VOA标准英语2008年-Belarussian Election Shuts Out Opposition

Opposition¹ candidates failed to win any of the seats up for grabs in Belarus' parliament elections, in a closely watched race. Preliminary results, announced early Monday, show the opposition candidates did not succeed in garnering² any of the 110 parliament seats, prompting their party leaders to cry "foul³" and charge that the election was rigged. Emma Stickgold has this report from Moscow.
　
Opposition activists⁴ protest against the parliamentary elections shortly after polling closed, in the Belarusian capital Minsk, 28 Sep 2008

Belarus is nestled between the European Union and Russia and, to most observers, Sunday's election was a harbinger for which way the country will lean. The country of roughly 10 million people serves as a conduit for Russian gas exports and has been inching its way towards democratic reform, according to Western leaders.

As of early Monday, none of the 70 opposition candidates has captured the majority of the vote, with 15 of the 110 districts uncontested. The vote was monitored by about 400 observers from the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe. They say they will issue their preliminary finding, later today.

Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko has been referred to as "the last dictator in Europe," by Washington and has led a government viewed by many to be autocratic, for 14 years. He vowed⁵ Sunday's election would be free and fair - claiming his commitment to democratic reform and saying this vote would be "democratic without precedent⁶."

European Union leaders have said sanctions would be lifted and financial aid doled⁷ out. if the election proved to be open and fair. The United States has indicated it would follow suit.

Although President Lukashenko has said he would move to sever⁸ ties with the West, if the results of the election were not officially recognized, he has also been trying to solidify⁹ the country's relationship with the West.
　
Belarusian opposition activists protest in Minsk against the parliamentary elections, 28 Sep 2008

Although Western observers say steps were made to ensure more fairness, including granting increased television time to opposition candidates, opposition party leaders say that the election was a fraud. Among their concerns is a law that allowed people to vote in advance, which nearly one-third of the population did, although this part of the process was not under the spotlight¹⁰ of independent monitoring.

Hundreds of activists rallied in the capital city, Minsk, holding aloft signs decrying¹¹ Lukashenko's rule, and the opposition United Citizen Party leader Anatoly Lebedko said that his group does not recognize the results of the election.

Opposition leaders say that, in general, demonstrating their political views make them vulnerable to intimidation¹² and random¹³ arrests.

The head of the Central Election Commission Lidia Yermoshina says the election did not fail to meet international voting standards.

 

1 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。

2 garnering   

v.收集并（通常）贮藏（某物），取得，获得( garner的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• And at the forefront was Bryant, garnering nothing but praise from his coaches and teammates. 而站在最前沿的就是科比，他也因此获得了教练和队友的赞美。 来自互联网

3 foul   

adj.污秽的；邪恶的；v.弄脏；妨害；犯规；n.犯规

参考例句：

• Take off those foul clothes and let me wash them.脱下那些脏衣服让我洗一洗。
• What a foul day it is!多么恶劣的天气！

4 activists   

n.（政治活动的）积极分子，活动家( activist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• His research work was attacked by animal rights activists . 他的研究受到了动物权益维护者的抨击。
• Party activists with lower middle class pedigrees are numerous. 党的激进分子中有很多出身于中产阶级下层。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 vowed   

起誓，发誓（vow的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• He vowed quite solemnly that he would carry out his promise. 他非常庄严地发誓要实现他的诺言。
• I vowed to do more of the cooking myself. 我发誓自己要多动手做饭。

6 precedent   

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。

7 doled   

救济物( dole的过去式和过去分词 )； 失业救济金

参考例句：

• The food was doled out to the poor. 食品分发给了穷人。
• Sisco briskly doled out the United States positions on the key issues. 西斯科轻快地把美国在重大问题上的立场放了出去。

8 sever   

v.切开，割开；断绝，中断

参考例句：

• She wanted to sever all her connections with the firm.她想断绝和那家公司的所有联系。
• We must never sever the cultural vein of our nation.我们不能割断民族的文化血脉。

9 solidify   

v.(使)凝固，(使)固化，(使)团结

参考例句：

• Opinion on this question began to solidify.对这个问题的意见开始具体化了。
• Water will solidify into ice if you freeze it.水冷冻会结冰。

10 spotlight   

n.公众注意的中心，聚光灯，探照灯，视听，注意，醒目

参考例句：

• This week the spotlight is on the world of fashion.本周引人瞩目的是时装界。
• The spotlight followed her round the stage.聚光灯的光圈随着她在舞台上转。

11 decrying   

v.公开反对，谴责( decry的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• Soon Chinese Internet users, including government agencies, were decrying the' poisonous panda. 不久，中国网民以及政府机构纷纷谴责“影响极坏的熊猫烧香”。 来自互联网
• Democratic leaders are decrying President Bush's plan to indefinitely halt troop withdrawals from Iraq after July. 民主党领导公开谴责布什总统七月后无限停止从伊拉克撤兵的举动。 来自互联网

12 intimidation   

n.恐吓，威胁

参考例句：

• The Opposition alleged voter intimidation by the army.反对党声称投票者受到军方的恐吓。
• The gang silenced witnesses by intimidation.恶帮用恐吓的手段使得证人不敢说话。

13 random   

adj.随机的；任意的；n.偶然的(或随便的)行动

参考例句：

• The list is arranged in a random order.名单排列不分先后。
• On random inspection the meat was found to be bad.经抽查，发现肉变质了。