VOA标准英语2008年-Democratic Republic of Congo Prime Minister Res

The prime minister of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, veteran independence leader and former rebel Antoine Gizenga, has resigned. VOA's Scott Bobb reports from our West Africa bureau in Dakar.
　
Antoine Gizenga (file photo)

Congolese Prime Minister Antoine Gizenga announced his resignation on national radio. The 83-year-old leader said although his spirit was healthy and willing, the human body had its limits.

He added that the task of rebuilding the country known as Congo/Kinshasa was immense after decades of misrule, rebellion and civil war, but he said the country was beginning to recover.

An analyst¹ with London's Chatham House, Munong Kodi, says there had been rising criticism of the Gizenga government.

"A lot of people thought there was not effective coordination² and vision on the part of the government," he said. "That's the main reason why people wanted change."

Gizenga was appointed prime minister by President Joseph Kabila nearly two years ago following national elections aimed at ending years of dictatorship and civil war.

The veteran politician was a deputy to Congo's first prime minister, Patrice Lumumba, following independence and served briefly³ as prime minister.

But he joined a breakaway government in Stanleyville, northeastern Congo, after Lumumba was dismissed and subsequently assassinated⁴. At the height of the cold war, this government was recognized by nearly two dozen governments.

The rebellions were ended under the government of the late president Mobutu Sese Seko who ruled with an iron hand for more than three decades. Gizenga spent most of these years in exile, but returned to Congo in the early 1990s following the legalization of opposition⁵ political parties.

He participated in the negotiations⁶ in the late 1990s aimed at ending the civil wars of 1996 and 1997 that deposed⁷ Mobutu and brought another rebel leader, Laurent Kabila, to power. Kabila was killed by a guard in 2001 and replaced by his son, the current president.

Gizenga, who heads the Unified⁸ Lumumbist Party or PALU, came in third in presidential elections two years ago. He subsequently entered into a coalition⁹ with Mr. Kabila who won the run-off vote.

Gizenga's appointment as prime minister was aimed at appeasing¹⁰ the restive¹¹ northeastern Congo, which long resented the central government in Kinshasa, half-a continent away, and where several small rebellions continued to fester.

A network of 83 aid agencies said, in a report issued Thursday by Human Rights Watch, that a resumption of fighting in eastern Congo's Kivu regions had displaced more than one million people and caused a drastic deterioration¹² in the humanitarian¹³ situation.

Experts say people hoped that Gizenga would move more quickly to rebuild Congo, whose economy and infrastructure¹⁴ were devastated¹⁵ by the decades of war, rebellion and misrule.

Kodi of Chatham House says it will be difficult to see any kind of lasting¹⁶ legacy¹⁷ from Gizenga's tenure¹⁸ as head of government.

"The Congo is all but a failed state in which everything is a priority and the means to live up to the expectations of the people are very limited," he said. "So it's a situation that requires vision, that requires stamina¹⁹. And these things lacked in the government that left power just now."

Kodi expects a major cabinet re-shuffle which would see changes in some key ministries²⁰.

The Kabila government has moved to revitalize Congo's mining industry, historically the backbone²¹ of its economy. But these efforts have been slow and the benefits have yet to reach most of Congo's 65 million people who continue to suffer from unemployment, malnutrition²² and a lack of social services.

 

1 analyst   

n.分析家，化验员；心理分析学家

参考例句：

• What can you contribute to the position of a market analyst?你有什么技能可有助于市场分析员的职务？
• The analyst is required to interpolate values between standards.分析人员需要在这些标准中插入一些值。

2 coordination   

n.协调，协作

参考例句：

• Gymnastics is a sport that requires a considerable level of coordination.体操是一项需要高协调性的运动。
• The perfect coordination of the dancers and singers added a rhythmic charm to the performance.舞蹈演员和歌手们配合得很好，使演出更具魅力。

3 briefly   

adv.简单地，简短地

参考例句：

• I want to touch briefly on another aspect of the problem.我想简单地谈一下这个问题的另一方面。
• He was kidnapped and briefly detained by a terrorist group.他被一个恐怖组织绑架并短暂拘禁。

