VOA标准英语2008年-As Zimbabwe's Mugabe Presses Ahead, Analysts Sa

Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe is pressing ahead with a presidential runoff election Friday, without an opponent and in the face of global calls, including from his neighbors, to postpone¹ the poll. VOA's Delia Robertson reports from our southern Africa bureau in Johannesburg.
　
Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe, right, greets the crowd at his final rally in Chitungwiza, 26 June 2008

Mr. Mugabe is determined² to have the election he believes could legitimize a further five years as president of Zimbabwe. But the violence used by his supporters since March has instead alienated³ regional leaders, the very individuals he hoped would set the seal of approval on his victory and next term in office.

Now, says senior researcher Chris Maroleng, Mr. Mugabe is facing isolation⁴ from his old comrades.

"And I think increasing calls from the region and the sub-region indicate that President Robert Mugabe will face serious opposition⁵ to his leadership of Zimbabwe if there is an election tomorrow and more importantly if he declares himself to be the winner of this runoff," he said.

For some time now, regional leaders have believed that an orderly transfer of power in Zimbabwe might not be attainable⁶ without some sort of negotiated transitional power-sharing arrangement. Maroleng, of the independent Institute for Security Studies in Pretoria, says Mr. Mugabe believed he could be the one to control the outcome.

"One of the key things is that President Robert Mugabe wanted to be able to have the right to convene⁷ a government after the election, but more importantly anticipating calls from the international community and SADC to convene a government of national unity⁸, he wanted to determine its composition," he added.
　
Morgan Tsvangirai gestures as he addresses journalists during press conference in Harare, 25 Jun 2008

Maroleng says that when Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) leader Morgan Tsvangirai withdrew from the runoff poll this week, he effectively removed any strength that Mr. Mugabe may have accrued⁹, even through a discredited¹⁰ election. Now he says the right to convene a government of national unity belongs to Mr. Tsvangirai.

But Maroleng does not expect any concessions¹¹ from Mr. Mugabe. He says the Zimbabwe president is likely to join with state security organizations to further militarize the state and crack down on opposition and civil society elements.

"I think we are really at the tipping point in Zimbabwe, and this could create a future that has a greater variant¹² of autocracy¹³ and dictatorship with some kind of civilian¹⁴ face represented in this instance by President Robert Mugabe and his close associates within ZANU-PF," he noted¹⁵.

Maroleng says this would result in further economic decline, a hardening of the humanitarian¹⁶ situation and an unstable¹⁷ political environment leading to major conflict.

 

1 postpone   

v.延期，推迟

参考例句：

• I shall postpone making a decision till I learn full particulars.在未获悉详情之前我得从缓作出决定。
• She decided to postpone the converastion for that evening.她决定当天晚上把谈话搁一搁。

2 determined   

adj.坚定的；有决心的

参考例句：

• I have determined on going to Tibet after graduation.我已决定毕业后去西藏。
• He determined to view the rooms behind the office.他决定查看一下办公室后面的房间。

3 alienated   

adj.感到孤独的，不合群的v.使疏远( alienate的过去式和过去分词 )；使不友好；转让；让渡（财产等）

参考例句：

• His comments have alienated a lot of young voters. 他的言论使许多年轻选民离他而去。
• The Prime Minister's policy alienated many of her followers. 首相的政策使很多拥护她的人疏远了她。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 isolation   

n.隔离，孤立，分解，分离

参考例句：

• The millionaire lived in complete isolation from the outside world.这位富翁过着与世隔绝的生活。
• He retired and lived in relative isolation.他退休后，生活比较孤寂。

5 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。

6 attainable   

a.可达到的，可获得的

参考例句：

• They set the limits of performance attainable. 它们确定着可达到的运行限度。
• If objectives are to be meaningful to people, they must be clear, attainable, actionable, and verifiable. 如果目标对人们是具有意义的，则目标必须是清晰的，能达到的，可以行动的，以及可供检验的。

7 convene   

v.集合，召集，召唤，聚集，集合

参考例句：

• The Diet will convene at 3p.m. tomorrow.国会将于明天下午三点钟开会。
• Senior officials convened in October 1991 in London.1991年10月，高级官员在伦敦会齐。

8 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。

9 accrued   

adj.权责已发生的v.增加( accrue的过去式和过去分词 )；（通过自然增长）产生；获得；（使钱款、债务）积累

参考例句：

• The company had accrued debts of over 1000 yuan. 该公司已积欠了1000多万元的债务。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• I have accrued a set of commemoration stamps. 我已收集一套纪念邮票。 来自《简明英汉词典》

10 discredited   

不足信的，不名誉的

参考例句：

• The reactionary authorities are between two fires and have been discredited. 反动当局弄得进退维谷，不得人心。
• Her honour was discredited in the newspapers. 她的名声被报纸败坏了。

11 concessions   

n.（尤指由政府或雇主给予的）特许权( concession的名词复数 )；承认；减价；（在某地的）特许经营权

参考例句：

• The firm will be forced to make concessions if it wants to avoid a strike. 要想避免罢工，公司将不得不作出一些让步。
• The concessions did little to placate the students. 让步根本未能平息学生的愤怒。

12 variant   

adj.不同的，变异的；n.变体，异体

参考例句：

• We give professional suggestions according to variant tanning stages for each customer.我们针对每位顾客不同的日晒阶段，提供强度适合的晒黑建议。
• In a variant of this approach,the tests are data- driven.这个方法的一个变种，是数据驱动的测试。

13 autocracy   

n.独裁政治，独裁政府

参考例句：

• The revolution caused the overthrow of the autocracy.这场革命导致了独裁政体的结束。
• Many poor countries are abandoning autocracy.很多贫穷国家都在放弃独裁统治。

14 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。

15 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。

16 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。

17 unstable   

adj.不稳定的，易变的

参考例句：

• This bookcase is too unstable to hold so many books.这书橱很不结实，装不了这么多书。
• The patient's condition was unstable.那患者的病情不稳定。