2007年VOA标准英语-Zimbabwe's Tsvangirai Scanned for Skull Fractur

By Delia Robertson
Johannesburg
14 March 2007

Zimbabwe opposition² leader Morgan Tsvangirai says police brutally³ beat him and other opposition leaders following their arrest on Sunday.  Mr. Tsvangirai was interviewed by a radio reporter who was at the hospital where the opposition leader is awaiting the results of a scan to determine if he has a fractured skull⁴ and damage to the brain.  Delia Robertson reports from Johannesburg.

 
Zimbabwean opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai is seen in bed at a local hospital in Harare, 14 Mar¹ 2007
Morgan Tsvangirai says that police started to beat him and his colleagues as soon as they arrived in police cells on Sunday.

"It was almost as if they were waiting for me," he said.  "I was then sent inside where my colleagues were lined up inside the police cell.  And before I could even settle down I was subjected to a lot of beatings. In fact, it was random⁵ beatings, but I think the intention was to inflict⁶ as much harm as they could."

Mr. Tsvangirai was among a group of around 50 people arrested when they attempted to attend a prayer meeting in Harare on Sunday.  Several still had visible wounds when they appeared in court Tuesday, from Tsvangerai's stitched head to at least two with broken limbs and a woman who had to be carried on a stretcher.

Doctors say they are concerned that Tsvangirai's skull is fractured and that he has bleeding on the brain.

 
Leader of Zimbabwe's main opposition party, Morgan Tsvangirai is watched by a policeman outside the court in Harare, 13 Mar 2007
None of those arrested have as yet been charged.  In two chaotic⁷ court appearances on Tuesday prosecutors⁸ were unable to produce a charge sheet.  The accused were ordered back to court Wednesday morning, but waited in vain for the arrival of prosecutors and police.  They returned to their homes or their hospital beds.

Following the incident on Sunday, other African countries appear for the first time, to be publicly distancing themselves from President Robert Mugabe and his government.  The Zambian president has expressed concern and the South African government has urged the Zimbabwe government to abide⁹ by the rule of law. 

Deputy Foreign Minister Aziz Pahad told South Africa's national radio, the government stands by to help its neighbor resolve the crisis.

"Our views are clearly known to all in Zimbabwe that we are extremely concerned about what has happened and we want to assist to help bring about some movement forward in the Zimbabwe situation," he said.

One of the lawyers representing the opposition leaders told VOA that Zimbabwe's attorney general's office is reluctant to bring charges against Mr. Tsvangirai and others, because the office questions the legal validity of charging them.

 

1 mar   

vt.破坏，毁坏，弄糟

参考例句：

• It was not the custom for elderly people to mar the picnics with their presence.大人们照例不参加这样的野餐以免扫兴。
• Such a marriage might mar your career.这样的婚姻说不定会毁了你的一生。

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 brutally   

adv.残忍地，野蛮地，冷酷无情地

参考例句：

• The uprising was brutally put down.起义被残酷地镇压下去了。
• A pro-democracy uprising was brutally suppressed.一场争取民主的起义被残酷镇压了。

4 skull   

n.头骨；颅骨

参考例句：

• The skull bones fuse between the ages of fifteen and twenty-five.头骨在15至25岁之间长合。
• He fell out of the window and cracked his skull.他从窗子摔了出去，跌裂了颅骨。

5 random   

adj.随机的；任意的；n.偶然的(或随便的)行动

参考例句：

• The list is arranged in a random order.名单排列不分先后。
• On random inspection the meat was found to be bad.经抽查，发现肉变质了。

6 inflict   

vt.(on)把…强加给，使遭受，使承担

参考例句：

• Don't inflict your ideas on me.不要把你的想法强加于我。
• Don't inflict damage on any person.不要伤害任何人。

7 chaotic   

adj.混沌的，一片混乱的，一团糟的

参考例句：

• Things have been getting chaotic in the office recently.最近办公室的情况越来越乱了。
• The traffic in the city was chaotic.这城市的交通糟透了。

8 prosecutors   

检举人( prosecutor的名词复数 )； 告发人； 起诉人； 公诉人

参考例句：

• In some places,public prosecutors are elected rather than appointed. 在有些地方，检察官是经选举而非任命产生的。 来自口语例句
• You've been summoned to the Prosecutors' Office, 2 days later. 你在两天以后被宣到了检察官的办公室。

9 abide   

vi.遵守；坚持；vt.忍受

参考例句：

• You must abide by the results of your mistakes.你必须承担你的错误所造成的后果。
• If you join the club,you have to abide by its rules.如果你参加俱乐部，你就得遵守它的规章。