Italy elects parliament speakers, but alliances for gov't still unclear

 　　ROME, March 16 (Xinhua) -- Italy's new parliament on Saturday elected the speakers of the Chamber¹ of Deputies and of the Senate, ending a two-day session on its second official day as the country's legislative² body.

　　At the fourth round of voting for each of the equally powerful houses, lawmakers elected the two speakers both belonging to the center-left coalition³, the most voted in last month's national elections.

　　In Italy, the speakers of the Chamber of Deputies and of the Senate are the highest positions after the president of the Republic.

　　Laura Boldrini, 52, of Left, Ecology and Freedom party (SEL), the main ally of the Democratic Party (PD), became the speaker of the 630-member lower house.

　　A former journalist for Rai state television with a law degree, Boldrini has worked for 24 years in various United Nation (UN) organizations including the High Commissioner⁴ for Refugees (UNHCR) of which she was a spokesman from 1998 to 2012.

　　In her inaugural⁵ speech, she expressed high hope for "renewal⁶" of the Italian scandal-plagued political world. "We will make of this House the home of good politics," Boldrini stressed, adding that Italy can contribute to building "the great dream" of the European Union.

　　The newly-elected president of the 315-member Senate was anti-mafia prosecutor⁷ Pietro Grasso, 68, who entered parliament in the ranks of PD.

　　For 43 years, Grasso has tracked down strings⁸ of mobsters and coordinated⁹ investigations¹⁰ into the murders of Italy's top two anti-mafia magistrates¹¹ in the 1990s.

　　In both the votes, the most part of lawmakers of the Five-Star Movement (M5S), a grassroots movement born on the Internet to oppose old politics, cast empty ballots¹² reiterating¹³ their refusal to support traditional parties.

　　"We will not be the crutch¹⁴ of anyone," said the M5S's leader in the Senate, Vito Crimi, in line with the movement's closure over the past days to any attempt to reach an agreement over a coalition government.

　　The M5S has brought to parliament 163 inexperienced lawmakers who exhibit their honesty as a point of pride, gaining a decisive role in preventing the center-left from solidifying¹⁵ a majority.

　　After appointing the speakers, the parliament's first task will be paving the way for President Giorgio Napolitano, whose seven-year mandate¹⁶ expires in May, to start formal consultations¹⁷ on Wednesday for forming a government.

　　Debate was high over possible alliances between the political forces. But though a parliamentary leadership has been decided¹⁸, the risk was high that any executive that takes power will be unstable¹⁹, according to local observers.

　　An early return to vote was also an alternative that is likely to deepen uncertainty²⁰ and stoke fears within the international community that Europe's third largest economy may not be able to address its economic and social crisis.

1 chamber   

n.房间，寝室；会议厅；议院；会所

参考例句：

• For many,the dentist's surgery remains a torture chamber.对许多人来说，牙医的治疗室一直是间受刑室。
• The chamber was ablaze with light.会议厅里灯火辉煌。

2 legislative   

n.立法机构，立法权；adj.立法的，有立法权的

参考例句：

• Congress is the legislative branch of the U.S. government.国会是美国政府的立法部门。
• Today's hearing was just the first step in the legislative process.今天的听证会只是展开立法程序的第一步。

3 coalition   

n.结合体，同盟，结合，联合

参考例句：

• The several parties formed a coalition.这几个政党组成了政治联盟。
• Coalition forces take great care to avoid civilian casualties.联盟军队竭尽全力避免造成平民伤亡。

4 commissioner   

n.（政府厅、局、处等部门）专员，长官，委员

参考例句：

• The commissioner has issued a warrant for her arrest.专员发出了对她的逮捕令。
• He was tapped for police commissioner.他被任命为警务处长。

5 inaugural   

adj.就职的；n.就职典礼

参考例句：

• We listened to the President's inaugural speech on the radio yesterday.昨天我们通过无线电听了总统的就职演说。
• Professor Pearson gave the inaugural lecture in the new lecture theatre.皮尔逊教授在新的阶梯讲堂发表了启用演说。

