VOA标准英语2009年-Gabonese President Is In Spanish Clinic

Gabonese President Omar Bongo is in a Spanish clinic. Spain says he is "very ill." The government in Libreville says the 73-year-old is just resting.
　
Gabon President Omar Bongo (2006 file photo)

Spanish Foreign Minister Miguel Angel Moratinos says President Bongo has been at the private Quiron hospital in Barcelona for more than two weeks. He told reporters that the Gabonese leader is "very ill."

Earlier this month, President Bongo's government announced that, because of his wife's death in March, he would be "momentarily suspending his activities" as head of state for the first time since taking power in 1967.

But the government in Libreville is rejecting Spanish media reports that the president is suffering from cancer.

In a nationwide broadcast on state radio and television late Thursday, presidential spokesman Robert Orango Berre said Mr. Bongo is in Spain for a few days of rest following the "intense emotional shock" of his wife's death.

Berre says President Bongo is at the hospital in Barcelona for a complete medical check-up so as to regain¹ his health and return to Gabon to continue his activities as soon as possible.

Berre says that contrary to the allegations of some media, the president has not undergone any surgical² procedures. Berre says these media allegations are meant to undermine the spirit of the Gabonese people in order to destabilize their thinking.

Like any human being, Berre says even chiefs of state can be temporarily affected³ by personal hardship. And like any human being, he says President Bongo is taking this period to rest.

Berre says the president is being kept up to date on important issues while state institutions ensure the continuity of government operations.

Gabon's constitution says Senate Leader Rose Francine Rogombe would take power as acting⁴ president in the event of the president's death. She would have 90 days to organize new elections in which she would be ineligible⁵ to run.

1 regain   

vt.重新获得，收复，恢复

参考例句：

• He is making a bid to regain his World No.1 ranking.他正为重登世界排名第一位而努力。
• The government is desperate to regain credibility with the public.政府急于重新获取公众的信任。

2 surgical   

adj.外科的，外科医生的，手术上的

参考例句：

• He performs the surgical operations at the Red Cross Hospital.他在红十字会医院做外科手术。
• All surgical instruments must be sterilised before use.所有的外科手术器械在使用之前，必须消毒。

3 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

4 acting   

n.演戏，行为，假装；adj.代理的，临时的，演出用的

参考例句：

• Ignore her,she's just acting.别理她，她只是假装的。
• During the seventies,her acting career was in eclipse.在七十年代，她的表演生涯黯然失色。

5 ineligible   

adj.无资格的，不适当的

参考例句：

• The new rules have made thousands more people ineligible for legal aid.新规定使另外数千人不符合接受法律援助的资格。
• The country had been declared ineligible for World Bank lending.这个国家已被宣布没有资格获得世界银行的贷款。