VOA标准英语2009年-Clinton Urges Kenya Youth to Fight Corrupt

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton challenged Kenya's youth Thursday to utilize¹ new media technologies to shine light on public corruption² in the country. She continued her message that only Kenyans can solve Kenya's problems.
　
US Sec. of State Hillary Clinton addresses the 8th Africa Growth Opportunity Act Conference in Nairobi, Kenya, 05 Aug 2009

Secretary Clinton told the Kenyan crowd that corruption is best fought through transparency. She said that the Kenyan public can play a significant role in bringing the corruption to light.

"Sunlight is the best disinfectant, and I think there is an opportunity for young people and for civil society to use modern technology to run corruption watches and reporting," she said..

Citing the example of the ongoing³ protests in Iran, she encouraged the youth to use online social media tools in their battle to bring about government reform.

"There ought to be a way to use interactive⁴ media, especially the Internet obviously, and some of the new vehicles like Twitter, etc., to report in real time allegations of corruption," she said.

Mrs. Clinton suggested to Kenyans that even if no public figure yet existed who would act on the corruption charges, the generation of public discussion alone would provide pressure for reform. She urged Kenyans to strategize beyond her statements to come up with concrete actions.

"Making it public and making it part of the public dialogue and making it so people are talking in social circles about people could very well create public pressure to do something. These are just ideas, and you have to figure out what will work for Kenya," she added.

The secretary gave her remarks at a public forum⁵ hosted at the University of Nairobi.

She opened up the forum by reassuring⁶ Kenyans that U.S. President Barack Obama cares deeply about the country, the homeland of Obama's father. The president has been critical of the Kenyan government and skipped the country in his first visit to Africa since being elected.

Secretary Clinton offered more strong criticism of Kenya's leadership at the forum. She said that the government needs reform not just because of the violence following the December, 2007 election, but because of a long pattern of decisions made by Kenya leaders that are poor for the country.

She stated that the U.S. is considering targeting those individuals in Kenya behind public corruption and organized violence if the impunity⁷ is not tackled internally. She did not specify⁸ what actions the U.S. government might take.

Responding to criticisms by the Kenya prime minister on Tuesday that Africa did not need lectures from the West on governance, the secretary said that it would be far easier for the U.S. to ignore the country's internal issues and just work with the nation's leaders on terrorism and regional stability. She characterized her country's criticisms as coming from a friend to the Kenyan people.
　
Hillary Clinton lays wreath at memorial site in Nairobi, 6 Aug 2009

Earlier in the morning Clinton visited a memorial for the victims of the 1998 U.S. embassy bombing. Friday is the 11th anniversary of the blast that killed 218, only 12 of whom were Americans.

Secretary Clinton helped place a wreath at the memorial site and then paid her respects to the victims of the terrorist attack. She was joined by survivors⁹ of the attack.

1 utilize   

vt.使用，利用

参考例句：

• The cook will utilize the leftover ham bone to make soup.厨师要用吃剩的猪腿骨做汤。
• You must utilize all available resources.你必须利用一切可以得到的资源。

2 corruption   

n.腐败，堕落，贪污

参考例句：

• The people asked the government to hit out against corruption and theft.人民要求政府严惩贪污盗窃。
• The old man reviled against corruption.那老人痛斥了贪污舞弊。

3 ongoing   

adj.进行中的，前进的

参考例句：

• The problem is ongoing.这个问题尚未解决。
• The issues raised in the report relate directly to Age Concern's ongoing work in this area.报告中提出的问题与“关心老人”组织在这方面正在做的工作有直接的关系。

4 interactive   

adj.相互作用的，互相影响的，（电脑）交互的

参考例句：

• The psychotherapy is carried out in small interactive groups.这种心理治疗是在互动的小组之间进行的。
• This will make videogames more interactive than ever.这将使电子游戏的互动性更胜以往。

5 forum   

n.论坛，讨论会

参考例句：

• They're holding a forum on new ways of teaching history.他们正在举行历史教学讨论会。
• The organisation would provide a forum where problems could be discussed.这个组织将提供一个可以讨论问题的平台。

6 reassuring   

a.使人消除恐惧和疑虑的，使人放心的

参考例句：

• He gave her a reassuring pat on the shoulder. 他轻拍了一下她的肩膀让她放心。
• With a reassuring pat on her arm, he left. 他鼓励地拍了拍她的手臂就离开了。

7 impunity   

n.(惩罚、损失、伤害等的)免除

参考例句：

• You will not escape with impunity.你不可能逃脱惩罚。
• The impunity what compulsory insurance sets does not include escapement.交强险规定的免责范围不包括逃逸。

8 specify   

vt.指定，详细说明

参考例句：

• We should specify a time and a place for the meeting.我们应指定会议的时间和地点。
• Please specify what you will do.请你详述一下你将做什么。

9 survivors   

幸存者，残存者，生还者( survivor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The survivors were adrift in a lifeboat for six days. 幸存者在救生艇上漂流了六天。
• survivors clinging to a raft 紧紧抓住救生筏的幸存者