VOA常速英语2007年-British Queen Arrives in Uganda for Commonwealt

By Malcolm Webb
Kampala
22 November 2007

The Queen of England is in the Ugandan capital Kampala for the Commonwealth¹ Heads of Government Meeting that starts in the city Friday. Speaking to the Ugandan parliament she stressed the importance of democracy in commonwealth countries. Malcolm Webb reports from Kampala.

Queen Elizabeth arrived with her husband Prince Philip, on her first visit to Uganda since 1954. She was welcomed by thousands of cheering Ugandans who lined the streets of the capital. She has come for a two-day state visit before the meeting of the heads of Commonwealth countries that officially opens Friday.

In her address to the parliament, she praised the Ugandan government for its efforts in fighting HIV/AIDS, and for sending peacekeeping troops to Somalia. She also spoke² positively³ of democracy in Uganda.

"It gives me great pleasure to address this house today in recognition of the importance of parliamentary democracy to the Commonwealth as a whole," she said. "For Uganda, the deliberations and decisions of this house, together with your respect for the rule of law, have had and will continue to have an essential bearing on the countries success in addressing many serious challenges. The United Kingdom is actively⁴ committed to supporting Uganda's efforts to deepen its democracy."

But Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni came under heavy criticism for Uganda's electoral conduct at the time of the last Commonwealth meeting in Malta in 2005.

During the campaign for Uganda's presidential election, opposition⁵ leader Kizze Besigye was arrested and charged with treason. Critics of Museveni say the Commonwealth should not legitimize the Museveni government by holding he summit in Uganda.

In 2002, Zimbabwe was suspended from the Commonwealth over the conduct of its presidential election. But Commonwealth Secretary General Don McKinnon, speaking in Kampala, dismissed any comparison between the two countries' electoral conduct.

"There is a vast difference between the election observers report, on two elections in Zimbabwe, which was the premise⁶ for the ultimate suspension, and the last election here in Uganda," said McKinnon. "That is the starting point, if you wish to make comparisons between Zimbabwe and Uganda."

Ugandan opposition parties plan to hold a protest Friday in Kampala, amidst heavy security for the summit meeting, to draw the attention of the visiting Commonwealth delegates to their cause.

1 commonwealth   

n.共和国，联邦，共同体

参考例句：

• He is the chairman of the commonwealth of artists.他是艺术家协会的主席。
• Most of the members of the Commonwealth are nonwhite.英联邦的许多成员国不是白人国家。

2 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

3 positively   

adv.明确地，断然，坚决地；实在，确实

参考例句：

• She was positively glowing with happiness.她满脸幸福。
• The weather was positively poisonous.这天气着实讨厌。

4 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。

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 premise   

n.前提；v.提论，预述

参考例句：

• Let me premise my argument with a bit of history.让我引述一些史实作为我立论的前提。
• We can deduce a conclusion from the premise.我们可以从这个前提推出结论。