2007年VOA标准英语-Turkey Holds Crucial Election Sunday

By Sonja Pace
Istanbul
19 July 2007
 

Historic Galata Tower with flags of political parties, in Istanbul, 19 Jul 2007

Voters in Turkey go to the polls Sunday to elect a new parliament, which in turn will form the new government. More than a dozen political parties and a slate¹ of independent candidates are vying² for the 550 seats, but as VOA's Sonja Pace reports from Istanbul, there is a widespread belief that the country's future direction is at stake.

It is election time in Turkey and voters are ready to have their say.

The ruling Justice and Development Party, the AKP, is out in force. Its banners are hard to miss and its leader, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, makes his pitch to voters.

The party takes credit for a burgeoning³ economy, growing foreign investment and for launching talks to join the European Union.

Sheyma Dueje

AKP activist⁴ Sheyma Devueje says the party's last 4.5 years in power are a testimony⁵ to its success.

She also dismisses opposition⁶ claims that the AKP wants to impose an Islamic state or force women to cover their hair. She says the party judges no one by what they wear or how they look.

 

Critics do not agree, and the main opposition faction⁷, the Republican Peoples' Party, the CHP, is leading the charge.

The opposition cites the AKP's Islamist roots - the fact that its main leaders are openly devout⁸ Muslims whose wives wear the traditional Islamic headscarf.

And, they dismiss arguments from AKP leaders that being a devout Muslim does not conflict with upholding the constitution or presiding over a democratic state.

Oya Tuemer

CHP activist Oya Tuemer is among those with suspicions about the AKP.

"They have a secret agenda that they do not want to tell us," said Tuemer. "This is that they want Islam to rule this country."

Tuemer insists the AKP wants to take Turkey backwards⁹, to the days of the Ottoman Empire that long held sway over this region. The CHP, on the other hand, sees itself as the guardian¹⁰ of secularism¹¹, as espoused¹² by Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, the founder¹³ of modern Turkey.

Mustafa Akyol

Political columnist¹⁴ Mustafa Akyol tells VOA this election highlights that divide.

"This election in Turkey will be kind of a referendum on the current government - the current government led by the Justice and Development Party [AKP], which defines itself as conservative, but some secularists see as Islamist," said Akyol.

The vote is seen as equally crucial for the secularist¹⁵ agenda, as political science professor Ali Carkoglu of Sabanci University, outside Istanbul, explains.

Ali Carkoglu

"From the perspective of the secularists this is an important election because they believe that unless this rise of Islamism is stopped, the Islamists will take over the whole state system," he said.

Carkoglu believes these secularist fears are overblown.

 

Despite such deep ideological¹⁶ divides, opinion polls show most Turks rate problems of daily life highest on their list of concerns, problems of unemployment and the ongoing¹⁷ battle against Kurdish separatist.

 

The AKP is expected to win the most votes in Sunday's elections. The CHP is said likely to come in second and at least one other party is given a chance of passing the 10 percent vote threshold to make it into parliament. And, polls show 30 to 40 independent candidates also have a good chance of gaining a seat.

1 slate   

n.板岩，石板，石片，石板色，候选人名单；adj.暗蓝灰色的，含板岩的；vt.用石板覆盖，痛打，提名，预订

参考例句：

• The nominating committee laid its slate before the board.提名委员会把候选人名单提交全体委员会讨论。
• What kind of job uses stained wood and slate? 什么工作会接触木头污浊和石板呢？

2 vying   

adj.竞争的；比赛的

参考例句：

• California is vying with other states to capture a piece of the growing communications market.为了在日渐扩大的通讯市场分得一杯羹，加利福尼亚正在和其他州展开竞争。
• Four rescue plans are vying to save the zoo.4个拯救动物园的方案正争得不可开交。

3 burgeoning   

adj.迅速成长的，迅速发展的v.发芽，抽枝( burgeon的现在分词 )；迅速发展；发（芽），抽（枝）

参考例句：

• Our company's business is burgeoning now. 我们公司的业务现在发展很迅速。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• These efforts were insufficient to contain the burgeoning crisis. 这些努力不足以抑制迅速扩散的危机。 来自辞典例句

4 activist   

n.活动分子，积极分子

参考例句：

• He's been a trade union activist for many years.多年来他一直是工会的积极分子。
• He is a social activist in our factory.他是我厂的社会活动积极分子。

5 testimony   

n.证词；见证，证明

参考例句：

• The testimony given by him is dubious.他所作的证据是可疑的。
• He was called in to bear testimony to what the police officer said.他被传入为警官所说的话作证。

6 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。

7 faction   

n.宗派，小集团；派别；派系斗争

参考例句：

• Faction and self-interest appear to be the norm.派系之争和自私自利看来非常普遍。
• I now understood clearly that I was caught between the king and the Bunam's faction.我现在完全明白自己已陷入困境，在国王与布纳姆集团之间左右为难。

8 devout   

adj.虔诚的，虔敬的，衷心的 (n.devoutness)

参考例句：

• His devout Catholicism appeals to ordinary people.他对天主教的虔诚信仰感染了普通民众。
• The devout man prayed daily.那位虔诚的男士每天都祈祷。

9 backwards   

adv.往回地，向原处，倒，相反，前后倒置地

参考例句：

• He turned on the light and began to pace backwards and forwards.他打开电灯并开始走来走去。
• All the girls fell over backwards to get the party ready.姑娘们迫不及待地为聚会做准备。

10 guardian   

n.监护人；守卫者，保护者

参考例句：

• The form must be signed by the child's parents or guardian. 这张表格须由孩子的家长或监护人签字。
• The press is a guardian of the public weal. 报刊是公共福利的卫护者。

11 secularism   

n.现世主义；世俗主义；宗教与教育分离论；政教分离论

参考例句：

• Unless are devoted to God, secularism shall not leave us. 除非我们奉献于神，否则凡俗之心便不会离开我们。 来自互联网
• They are no longer a huge threat to secularism. 他们已不再是民主的巨大威胁。 来自互联网

12 espoused   

v.（决定）支持，拥护（目标、主张等）( espouse的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• They espoused the notion of equal opportunity for all in education. 他们赞同在教育方面人人机会均等的观念。
• The ideas she espoused were incomprehensible to me. 她所支持的意见令我难以理解。 来自《简明英汉词典》

13 Founder   

n.创始者，缔造者

参考例句：

• He was extolled as the founder of their Florentine school.他被称颂为佛罗伦萨画派的鼻祖。
• According to the old tradition,Romulus was the founder of Rome.按照古老的传说，罗穆卢斯是古罗马的建国者。

14 columnist   

n.专栏作家

参考例句：

• The host was interviewing a local columnist.节目主持人正在同一位当地的专栏作家交谈。
• She's a columnist for USA Today.她是《今日美国报》的专栏作家。

15 secularist   

n.现世主义者，世俗主义者；宗教与教育分离论者

参考例句：

16 ideological   

a.意识形态的

参考例句：

• He always tries to link his study with his ideological problems. 他总是把学习和自己的思想问题联系起来。
• He helped me enormously with advice on how to do ideological work. 他告诉我怎样做思想工作，对我有很大帮助。

17 ongoing   

adj.进行中的，前进的

参考例句：

• The problem is ongoing.这个问题尚未解决。
• The issues raised in the report relate directly to Age Concern's ongoing work in this area.报告中提出的问题与“关心老人”组织在这方面正在做的工作有直接的关系。