2006年VOA标准英语-Liberia's New President Faces Stiff Opposi

By Nico Colombant
Monrovia
17 January 2006

 
Liberian Chief Justice of the Supreme¹ Court Henry Reed Cooper, right, administers the oath of office to Liberian President elect Ellen Johnson Sirleaf in Monrovia, Liberia 
  
Liberia's newly-inducted President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf faces stiff opposition² in Congress, which will make it challenging to set the economic and social reform agenda she promised on inauguration³ day.

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Even as work was being done to renovate⁴ parliament grounds for the inauguration, newly-elected members of Congress took the oath of office inside the decrepit⁵ Capitol building.

Former warlord and new senator Prince Johnson  
  
They then elected an ally of exiled warlord Charles Taylor as speaker of the House, and a former rebel leader as president of the Senate.

Mrs. Sirleaf's candidate for speaker, Dusty Wollokolie, managed just 13 votes out of 63, an early indication of the president's weak power base in the lower house.

Monday, the national transitional legislative⁶ assembly was dissolved and Liberia's 52nd legislature convened⁷ to administer the president's own oath of office.

In her speech, Mrs. Sirleaf welcomed a vibrant⁸ opposition.

"This is important because we believe that our democratic culture and our nation are best served when the opposition is strong and actively⁹ engaged in the process of nation-building," she said.

The leading party in the lower house is the Congress for Democratic Change with 15 seats. But the lower house is fractured between 11 parties, lawmakers with shifting allegiances, and many independents. Mrs. Sirleaf's Unity¹⁰ Party has just eight seats.

Newspaper editor and political analyst¹¹ Philip Wesseh believes this will make it challenging for Mrs. Sirleaf, as Liberia's system is modeled on the one in the United States, with a potentially powerful Congress.

"There will be pressure. It should not be the rubber stamp legislature [that it was] in the past, where the presidency¹² had complete control over what we call the national legislature. But from what were seeing is those that are going there are going with the zeal¹³, they are going there to make a difference so we don't see them as being subjects of the president, like in the past. So we see a strong legislature, in the coming few months, you will get to know what I am saying," said Wesseh.

But the new legislature is also made up of former warlords, like Prince Johnson, who oversaw¹⁴ the brutal¹⁵ killing¹⁶ of former military ruler, Samuel Doe, and Adolphus Dolo, a Taylor commander once known as "General Peanut Butter."

The new speaker, Edwin Snowe, is under a U.N. travel ban. All this makes some supporters of Mrs. Sirleaf fear the worst about the body's future. They believe many of its members will be there to protect their interests and their corrupt¹⁷ and war-tainted allies.

Wesseh agrees these fears are legitimate¹⁸.

"There will be personal interests. You have people who are warlords, they are there. They will build a front, a common front to defend themselves. So it will be an interesting body, it will be an interesting body," predicted Wesseh. "But we pray that in the end Liberia will come first, Liberia will come first."  

 
Jewel Howard Taylor
  
Taylor's soon to be divorced wife, Jewel Howard Taylor, is also a member of the new legislature, as a senator, but so far, she appears to be backing Mrs. Sirleaf.

She is one of the few, and it seems it will be much more difficult for Mrs. Sirleaf to swing votes her way in parliament, than in the second round presidential vote, where she defeated former soccer star George Weah by nearly 20 percentage points.

Right now, though, it seems it's still a time for sweeping¹⁹ speeches, with the lines of looming²⁰ battles over nominations²¹, budgets, laws and policies yet to be drawn²².

1 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。

2 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。

3 inauguration   

n.开幕、就职典礼

参考例句：

• The inauguration of a President of the United States takes place on January 20.美国总统的就职典礼于一月二十日举行。
• Three celebrated tenors sang at the president's inauguration.3位著名的男高音歌手在总统就职仪式上演唱。

4 renovate   

vt.更新，革新，刷新

参考例句：

• The couple spent thousands renovating the house.这对夫妇花了几千元来翻新房子。
• They are going to renovate the old furniture.他们准备将旧家具整修一番。

