VOA常速英语2008年-European Commission Chief Calls for Democracy i

By Tendai Maphosa
London
09 April 2008

European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso is calling for a swift transition to democracy in Zimbabwe.  Barosso says Zimbabweans have voted for change from President Robert Mugabe's rule.  Tendai Maphosa has more in this report from London.

Jose Manuel Barosso is expressing concern about the lack of transparency in Zimbabwe's election process.  He said Zimbabwe's president Robert Mugabe and what he described as his entourage should accept that the people of Zimbabwe want change.

Barosso spokesperson Amadeu Altafaj told VOA the delay in announcing the presidential election result is fueling speculation¹ and people are drawing their own conclusions.

"The people of Zimbabwe have voted and it seems to most independent observers - because we do not have the results yet - that they have voted for change, they have voted for issues of human rights respect, freedom of expression but also the end of the chaotic² situation of the economy the end of poverty in Zimbabwe, so their votes should be taken into account," he said.

Barroso is urging countries in the region to help the transition process, adding that the international community, including the European Union, is ready to help Zimbabweans tackle the extreme poverty in which they find themselves. 

Alatafaj pointed³ out that while the European Commission has given humanitarian⁴ support to Zimbabwe it can only play a complimentary⁵ role in bringing about change in the country.

"The main effort has to come from Zimbabweans themselves, and in particular from the authorities," he added.  "It is also important of course that countries in the region in southern Africa in particular and pan-African regional organizations also contribute."

Zimbabweans voted 11 days ago to choose a president, parliament members and local officials.  Only the parliament results have been made public.

Opposition⁶ Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) challenger Morgan Tsvangirai is claiming victory over long-time incumbent⁷ President Mugabe.  The government appointed electoral commission says it is still collating⁸ the figures.  But state media has suggested that none of the candidates won a majority of the vote and that a second-round runoff is necessary.

The MDC has appealed to the High Court to force the electoral commission to publish the presidential election result.  The judge says he will announce his ruling Monday.

1 speculation   

n.思索，沉思；猜测；投机

参考例句：

• Her mind is occupied with speculation.她的头脑忙于思考。
• There is widespread speculation that he is going to resign.人们普遍推测他要辞职。

2 chaotic   

adj.混沌的，一片混乱的，一团糟的

参考例句：

• Things have been getting chaotic in the office recently.最近办公室的情况越来越乱了。
• The traffic in the city was chaotic.这城市的交通糟透了。

3 pointed   

adj.尖的，直截了当的

参考例句：

• He gave me a very sharp pointed pencil.他给我一支削得非常尖的铅笔。
• She wished to show Mrs.John Dashwood by this pointed invitation to her brother.她想通过对达茨伍德夫人提出直截了当的邀请向她的哥哥表示出来。

4 humanitarian   

n.人道主义者，博爱者，基督凡人论者

参考例句：

• She has many humanitarian interests and contributes a lot to them.她拥有很多慈善事业，并作了很大的贡献。
• The British government has now suspended humanitarian aid to the area.英国政府现已暂停对这一地区的人道主义援助。

5 complimentary   

adj.赠送的，免费的，赞美的，恭维的

参考例句：

• She made some highly complimentary remarks about their school.她对他们的学校给予高度的评价。
• The supermarket operates a complimentary shuttle service.这家超市提供免费购物班车。

6 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。

7 incumbent   

adj.成为责任的，有义务的；现任的，在职的

参考例句：

• He defeated the incumbent governor by a large plurality.他以压倒多数票击败了现任州长。
• It is incumbent upon you to warn them.你有责任警告他们。

8 collating   

v.校对( collate的现在分词 )；整理；核对；整理（文件或书等）

参考例句：

• An invalid collating element was specified in a [[. name. ]] block. 块中指定了非法的对照元素。 来自互联网
• Selected collating sequence not supported by the operating system. 操作系统不支持选择的排序序列。 来自互联网