VOA标准英语2008年-Suleiman Elected President of Lebanon

By Challiss McDonough
Beirut
25 May 2008

Former Lebanese army chief Michel Suleiman was sworn in as the country's new President Sunday, following a long-delayed vote in parliament. His election brings an end to the political crisis that has paralyzed Lebanon's government for the last 18 months, and recently set off the worst internal violence since the end of the civil war. Suleiman has appealed for national unity¹. VOA Correspondent Challiss McDonough has more from Beirut.

One by one, the members of parliament slid their ballots² into a glass-sided box. When the counting began, one by one, officials read the same name on almost every one.

Former army commander Michel Suleiman was elected president with 118 out of 127 votes.

Six deputies abstained³, two voted for other politicians, and one voted for "Rafik Hariri and the martyrs," a reference to the slain⁴ former prime minister and other Lebanese leaders who have been assassinated⁵ over the past three years.

The lack of a unanimous vote, even though Mr. Suleiman was the consensus⁶ candidate agreed to by all the political parties, illustrates⁷ the fragility of the compromise that brought him to the presidency⁸. It also indicates how tough some of the challenges facing the new president will be as he attempts to build consensus and lead the country out of its political stalemate.

Wearing a dark suit and a gray tie, Mr. Suleiman took the oath of office to rousing applause. Most of Lebanon's political leaders welcomed his election as a step toward ending the political crisis that has dragged on for the last year an a half and erupted into deadly clashes earlier this month. The vote came after the rival factions⁹ reached a power-sharing deal at talks in Qatar on Wednesday.

In his inaugural¹⁰ address to parliament, the new president called on Lebanese to unite and work toward reconciliation¹¹.

He said, "We have paid dearly for our national unity. Let us preserve it, hand-in-hand."

The new president called for better relations with Syria, which should please the opposition¹², but also backed the U.N. tribunal investigating the Hariri assassination¹³, which the government supports. Those two issues were not resolved by the talks in Qatar.

Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Moallem was in the audience for the vote. Such high-level Syrian officials have rarely visited Lebanon since Syrian troops withdrew from the country in 2005 after Hariri was killed.

The international backers of both sides have welcomed the Doha accord that led to the president's election, which had been postponed¹⁴ 19 times as the factions fought over the shape of the next government.

The Doha agreement gives Hezbollah and its opposition allies enough cabinet seats to veto any government decision. That is widely seen as a setback¹⁵ for the ruling coalition¹⁶ and for the Bush Administration, which had opposed that opposition demand for the last year and a half.

But President Bush issued a statement congratulating President Suleiman on his election, and saying he hopes the Doha accord "will usher¹⁷ in an era of political reconciliation to the benefit of all Lebanese."

European leaders and the U.N. Secretary General also welcomed the election, and pledged to support the new president. French President Nicolas Sarkozy said he hopes to visit Lebanon soon to strengthen ties.

After he took the oath of office, people flooded into the streets to celebrate in Mr. Suleiman's home village of Amchit, waving Lebanese flags and singing along as loudspeakers blared songs celebrating his election.

The president's first task will be forming a new government. The old cabinet, led by Prime Minister Fuad Siniora, will remain in place until that happens, but Mr. Siniora is not expected to keep his job. Rafik Hariri's son, Saad Hariri, is believed to be the leading contender to replace him.

1 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。

2 ballots   

n.投票表决( ballot的名词复数 )；选举；选票；投票总数v.（使）投票表决( ballot的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• They're counting the ballots. 他们正在计算选票。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The news of rigged ballots has rubbed off much of the shine of their election victory. 他们操纵选票的消息使他们在选举中获得的胜利大为减色。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 abstained   

v.戒（尤指酒），戒除( abstain的过去式和过去分词 )；弃权（不投票）

参考例句：

• Ten people voted in favour, five against and two abstained. 十人投票赞成，五人反对，两人弃权。
• They collectively abstained (from voting) in the elections for local councilors. 他们在地方议会议员选举中集体弃权。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 slain   

杀死，宰杀，杀戮( slay的过去分词 )； (slay的过去分词)

参考例句：

• The soldiers slain in the battle were burried that night. 在那天夜晚埋葬了在战斗中牺牲了的战士。
• His boy was dead, slain by the hand of the false Amulius. 他的儿子被奸诈的阿缪利乌斯杀死了。

5 assassinated   

v.暗杀( assassinate的过去式和过去分词 )；中伤；诋毁；破坏

参考例句：

• The prime minister was assassinated by extremists. 首相遭极端分子暗杀。
• Then, just two days later, President Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas. 跟着在两天以后，肯尼迪总统在达拉斯被人暗杀。 来自辞典例句

6 consensus   

n.(意见等的)一致，一致同意，共识

参考例句：

• Can we reach a consensus on this issue?我们能在这个问题上取得一致意见吗？
• What is the consensus of opinion at the afternoon meeting?下午会议上一致的意见是什么？

7 illustrates   

给…加插图( illustrate的第三人称单数 )； 说明； 表明； （用示例、图画等）说明

参考例句：

• This historical novel illustrates the breaking up of feudal society in microcosm. 这部历史小说是走向崩溃的封建社会的缩影。
• Alfred Adler, a famous doctor, had an experience which illustrates this. 阿尔弗莱德 - 阿德勒是一位著名的医生，他有过可以说明这点的经历。 来自中级百科部分

8 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。

9 factions   

组织中的小派别，派系( faction的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The gens also lives on in the "factions." 氏族此外还继续存在于“factions〔“帮”〕中。 来自英汉非文学 - 家庭、私有制和国家的起源
• rival factions within the administration 政府中的对立派别

10 inaugural   

adj.就职的；n.就职典礼

参考例句：

• We listened to the President's inaugural speech on the radio yesterday.昨天我们通过无线电听了总统的就职演说。
• Professor Pearson gave the inaugural lecture in the new lecture theatre.皮尔逊教授在新的阶梯讲堂发表了启用演说。

11 reconciliation   

n.和解，和谐，一致

参考例句：

• He was taken up with the reconciliation of husband and wife.他忙于做夫妻间的调解工作。
• Their handshake appeared to be a gesture of reconciliation.他们的握手似乎是和解的表示。

12 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。

13 assassination   

n.暗杀；暗杀事件

参考例句：

• The assassination of the president brought matters to a head.总统遭暗杀使事态到了严重关头。
• Lincoln's assassination in 1865 shocked the whole nation.1865年，林肯遇刺事件震惊全美国。

14 postponed   

vt.& vi.延期，缓办，（使）延迟vt.把…放在次要地位；[语]把…放在后面（或句尾）vi.（疟疾等）延缓发作（或复发）

参考例句：

• The trial was postponed indefinitely. 审讯无限期延迟。
• The game has already been postponed three times. 这场比赛已经三度延期了。

15 setback   

n.退步，挫折，挫败

参考例句：

• Since that time there has never been any setback in his career.从那时起他在事业上一直没有遇到周折。
• She views every minor setback as a disaster.她把每个较小的挫折都看成重大灾难。

16 coalition   

n.结合体，同盟，结合，联合

参考例句：

• The several parties formed a coalition.这几个政党组成了政治联盟。
• Coalition forces take great care to avoid civilian casualties.联盟军队竭尽全力避免造成平民伤亡。

17 usher   

n.带位员，招待员；vt.引导，护送；vi.做招待，担任引座员

参考例句：

• The usher seated us in the front row.引座员让我们在前排就座。
• They were quickly ushered away.他们被迅速领开。