5 decrepit   

adj.衰老的，破旧的

参考例句：

• The film had been shot in a decrepit old police station.该影片是在一所破旧不堪的警察局里拍摄的。
• A decrepit old man sat on a park bench.一个衰弱的老人坐在公园的长凳上。

6 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。

7 convened   

召开( convene的过去式 )； 召集； （为正式会议而）聚集； 集合

参考例句：

• The chairman convened the committee to put the issue to a vote. 主席召集委员们开会对这个问题进行表决。
• The governor convened his troops to put down the revolt. 总督召集他的部队去镇压叛乱。

8 vibrant   

adj.震颤的，响亮的，充满活力的，精力充沛的，(色彩)鲜明的

参考例句：

• He always uses vibrant colours in his paintings. 他在画中总是使用鲜明的色彩。
• She gave a vibrant performance in the leading role in the school play.她在学校表演中生气盎然地扮演了主角。

9 actively   

adv.积极地，勤奋地

参考例句：

• During this period all the students were actively participating.在这节课中所有的学生都积极参加。
• We are actively intervening to settle a quarrel.我们正在积极调解争执。

10 unity   

n.团结，联合，统一；和睦，协调

参考例句：

• When we speak of unity,we do not mean unprincipled peace.所谓团结，并非一团和气。
• We must strengthen our unity in the face of powerful enemies.大敌当前，我们必须加强团结。

11 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。

12 presidency   

n.总统(校长，总经理)的职位(任期)

参考例句：

• Roosevelt was elected four times to the presidency of the United States.罗斯福连续当选四届美国总统。
• Two candidates are emerging as contestants for the presidency.两位候选人最终成为总统职位竞争者。

13 zeal   

n.热心，热情，热忱

参考例句：

• Revolutionary zeal caught them up,and they joined the army.革命热情激励他们，于是他们从军了。
• They worked with great zeal to finish the project.他们热情高涨地工作，以期完成这个项目。

14 oversaw   

v.监督，监视( oversee的过去式 )

参考例句：

• He will go down as the president who oversaw two historic transitions. 他将作为见证了巴西两次历史性转变的总统，安然引退。 来自互联网
• Dixon oversaw the project as creative director of Design Research Studio. 狄克逊监督项目的创意总监设计研究工作室。 来自互联网

15 brutal   

adj.残忍的，野蛮的，不讲理的

参考例句：

• She has to face the brutal reality.她不得不去面对冷酷的现实。
• They're brutal people behind their civilised veneer.他们表面上温文有礼，骨子里却是野蛮残忍。

16 killing   

n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财

参考例句：

• Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
• Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。

17 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。

18 legitimate   

adj.合法的，合理的，合乎逻辑的；v.使合法

参考例句：

• Sickness is a legitimate reason for asking for leave.生病是请假的一个正当的理由。
• That's a perfectly legitimate fear.怀有这种恐惧完全在情理之中。

19 sweeping   

adj.范围广大的，一扫无遗的

参考例句：

• The citizens voted for sweeping reforms.公民投票支持全面的改革。
• Can you hear the wind sweeping through the branches?你能听到风掠过树枝的声音吗？

20 looming   

n.上现蜃景（光通过低层大气发生异常折射形成的一种海市蜃楼）v.隐约出现，阴森地逼近( loom的现在分词 )；隐约出现，阴森地逼近

参考例句：

• The foothills were looming ahead through the haze. 丘陵地带透过薄雾朦胧地出现在眼前。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Then they looked up. Looming above them was Mount Proteome. 接着他们往上看，在其上隐约看到的是蛋白质组山。 来自英汉非文学 - 生命科学 - 回顾与展望

21 nominations   

n.提名，任命( nomination的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Nominations are invited for the post of party chairman. 为党主席职位征集候选人。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Much coverage surrounded his abortive bids for the 1960,1964, and 1968 Republican Presidential nominations. 许多消息报道都围绕着1960年、1964年和1968年他为争取提名为共和党总统候选人所做努力的失败。 来自辞典例句

22 drawn   

v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的

参考例句：

• All the characters in the story are drawn from life.故事中的所有人物都取材于生活。
• Her gaze was drawn irresistibly to the scene outside.她的目光禁不住被外面的风景所吸引。