VOA标准英语2009年-Britain Deeply Concerned About Afghan Elec

Britain's foreign secretary say he has serious concerns about election fraud allegations swirling¹ after last month's Afghan presidential vote and David Miliband says a thorough investigation² is required.
　
David Miliband (File photo)

Even before the Afghan election, the war there was unpopular back in Britain. Now with widespread allegations of vote-rigging, the British government is having to justify³ why British service personnel are dying for what appears to be a far from democratic election.

Interviewed on the BBC, British Foreign Secretary David Miliband said he could not describe the vote as "free and fair."

"We will not be party to any whitewash⁴ when it comes to the elections," he said. "That is why the United Nations established the Electoral Complaints Commission. It is why they dismissed the results from 83 polling stations so of course we have concerns about very serious allegations of fraud."

Despite the nature of the election, staged under a violent backdrop, Miliband said he felt it was still possible to have a final result that the people of Afghanistan can have confidence in.

"For me to pretend the people were not frightened, significant numbers of people did not come out to vote because they were frightened but equally, millions did vote. And we need to make sure that they courage they showed, the courage that our forces have shown is actually matched by determination to get the real result," he said.

Incumbent⁵ leader Hamid Karzai currently holds some 54 percent of the vote count. But if turns out that vote fraud was a significant factor in the election, then the percentages become meaningless.

David Miliband sees two possible scenarios⁶ when the last votes are tabulated⁷.

"If President Karzai won, then he should be the president," he said. "There is then big responsibilities on him to reach out right across the Afghan political spectrum⁸. But obviously if he did not get the 50 percent in the first round then there has to be a second round."

Foreign Secretary Miliband says for Britain, the new government in Kabul must be credible⁹ and it must have a clear view of Afghanistan's future regarding its security, its ability to achieve political reconciliation¹⁰ and its ability to build its economy.

1 swirling   

v.旋转，打旋( swirl的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• Snowflakes were swirling in the air. 天空飘洒着雪花。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• She smiled, swirling the wine in her glass. 她微笑着，旋动着杯子里的葡萄酒。 来自辞典例句

2 investigation   

n.调查，调查研究

参考例句：

• In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
• He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。

3 justify   

vt.证明…正当(或有理)，为…辩护

参考例句：

• He tried to justify his absence with lame excuses.他想用站不住脚的借口为自己的缺席辩解。
• Can you justify your rude behavior to me?你能向我证明你的粗野行为是有道理的吗？

4 whitewash   

v.粉刷，掩饰；n.石灰水，粉刷，掩饰

参考例句：

• They tried hard to whitewash themselves.他们力图粉饰自己。
• What he said was a load of whitewash.他所说的是一大堆粉饰之词。

5 incumbent   

adj.成为责任的，有义务的；现任的，在职的

参考例句：

• He defeated the incumbent governor by a large plurality.他以压倒多数票击败了现任州长。
• It is incumbent upon you to warn them.你有责任警告他们。

6 scenarios   

n.[意]情节；剧本；事态；脚本

参考例句：

• Further, graphite cores may be safer than non-graphite cores under some accident scenarios. 再者，根据一些事故解说，石墨堆芯可比非石墨堆芯更安全一些。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法
• Again, scenarios should make it clear which modes are acceptable to users in various contexts. 同样，我们可以运用场景剧本来搞清楚在不同情境下哪些模式可被用户接受。 来自About Face 3交互设计精髓

7 tabulated   

把（数字、事实）列成表( tabulate的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Results for the test program haven't been tabulated. 试验的结果还没有制成表格。
• A large number of substances were investigated and the relevant properties tabulated. 已经研究了多种物质，并将有关性质列成了表。

8 spectrum   

n.谱，光谱，频谱；范围，幅度，系列

参考例句：

• This is a kind of atomic spectrum.这是一种原子光谱。
• We have known much of the constitution of the solar spectrum.关于太阳光谱的构成，我们已了解不少。

9 credible   

adj.可信任的，可靠的

参考例句：

• The news report is hardly credible.这则新闻报道令人难以置信。
• Is there a credible alternative to the nuclear deterrent?是否有可以取代核威慑力量的可靠办法？

10 reconciliation   

n.和解，和谐，一致

参考例句：

• He was taken up with the reconciliation of husband and wife.他忙于做夫妻间的调解工作。
• Their handshake appeared to be a gesture of reconciliation.他们的握手似乎是和解的表示。