voa标准英语2008-Race for Ghana's Next President Tightens

Voters in Ghana go to the polls Sunday to elect a new government. Two veteran politicians are in a tight race for the presidency¹. But analysts³ see the elections as another step in the consolidation⁴ of multi-party democracy in the West African nation.

Ghana's 12 million registered voters are to choose a new president Sunday as current President John Kuffuor prepares to step down after eight years in power.
　

A supporter of ruling party pres. candidate at a campaign rally in Accra, 05 Dec 2008

More than one dozen political parties are competing in the presidential and parliamentary polls. Candidates of the two main parties are in a close race for the top political job: Nana Akufo-Addo of the president's New Patriotic⁵ Party and John Atta Mills of the National Democratic Congress founded by former president Jerry Rawlings.

An analyst² with Accra's Center for Democratic Development, Emmanuel Gymah-Boadi, said these elections have been more competitive than expected.

"Relative to previous election campaigns, this one has been relatively⁶ issued-based. The main candidates have addressed themselves to issues. The candidates themselves have generally refrained from personal attacks and personalizing the campaign," he said.

But the head of the Africa Program at London's Chatham House, Alex Vines, disagreed, saying personalities⁷ have dominated the contest.

"It's classic Ghanaian politics. Both candidates are very passionate⁸ about what they're doing and there has been a great deal of mud slinging⁹ between both of them. But there's everything to gain from this election. It's going to be close," he said.

Opposition¹⁰ parties have campaigned on a platform of change. But Gymah-Boadi said most Ghanaians are looking for continuity.

"I think they are only talking of change in terms of personalities, in terms of faces. I don't think any of them is talking about change in policies," he said.

Vines agreed, saying Ghana will not be very different under the presidency of either of the two front-runners.

"They both talk about clamping down on corruption¹¹. They both talk about good governance. The Ghanaian economy has been doing pretty well. It has been impacted by the global downturn and credit crunch¹². But also off-setting this is that Ghana next year will become a more significant oil producer," said Vines.

The next government is expected to enjoy new revenues when recently discovered off-shore oil fields begin producing an estimated 150,000 barrels per day.

Vines said there also will be some new faces in government at the parliamentary level because some sitting parliament members are retiring and others are expected to be voted out of office.

"One of the good things about Ghana is that it's a constituency-based system so there is some local-level accountability required by the politicians who become parliamentarians and have to be brought to account by their constituents¹³, he said.

Analysts noted¹⁴ that there have been allegations of fraud especially in the voter registration¹⁵ process. But Gymah-Boadi said nevertheless Ghanaian politics continue to mature.

"There is a certain degree of confidence that is being exuded¹⁶ by the media, by civil society and by citizens at large that they can handle this," he said.

Analysts said as a result the performance of the electoral commission and close vigilance by the media and civic¹⁷ society will be vital to ensure a free and fair vote.

1 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。

2 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。

3 analysts   

分析家，化验员( analyst的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• City analysts forecast huge profits this year. 伦敦金融分析家预测今年的利润非常丰厚。
• I was impressed by the high calibre of the researchers and analysts. 研究人员和分析人员的高素质给我留下了深刻印象。

4 consolidation   

n.合并,巩固

参考例句：

• The denser population necessitates closer consolidation both for internal and external action. 住得日益稠密的居民，对内和对外都不得不更紧密地团结起来。 来自英汉非文学 - 家庭、私有制和国家的起源
• The state ensures the consolidation and growth of the state economy. 国家保障国营经济的巩固和发展。 来自汉英非文学 - 中国宪法

5 patriotic   

adj.爱国的，有爱国心的

参考例句：

• His speech was full of patriotic sentiments.他的演说充满了爱国之情。
• The old man is a patriotic overseas Chinese.这位老人是一位爱国华侨。

6 relatively   

adv.比较...地，相对地

参考例句：

• The rabbit is a relatively recent introduction in Australia.兔子是相对较新引入澳大利亚的物种。
• The operation was relatively painless.手术相对来说不痛。

7 personalities   

n. 诽谤，（对某人容貌、性格等所进行的）人身攻击； 人身攻击；人格, 个性, 名人( personality的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• There seemed to be a degree of personalities in her remarks.她话里有些人身攻击的成分。
• Personalities are not in good taste in general conversation.在一般的谈话中诽谤他人是不高尚的。

8 passionate   

adj.热情的，热烈的，激昂的，易动情的，易怒的，性情暴躁的

参考例句：

• He is said to be the most passionate man.据说他是最有激情的人。
• He is very passionate about the project.他对那个项目非常热心。

9 slinging   

抛( sling的现在分词 )； 吊挂； 遣送； 押往

参考例句：

• You're slinging mud at me -- that's a pack of lies! 你血口喷人，不讲道理。
• The boys were slinging stones into the river. 孩子们当时正往河里投石子。

10 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。

11 corruption   

n.腐败，堕落，贪污

参考例句：

• The people asked the government to hit out against corruption and theft.人民要求政府严惩贪污盗窃。
• The old man reviled against corruption.那老人痛斥了贪污舞弊。

12 crunch   

n.关键时刻；艰难局面；v.发出碎裂声

参考例句：

• If it comes to the crunch they'll support us.关键时刻他们是会支持我们的。
• People who crunch nuts at the movies can be very annoying.看电影时嘎吱作声地嚼干果的人会使人十分讨厌。

13 constituents   

n.选民( constituent的名词复数 )；成分；构成部分；要素

参考例句：

• She has the full support of her constituents. 她得到本区选民的全力支持。
• Hydrogen and oxygen are the constituents of water. 氢和氧是水的主要成分。 来自《简明英汉词典》

14 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

15 registration   

n.登记，注册，挂号

参考例句：

• Marriage without registration is not recognized by law.法律不承认未登记的婚姻。
• What's your registration number?你挂的是几号？

16 exuded   

v.缓慢流出，渗出，分泌出( exude的过去式和过去分词 )；流露出对（某物）的神态或感情

参考例句：

• Nearby was a factory which exuded a pungent smell. 旁边是一家散发出刺鼻气味的工厂。 来自辞典例句
• The old drawer exuded a smell of camphor. 陈年抽屉放出樟脑气味。 来自辞典例句

17 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。