VOA常速英语2008年-Proposed Pledge of Allegiance for South African

By Terry FitzPatrick
Cape¹ Town
03 March 2008

South African officials are proposing that children recite a pledge of allegiance in school, to promote a sense of history and civic² responsibility. But instead of bringing the country together, the South African proposal has sparked intense debate about the state of education and race relations after apartheid. Terry FitzPatrick reports from Cape Town.

 

South African president Thabo Mbeki drew strong applause last month when he told parliament that children should begin each day paying tribute to their country.

"We should develop a pledge that will be recited by learners in their morning school assembly, as well as a youth pledge extolling³ the virtues⁴ of humane⁵ conduct and human solidarity⁶ among all South Africans," he said.

 

A few days later, Education Minister Naledi Pandor revealed that a draft of the pledge was complete.

"We the youth of South Africa, recognizing the injustices⁸ of our past, honor those who suffered and sacrificed for justice and freedom," said Pandor. "We will respect and protect the dignity of each person, and stand up for justice. We sincerely declare that we shall uphold the rights and values of our constitution, and promise to act in accordance with the duties and responsibilities that flow from these rights. !KE /: XARRA// KE Nkosi Sikelel' iAfrika."

 

The final phrase means: "Diverse people unite, Lord bless Africa." But rather than uniting South Africans, the text has sparked an outcry.

Remarks from callers to a discussion program on Cape Talk radio typify the criticism.

Caller 1: References to injustices of the past, every nation has past injustices. Why must we dwell on them? I think it's very, very divisive.

Caller 2: I just think it's propaganda. When are we going to draw the line? What have our kids, first of all, got to do with it?

 

Radio host Aden Thomas says the pledge has touched a nerve about the state of post-apartheid South Africa.

"There's been massive negative reaction to the pledge in some way making reference to injustices of the past," he said. "And, perhaps that's symptomatic of just how we are not fully⁹ dealing¹⁰ with many of the social problems we have in our country, where people don't want to be reminded of it."

 

In many ways, injustice⁷ continues. The end of apartheid 14 years ago brought political transformation¹¹. But the economy has been slow to change. Many neighborhoods are still segregated¹², with millions of blacks still in shacks¹³. The crime rate is among the world's worst. Teachers are concerned that a new generation of South Africans is growing up without a sense of national unity¹⁴, civic pride or personal responsibility to improve the situation.

"There's a deep need on the part of the education department to be seen to be responding to these kinds of issues, to be talking about good citizenship," said education professor Crain Soudien at the University of Cape Town.

 

But he says schools are not teaching children how to live in a multi-racial, multi-cultural society. He calls the pledge superficial.

 

"This is simply sweet talking South Africans into a particular mode of dealing with each other's differences and their relationships with each other," said Soudien. "It doesn't get substantively¹⁵ at what it means to live in a country of such complexity¹⁶ such as we have. It introduces a form of patriotism¹⁷ that doesn't get children to deal with these kinds of questions."

 

Others are concerned the pledge imposes politics on children. At its recent convention, the ruling African National Congress noted¹⁸ that younger delegates lacked a grasp of history. The party called for political schooling¹⁹ of new members, and better civics education overall. When government quickly unveiled a pledge of allegiance, political analyst²⁰ Zwelethu Jolobe at the University of Cape Town was suspicious.

 

"I found it very suspect overall that there is this grand announcement of this pledge," said Jolobe. "It means that there are much more sinister²¹ motives²², perhaps, behind it that have to do primarily with party political issues and not with what is needed in the public schooling sector²³."

 

Not everyone opposes the pledge. Many people support the idea but think the wording needs work. Officials are accepting comment before deciding if the language should change. The education minister concedes that public consultation²⁴ should have been conducted before any draft was written.

