VOA慢速英语2015 世界将密切关注缅甸选举

AS IT IS 2015-11-04 World Will Be Watching Myanmar’s Elections 世界将密切关注缅甸选举

Myanmar will hold elections November 8. It will be the first general election in 25 years for the country, also known as Burma.

A nominally¹ civilian² government took power in 2011. But the armed forces remain firmly in control of the political process.

Aung San Suu Kyi heads the main opposition³ party, the National League for Democracy. She has called on international observers to become actively⁴ involved in the election process.

The European Union says it will have 30 long-term observers in Myanmar during the election. The EU said it will deploy⁵ more than 60 short-term observers across country. The American-based Carter Center also is sending election observers.

The National League for Democracy won 43 seats in parliamentary by-elections in 2012. The party won the general elections in 1990, but the country’s military rulers ignored the results.

This week, an NLD campaign rally in Yangon was attacked, leaving a local lawmaker and two other men injured. Officials said several men armed with knives attacked the gathering⁶.

The attack is likely to raise fears of violence before the general election. On Thursday, a United Nations human rights investigator⁷ called for the elections to be inclusive, free and credible⁸.

U.N. Special Rapporteur Yanghee Lee expressed concern that universal rights, such as freedom of expression, assembly and association, have been restricted.

She also noted⁹ religious discrimination. She said that many Muslim voters and candidates have been barred from the election.

Yanghee Lee said the largest number of excluded candidates is from Rakhine State. Among voters, she says, nearly 800,000 people who had the right to vote in the 2010 and 2012 elections are not permitted to vote this year.

She said they were told their temporary registration¹⁰ documents are no longer accepted. This includes many people of Chinese or Indian ancestry¹¹, but mainly Rohingya from Rakhine State.

More than 100,000 Muslims from the Rohingya minority have been living in camps after religious violence in Rakhine State. Tens of thousands of Rohingya are believed to have fled the country by boat. 

Earlier this year, President Thein Sein canceled the voting rights of all Rohingya.

United States officials say the government in Myanmar has promised the vote will be free and fair. U.S. Deputy National Security Advisor¹² Ben Rhodes met with reporters in Yangon last week.

He spoke¹³ about his meetings with Myanmar officials, political parties and civil society groups. Rhodes said he was satisfied with the answers he was given at those talks.

He said the U.S. government is hopeful the election results will be honored. But he warned the government will be forced to re-examine its position if the results are not respected.

“Clearly that would represent a step backwards¹⁴. And we would have to make assessments¹⁵ about, you know, our policies and our engagement in response to something like that.”

Words in This Story

nominally – n. existing as something in name only; supposedly

rally – n. a political meeting or gathering

credible – adj. good enough to be believed or trusted

universal – adj. available for everyone; existing or true at all times or places

assembly – n. the act of meeting with other people

association – n. having ties with an organized group of people

excluded – adj. prevented or barred

assessments – n. making judgments¹⁶ or opinions about something

engagement – n. involvement with something or someone

response – n. answer or in reaction

1 nominally   

在名义上，表面地； 应名儿

参考例句：

• Dad, nominally a Methodist, entered Churches only for weddings and funerals. 爸名义上是卫理公会教徒，可只去教堂参加婚礼和葬礼。
• The company could not indicate a person even nominally responsible for staff training. 该公司甚至不能指出一个名义上负责职员培训的人。

2 civilian   

adj.平民的，民用的，民众的

参考例句：

• There is no reliable information about civilian casualties.关于平民的伤亡还没有确凿的信息。
• He resigned his commission to take up a civilian job.他辞去军职而从事平民工作。

3 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。

4 actively   

adv.积极地，勤奋地

参考例句：

• During this period all the students were actively participating.在这节课中所有的学生都积极参加。
• We are actively intervening to settle a quarrel.我们正在积极调解争执。

5 deploy   

v.（军）散开成战斗队形，布置，展开

参考例句：

• The infantry began to deploy at dawn.步兵黎明时开始进入战斗位置。
• The president said he had no intention of deploying ground troops.总统称并不打算部署地面部队。

6 gathering   

n.集会，聚会，聚集

参考例句：

• He called on Mr. White to speak at the gathering.他请怀特先生在集会上讲话。
• He is on the wing gathering material for his novels.他正忙于为他的小说收集资料。

7 investigator   

n.研究者，调查者，审查者

参考例句：

• He was a special investigator for the FBI.他是联邦调查局的特别调查员。
• The investigator was able to deduce the crime and find the criminal.调查者能够推出犯罪过程并锁定罪犯。

8 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？

9 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

10 registration   

n.登记，注册，挂号

参考例句：

• Marriage without registration is not recognized by law.法律不承认未登记的婚姻。
• What's your registration number?你挂的是几号？

11 ancestry   

n.祖先，家世

参考例句：

• Their ancestry settled the land in 1856.他们的祖辈1856年在这块土地上定居下来。
• He is an American of French ancestry.他是法国血统的美国人。

12 advisor   

n.顾问，指导老师，劝告者

参考例句：

• They employed me as an advisor.他们聘请我当顾问。
• The professor is engaged as a technical advisor.这位教授被聘请为技术顾问。

13 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

14 backwards   

adv.往回地，向原处，倒，相反，前后倒置地

参考例句：

• He turned on the light and began to pace backwards and forwards.他打开电灯并开始走来走去。
• All the girls fell over backwards to get the party ready.姑娘们迫不及待地为聚会做准备。

15 assessments   

n.评估( assessment的名词复数 )；评价；（应偿付金额的）估定；（为征税对财产所作的）估价

参考例句：

• He was shrewd in his personal assessments. 他总能对人作出精明的评价。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Surveys show about two-thirds use such assessments, while half employ personality tests. 调查表明，约有三分之二的公司采用了这种测评；而一半的公司则采用工作人员个人品质测试。 来自百科语句

16 judgments   

判断( judgment的名词复数 )； 鉴定； 评价； 审判

参考例句：

• A peculiar austerity marked his judgments of modern life. 他对现代生活的批评带着一种特殊的苛刻。
• He is swift with his judgments. 他判断迅速。