6 renewal   

adj.(契约)延期，续订，更新，复活，重来

参考例句：

• Her contract is coming up for renewal in the autumn.她的合同秋天就应该续签了。
• Easter eggs symbolize the renewal of life.复活蛋象征新生。

7 prosecutor   

n.起诉人；检察官，公诉人

参考例句：

• The defender argued down the prosecutor at the court.辩护人在法庭上驳倒了起诉人。
• The prosecutor would tear your testimony to pieces.检查官会把你的证言驳得体无完肤。

8 strings   

n.弦

参考例句：

• He sat on the bed,idly plucking the strings of his guitar.他坐在床上，随意地拨着吉他的弦。
• She swept her fingers over the strings of the harp.她用手指划过竖琴的琴弦。

9 coordinated   

adj.协调的

参考例句：

• The sound has to be coordinated with the picture. 声音必须和画面协调一致。
• The numerous existing statutes are complicated and poorly coordinated. 目前繁多的法令既十分复杂又缺乏快调。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法

10 investigations   

（正式的）调查( investigation的名词复数 )； 侦查； 科学研究； 学术研究

参考例句：

• His investigations were intensive and thorough but revealed nothing. 他进行了深入彻底的调查，但没有发现什么。
• He often sent them out to make investigations. 他常常派他们出去作调查。

11 magistrates   

地方法官，治安官( magistrate的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• to come up before the magistrates 在地方法院出庭
• He was summoned to appear before the magistrates. 他被传唤在地方法院出庭。

12 ballots   

n.投票表决( ballot的名词复数 )；选举；选票；投票总数v.（使）投票表决( ballot的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• They're counting the ballots. 他们正在计算选票。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The news of rigged ballots has rubbed off much of the shine of their election victory. 他们操纵选票的消息使他们在选举中获得的胜利大为减色。 来自《简明英汉词典》

13 reiterating   

反复地说，重申( reiterate的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• He keeps reiterating his innocence. 他一再申明他无罪。
• The Chinese government also sent a note to the British government, reiterating its position. 中国政府同时将此立场照会英国政府。

14 crutch   

n.T字形拐杖；支持，依靠，精神支柱

参考例句：

• Her religion was a crutch to her when John died.约翰死后，她在精神上依靠宗教信仰支撑住自己。
• He uses his wife as a kind of crutch because of his lack of confidence.他缺乏自信心，总把妻子当作主心骨。

15 solidifying   

（使）成为固体，（使）变硬，（使）变得坚固( solidify的现在分词 )； 使团结一致； 充实，巩固； 具体化

参考例句：

• The substances are formed from a mixture of liquids solidifying under pressure. 这些材料是由几种液体混合在一起并加压使之凝固而成的。
• Painting is an art solidifies time and space for solidifying. 绘画是凝固了的时间和空间的艺术。

16 mandate   

n.托管地；命令，指示

参考例句：

• The President had a clear mandate to end the war.总统得到明确的授权结束那场战争。
• The General Election gave him no such mandate.大选并未授予他这种权力。

17 consultations   

n.磋商（会议）( consultation的名词复数 )；商讨会；协商会；查找

参考例句：

• Consultations can be arranged at other times by appointment. 磋商可以通过预约安排在其他时间。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• Consultations are under way. 正在进行磋商。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

18 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。

19 unstable   

adj.不稳定的，易变的

参考例句：

• This bookcase is too unstable to hold so many books.这书橱很不结实，装不了这么多书。
• The patient's condition was unstable.那患者的病情不稳定。

20 uncertainty   

n.易变，靠不住，不确知，不确定的事物

参考例句：

• Her comments will add to the uncertainty of the situation.她的批评将会使局势更加不稳定。
• After six weeks of uncertainty,the strain was beginning to take its toll.6个星期的忐忑不安后，压力开始产生影响了。