voa标准英语2008年-Russian Presidential Term Extension Sailing Thr

President Dmitri Medvedev's proposal to extend the presidential term of office in Russia from four years to six is sailing through the constitutional amendment¹ process with virtually no input² or discussion about this issue by the public. VOA Moscow Correspondent Peter Fedynsky examines the Russian amendment process, which appears dominated by the very people who stand to benefit by changing Russia's supreme³ law.
　

Russian President Dmitri Medvedev (file photo)

Just 16 days after President Dmitri Medvedev proposed amending⁴ the Russian Constitution to extend the presidential term from four years to six, the lower house of parliament voted 392 to 57 in favor. Only the Communists voted against, saying the move signals an authoritarian⁵ trend in Russia. The upper house of Parliament, where the ruling United Russia also dominates, is expected to approve the amendment next week and so too are two-thirds of Russia's regional legislatures.

When he made the proposal on November 5, President Medvedev did not elaborate on the rationale for extending not only the chief executive's term in office, but also that of parliamentarians who will do the voting.

These issues, says the Kremlin leader, have been raised many times, beginning in the 1990s, and many base their support on history, which records numerous instances of democratic governments changing the terms of state office. Mr. Medvedev says he would not enumerate⁶ those instances, because they are well known.

With the exception of small opposition⁷ protests that were not widely covered by the media, there was virtually no public discussion of the issue in Russia over the past two weeks. And Yevgeni Volk, a political analyst⁸ at the Heritage Foundation in Moscow, says he does not recall any such deliberations in the 1990s. He says the speed with which the amendment is advancing is a deliberate move on the part of Russia's power structure.

Volk says everything is done to limit opportunity for discussion as much as possible, to avoid examining the merits of extending terms of office. He says Russian authorities are acting⁹ in their traditional style, not only ignoring public opinion, but also any free review of these initiatives.

A survey released Friday by the Russian Public Opinion Research Center indicates 22 percent of Russians fully¹⁰ support extension of the presidential term, 33 percent probably favor it, 29 percent are opposed, and 15 percent have no opinion. However, the Center has been accused by the New Times, an independent Internet publication, of interpreting data according to Kremlin needs.
　

Irina

It takes two weeks to obtain a demonstration¹¹ permit in Moscow, so there were only a handful of people representing small opposition parties to protest outside of parliament as members inside voted to extend the terms of president and of legislators after the next elections. Irina of the Yabloko party told VOA that ordinary Russians believe dissent¹² is futile¹³.

Irina says people who are opposed to the government feel that any protest ends in failure and the power structure is impenetrable.
　

Sergei Shkolniy

Another protester, Sergei Shkolniy of the United Civic¹⁴ Front says ordinary Russians not only have a tradition of avoiding political activism, but are also afraid.

Shkolniy says many people walk by and blurt¹⁵ out that he is right to protest, but nobody speaks out publicly. The activist¹⁶ notes there are some organizations in Moscow that draw 300 people for rallies, but adds that if 100,000 showed up, the effect would be altogether different.
　

Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin addresses the tenth United Russia Party Congress in Moscow, 20 Nov 2008

Some political observers say extending the presidential term is a maneuver¹⁷ to bring back former President Vladimir Putin, who is now Russian Prime Minister. Yevgeni Volk agrees.

Volk says the speed with which the amendment is being approved is clearly aimed at realizing another Putin presidency¹⁸, because each day of the global economic crisis represents a certain threat to Putin's position as a national leader. Volk says this is because people consider the head of government responsible for the economy. The analyst adds that if the crisis continues or deepens, this would have a negative effect Putin's popularity.

The Russian Constitution prohibited Mr. Putin from serving more than two consecutive¹⁹ terms as President. If his hand-picked successor, Dmitri Medvedev, were to step aside, the former president could return to office for two more terms. And if those terms are extended as expected, Mr. Putin could return as Kremlin leader for 12 years. Afterwards, Dmitri Medvedev would only be in his mid-50s and could conceivably serve yet again.

