voa标准英语2008年-UN: Iraqi Provincial Elections on Track for Jan

The U.N.'s top envoy¹ to Iraq says provincial² elections scheduled for early next year are on track, but warned that violence could spike³ and spoilers could try to derail the vote. Meanwhile, the U.N. mandate⁴ authorizing⁵ U.S. forces to be in Iraq will expire at the end of this year, and the two countries have yet to finalize⁶ an agreement on the future status of the U.S. presence. From United Nation's headquarters in New York, VOA's Margaret Besheer has more.

The United States and the United Nations said the levels of violence in Iraq are steadily⁷ decreasing, basic services are slowly improving and the Iraqi security forces are growing both in size and ability.

The next test of progress for this nascent⁸ democracy will be provincial elections scheduled for January 31st, 2009. They will take place in 14 of Iraq's 18 provinces - everywhere except the semi-autonomous Kurdish region in the country's north.

The United Nation's top envoy in Iraq, Staffan de Mistura, told the Security Council Friday that the focus of the U.N.'s work right now is preparing for that election, which is seen as a major step toward political stabilization⁹.

"The Iraqi people want these elections. The forthcoming elections are rightly viewed as an opportunity to establish a more inclusive sectarian balance and shape a new political landscape and are the most significant political event in the forthcoming months," de Mistura said.
　

A U.S. soldier watches as black smoke rises in the city of Mosul, northwest of Baghdad, 14 Nov 14 2008

He said the election preparations are on track, but spoilers could try to derail them and a spike in violence leading up to them would not be surprising.

Meanwhile, the U.N. mandate governing the presence of U.S. and foreign troops in Iraq is due to expire at the end of this year. The United States and Iraq have been engaged in lengthy¹⁰ and difficult negotiations¹¹ on an agreement - known as the status of forces agreement [SOFA] -- that would replace the U.N. mandate.

Iraqi Ambassador Hamid al-Bayati said he is optimistic an agreement can be reached before the mandate expires.

"We are still optimistic that an agreement will be reached between the Iraqi and the U.S. government regarding the status of forces agreement. However, we keep all our options open. We still have the chance if they cannot reach an agreement by the end of December to go back to the Security Council to ask for the extension of the mandate for the multinational¹² forces," he said.

The current draft agreement calls for U.S. troops to leave Iraqi cities by June 2009 and from the entire country by 2011. But there are still some sticking points. Ambassador Bayati said the most important issue for Baghdad is that of Iraqi jurisdiction¹³ over U.S. forces in Iraq, removing their immunity¹⁴ in cases of crimes committed in the line of duty.

1 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。

2 provincial   

adj.省的，地方的；n．外省人，乡下人

参考例句：

• City dwellers think country folk have provincial attitudes.城里人以为乡下人思想迂腐。
• Two leading cadres came down from the provincial capital yesterday.昨天从省里下来了两位领导干部。

3 spike   

n.长钉，钉鞋；v.以大钉钉牢，使...失效

参考例句：

• The spike pierced the receipts and held them in order.那个钉子穿过那些收据并使之按顺序排列。
• They'll do anything to spike the guns of the opposition.他们会使出各种手段来挫败对手。

4 mandate   

n.托管地；命令，指示

参考例句：

• The President had a clear mandate to end the war.总统得到明确的授权结束那场战争。
• The General Election gave him no such mandate.大选并未授予他这种权力。

5 authorizing   

授权，批准，委托( authorize的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• Letters of Marque: Take letters from a warning friendly power authorizing privateering. 私掠许可证：从某一个国家获得合法抢劫的证书。
• Formal phavee completion does not include authorizing the subsequent phavee. 阶段的正式完成不包括核准随后的阶段。

6 finalize   

v.落实，定下来

参考例句：

• Let us finalize tonight.让我们今天晚上干完
• 。At the same time,industrial designers work with engineers to finalize components and assembly.同时，工业设计师和工程师一道来完成部件和组装部分的工作。

7 steadily   

adv.稳定地；不变地；持续地

参考例句：

• The scope of man's use of natural resources will steadily grow.人类利用自然资源的广度将日益扩大。
• Our educational reform was steadily led onto the correct path.我们的教学改革慢慢上轨道了。

8 nascent   

adj.初生的，发生中的

参考例句：

• That slim book showed the Chinese intelligentsia and the nascent working class.那本小册子讲述了中国的知识界和新兴的工人阶级。
• Despite a nascent democracy movement,there's little traction for direct suffrage.尽管有过一次新生的民主运动，但几乎不会带来直接选举。

9 Stabilization   

稳定化

参考例句：

• The position of barycentre on plane directly impacts the stabilization and manipulation of plane. 飞机重心位置直接影响飞机的稳定和操纵特性。
• With the higher olefins, stabilization of the energetic intermediates occurs more easily. 在较高的烯烃情况下，高能的中间物稳定作用更易出现。

10 lengthy   

adj.漫长的，冗长的

参考例句：

• We devoted a lengthy and full discussion to this topic.我们对这个题目进行了长时间的充分讨论。
• The professor wrote a lengthy book on Napoleon.教授写了一部有关拿破仑的巨著。

11 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。

12 multinational   

adj.多国的，多种国籍的；n.多国籍公司，跨国公司

参考例句：

• The firm was taken over by a multinational consulting firm.这家公司被一个跨国咨询公司收购。
• He analyzed the relationship between multinational corporations and under-developed countries.他分析了跨国公司和不发达国家之间的关系。

13 jurisdiction   

n.司法权，审判权，管辖权，控制权

参考例句：

• It doesn't lie within my jurisdiction to set you free.我无权将你释放。
• Changzhou is under the jurisdiction of Jiangsu Province.常州隶属江苏省。

14 immunity   

n.优惠；免除；豁免，豁免权

参考例句：

• The law gives public schools immunity from taxation.法律免除公立学校的纳税义务。
• He claims diplomatic immunity to avoid being arrested.他要求外交豁免以便避免被捕。