2006年VOA标准英语- Palestinians Set to Vote in Elections, Ha

By Meredith Buel
Washington
23 January 2006

 
Palestinian men attend a Fatah pre-election rally in front of a poster of late Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, left, in Gaza City, Monday Jan. 23, 2006 
  
On Wednesday, January 25, Palestinians will go to the polls for their first parliamentary elections in a decade, and Middle East analysts¹ are predicting that the militant² group Hamas will win a significant share of power. This represents a major setback³ for Fatah, which has controlled the Palestinian government for years, and could have a significant impact on hopes for the peace process.

-----------------------------------------

The Fatah movement, the secular⁴ party founded by the late Yasser Arafat, has led the Palestinian national cause for decades.

Analysts predict it will almost certainly lose its complete power over the Palestinian Authority, following parliamentary elections.

Khalil Shikaki, a commentator⁵ and pollster on Palestinian affairs, says the decline in Fatah is primarily due to a generational conflict.

The clash is between the so-called old guard that went into exile with Mr. Arafat, a middle generation that grew up with Israeli occupation, and a younger group of gunmen that came to power during the intifada, a more than five-year armed conflict with the Jewish state.

Shikaki says the latest polls show Fatah is unlikely to win a majority in the 132-seat parliament and the militant group Hamas appears poised⁶ to win more than a third of the seats in the legislature.

"The answers to why this happened are basically three," he said. "One is the fragmentation of Fatah, the other is the gradual collapse⁷ of the Palestinian Authority, and the third is Hamas."

Both the United States and Israel say the radical⁸ Islamic group Hamas is a terrorist organization, responsible for dozens of deadly suicide bombings and committed to the destruction of Israel.

But Hamas is gaining support among Palestinians concerned about corruption⁹, unemployment, and a lack of security, especially in the Gaza Strip.

Khalil Shikaki says many Palestinians blame Fatah, and that will hurt the party at the polls.

"The overwhelming majority of Palestinians see the collapse of law and order as Fatah's doing, that Fatah is responsible for the collapse of law and order," continued Shikaki. "If it cannot put its act together to deal with this primary goal of government, how could it be counted on to do more, to lead?"

The new Palestinian representative to the United States, Afif Safieh, is a member of Fatah. He concedes the party is fractured and is likely to suffer at the polls after years of dominance.

"Yes, we have suffered as Fatah from political erosion from the assumption of power," said Safieh. "Everybody suffers from erosion of power after years of management and some mismanagement. I always said that within Fatah we had always this challenge on how to reconcile internal democracy with external discipline."

Hamas, which is running under the slogan "Change and Reform", is committed to keeping its armed wing, although Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has promised to disarm¹⁰ all major militant groups following the elections.

Former senior U.S. diplomat¹¹ and Middle East peace negotiator Dennis Ross says Hamas is about to take on a different character than it has had in the past, with the potential of being both a member of government and a power broker¹² in Palestinian politics.

Ross says the reaction of the Israeli government is not entirely¹³ predictable.

"One could be an effect in which Israelis are even prone¹⁴ more towards adopting a unilateralist impulse on the grounds that well there is not going to be a Palestinian partner ever," noted¹⁵ Ross. "The other could be that, in fact, the more they look at the likelihood of Hamas being a power broker the more they become concerned about their security and whether or not they can actually be out of the territories."

Hamas has opposed the peace process with Israel, and if it wins a significant number of seats in parliament the group will be in a strong position to advocate its opposition¹⁶ to negotiations¹⁷ and its support of a greater role for Islam in everyday life.

Senior Fatah members do not want Hamas to gain such power, and there is concern the election could be marred¹⁸ by violence.

1 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。

2 militant   

adj.激进的，好斗的；n.激进分子，斗士

参考例句：

• Some militant leaders want to merge with white radicals.一些好斗的领导人要和白人中的激进派联合。
• He is a militant in the movement.他在那次运动中是个激进人物。

3 setback   

n.退步，挫折，挫败

参考例句：

• Since that time there has never been any setback in his career.从那时起他在事业上一直没有遇到周折。
• She views every minor setback as a disaster.她把每个较小的挫折都看成重大灾难。

4 secular   

n.牧师，凡人；adj.世俗的，现世的，不朽的

参考例句：

• We live in an increasingly secular society.我们生活在一个日益非宗教的社会。
• Britain is a plural society in which the secular predominates.英国是个世俗主导的多元社会。

5 commentator   

n.注释者，解说者；实况广播评论员

参考例句：

• He is a good commentator because he can get across the game.他能简单地解说这场比赛，是个好的解说者。
• The commentator made a big mistake during the live broadcast.在直播节目中评论员犯了个大错误。

6 poised   

a.摆好姿势不动的

参考例句：

• The hawk poised in mid-air ready to swoop. 老鹰在半空中盘旋，准备俯冲。
• Tina was tense, her hand poised over the telephone. 蒂娜心情紧张，手悬在电话机上。

7 collapse   

vi.累倒；昏倒；倒塌；塌陷

参考例句：

• The country's economy is on the verge of collapse.国家的经济已到了崩溃的边缘。
• The engineer made a complete diagnosis of the bridge's collapse.工程师对桥的倒塌做了一次彻底的调查分析。

8 radical   

n.激进份子，原子团，根号；adj.根本的，激进的，彻底的

参考例句：

• The patient got a radical cure in the hospital.病人在医院得到了根治。
• She is radical in her demands.她的要求十分偏激。

9 corruption   

n.腐败，堕落，贪污

参考例句：

• The people asked the government to hit out against corruption and theft.人民要求政府严惩贪污盗窃。
• The old man reviled against corruption.那老人痛斥了贪污舞弊。

10 disarm   

v.解除武装，回复平常的编制，缓和

参考例句：

• The world has waited 12 years for Iraq to disarm. 全世界等待伊拉克解除武装已有12年之久。
• He has rejected every peaceful opportunity offered to him to disarm.他已经拒绝了所有能和平缴械的机会。

11 diplomat   

n.外交官，外交家；能交际的人，圆滑的人

参考例句：

• The diplomat threw in a joke, and the tension was instantly relieved.那位外交官插进一个笑话，紧张的气氛顿时缓和下来。
• He served as a diplomat in Russia before the war.战前他在俄罗斯当外交官。

12 broker   

n.中间人，经纪人；v.作为中间人来安排

参考例句：

• He baited the broker by promises of higher commissions.他答应给更高的佣金来引诱那位经纪人。
• I'm a real estate broker.我是不动产经纪人。

13 entirely   

ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The fire was entirely caused by their neglect of duty. 那场火灾完全是由于他们失职而引起的。
• His life was entirely given up to the educational work. 他的一生统统献给了教育工作。

14 prone   

adj.(to)易于…的，很可能…的；俯卧的

参考例句：

• Some people are prone to jump to hasty conclusions.有些人往往作出轻率的结论。
• He is prone to lose his temper when people disagree with him.人家一不同意他的意见,他就发脾气。

15 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

16 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。

17 negotiations   

协商( negotiation的名词复数 )； 谈判； 完成（难事）； 通过

参考例句：

• negotiations for a durable peace 为持久和平而进行的谈判
• Negotiations have failed to establish any middle ground. 谈判未能达成任何妥协。

18 marred   

adj. 被损毁, 污损的

参考例句：

• The game was marred by the behaviour of drunken fans. 喝醉了的球迷行为不轨，把比赛给搅了。
• Bad diction marred the effectiveness of his speech. 措词不当影响了他演说的效果。