VOA标准英语2008年-Angolans to Vote For First Time in 16 Years

Voters in Angola go to the polls Friday for the first time in 16 years. They are to cast their ballots¹ for a new parliament in what is seen as preparations for presidential polls next year. VOA's Scott Bobb reports from Luanda.

More than 8 million registered voters in Angola are to elect a new national assembly in an election Friday that authorities say will seal a six-year-old peace accord and put to rest the legacy² of 27 years of civil war.

Angola's first multiparty elections in 1992 were won by the ruling Movement for the Liberation of Angola party - the MPLA. But they were rejected by the opposition³ National Union for the Total Independence of Angola party, known as UNITA. This led to another 10 years of fighting that ended only after the death of UNITA founder⁴ Jonas Savimbi.

Angola Interior Minister Roberto Monteiro Ngongo told VOA that security forces would be impartial⁵, but vigilant⁶, in order to ensure an orderly polling.
　
Angola's President Jose Eduardo Dos Santos (file photo)

He says he is pleased with the campaign and the behavior of the candidates. He says there were some incidents, but these were minor⁷. And after years of war, he says the people clearly want progress, which can only happen with democracy.

President Jose Eduardo dos Santos echoed the feeling in a speech to several hundred thousand supporters at the MPLA's final rally Wednesday in northern Luanda.

He says the campaign was carried out in a spirit of tolerance⁸ and respect for the opinions of others.

UNITA leader Isaias Samakuva urged his supporters at a rally a few kilometers away to turn out in large numbers but to cast their ballots with calm.

He says let us vote with tranquility and serenity⁹ because we want a united Angola and to consolidate¹⁰ our democracy.

Ten other parties are also contesting the elections mostly on a platform of change. The vote is seen as a precursor¹¹ to presidential elections due next year.

The U.S. based National Democratic Institute coordinated¹² training and funding for a network of Angolan pro-democracy groups that are deploying¹³ 2,500 election observers across the country.

NDI Director Isabel Emerson says Angolans are interested in the electoral process, but many are still afraid.

"The challenge is helping¹⁴ them overcome some of their fears, fears of being engaged in political activity," Emerson said. "This idea of a political discourse¹⁵ and debate, and different ideas, it is still very new and people find it hard to engage."

But she says a successful outcome to Friday's election will build confidence and mark an important step forward.

Political analysts¹⁶ say the vote will provide an indication of the degree of popularity of the MPLA, which has governed since independence.

They say the MPLA hopes to gain a two-thirds parliament majority that would allow it to amend¹⁷ the constitution without challenge.

But opposition parties, despite being weakened by splits and a lack of resources, are hoping to increase their presence in the legislature by campaigning on a need for change after more than three decades of MPLA rule.

 

1 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》

2 legacy   

n.遗产，遗赠；先人(或过去)留下的东西

参考例句：

• They are the most precious cultural legacy our forefathers left.它们是我们祖先留下来的最宝贵的文化遗产。
• He thinks the legacy is a gift from the Gods.他认为这笔遗产是天赐之物。

3 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。

4 Founder   

n.创始者，缔造者

参考例句：

• He was extolled as the founder of their Florentine school.他被称颂为佛罗伦萨画派的鼻祖。
• According to the old tradition,Romulus was the founder of Rome.按照古老的传说，罗穆卢斯是古罗马的建国者。

5 impartial   

adj.(in,to)公正的，无偏见的

参考例句：

• He gave an impartial view of the state of affairs in Ireland.他对爱尔兰的事态发表了公正的看法。
• Careers officers offer impartial advice to all pupils.就业指导员向所有学生提供公正无私的建议。

6 vigilant   

adj.警觉的，警戒的，警惕的

参考例句：

• He has to learn how to remain vigilant through these long nights.他得学会如何在这漫长的黑夜里保持警觉。
• The dog kept a vigilant guard over the house.这只狗警醒地守护着这所房屋。

7 minor   

adj.较小(少)的，较次要的；n.辅修学科；vi.辅修

参考例句：

• The young actor was given a minor part in the new play.年轻的男演员在这出新戏里被分派担任一个小角色。
• I gave him a minor share of my wealth.我把小部分财产给了他。

8 tolerance   

n.宽容；容忍，忍受；耐药力；公差

参考例句：

• Tolerance is one of his strengths.宽容是他的一个优点。
• Human beings have limited tolerance of noise.人类对噪音的忍耐力有限。

9 serenity   

n.宁静，沉着，晴朗

参考例句：

• Her face,though sad,still evoked a feeling of serenity.她的脸色虽然悲伤，但仍使人感觉安详。
• She escaped to the comparative serenity of the kitchen.她逃到相对安静的厨房里。

10 consolidate   

v.使加固，使加强；(把...)联为一体，合并

参考例句：

• The two banks will consolidate in July next year. 这两家银行明年7月将合并。
• The government hoped to consolidate ten states to form three new ones.政府希望把十个州合并成三个新的州。

11 precursor   

n.先驱者；前辈；前任；预兆；先兆

参考例句：

• Error is often the precursor of what is correct.错误常常是正确的先导。
• He said that the deal should not be seen as a precursor to a merger.他说该笔交易不应该被看作是合并的前兆。

12 coordinated   

adj.协调的

参考例句：

• The sound has to be coordinated with the picture. 声音必须和画面协调一致。
• The numerous existing statutes are complicated and poorly coordinated. 目前繁多的法令既十分复杂又缺乏快调。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法

13 deploying   

（尤指军事行动）使展开( deploy的现在分词 )； 施展； 部署； 有效地利用

参考例句：

• Provides support for developing and deploying distributed, component-based applications. 为开发和部署基于组件的分布式应用程序提供支持。
• Advertisement, publishing, repair, and install-on-demand are all available when deploying your application. 在部署应用程序时提供公布、发布、修复和即需即装功能。

14 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

15 discourse   

n.论文，演说；谈话；话语；vi.讲述，著述

参考例句：

• We'll discourse on the subject tonight.我们今晚要谈论这个问题。
• He fell into discourse with the customers who were drinking at the counter.他和站在柜台旁的酒客谈了起来。

16 analysts   

分析家，化验员( analyst的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• City analysts forecast huge profits this year. 伦敦金融分析家预测今年的利润非常丰厚。
• I was impressed by the high calibre of the researchers and analysts. 研究人员和分析人员的高素质给我留下了深刻印象。

17 amend   

vt.修改，修订，改进；n.[pl.]赔罪，赔偿

参考例句：

• The teacher advised him to amend his way of living.老师劝他改变生活方式。
• You must amend your pronunciation.你必须改正你的发音。