VOA标准英语2009-Enthusiastic Supporters Take to Streets in B

With just a few days to go before Iran's presidential election, the pace of campaigning has picked up and the four presidential candidates are stumping¹ across the country. An unexpected wave of popular enthusiasm for Friday's election has caught analysts³ by surprise.
　
A supporter of Mir Hossein Mousavi shouts from crowd amidst a festive⁴ atmosphere at an election rally at the Heidarnia stadium in Tehran, Iran, 09 Jun 2009

An enthusiastic crowd of supporters applauds reformist presidential candidate Mir Hussein Mousavi, as he addresses them at a soccer stadium in Tehran.

Mousavi tells them of his vision for the future of Iran and his come-from-behind campaign appears to be gaining steam from his tireless stumping.

Enthusiasm for Mousavi's challenge to incumbent⁵ President Mahmoud Ahmedinejad has caused such a groundswell that supporters created a massive traffic jam Monday in Tehran, by forming a human-chain the length of the city.

Popular exuberance⁶ began mounting after candidates touched on once taboo⁷ subjects during a series of televised debates.

Former President Abolhassan Bani Sadr, who has been in exile in France since 1981, explains how the debates have shaken the regime.

Mr. Bani Sadr says there is enthusiasm in the streets of Iran because of the widespread belief, even among the candidates that the current regime is corrupt⁸ and sponsors terrorism. He notes that the biggest bombshell in the campaign was a letter sent Tuesday by former President Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani to Iran's Supreme⁹ Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, in which he called the Ayatollah and others illegitimate.

Mr. Bani Sadr says the Rafsanjani letter reminded Khamenei that he and Iran's revolutionary leader Ayatollah Khomeini took power in a coup¹⁰ against the Bani Sadr government and that coup was against the will of the people then. Mr. Rafsanjani warns Khamenei that if things continue as they are, the regime is in danger.

Despite mounting public disavowal of incumbent President Mahmoud Ahmedinejad and the Islamic regime, former National Security Council member Gary Sick thinks many Ahmedinejad supporters still back him enthusiastically:

"People who support Mr. Ahmedinejad are fervent¹¹ in their support and it has a kind of almost religious fervor¹² to it in terms of the belief in him as a true populist who really respects and places his concern about the people above all," said Sick. "Then his opponents, including a conservative opponent who is a former head of the Revolutionary Guards, finds that [Mr.] Ahmedinejad has created huge problems for Iran and they are accusing [Mr.] Ahmedinejad quite publicly of malfeasance: that he has gotten Iran in trouble with everybody else, that there has been no payoff to this, that Iran has become a laughing-stock in a good part of the world and that he has not solved Iran's economic problems."

The conservative Kayhan newspaper, which supports Mr. Ahmedinejad, went so far as to call an Ahmedinejad campaign meeting in Tehran a "One-million Strong Tsunami¹³."

But Gary Sick notes that President Ahmedinejad's support could actually be crumbling¹⁴:

"He is clearly in trouble, in the sense that the opposition¹⁵ has jelled and the opposition to him has been growing dramatically," said Sick. "One report in Newsweek, this week is reporting that in a secret poll done by the government, the people were identifying themselves three to one in favor of Mr. Moussavi or somebody opposed to Mr. Ahmedinejad."

But analyst² Meir Javedanfar of the Meepas Center in Tel Aviv thinks an election victory by Mr. Moussavi would have limited effect:

"The elections are important, because whoever wins will have a stronger lobbying voice in the office of the Supreme Leader," said Javedanfar. "However, at the end of the day, it is the Supreme Leader Khamenei himself who has to decide. So, he will listen to those around him, but, if he decides that his interest is to go against them, the choice of the president will not make a difference to his policy."

Notwithstanding the wave of popular enthusiasm, former President Bani Sadr also remains¹⁶ pessimistic.

