VOA标准英语10月-Zimbabwe's Ruling Party Claims Progress in Cabine

South Africa's new government has asked former president Thabo Mbeki on Thursday to continue as the region's mediator¹ in Zimbabwe's political crisis despite his ousting² as president. But, as Peta Thornycroft reports, Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe's ZANU-PF party said Mbeki's involvement was not needed now to break an impasse³ threatening to derail a power-sharing deal.
　

Zimbabwe's new Deputy PM Arthur Mutambara (l), President Robert Mugabe, new PM Morgan Tsvangirai pose after signing power-sharing accord in Harare, 15 Sep 2008

It has been three weeks since President Robert Mugabe agreed to share power with former opposition⁴ leader Morgan Tsvangirai who is now prime minister-designate.

On the heels of that decision, Mr. Mugabe went to Egypt for a few days on holiday, and then to the United Nations General Assembly meeting in New York. On his return, Mr. Mugabe has made it clear he wants to retain all the powerful cabinet positions.

Mr. Tsvangirai and his negotiators have not been able to negotiate with Mr. Mugabe on the issue and have called on the South African Development Community for assistance. SADC has asked South African President Mbeki to return to Harare to unlock the deadlock⁵.

A source close to the negotiations⁶ said Mr. Mbeki and his full team of facilitators is on standby to go.

However, sources in Harare say he cannot go there unless he is invited by both ZANU-PF and the MDC. They say ZANU-PF told them Thursday there was no problem and negotiations were going well and a solution was close at hand.

Mr. Mugabe has praised Mr. Mbeki's mediation⁷ but is refusing to call on him for assistance to break the deadlock.

Meanwhile, there are regular reports of MDC supporters being harassed⁸, arrested and physically⁹ beaten during this period. And, there is a grave humanitarian¹⁰ situation over food, and hundreds of thousands of people are lining¹¹ up daily for cash from banks to buy basic provisions.

Without warning or consultation¹² the central bank Thursday canceled many electronic transfer payments, the only way many people can buy goods and services as there is no cash at the banks.

The United Nations said on Thursday that the humanitarian situation in Zimbabwe was deteriorating¹³ and would continue to worsen into next year. It was estimated that up to 3.8 million people would be short of food between now and the end of the year, and during the first quarter of 2009 over five million people would need food aid, according to the United Nation.

1 mediator   

n.调解人，中介人

参考例句：

• He always takes the role of a mediator in any dispute.他总是在争论中充当调停人的角色。
• He will appear in the role of mediator.他将出演调停者。

2 ousting   

驱逐( oust的现在分词 )； 革职； 罢黜； 剥夺

参考例句：

• The resulting financial chaos led to the ousting of Bristol-Myers' s boss. 随后引发的财政混乱导致了百时美施贵宝的总裁下台。
• The ousting of the president has drawn widespread criticism across Latin America and the wider world. 洪都拉斯总统被驱逐时间引起拉丁美洲甚至全世界的广泛批评。

3 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。

4 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。

5 deadlock   

n.僵局，僵持

参考例句：

• The negotiations reached a deadlock after two hours.两小时后，谈判陷入了僵局。
• The employers and strikers are at a deadlock over the wage.雇主和罢工者在工资问题上相持不下。

6 negotiations   

协商( negotiation的名词复数 )； 谈判； 完成（难事）； 通过

参考例句：

• negotiations for a durable peace 为持久和平而进行的谈判
• Negotiations have failed to establish any middle ground. 谈判未能达成任何妥协。

7 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。

8 harassed   

adj. 疲倦的，厌烦的 动词harass的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• He has complained of being harassed by the police. 他投诉受到警方侵扰。
• harassed mothers with their children 带着孩子的疲惫不堪的母亲们

9 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。

10 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。

11 lining   

n.衬里，衬料

参考例句：

• The lining of my coat is torn.我的外套衬里破了。
• Moss makes an attractive lining to wire baskets.用苔藓垫在铁丝篮里很漂亮。

12 consultation   

n.咨询；商量；商议；会议

参考例句：

• The company has promised wide consultation on its expansion plans.该公司允诺就其扩展计划广泛征求意见。
• The scheme was developed in close consultation with the local community.该计划是在同当地社区密切磋商中逐渐形成的。

13 deteriorating   

恶化，变坏( deteriorate的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• The weather conditions are deteriorating. 天气变得越来越糟。
• I was well aware of the bad morale and the deteriorating factories. 我很清楚，大家情绪低落，各个工厂越搞越坏。