voa标准英语2008-Guinea Coup Plotters Announce Curfew, New Leader

Mutinous¹ soldiers trying to take power in Guinea have named an army captain as the country's new leader while promising² to hold democratic elections in two years. The civilian³ government in Conakry says it is still in charge.

New ruling council says elections to be held in December 2010

Soldiers behind the coup⁴ say they have chosen Captain Moussa Camara as Guinea's new leader. In a broadcast on state radio, Camara said a 31-member National Council for Democracy and Development will organize "free, credible⁵, and transparent⁶" elections in December 2010.

Camara said the new ruling council will be comprised of six civilians⁷ and 26 soldiers, including a general and nine officers with the rank of colonel or lieutenant⁸ colonel. He said soldiers have no wish to cling to power, and the only reason elections can not be held sooner is the fear that Guinea's territorial⁹ integrity could be compromised.

Camara accused the civilian government of trying to bring in foreign mercenaries, but he did not say where they were coming from or how they planned to enter the country.

Soldiers backing the coup also announced a curfew Wednesday that will run each night from eight in the evening until six in the morning.

Civilian government says it is still in power

Guinea's civilian government, meanwhile, says it has not been driven from power. The speaker of the National Assembly, the prime minister, and the army chief of staff say the coup is only backed by a small number of soldiers, and the government is working to restore order.

A reporter for VOA in Conakry says the capital is calm. Banks and government offices remain closed as heavily-armed soldiers backing the coup patrol the city in tanks and jeeps. The market in the center of the city was open and there were some taxis on the roads, but petroleum¹⁰ is only available on the black market as service stations are closed.

Tuesday's attempted coup followed the death of Guinea's long-time president Lansana Conte. The nation's second leader was thought to be in his 70s and had been ill for some time. He was a heavy smoker¹¹ who suffered from diabetes¹².

With his death, the constitution says Guinea's supreme¹³ court should now make National Assembly Speaker Aboubacar Sompare president ahead of elections in 60 days.

But coup leaders say the Conte government is responsible for widespread corruption¹⁴ and economic collapse¹⁵. The world's largest producer of aluminum¹⁶ ore is one of the world's poorest countries.

UN, US, France oppose coup

The United Nations, the United States and former colonial power France oppose the military's attempt to take power.

U.S. State Department Deputy Spokesman Robert Wood said Wednesday that Washington wants an immediate¹⁷ restoration of civilian, democratic rule. He said the Bush administration is following events closely and will be examining its options in the coming days. When asked what those options might include, Wood said cutting-off U.S. assistance for Guinea is an example of what might be considered, but no decisions have been made at this point as he said the situation in Conakry is still "fluid."

1 mutinous   

adj.叛变的，反抗的；adv.反抗地，叛变地；n.反抗，叛变

参考例句：

• The mutinous sailors took control of the ship.反叛的水手们接管了那艘船。
• His own army,stung by defeats,is mutinous.经历失败的痛楚后，他所率军队出现反叛情绪。

2 promising   

adj.有希望的，有前途的

参考例句：

• The results of the experiments are very promising.实验的结果充满了希望。
• We're trying to bring along one or two promising young swimmers.我们正设法培养出一两名有前途的年轻游泳选手。

3 civilian   

adj.平民的，民用的，民众的

参考例句：

• There is no reliable information about civilian casualties.关于平民的伤亡还没有确凿的信息。
• He resigned his commission to take up a civilian job.他辞去军职而从事平民工作。

4 coup   

n.政变；突然而成功的行动

参考例句：

• The monarch was ousted by a military coup.那君主被军事政变者废黜了。
• That government was overthrown in a military coup three years ago.那个政府在3年前的军事政变中被推翻。

5 credible   

adj.可信任的，可靠的

参考例句：

• The news report is hardly credible.这则新闻报道令人难以置信。
• Is there a credible alternative to the nuclear deterrent?是否有可以取代核威慑力量的可靠办法？

6 transparent   

adj.明显的，无疑的；透明的

参考例句：

• The water is so transparent that we can see the fishes swimming.水清澈透明，可以看到鱼儿游来游去。
• The window glass is transparent.窗玻璃是透明的。

7 civilians   

平民，百姓( civilian的名词复数 )； 老百姓

参考例句：

• the bloody massacre of innocent civilians 对无辜平民的血腥屠杀
• At least 300 civilians are unaccounted for after the bombing raids. 遭轰炸袭击之后，至少有300名平民下落不明。

8 lieutenant   

n.陆军中尉，海军上尉；代理官员，副职官员

参考例句：

• He was promoted to be a lieutenant in the army.他被提升为陆军中尉。
• He prevailed on the lieutenant to send in a short note.他说动那个副官，递上了一张简短的便条进去。

9 territorial   

adj.领土的，领地的

参考例句：

• The country is fighting to preserve its territorial integrity.该国在为保持领土的完整而进行斗争。
• They were not allowed to fish in our territorial waters.不允许他们在我国领海捕鱼。

10 petroleum   

n.原油，石油

参考例句：

• The Government of Iran advanced the price of petroleum last week.上星期伊朗政府提高了石油价格。
• The purpose of oil refinery is to refine crude petroleum.炼油厂的主要工作是提炼原油。

11 smoker   

n.吸烟者，吸烟车厢，吸烟室

参考例句：

• His wife dislikes him to be a smoker.他妻子不喜欢他当烟民。
• He is a moderate smoker.他是一个有节制的烟民。

12 diabetes   

n.糖尿病

参考例句：

• In case of diabetes, physicians advise against the use of sugar.对于糖尿病患者，医生告诫他们不要吃糖。
• Diabetes is caused by a fault in the insulin production of the body.糖尿病是由体內胰岛素分泌失调引起的。

13 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。

14 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。

15 collapse   

vi.累倒；昏倒；倒塌；塌陷

参考例句：

• The country's economy is on the verge of collapse.国家的经济已到了崩溃的边缘。
• The engineer made a complete diagnosis of the bridge's collapse.工程师对桥的倒塌做了一次彻底的调查分析。

16 aluminum   

n.(aluminium)铝

参考例句：

• The aluminum sheets cannot be too much thicker than 0.04 inches.铝板厚度不能超过0.04英寸。
• During the launch phase,it would ride in a protective aluminum shell.在发射阶段，它盛在一只保护的铝壳里。

17 immediate   

adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的

参考例句：

• His immediate neighbours felt it their duty to call.他的近邻认为他们有责任去拜访。
• We declared ourselves for the immediate convocation of the meeting.我们主张立即召开这个会议。