2007年VOA标准英语-Egypt Votes on Controversial Constitutional Ame

By Challiss McDonough
Cairo
26 March 2007

Egyptians are voting in a hastily arranged referendum on 34 controversial constitutional amendments³. The ruling party says the changes will help build democracy and fight terrorism, but critics say they threaten human rights and limit peaceful political activity. VOA Correspondent Challiss McDonough has more from Cairo.

The ruling National Democratic Party is portraying⁴ the 34 constitutional amendments as democratic reforms that will help the government fight terrorism. But critics say the changes are actually a consolidation⁵ of the ruling party's control of the state.

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Man casts his vote in constitutional referendum at polling station in Manial Island area of Cairo, 26 Mar. 2007

The proposed constitutional changes would allow civilians⁶ to be tried in military courts, and to be arrested and imprisoned⁷ without warrants. They would also bar any political party based on religion, a move aimed at the already-banned Muslim Brotherhood⁸. One amendment² would reduce judicial⁹ oversight¹⁰ of elections, and another would give the president the power to dissolve Parliament more easily.

The party's deputy leader for the city of Cairo, Gamal El-Saeed, said the amendments were designed to replace the long-criticized Emergency Law.

"The whole set of amendments is basically to modernize¹¹ the Egyptian constitution," he explained. "Since 1971, Egypt has gone through a lot of social, economic, cultural changes if you will, which needs to modernize this constitution, which I think this will put Egypt in a whole new modern constitution, which helps in establishing a lot of modern new laws as well."

Local and international human rights groups have condemned¹² the changes, and Amnesty International calls it the greatest erosion of human rights in Egypt in a quarter century.

Opposition¹³ parties said they felt the referendum would be rigged, and most of them are boycotting¹⁴ the vote.

VOA reporters were denied entry to several polling stations in the Imbaba neighborhood, but turnout in the city appeared extremely light. The busiest voting place visited by VOA had only a trickle¹⁵ of voters arriving, and several others appeared nearly empty, except for police and election officials.

VOA witnessed one suspicious incident of apparent mass voting at a polling station in Imbaba. A group of about 15 young men walked out of the building waving pink voter cards.

Several of them looked much too young to vote, although officials at the polling station swore they were all 18.

A burly man standing¹⁶ at the polling station tried to explain the presence of the large group by saying he had brought all of the workers from his factory to cast their ballots¹⁷.

A few minutes later, a young opposition member, Abdel Rahman Hussein of the Tomorrow Party, approached.

He quietly said he had seen the group entering the voting station and had joined them. He said they had admitted to him that they had all voted more than once.

On a tiny MP3 player, he said he recorded his conversation with some of the men. He let VOA copy part of the recording¹⁸.

Some of the men can be heard saying they had already voted three times. Hussein asks one man how many times he had voted, and the answer comes back five times.

Hussein's voice on the recording is clearly astonished as he repeats, five times "Oh, man!"

It is impossible to verify Hussein's account of the events or authenticate¹⁹ the recording, but VOA did see him emerge from the polling station at the same time as the group of men.

VOA tried to talk to the group, but other men at the polling station were gesturing wildly at them to leave. They were swiftly ushered²⁰ down the street, where they jumped onto the back of a garbage truck and drove off.

About 10 minutes later, the same truck drove by again in the opposite direction.

The referendum was called only a week ago, after parliament approved the constitutional changes. The rushed timing²¹ has led to confusion and uncertainty²² among some voters.

Outside the same polling station, a man named Hassan rode his bicycle up to ask for help in figuring out what the election was all about.

"I do not know! I do not know what I am here to vote about or who I am supposed to vote for," he said. When asked why he was planning to vote if he did not know what the referendum was about, he said, "What if I stay home and they file a report against me? I do not want to get into trouble."

He then asked somewhat desperately²³, "Should I vote yes or no?"

In yet another area, a man named Mohammad Zoghby identified himself as a retired²⁴ military officer and said he did not think the whole exercise was particularly democratic.

"I would have preferred it if they had listed each of the 34 items individually so I could say yes or no to each one of them," he said.

The National Democratic Party has mounted what it describes as a major get-out-the-vote campaign, but simultaneously²⁵ downplayed expectations about the turnout, saying that the polling stations could only physically²⁶ handle a turnout of up to 29 percent of the 36 million registered voters.

Outside a different polling station, Magda Mustafa and several other women employed at the Department of Agriculture said the National Democratic Party had come to their government workplace to hold what she called enlightenment sessions promoting the constitutional changes.

The night before the referendum, police in downtown Cairo broke up an attempted protest against the amendments, forcing the demonstrators to relocate to the steps of the press syndicate and arresting several people in the process. Two women were beaten up, and police confiscated²⁷ cameras from several news photographers and deleted their pictures.

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 amendment   

n.改正，修正，改善，修正案

参考例句：

• The amendment was rejected by 207 voters to 143.这项修正案以207票对143票被否决。
• The Opposition has tabled an amendment to the bill.反对党已经就该议案提交了一项修正条款。

3 amendments   

（法律、文件的）改动( amendment的名词复数 )； 修正案； 修改； （美国宪法的）修正案

参考例句：

• The committee does not adequately consult others when drafting amendments. 委员会在起草修正案时没有充分征求他人的意见。
• Please propose amendments and addenda to the first draft of the document. 请对这个文件的初稿提出修改和补充意见。

4 portraying   

v.画像( portray的现在分词 )；描述；描绘；描画

参考例句：

• The artist has succeeded in portraying my father to the life. 那位画家把我的父亲画得惟妙惟肖。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Ding Ling was good at portraying figures through careful and refined description of human psychology. 《莎菲女士的日记》是丁玲的成名作，曾引起强烈的社会反响。 来自汉英文学 - 中国现代小说