4 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

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 negotiations   

协商( negotiation的名词复数 )； 谈判； 完成（难事）； 通过

参考例句：

• negotiations for a durable peace 为持久和平而进行的谈判
• Negotiations have failed to establish any middle ground. 谈判未能达成任何妥协。

7 deposed   

v.罢免( depose的过去式和过去分词 )；（在法庭上）宣誓作证

参考例句：

• The president was deposed in a military coup. 总统在军事政变中被废黜。
• The head of state was deposed by the army. 国家元首被军队罢免了。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 unified   

(unify 的过去式和过去分词)； 统一的； 统一标准的； 一元化的

参考例句：

• The teacher unified the answer of her pupil with hers. 老师核对了学生的答案。
• The First Emperor of Qin unified China in 221 B.C. 秦始皇于公元前221年统一中国。

9 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。

10 appeasing   

安抚，抚慰( appease的现在分词 )； 绥靖（满足另一国的要求以避免战争）

参考例句：

• Mr. Chamberlain had cherished the hope of appeasing and reforming him and leading him to grace. 张伯伦先生则满心想安抚他，感化他，教他温文知礼。
• A pleasing preacher is too often an appeasing preacher. 一昧讨好的传道人通常是姑息妥协的传道人。

11 restive   

adj.不安宁的，不安静的

参考例句：

• The government has done nothing to ease restrictions and manufacturers are growing restive.政府未采取任何措施放松出口限制,因此国内制造商变得焦虑不安。
• The audience grew restive.观众变得不耐烦了。

12 deterioration   

n.退化；恶化；变坏

参考例句：

• Mental and physical deterioration both occur naturally with age. 随着年龄的增长，心智和体力自然衰退。
• The car's bodywork was already showing signs of deterioration. 这辆车的车身已经显示出了劣化迹象。

13 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。

14 infrastructure   

n.下部构造，下部组织，基础结构，基础设施

参考例句：

• We should step up the development of infrastructure for research.加强科学基础设施建设。
• We should strengthen cultural infrastructure and boost various types of popular culture.加强文化基础设施建设，发展各类群众文化。

15 devastated   

v.彻底破坏( devastate的过去式和过去分词)；摧毁；毁灭；在感情上（精神上、财务上等）压垮adj.毁坏的；极为震惊的

参考例句：

• The bomb devastated much of the old part of the city. 这颗炸弹炸毁了旧城的一大片地方。
• His family is absolutely devastated. 他的一家感到极为震惊。

16 lasting   

adj.永久的，永恒的；vbl.持续，维持

参考例句：

• The lasting war debased the value of the dollar.持久的战争使美元贬值。
• We hope for a lasting settlement of all these troubles.我们希望这些纠纷能获得永久的解决。

17 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。

18 tenure   

n.终身职位；任期；(土地)保有权，保有期

参考例句：

• He remained popular throughout his tenure of the office of mayor.他在担任市长的整个任期内都深得民心。
• Land tenure is a leading political issue in many parts of the world.土地的保有权在世界很多地区是主要的政治问题。

19 stamina   

n.体力；精力；耐力

参考例句：

• I lacked the stamina to run the whole length of the race.我没有跑完全程的耐力。
• Giving up smoking had a magical effect on his stamina.戒烟神奇地增强了他的体力。

20 ministries   

（政府的）部( ministry的名词复数 )； 神职； 牧师职位； 神职任期

参考例句：

• Local authorities must refer everything to the central ministries. 地方管理机构应请示中央主管部门。
• The number of Ministries has been pared down by a third. 部委的数量已经减少了1/3。

21 backbone   

n.脊骨，脊柱，骨干；刚毅，骨气

参考例句：

• The Chinese people have backbone.中国人民有骨气。
• The backbone is an articulate structure.脊椎骨是一种关节相连的结构。

22 malnutrition   

n.营养不良

参考例句：

• In Africa, there are a lot of children suffering from severe malnutrition.在非洲有大批严重营养不良的孩子。
• It is a classic case of malnutrition. 这是营养不良的典型病例。