VOA标准英语2008年-Nepal Selects Maoist Leader as Prime Minister

Legislators in the Himalayan nation of Nepal on Friday selected, by a wide margin¹, a former guerilla leader to be the country's new prime minister. VOA Correspondent Steve Herman, in our South Asia bureau in New Delhi, reports on the ascent² of the Maoist, known as Prachanda, who spent a quarter century in hiding and then led a ten-year civil war against Nepal's monarchy³ and the army.
　
Prachanda gestures as he returns after filing his nomination⁴ papers in Katmandu, Nepal, 14 Aug 2008

A charismatic 53-year-old Maoist, who led the armed struggle against Nepal's government, has been selected as the new republic's first prime minister. The chairman of the special legislative⁵ assembly, Subash Nemwang, announced the results.

The chairman declares the former rebel chief, known as Prachanda, the new prime minister, receiving 464 votes. His opponent, the Nepali Congress party candidate, Sher Bahadur Deuba, received 113 votes. Deuba is a former prime minister whose rejection⁶ of the Maoist's demands in the mid-1990's led the communists to take up arms.

Prachanda, whose real name is Pushpa Kamal Dahal, will lead a Maoist-led coalition⁷ government. The Maoists scored a surprise upset victory in April's national elections. But they fell short of the majority needed in the interim⁸ parliament to elect their own leader as the head of government without allies. Another communist party (Unified Marxist Leninist) and several smaller groups allied⁹ with the Maoists in the voting Friday evening against the Nepali Congress party.

The selection by the nearly 600-member interim parliament of the new prime minister ends a four-month period of political instability under which 84-year-old Girija Prasad Koirala, who has been prime minister four times, clung to power.

Nepal became a republic at the end of May when the unpopular Hindu monarchy was abolished, bringing down the curtain on 240 years of rule under the Peacock Throne of the Shah dynasty.

The Maoists agreed to a peace deal in 2006 after then-King Gyanendra was compelled by massive public protest to end a period of authoritarian¹⁰ rule.

The former rebels will inherit a barely functioning government facing serious challenges. The Himalayan country is one of Asia's poorest, with surging crime and food prices, a chronic¹¹ shortage of fuel and an estimated 200,000 refugees displaced by the war.

In the southern Terai plains, the ethnic¹² Madheshi group, long excluded from the political mainstream¹³, is agitating¹⁴ for autonomy. And there are concerns about the often violent wing of the Maoists, known as the Young Communist League. How they and the former guerillas, whose weapons are secured under United Nations supervision¹⁵, integrate into the new democratic society, is seen as the crucial factor for Nepal achieving long-term peace and stability.

 

1 margin   

n.页边空白；差额；余地，余裕；边，边缘

参考例句：

• We allowed a margin of 20 minutes in catching the train.我们有20分钟的余地赶火车。
• The village is situated at the margin of a forest.村子位于森林的边缘。

2 ascent   

n.(声望或地位)提高；上升，升高；登高

参考例句：

• His rapid ascent in the social scale was surprising.他的社会地位提高之迅速令人吃惊。
• Burke pushed the button and the elevator began its slow ascent.伯克按动电钮，电梯开始缓慢上升。

3 monarchy   

n.君主，最高统治者；君主政体，君主国

参考例句：

• The monarchy in England plays an important role in British culture.英格兰的君主政体在英国文化中起重要作用。
• The power of the monarchy in Britain today is more symbolical than real.今日英国君主的权力多为象徵性的，无甚实际意义。

4 nomination   

n.提名，任命，提名权

参考例句：

• John is favourite to get the nomination for club president.约翰最有希望被提名为俱乐部主席。
• Few people pronounced for his nomination.很少人表示赞成他的提名。

5 legislative   

n.立法机构，立法权；adj.立法的，有立法权的

参考例句：

• Congress is the legislative branch of the U.S. government.国会是美国政府的立法部门。
• Today's hearing was just the first step in the legislative process.今天的听证会只是展开立法程序的第一步。

6 rejection   

n.拒绝，被拒，抛弃，被弃

参考例句：

• He decided not to approach her for fear of rejection.他因怕遭拒绝决定不再去找她。
• The rejection plunged her into the dark depths of despair.遭到拒绝使她陷入了绝望的深渊。

7 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。

8 interim   

adj.暂时的，临时的；n.间歇，过渡期间

参考例句：

• The government is taking interim measures to help those in immediate need.政府正在采取临时措施帮助那些有立即需要的人。
• It may turn out to be an interim technology.这可能只是个过渡技术。

9 allied   

adj.协约国的；同盟国的

参考例句：

• Britain was allied with the United States many times in history.历史上英国曾多次与美国结盟。
• Allied forces sustained heavy losses in the first few weeks of the campaign.同盟国在最初几周内遭受了巨大的损失。

10 authoritarian   

n./adj.专制(的)，专制主义者，独裁主义者

参考例句：

• Foreign diplomats suspect him of authoritarian tendencies.各国外交官怀疑他有着独裁主义倾向。
• The authoritarian policy wasn't proved to be a success.独裁主义的政策证明并不成功。

11 chronic   

adj.(疾病)长期未愈的，慢性的；极坏的

参考例句：

• Famine differs from chronic malnutrition.饥荒不同于慢性营养不良。
• Chronic poisoning may lead to death from inanition.慢性中毒也可能由虚弱导致死亡。

12 ethnic   

adj.人种的，种族的，异教徒的

参考例句：

• This music would sound more ethnic if you played it in steel drums.如果你用钢鼓演奏，这首乐曲将更具民族特色。
• The plan is likely only to aggravate ethnic frictions.这一方案很有可能只会加剧种族冲突。

13 mainstream   

n.（思想或行为的）主流；adj.主流的

参考例句：

• Their views lie outside the mainstream of current medical opinion.他们的观点不属于当今医学界观点的主流。
• Polls are still largely reflects the mainstream sentiment.民调还在很大程度上反映了社会主流情绪。

14 agitating   

搅动( agitate的现在分词 )； 激怒； 使焦虑不安； （尤指为法律、社会状况的改变而）激烈争论

参考例句：

• political groups agitating for social change 鼓吹社会变革的政治团体
• They are agitating to assert autonomy. 他们正在鼓吹实行自治。

15 supervision   

n.监督，管理

参考例句：

• The work was done under my supervision.这项工作是在我的监督之下完成的。
• The old man's will was executed under the personal supervision of the lawyer.老人的遗嘱是在律师的亲自监督下执行的。