VOA标准英语2008年-Kenyan President Invites Rival for Talks

By Alisha Ryu
Nairobi
07 January 2008

Kenya's main opposition¹ party has canceled planned nationwide protests, saying it wants to give international mediation² a chance to resolve a post-election dispute that plunged³ the east African country into chaos⁴ eight days ago. As the death toll⁵ from the ethnic⁶ and political unrest rose to 500, the top U.S. envoy⁷ to Africa said the vote-counting was rigged and urged Kenyan leaders to quickly find a solution to the crisis and to implement⁸ political, social, and electoral reforms. VOA Correspondent Alisha Ryu has details from the Kenyan capital Nairobi.

The leader of the opposition Orange Democratic Movement party, Raila Odinga, called off the planned protests after his second meeting in three days with the U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs Jendayi Frazer in Nairobi.

The U.S. envoy has been meeting with Mr. Odinga and Kenyan President Mwai Kibaki to encourage a political reconciliation⁹ between the two men, who fought in the closest race in Kenya's history.

The opposition leader accuses Mr. Kibaki of rigging the December 27 presidential vote and has called for his resignation. The president says he will not step down, but is willing to discuss a power-sharing deal with Mr. Odinga.

The opposition leader has rejected the offer and says international mediation is needed to break the political impasse¹⁰.

Speaking to reporters, Assistant Secretary Frazer criticized Kenya's electoral commission, calling it a flawed institution that needed reform.

She said that she believed both political parties were guilty of rigging the vote-counting and did not blame Kenyans for feeling cheated.

"They have been cheated by their political leadership and the institutions. The principle here is really that Kenyan institutions be respected and strengthened and that political dialogue is necessary for fundamental reconciliation. In that dialogue, we, the United States, hopes that they will do more than accommodate each other, that they will actually work on the institutional challenges and the social grievances¹¹ that this crisis has clearly demonstrated have existed," she said.

Allegations of vote-rigging by Mr. Kibaki unleashed¹² a wave of political violence in the country of nearly 35 million people. The violence quickly degenerated¹³ into tribal¹⁴ clashes, particularly between the president's majority Kikuyu tribe and Mr. Odinga's Luo tribe.

Last week, more than 30 ethnic Kikuyus were burned to death in a church in the western Rift¹⁵ Valley town of Eldoret, prompting the government to accuse the opposition of inciting¹⁶ genocide. The opposition is no less angry, accusing government security forces of committing crimes against humanity for using excessive force to put down the violence.

The diplomatic talks in Nairobi come amid U.N. warnings that 250,000 people, uprooted¹⁷ by ethnic violence, need urgent humanitarian¹⁸ assistance.

Assistant Secretary Frazer says the United States is concerned that even if a political solution is found, lingering tension and anger between some tribes may still leave the country divided and uncertain about its future.

1 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。

2 mediation   

n.调解

参考例句：

• The dispute was settled by mediation of the third country. 这场争端通过第三国的斡旋而得以解决。
• The dispute was settled by mediation. 经调解使争端得以解决。

3 plunged   

v.颠簸( plunge的过去式和过去分词 )；暴跌；骤降；突降

参考例句：

• The train derailed and plunged into the river. 火车脱轨栽进了河里。
• She lost her balance and plunged 100 feet to her death. 她没有站稳，从100英尺的高处跌下摔死了。

4 chaos   

n.混乱，无秩序

参考例句：

• After the failure of electricity supply the city was in chaos.停电后，城市一片混乱。
• The typhoon left chaos behind it.台风后一片混乱。

5 toll   

n.过路(桥)费；损失，伤亡人数；v.敲(钟)

参考例句：

• The hailstone took a heavy toll of the crops in our village last night.昨晚那场冰雹损坏了我们村的庄稼。
• The war took a heavy toll of human life.这次战争夺去了许多人的生命。

6 ethnic   

adj.人种的，种族的，异教徒的

参考例句：

• This music would sound more ethnic if you played it in steel drums.如果你用钢鼓演奏，这首乐曲将更具民族特色。
• The plan is likely only to aggravate ethnic frictions.这一方案很有可能只会加剧种族冲突。

7 envoy   

n.使节，使者，代表，公使

参考例句：

• Their envoy showed no sign of responding to our proposals.他们的代表对我方的提议毫无回应的迹象。
• The government has not yet appointed an envoy to the area.政府尚未向这一地区派过外交官。

8 implement   

n.(pl.)工具，器具；vt.实行，实施，执行

参考例句：

• Don't undertake a project unless you can implement it.不要承担一项计划，除非你能完成这项计划。
• The best implement for digging a garden is a spade.在花园里挖土的最好工具是铁锹。

9 reconciliation   

n.和解，和谐，一致

参考例句：

• He was taken up with the reconciliation of husband and wife.他忙于做夫妻间的调解工作。
• Their handshake appeared to be a gesture of reconciliation.他们的握手似乎是和解的表示。

10 impasse   

n.僵局；死路

参考例句：

• The government had reached an impasse.政府陷入绝境。
• Negotiations seemed to have reached an impasse.谈判似乎已经陷入僵局。

11 grievances   

n.委屈( grievance的名词复数 )；苦衷；不满；牢骚

参考例句：

• The trade union leader spoke about the grievances of the workers. 工会领袖述说工人们的苦情。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• He gave air to his grievances. 他申诉了他的冤情。 来自《简明英汉词典》

12 unleashed   

v.把（感情、力量等）释放出来，发泄( unleash的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The government's proposals unleashed a storm of protest in the press. 政府的提案引发了新闻界的抗议浪潮。
• The full force of his rage was unleashed against me. 他把所有的怒气都发泄在我身上。 来自《简明英汉词典》

13 degenerated   

衰退，堕落，退化( degenerate的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The march degenerated into a riot. 示威游行变成了暴动。
• The wide paved road degenerated into a narrow bumpy track. 铺好的宽阔道路渐渐变窄，成了一条崎岖不平的小径。

14 tribal   

adj.部族的，种族的

参考例句：

• He became skilled in several tribal lingoes.他精通几种部族的语言。
• The country was torn apart by fierce tribal hostilities.那个国家被部落间的激烈冲突弄得四分五裂。

15 rift   

n.裂口，隙缝，切口；v.裂开，割开，渗入

参考例句：

• He was anxious to mend the rift between the two men.他急于弥合这两个人之间的裂痕。
• The sun appeared through a rift in the clouds.太阳从云层间隙中冒出来。

16 inciting   

刺激的，煽动的

参考例句：

• What are you up to inciting mutiny and insubordination? 你们干吗在这里煽动骚动的叛乱呀。
• He was charged with inciting people to rebel. 他被控煽动民众起来叛乱。

17 uprooted   

v.把（某物）连根拔起( uproot的过去式和过去分词 )；根除；赶走；把…赶出家园

参考例句：

• Many people were uprooted from their homes by the flood. 水灾令许多人背井离乡。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The hurricane blew with such force that trees were uprooted. 飓风强烈地刮着，树都被连根拔起了。 来自《简明英汉词典》

18 humanitarian   

n.人道主义者，博爱者，基督凡人论者

参考例句：

• She has many humanitarian interests and contributes a lot to them.她拥有很多慈善事业，并作了很大的贡献。
• The British government has now suspended humanitarian aid to the area.英国政府现已暂停对这一地区的人道主义援助。