VOA标准英语2009-Poverty Confronts Presidential Candidates in

Voters in Guinea-Bissau go to the polls Sunday to choose a new president. Economic growth and security dominate politics in one of the world's poorest countries.
　
Gabu's schools are rundown

In the eastern city, Gabu, an old man pushes a wheelbarrow of used shoes past the terrace of a once-grand home built by Portuguese¹ colonialists. The windows are gone. A broken bicycle leans against the front steps. Local health workers use the foyer to teach malaria² prevention.

Of 178 populations measured by the United Nations, only Liberians, Burundians, and citizens of the Democratic Republic of Congo are poorer than the people of Guinea-Bissau.

Life expectancy³ here is 46. Electricity is available a few hours a day in the capital, where there is still no central trash collection.

Slightly more than 40 percent of people have access to clean drinking water. Each rainy season brings another cholera⁴ outbreak. Last year's killed more than 200 people.

A secondary school teacher in Gabu says something has got to change.

He says the people of Guinea-Bissau cannot continue like this. Although he has not yet decided⁵ who to vote for, he says the people need a president who is a good person, who can develop the country and bring peace.

This is a vote to replace long-time President Joao Bernardo Vieria, who was killed by mutinous⁶ soldiers in March, hours after his chief political rival died in a bomb blast.

Instability in a country with a history of army mutinies and coups⁷ is made worse by Latin American drug gangs using remote airstrips to smuggle⁸ cocaine⁹ to Europe. Just 12 percent of girls and 18 percent of boys finish primary school in Guinea-Bissau, so cocaine trafficking is an easy source of work for uneducated youth.

Silvia Luciani represents the United Nations Children's Fund in Bissau.

"There are no jobs here," Luciani said. "There are no jobs because, with the continued instability, there are very few companies that are willing to invest in Guinea-Bissau, although there is potential. So the issue of drug trafficking really is a risk for young people because young people can get involved in this drug trafficking just because they are looking for opportunities. It is an easy source of money."

And, there are few easy sources of money in a country without facilities to process its major cash crop - cashews. That means traders buy on spot markets, knowing the nuts will spoil if sellers hold out for a higher price. A kilo of cashews last year earned growers about 35 cents. Now it is worth just 20 cents.

The World Bank and the International Monetary¹⁰ Fund have been more active in Guinea-Bissau since 2008. But most foreign investors¹¹ are awaiting the outcome of this election to determine the stability of doing business here.

The U.N. Development Program's Vladimir Montiero says Sunday's vote is a chance to restart the process of economic development.

"When you have instability, the donors¹² just run away and invest somewhere else," Montiero said. "You have other neighboring countries where the situation is stabilized¹³. These elections, if they bring, and we hope that it will that, if they bring stability, the investors will come and they will take advantage of the resources Guinea-Bissau has."

In addition to cashews, there are rice and raw materials, including bauxite¹⁴ in Guinea-Bissau.

The Angola-Bauxite Company says it is investing more than $280 million to build roads and a deep-water port 300 kilometers south of the capital.

National Electoral Commission President Desejado Lima Da Costa says Sunday's vote could make Guinea-Bissau an example for the sub-region.

Da Costa says this is a decisive election that could relaunch the nation's economy. Although no vote can resolve all of the problems confronting the country, he says it is an important step toward establishing stability.

1 Portuguese   

n.葡萄牙人；葡萄牙语

参考例句：

• They styled their house in the Portuguese manner.他们仿照葡萄牙的风格设计自己的房子。
• Her family is Portuguese in origin.她的家族是葡萄牙血统。

2 malaria   

n.疟疾

参考例句：

• He had frequent attacks of malaria.他常患疟疾。
• Malaria is a kind of serious malady.疟疾是一种严重的疾病。

3 expectancy   

n.期望，预期，（根据概率统计求得）预期数额

参考例句：

• Japanese people have a very high life expectancy.日本人的平均寿命非常长。
• The atomosphere of tense expectancy sobered everyone.这种期望的紧张气氛使每个人变得严肃起来。

4 cholera   

n.霍乱

参考例句：

• The cholera outbreak has been contained.霍乱的发生已被控制住了。
• Cholera spread like wildfire through the camps.霍乱在营地里迅速传播。

5 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

6 mutinous   

adj.叛变的，反抗的；adv.反抗地，叛变地；n.反抗，叛变

参考例句：

• The mutinous sailors took control of the ship.反叛的水手们接管了那艘船。
• His own army,stung by defeats,is mutinous.经历失败的痛楚后，他所率军队出现反叛情绪。

7 coups   

n.意外而成功的行动( coup的名词复数 )；政变；努力办到难办的事

参考例句：

• China has seen many political coups within the ruling class. 中国统治阶级内部发生过很多政变。 来自互联网
• Thailand has had eighteen coups or coup attendance since nineteen thirty-two. 泰国1932年以来有18次政变或参加政变。 来自互联网

8 smuggle   

vt.私运；vi.走私

参考例句：

• Friends managed to smuggle him secretly out of the country.朋友们想方设法将他秘密送出国了。
• She has managed to smuggle out the antiques without getting caught.她成功将古董走私出境，没有被逮捕。

9 cocaine   

n.可卡因，古柯碱（用作局部麻醉剂）

参考例句：

• That young man is a cocaine addict.那个年轻人吸食可卡因成瘾。
• Don't have cocaine abusively.不可滥服古柯碱。

10 monetary   

adj.货币的，钱的；通货的；金融的；财政的

参考例句：

• The monetary system of some countries used to be based on gold.过去有些国家的货币制度是金本位制的。
• Education in the wilderness is not a matter of monetary means.荒凉地区的教育不是钱财问题。

11 investors   

n.投资者，出资者( investor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• a con man who bilked investors out of millions of dollars 诈取投资者几百万元的骗子
• a cash bonanza for investors 投资者的赚钱机会

12 donors   

n.捐赠者( donor的名词复数 )；献血者；捐血者；器官捐献者

参考例句：

• Please email us to be removed from our active list of blood donors. 假如你想把自己的名字从献血联系人名单中删去，请给我们发电子邮件。
• About half this amount comes from individual donors and bequests. 这笔钱大约有一半来自个人捐赠及遗赠。 来自《简明英汉词典》

13 stabilized   

v.（使）稳定， （使）稳固( stabilize的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The patient's condition stabilized. 患者的病情稳定下来。
• His blood pressure has stabilized. 他的血压已经稳定下来了。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

14 bauxite   

n.铝土矿

参考例句：

• Aluminum is made from bauxite.铝是从铝土矿中提炼出的。
• The United States was vulnerable to shortages of chrome,bauxite,and platinum.美国的弱点是缺少铬、矾土和铂。