2006年VOA标准英语-May Day Demonstrations Attract Thousands A

By Sabina Castelfranco
Rome
01 May 2006

 
Militants¹ of the far-right National Front party, holding French flags march in Paris
  
More than a million people rallied in traditional May Day rallies across Europe. In Italy, labor² unions had a strong message for the mafia, in Germany demonstrators protested against globalization and in Russia communists honored Lenin and Marx.

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Hundreds of thousands turned out across Europe to take part in mainly peaceful May Day rallies.

In Italy, the three major trade unions gathered the Calabrian town of Locri, to give a strong message against the Mafia. They underlined the importance of the rule of law in the south of Italy and of economic development.

One union leader said Locri was chosen because it is an area that needs help. Unemployment in the region stands at more than 40 percent.

Union leader Luigi Angeletti said the square from where he addressed the crowd was chosen to thank young people and to tell them that the trade union will not leave them alone.

May Day rallies were held in other Italian cities, the biggest in Milan, where Education Minister Letizia Moratti, who is running for mayor in the city, was forced to leave because of protests against her. Rome celebrated³ with its annual huge May Day concert.

Labor unions in Germany protested the effect of globalization on Europe's largest economy, accusing firms of sacrificing jobs for quick profit. Years of slow economic growth and massive job cuts by German firms have pushed up unemployment in Germany, now at 11.5 percent.

The extreme right gathered in Paris. About 3,000 people listened to a speech by National Front leader Jean-Marie Le Pen at Place de l'Opera, after a march that began at a statue of Joan of Arc, whom the party views as its patron saint. Le Pen called for a "patriotic⁴ union" of the far right to support him in next year's presidential election

In the Austrian capital, Vienna, about 120,000 members of the opposition⁵ Social Democratic Party participated in a traditional May Day march, a show of party pride ahead of this autumn's parliamentary elections.

Thousands of workers from across the Britain joined a May Day march through the streets of London, held against a backdrop over health cuts, job insecurity, and pensions.

Union chief Tony Woodley called for British Prime Minister Tony Blair to resign.

"The reality of it is Mr. Blair has already decided⁶ to stand down himself - it is a question of timing," said Woodley. "The sooner that happens now and we get stability in our party with a new leader who makes their own mark, on what their policies are, what their government is and what the future is, that will be an awful lot better for British work, and men and women, and the British working public."

Some of the biggest May Day gatherings⁷ were held in Moscow, where thousands gathered in central Tverskaya Street to hear speeches from trade union leaders and the city mayor.

Meanwhile, communists marched from a square where there is a statue of Lenin to their usual rallying spot by a statue to Karl Marx, opposite the Bolshoi Theater.

In Bosnia, the unemployed⁸ marched down Sarajevo's main street, demanding new elections and the resignation of the government, which they claim is not doing enough to lower the 40- percent unemployment rate.

Thousands also marched in central Athens to protest the war in Iraq and the Greek government's economic policies.

1 militants   

激进分子，好斗分子( militant的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The militants have been sporadically fighting the government for years. 几年来，反叛分子一直对政府实施零星的战斗。
• Despite the onslaught, Palestinian militants managed to fire off rockets. 尽管如此，巴勒斯坦的激进分子仍然发射导弹。

2 labor   

n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦

参考例句：

• We are never late in satisfying him for his labor.我们从不延误付给他劳动报酬。
• He was completely spent after two weeks of hard labor.艰苦劳动两周后，他已经疲惫不堪了。

3 celebrated   

adj.有名的，声誉卓著的

参考例句：

• He was soon one of the most celebrated young painters in England.不久他就成了英格兰最负盛名的年轻画家之一。
• The celebrated violinist was mobbed by the audience.观众团团围住了这位著名的小提琴演奏家。

4 patriotic   

adj.爱国的，有爱国心的

参考例句：

• His speech was full of patriotic sentiments.他的演说充满了爱国之情。
• The old man is a patriotic overseas Chinese.这位老人是一位爱国华侨。

5 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。

6 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。

7 gatherings   

聚集( gathering的名词复数 )； 收集； 采集； 搜集

参考例句：

• His conduct at social gatherings created a lot of comment. 他在社交聚会上的表现引起许多闲话。
• During one of these gatherings a pupil caught stealing. 有一次，其中一名弟子偷窃被抓住。

8 unemployed   

adj.失业的，没有工作的；未动用的，闲置的

参考例句：

• There are now over four million unemployed workers in this country.这个国家现有四百万失业人员。
• The unemployed hunger for jobs.失业者渴望得到工作。