1 cape   

n.海角，岬；披肩，短披风

参考例句：

• I long for a trip to the Cape of Good Hope.我渴望到好望角去旅行。
• She was wearing a cape over her dress.她在外套上披着一件披肩。

2 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。

3 extolling   

v.赞美( extoll的现在分词 )；赞颂，赞扬，赞美( extol的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• He never stops extolling the virtues of the free market. 他不停地颂扬自由市场的种种好处。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• They kept extolling my managerial skills. 他们不停地赞美我的管理技能。 来自辞典例句

4 virtues   

美德( virtue的名词复数 )； 德行； 优点； 长处

参考例句：

• Doctors often extol the virtues of eating less fat. 医生常常宣扬少吃脂肪的好处。
• She delivered a homily on the virtues of family life. 她进行了一场家庭生活美德方面的说教。

5 humane   

adj.人道的，富有同情心的

参考例句：

• Is it humane to kill animals for food?宰杀牲畜来吃合乎人道吗？
• Their aim is for a more just and humane society.他们的目标是建立一个更加公正、博爱的社会。

6 solidarity   

n.团结；休戚相关

参考例句：

• They must preserve their solidarity.他们必须维护他们的团结。
• The solidarity among China's various nationalities is as firm as a rock.中国各族人民之间的团结坚如磐石。

7 injustice   

n.非正义，不公正，不公平，侵犯（别人的）权利

参考例句：

• They complained of injustice in the way they had been treated.他们抱怨受到不公平的对待。
• All his life he has been struggling against injustice.他一生都在与不公正现象作斗争。

8 injustices   

不公平( injustice的名词复数 )； 非正义； 待…不公正； 冤枉

参考例句：

• One who committed many injustices is doomed to failure. 多行不义必自毙。
• He felt confident that his injustices would be righted. 他相信他的冤屈会受到昭雪的。

9 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。

10 dealing   

n.经商方法，待人态度

参考例句：

• This store has an excellent reputation for fair dealing.该商店因买卖公道而享有极高的声誉。
• His fair dealing earned our confidence.他的诚实的行为获得我们的信任。

11 transformation   

n.变化；改造；转变

参考例句：

• Going to college brought about a dramatic transformation in her outlook.上大学使她的观念发生了巨大的变化。
• He was struggling to make the transformation from single man to responsible husband.他正在努力使自己由单身汉变为可靠的丈夫。

12 segregated   

分开的； 被隔离的

参考例句：

• a culture in which women are segregated from men 妇女受到隔离歧视的文化
• The doctor segregated the child sick with scarlet fever. 大夫把患猩红热的孩子隔离起来。

13 shacks   

n.窝棚，简陋的小屋( shack的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• They live in shacks which they made out of wood. 他们住在用木头搭成的简陋的小屋里。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Most people in Port au-Prince live in tin shacks. 太子港的大多数居民居住在铁皮棚里。 来自互联网

14 unity   

n.团结，联合，统一；和睦，协调

参考例句：

• When we speak of unity,we do not mean unprincipled peace.所谓团结，并非一团和气。
• We must strengthen our unity in the face of powerful enemies.大敌当前，我们必须加强团结。

15 substantively   

adv.真实地；实质上

参考例句：

• WTO-consistency had to be secured substantively as well. 与WTO的一致性还必须获得实质性的保证。 来自互联网
• What is called quantum information science is substantively to research information science encoding with quantum states. 量子信息学是近几年迅速发展起来的一门新兴交叉学科，它是量子力学和信息科学相结合的产物。 来自互联网

16 complexity   

n.复杂(性)，复杂的事物

参考例句：

• Only now did he understand the full complexity of the problem.直到现在他才明白这一问题的全部复杂性。
• The complexity of the road map puzzled me.错综复杂的公路图把我搞糊涂了。

17 patriotism   

n.爱国精神，爱国心，爱国主义

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。
• They obtained money under the false pretenses of patriotism.他们以虚伪的爱国主义为借口获得金钱。

18 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。

19 schooling   

n.教育；正规学校教育

参考例句：

• A child's access to schooling varies greatly from area to area.孩子获得学校教育的机会因地区不同而大相径庭。
• Backward children need a special kind of schooling.天赋差的孩子需要特殊的教育。

20 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。

21 sinister   

adj.不吉利的，凶恶的，左边的

参考例句：

• There is something sinister at the back of that series of crimes.在这一系列罪行背后有险恶的阴谋。
• Their proposals are all worthless and designed out of sinister motives.他们的建议不仅一钱不值，而且包藏祸心。

22 motives   

n.动机，目的( motive的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• to impeach sb's motives 怀疑某人的动机
• His motives are unclear. 他的用意不明。

23 sector   

n.部门，部分；防御地段，防区；扇形

参考例句：

• The export sector will aid the economic recovery. 出口产业将促进经济复苏。
• The enemy have attacked the British sector.敌人已进攻英国防区。

24 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。