玻利维亚司机抗议扰乱资本

 　　LA PAZ, Aug. 13 (Xinhua) -- Bolivian drivers paralyzed capital La Paz on Tuesday with marches and blockades to demand higher public transportation fares.

　　Members of various transit¹ workers' unions gathered early in the day at several points around the city to close thoroughfares, causing traffic jams and stranding² residents.

　　Streets in downtown La Paz were practically empty as the marchers from different directions converged³ at San Francisco Square.

　　The protests affected⁴ the school day in some areas, forcing local educational authorities to instruct schools to allow students more time to arrive.

　　Many stores kept closed to avoid vandalism and possible looting.

　　The protests were launched one day after Luis Revilla, mayor of La Paz, failed to reach agreement with leaders of the transit workers.

　　At the Monday afternoon meeting, the mayor said it was impossible to increase fares before service was improved, urging transit workers to continue the dialogue for a solution.

　　Julian Manzaneda, executive secretary of the La Paz Federation⁵ of Urban Transit Workers, announced late Tuesday that the protests were successful and would be continued, along with other measures, if their demands were not met.

1 transit   

n.经过，运输；vt.穿越，旋转；vi.越过

参考例句：

• His luggage was lost in transit.他的行李在运送中丢失。
• The canal can transit a total of 50 ships daily.这条运河每天能通过50条船。

2 stranding   

n.（船只）搁浅v.使滞留，使搁浅( strand的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• The airport had to be closed, stranding tourists. 机场被迫关闭，造成游客滞留。 来自辞典例句
• The stream of history had changed course away from him, stranding him in failure. 历史潮流已经改变方向，与他背道而驰，使他陷于失败之中。 来自辞典例句

3 converged   

v.（线条、运动的物体等）会于一点( converge的过去式 )；（趋于）相似或相同；人或车辆汇集；聚集

参考例句：

• Thousands of supporters converged on London for the rally. 成千上万的支持者从四面八方汇聚伦敦举行集会。
• People converged on the political meeting from all parts of the city. 人们从城市的四面八方涌向这次政治集会。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

5 federation   

n.同盟，联邦，联合，联盟，联合会

参考例句：

• It is a federation of 10 regional unions.它是由十个地方工会结合成的联合会。
• Mr.Putin was inaugurated as the President of the Russian Federation.普京正式就任俄罗斯联邦总统。