2007年VOA标准英语-Nigeria's Striking Workers May Increase Pressur

By Gilbert da Costa
Abuja
22 June 2007

Unions in Nigeria have vowed¹ to intensify² a three-day old strike called to protest a hike in fuel prices. As Gilbert da Costa reports from Abuja, union officials and government representatives met Thursday night but failed to make progress in ending the strike.

 Unions are threatening to disrupt power and water supplies in a bid to exert more pressure on the government as the crippling strike began its third day.

 The Nigeria Medical Association has announced its intention to join the shutdown if the government continues to hold out against the demands of organized labor³.

 "Members of the medical association are also Nigerians, and Nigerians are very angry with those things that were done by the last administration in its dying days," said Dr. Daniel Gana, the national president of the association.

"We are at work at the moment because we believe the services we [are] rendering⁴, if we withdraw them, it is the poor that would suffer, not the ruling class or those in government. But if the government refuses to accede⁵ to the demands of NLC [Nigeria Labor Congress], we will join the action. We are warming up and mobilizing our members," he added.

 Union leaders have vowed to press ahead with their action until the government backs down completely and returns the price of gasoline to 65 naira, about 50 cents, a liter.

 Most parts of Nigeria are at a virtual standstill with no early end in sight.

People stand next to their motor bikes as they await fuel to arrive during a nationwide general strike in Lagos, 21 Jun 2007

While the strike has paralyzed economic activity, oil exports from the world's eighth largest exporter have been mostly unaffected.

 Oil union officials tell VOA that the possibility of halting oil exports is being discussed at a meeting on Friday.

 Oil receipts accounts for about 80 percent of government revenue and closing the export window could prove costly⁶ for the nation's economy.

 Some estimates suggest the country is losing more than $100 million daily as a result of the strike.

 Despite the current hardship, many Nigerians support the strike, because fuel prices affect the cost of most basic goods.

1 vowed   

起誓，发誓（vow的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• He vowed quite solemnly that he would carry out his promise. 他非常庄严地发誓要实现他的诺言。
• I vowed to do more of the cooking myself. 我发誓自己要多动手做饭。

2 intensify   

vt.加强；变强；加剧

参考例句：

• We must intensify our educational work among our own troops.我们必须加强自己部队的教育工作。
• They were ordered to intensify their patrols to protect our air space.他们奉命加强巡逻，保卫我国的领空。

3 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。

4 rendering   

n.表现，描写

参考例句：

• She gave a splendid rendering of Beethoven's piano sonata.她精彩地演奏了贝多芬的钢琴奏鸣曲。
• His narrative is a super rendering of dialect speech and idiom.他的叙述是方言和土语最成功的运用。

5 accede   

v.应允，同意

参考例句：

• They are ready to accede to our request for further information.我们要是还需要资料，他们乐于随时提供。
• In a word,he will not accede to your proposal in the meeting.总而言之，他不会在会中赞成你的提议。

6 costly   

adj.昂贵的，价值高的，豪华的

参考例句：

• It must be very costly to keep up a house like this.维修这么一幢房子一定很昂贵。
• This dictionary is very useful,only it is a bit costly.这本词典很有用，左不过贵了些。