1 amendment   

n.改正，修正，改善，修正案

参考例句：

• The amendment was rejected by 207 voters to 143.这项修正案以207票对143票被否决。
• The Opposition has tabled an amendment to the bill.反对党已经就该议案提交了一项修正条款。

2 input   

n.输入(物)；投入；vt.把(数据等)输入计算机

参考例句：

• I will forever be grateful for his considerable input.我将永远感激他的大量投入。
• All this information had to be input onto the computer.所有这些信息都必须输入计算机。

3 supreme   

adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的

参考例句：

• It was the supreme moment in his life.那是他一生中最重要的时刻。
• He handed up the indictment to the supreme court.他把起诉书送交最高法院。

4 amending   

改良，修改，修订( amend的现在分词 )； 改良，修改，修订( amend的第三人称单数 )( amends的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• Amending acts in 1933,1934, and 1935 attempted to help honest debtors rehabilitate themselves. 一九三三年，一九三四年和一九三五年通过的修正案是为了帮助诚实的债务人恢复自己的地位。
• Two ways were used about the error-amending of contour curve. 采用两种方法对凸轮轮廓曲线进行了修正。

5 authoritarian   

n./adj.专制(的)，专制主义者，独裁主义者

参考例句：

• Foreign diplomats suspect him of authoritarian tendencies.各国外交官怀疑他有着独裁主义倾向。
• The authoritarian policy wasn't proved to be a success.独裁主义的政策证明并不成功。

6 enumerate   

v.列举，计算，枚举，数

参考例句：

• The heroic deeds of the people's soldiers are too numerous to enumerate.人民子弟兵的英雄事迹举不胜举。
• Its applications are too varied to enumerate.它的用途不胜枚举。

7 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。

8 analyst   

n.分析家，化验员；心理分析学家

参考例句：

• What can you contribute to the position of a market analyst?你有什么技能可有助于市场分析员的职务？
• The analyst is required to interpolate values between standards.分析人员需要在这些标准中插入一些值。

9 acting   

n.演戏，行为，假装；adj.代理的，临时的，演出用的

参考例句：

• Ignore her,she's just acting.别理她，她只是假装的。
• During the seventies,her acting career was in eclipse.在七十年代，她的表演生涯黯然失色。

10 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。

11 demonstration   

n.表明，示范，论证，示威

参考例句：

• His new book is a demonstration of his patriotism.他写的新书是他的爱国精神的证明。
• He gave a demonstration of the new technique then and there.他当场表演了这种新的操作方法。

12 dissent   

n./v.不同意，持异议

参考例句：

• It is too late now to make any dissent.现在提出异议太晚了。
• He felt her shoulders gave a wriggle of dissent.他感到她的肩膀因为不同意而动了一下。

13 futile   

adj.无效的，无用的，无希望的

参考例句：

• They were killed,to the last man,in a futile attack.因为进攻失败，他们全部被杀，无一幸免。
• Their efforts to revive him were futile.他们对他抢救无效。

14 civic   

adj.城市的，都市的，市民的，公民的

参考例句：

• I feel it is my civic duty to vote.我认为投票选举是我作为公民的义务。
• The civic leaders helped to forward the project.市政府领导者协助促进工程的进展。

15 blurt   

vt.突然说出，脱口说出

参考例句：

• If you can blurt out 300 sentences,you can make a living in America.如果你能脱口而出300句英语，你可以在美国工作。
• I will blurt out one passage every week.我每星期要脱口而出一篇短文！

16 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。

17 maneuver   

n.策略[pl.]演习；v.(巧妙)控制；用策略

参考例句：

• All the fighters landed safely on the airport after the military maneuver.在军事演习后，所有战斗机都安全降落在机场上。
• I did get her attention with this maneuver.我用这个策略确实引起了她的注意。

18 presidency   

n.总统(校长，总经理)的职位(任期)

参考例句：

• Roosevelt was elected four times to the presidency of the United States.罗斯福连续当选四届美国总统。
• Two candidates are emerging as contestants for the presidency.两位候选人最终成为总统职位竞争者。

19 consecutive   

adj.连续的，联贯的，始终一贯的

参考例句：

• It has rained for four consecutive days.已连续下了四天雨。
• The policy of our Party is consecutive.我党的政策始终如一。