the age and infirmity of the old men and women involved. So the sooner it’s done, the better.”

After Kenya’s independence in 1963, the Mau Mau movement was listed as a terrorist group by the new government. It was not until 2003 that the government finally cancelled the ban on the movement.

Soon after that, historians researching the Mau Mau rebellion discovered secret colonial records. Those documents showed how much the British colonial government used torture to suppress members of the group. More people started to believe the stories that older Kenyans had been telling for years about abuse by the British.

George Morara believes thousands of Kenyans will receive money from any settlement.

“We hope that any negotiations or discussions then will take into account men and women who fall within the broad outline that was set out by the three test cases in, in London.”

Any settlement in the Mau Mau case would set a legal precedent11. Throughout the former British Empire, Indians, Malaysians, Cypriots and Guyanese have sought payments to make up for abuses that took place during colonial rule.

I’m Onka Dekker.

Get back in! The first American spacewalk goes on for too long

Forty-eight years ago, on June 3rd, 1965, astronaut Edward White became the first American to walk in space. White climbed out of his Gemini space vehicle 216 kilometers above the earth. But he remained connected to the two-man spacecraft by a seven-meter-long lifeline that gave him oxygen. It also let him communicate with space flight controllers on the ground. He used a special hand-held propulsion device to move around in space.

White was having so much fun that he stayed outside the spacecraft for 20 minutes -- 8 minutes longer than planned. The flight director in Houston had to order him to get back inside.

HOUSTON: “Gemini Four (this is) Houston. Gemini Four (this is) Houston.”

GEMINI:  “Let’s see what the flight director has got to say.”

HOUSTON: “The flight director says ‘Get back in!’”

GEMINI: “This is Jim. You got any message for us?”

HOUSTON: “Gemini Four! Get back in!” 

GEMINI: “OK”

White was not the first human to walk in space. A few months earlier -- on March 18th, 1963, Soviet12 cosmonaut Alexi Leonov floated in space for ten minutes while connected to his Voskhod II spacecraft.

The two spacewalks showed that human beings could work outside their spacecraft. Less than two years after his historic spacewalk, Edward White died in a fire while training for another space mission.   

I’m Christopher Cruise, and that’s As It Is from VOA Learning English on the Voice of America.


分享到:


点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 reconciliation DUhxh     
n.和解,和谐,一致
参考例句:
  • He was taken up with the reconciliation of husband and wife.他忙于做夫妻间的调解工作。
  • Their handshake appeared to be a gesture of reconciliation.他们的握手似乎是和解的表示。
2 investigation MRKzq     
n.调查,调查研究
参考例句:
  • In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
  • He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。
3 inciting 400c07a996057ecbd0e695a596404e52     
刺激的,煽动的
参考例句:
  • What are you up to inciting mutiny and insubordination? 你们干吗在这里煽动骚动的叛乱呀。
  • He was charged with inciting people to rebel. 他被控煽动民众起来叛乱。
4 violations 403b65677d39097086593415b650ca21     
违反( violation的名词复数 ); 冒犯; 违反(行为、事例); 强奸
参考例句:
  • This is one of the commonest traffic violations. 这是常见的违反交通规则之例。
  • These violations of the code must cease forthwith. 这些违犯法规的行为必须立即停止。
5 rape PAQzh     
n.抢夺,掠夺,强奸;vt.掠夺,抢夺,强奸
参考例句:
  • The rape of the countryside had a profound ravage on them.对乡村的掠夺给他们造成严重创伤。
  • He was brought to court and charged with rape.他被带到法庭并被指控犯有强奸罪。
6 assassinations 66ad8b4a9ceb5b662b6302d786f9a24d     
n.暗杀( assassination的名词复数 )
参考例句:
  • Most anarchist assassinations were bungled because of haste or spontaneity, in his view. 在他看来,无政府主义者搞的许多刺杀都没成功就是因为匆忙和自发行动。 来自辞典例句
  • Assassinations by Israelis of alleged terrorists habitually kill nearby women and children. 在以色列,自称恐怖分子的炸弹自杀者杀害靠近自己的以色列妇女和儿童。 来自互联网
7 ethnic jiAz3     
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。
8 killings 76d97e8407f821a6e56296c4c9a9388c     
谋杀( killing的名词复数 ); 突然发大财,暴发
参考例句:
  • His statement was seen as an allusion to the recent drug-related killings. 他的声明被视为暗指最近与毒品有关的多起凶杀案。
  • The government issued a statement condemning the killings. 政府发表声明谴责这些凶杀事件。
9 enactment Cp8x6     
n.演出,担任…角色;制订,通过
参考例句:
  • Enactment refers to action.演出指行为的表演。
  • We support the call for the enactment of a Bill of Rights.我们支持要求通过《权利法案》的呼声。
10 negotiations af4b5f3e98e178dd3c4bac64b625ecd0     
协商( negotiation的名词复数 ); 谈判; 完成(难事); 通过
参考例句:
  • negotiations for a durable peace 为持久和平而进行的谈判
  • Negotiations have failed to establish any middle ground. 谈判未能达成任何妥协。
11 precedent sSlz6     
n.先例,前例;惯例;adj.在前的,在先的
参考例句:
  • Is there a precedent for what you want me to do?你要我做的事有前例可援吗?
  • This is a wonderful achievement without precedent in Chinese history.这是中国历史上亘古未有的奇绩。
12 Soviet Sw9wR     
adj.苏联的,苏维埃的;n.苏维埃
参考例句:
  • Zhukov was a marshal of the former Soviet Union.朱可夫是前苏联的一位元帅。
  • Germany began to attack the Soviet Union in 1941.德国在1941年开始进攻苏联。

本文本内容来源于互联网抓取和网友提交,仅供参考,部分栏目没有内容,如果您有更合适的内容,欢迎 点击提交 分享给大家。