VOA英语2010年-Iraqi Parliament Approves New Maliki Governm

The Iraq parliament has voted to approve the new government of Prime Minister Nouri al Maliki, although the key ministries¹ of interior, defense² and national security were left vacant.

The vote to approve the new Iraqi government brought a sigh of relief to many as it put an end to a more than eight months of political turmoil³.

Iraq's top leaders, foreign ambassadors and members of parliament watched as Parliament Speaker Osama Nujeifi called the session to order. Former Prime Ministers Ibrahim al Jaffari and Iyad Allawi addressed the gathering⁴, with Jaffari calling the new government an "historic accomplishment⁵." He urged Iraqis to open their hearts and seek the pardon of their brethren for what he called the many trials and tribulations⁶ of the recent past.

Former Prime Minister Allawi, whose rivalry⁷ with Prime Minister Maliki led to the lengthy⁸ political vacuum, told legislators the Iraqi nation is its people and its people are the Iraqi nation. He called formation of the government a new beginning, and asked Iraqis to unite, join hands and participate in governing the country.

Maliki read out the lengthy agenda for his new government, including human rights, battling corruption⁹, improving relations with Iraq's neighbors, boosting security, and expanding services to the Iraqi public.

Iraqi legislators gave a show of hands to approve the government's program before the prime minister read out his list of new ministers, one by one, for approval.

The new ministers then took the oath of office, with Maliki keeping several top posts himself, temporarily. He insisted he had done his best to form his government, but that many were angry with him, because posts were few and job-seekers numerous. He also vowed¹⁰ to appoint more women ministers for the remaining positions.

Analysts¹² warn, however, that there are some negotiations¹³ ahead. The big test will be whether the members of this new national unity¹⁴ government, who have spent the past nine months fighting and arguing with each other, can pull together for the good of the whole country.

Analyst¹¹ Marina Ottaway of the Carnegie Endowment for Peace points out there are several questions remaining to be answered now that Maliki has formed his government.

"There are two key issues now: one, what he does with the ministries that he kept in his hands for the time being, because those are crucial ministries and the second is: can a coalition¹⁵ that contains so many parties in it really govern? We can only wait and see on that," said Ottaway.

Maliki's national unity government contains representatives from each of Iraq's main political and religious groupings, among them Shi'ites, Sunnis and Kurds. Twenty-nine of the 42 ministerial posts were filled on a permanent basis and 13 were filled temporarily.

1 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。

2 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

3 turmoil   

n.骚乱，混乱，动乱

参考例句：

• His mind was in such a turmoil that he couldn't get to sleep.内心的纷扰使他无法入睡。
• The robbery put the village in a turmoil.抢劫使全村陷入混乱。

4 gathering   

n.集会，聚会，聚集

参考例句：

• He called on Mr. White to speak at the gathering.他请怀特先生在集会上讲话。
• He is on the wing gathering material for his novels.他正忙于为他的小说收集资料。

5 accomplishment   

n.完成，成就，（pl.）造诣，技能

参考例句：

• The series of paintings is quite an accomplishment.这一系列的绘画真是了不起的成就。
• Money will be crucial to the accomplishment of our objectives.要实现我们的目标，钱是至关重要的。

6 tribulations   

n.苦难( tribulation的名词复数 )；艰难；苦难的缘由；痛苦

参考例句：

• the tribulations of modern life 现代生活的苦恼
• The film is about the trials and tribulations of adolescence. 这部电影讲述了青春期的麻烦和苦恼。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 rivalry   

n.竞争，竞赛，对抗

参考例句：

• The quarrel originated in rivalry between the two families.这次争吵是两家不和引起的。
• He had a lot of rivalry with his brothers and sisters.他和兄弟姐妹间经常较劲。

8 lengthy   

adj.漫长的，冗长的

参考例句：

• We devoted a lengthy and full discussion to this topic.我们对这个题目进行了长时间的充分讨论。
• The professor wrote a lengthy book on Napoleon.教授写了一部有关拿破仑的巨著。

9 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。

10 vowed   

起誓，发誓（vow的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• He vowed quite solemnly that he would carry out his promise. 他非常庄严地发誓要实现他的诺言。
• I vowed to do more of the cooking myself. 我发誓自己要多动手做饭。

11 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。

12 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。

13 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。

14 unity   

n.团结，联合，统一；和睦，协调

参考例句：

• When we speak of unity,we do not mean unprincipled peace.所谓团结，并非一团和气。
• We must strengthen our unity in the face of powerful enemies.大敌当前，我们必须加强团结。

15 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。