5 consolidation   

n.合并,巩固

参考例句：

• The denser population necessitates closer consolidation both for internal and external action. 住得日益稠密的居民，对内和对外都不得不更紧密地团结起来。 来自英汉非文学 - 家庭、私有制和国家的起源
• The state ensures the consolidation and growth of the state economy. 国家保障国营经济的巩固和发展。 来自汉英非文学 - 中国宪法

6 civilians   

平民，百姓( civilian的名词复数 )； 老百姓

参考例句：

• the bloody massacre of innocent civilians 对无辜平民的血腥屠杀
• At least 300 civilians are unaccounted for after the bombing raids. 遭轰炸袭击之后，至少有300名平民下落不明。

7 imprisoned   

下狱，监禁( imprison的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He was imprisoned for two concurrent terms of 30 months and 18 months. 他被判处30个月和18个月的监禁，合并执行。
• They were imprisoned for possession of drugs. 他们因拥有毒品而被监禁。

8 brotherhood   

n.兄弟般的关系，手中情谊

参考例句：

• They broke up the brotherhood.他们断绝了兄弟关系。
• They live and work together in complete equality and brotherhood.他们完全平等和兄弟般地在一起生活和工作。

9 judicial   

adj.司法的，法庭的，审判的，明断的，公正的

参考例句：

• He is a man with a judicial mind.他是个公正的人。
• Tom takes judicial proceedings against his father.汤姆对他的父亲正式提出诉讼。

10 oversight   

n.勘漏，失察，疏忽

参考例句：

• I consider this a gross oversight on your part.我把这件事看作是你的一大疏忽。
• Your essay was not marked through an oversight on my part.由于我的疏忽你的文章没有打分。

11 modernize   

vt.使现代化，使适应现代的需要

参考例句：

• It was their manifest failure to modernize the country's industries.他们使国家进行工业现代化，明显失败了。
• There is a pressing need to modernise our electoral system.我们的选举制度迫切需要现代化。

12 condemned   

adj. 被责难的, 被宣告有罪的 动词condemn的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• He condemned the hypocrisy of those politicians who do one thing and say another. 他谴责了那些说一套做一套的政客的虚伪。
• The policy has been condemned as a regressive step. 这项政策被认为是一种倒退而受到谴责。

13 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。

14 boycotting   

抵制，拒绝参加( boycott的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• They're boycotting the shop because the people there are on strike. 他们抵制那家商店，因为那里的店员在罢工。
• The main opposition parties are boycotting the elections. 主要反对党都抵制此次选举。

15 trickle   

vi.淌，滴，流出，慢慢移动，逐渐消散

参考例句：

• The stream has thinned down to a mere trickle.这条小河变成细流了。
• The flood of cars has now slowed to a trickle.汹涌的车流现在已经变得稀稀拉拉。

16 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

17 ballots   

n.投票表决( ballot的名词复数 )；选举；选票；投票总数v.（使）投票表决( ballot的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• They're counting the ballots. 他们正在计算选票。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The news of rigged ballots has rubbed off much of the shine of their election victory. 他们操纵选票的消息使他们在选举中获得的胜利大为减色。 来自《简明英汉词典》

18 recording   

n.录音，记录

参考例句：

• How long will the recording of the song take?录下这首歌得花多少时间？
• I want to play you a recording of the rehearsal.我想给你放一下彩排的录像。

19 authenticate   

vt.证明…为真，鉴定

参考例句：

• We would have to authenticate your relationship with the boy.我们必须证实一下您和那个孩子的关系。
• An expert was needed to authenticate the original Van Gogh painting from his imitation.这幅画是凡·高的真迹还是赝品,需由专家来鉴定。

20 ushered   

v.引，领，陪同( usher的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The secretary ushered me into his office. 秘书把我领进他的办公室。
• A round of parties ushered in the New Year. 一系列的晚会迎来了新年。 来自《简明英汉词典》

21 timing   

n.时间安排，时间选择

参考例句：

• The timing of the meeting is not convenient.会议的时间安排不合适。
• The timing of our statement is very opportune.我们发表声明选择的时机很恰当。

22 uncertainty   

n.易变，靠不住，不确知，不确定的事物

参考例句：

• Her comments will add to the uncertainty of the situation.她的批评将会使局势更加不稳定。
• After six weeks of uncertainty,the strain was beginning to take its toll.6个星期的忐忑不安后，压力开始产生影响了。

23 desperately   

adv.极度渴望地，绝望地，孤注一掷地

参考例句：

• He was desperately seeking a way to see her again.他正拼命想办法再见她一面。
• He longed desperately to be back at home.他非常渴望回家。

24 retired   

adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的

参考例句：

• The old man retired to the country for rest.这位老人下乡休息去了。
• Many retired people take up gardening as a hobby.许多退休的人都以从事园艺为嗜好。

25 simultaneously   

adv.同时发生地，同时进行地

参考例句：

• The radar beam can track a number of targets almost simultaneously.雷达波几乎可以同时追着多个目标。
• The Windows allow a computer user to execute multiple programs simultaneously.Windows允许计算机用户同时运行多个程序。

26 physically   

adj.物质上，体格上，身体上，按自然规律

参考例句：

• He was out of sorts physically,as well as disordered mentally.他浑身不舒服，心绪也很乱。
• Every time I think about it I feel physically sick.一想起那件事我就感到极恶心。

27 confiscated   

没收，充公( confiscate的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Their land was confiscated after the war. 他们的土地在战后被没收。
• The customs officer confiscated the smuggled goods. 海关官员没收了走私品。