Mr. Bani Sadr says he is not optimistic anything can change inside the current regime, but he says the enthusiasm in the streets is a hopeful sign the majority of people do not like, what he calls, the current dictatorship in Iran.

The Iranian election is Friday. If no candidate gets 50 percent of the vote, the top two vote-winners will compete in a June 19th run-off election.

1 stumping   

僵直地行走，跺步行走( stump的现在分词 )； 把（某人）难住； 使为难； （选举前）在某一地区作政治性巡回演说

参考例句：

• She's tired of stumping up for school fees, books and uniform. 她讨厌为学费、课本和校服掏腰包。
• But Democrats and Republicans are still dumping stumping for the young. 但是民主党和共和党依然向年轻人发表演说以争取他们的支持。

2 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。

3 analysts   

分析家，化验员( analyst的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• City analysts forecast huge profits this year. 伦敦金融分析家预测今年的利润非常丰厚。
• I was impressed by the high calibre of the researchers and analysts. 研究人员和分析人员的高素质给我留下了深刻印象。

4 festive   

adj.欢宴的，节日的

参考例句：

• It was Christmas and everyone was in festive mood.当时是圣诞节，每个人都沉浸在节日的欢乐中。
• We all wore festive costumes to the ball.我们都穿着节日的盛装前去参加舞会。

5 incumbent   

adj.成为责任的，有义务的；现任的，在职的

参考例句：

• He defeated the incumbent governor by a large plurality.他以压倒多数票击败了现任州长。
• It is incumbent upon you to warn them.你有责任警告他们。

6 exuberance   

n.丰富；繁荣

参考例句：

• Her burst of exuberance and her brightness overwhelmed me.她勃发的热情和阳光的性格征服了我。
• The sheer exuberance of the sculpture was exhilarating.那尊雕塑表现出的勃勃生机让人振奋。

7 taboo   

n.禁忌，禁止接近，禁止使用；adj.禁忌的；v.禁忌，禁制，禁止

参考例句：

• The rude words are taboo in ordinary conversation.这些粗野的字眼在日常谈话中是禁忌的。
• Is there a taboo against sex before marriage in your society?在你们的社会里，婚前的性行为犯禁吗？

8 corrupt   

v.贿赂，收买；adj.腐败的，贪污的

参考例句：

• The newspaper alleged the mayor's corrupt practices.那家报纸断言市长有舞弊行为。
• This judge is corrupt.这个法官贪污。

9 supreme   

adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的

参考例句：

• It was the supreme moment in his life.那是他一生中最重要的时刻。
• He handed up the indictment to the supreme court.他把起诉书送交最高法院。

10 coup   

n.政变；突然而成功的行动

参考例句：

• The monarch was ousted by a military coup.那君主被军事政变者废黜了。
• That government was overthrown in a military coup three years ago.那个政府在3年前的军事政变中被推翻。

11 fervent   

adj.热的，热烈的，热情的

参考例句：

• It was a debate which aroused fervent ethical arguments.那是一场引发强烈的伦理道德争论的辩论。
• Austria was among the most fervent supporters of adolf hitler.奥地利是阿道夫希特勒最狂热的支持者之一。

12 fervor   

n.热诚；热心；炽热

参考例句：

• They were concerned only with their own religious fervor.他们只关心自己的宗教热诚。
• The speech aroused nationalist fervor.这个演讲喚起了民族主义热情。

13 tsunami   

n.海啸

参考例句：

• Powerful quake sparks tsunami warning in Japan.大地震触发了日本的海啸预警。
• Coastlines all around the Indian Ocean inundated by a huge tsunami.大海啸把印度洋沿岸地区都淹没了。

14 crumbling   

adj.摇摇欲坠的

参考例句：

• an old house with crumbling plaster and a leaking roof 一所灰泥剥落、屋顶漏水的老房子
• The boat was tied up alongside a crumbling limestone jetty. 这条船停泊在一个摇摇欲坠的石灰岩码头边。

15 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。

16 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。