VOA标准英语2010年-Poland Gears Up for Early Presidential

Presidential candidates Jaroslaw Kaczynski from the Law and Justice party and Bronislaw Komorowski, Parliament Speaker and acting¹ president, stand together after a joint² debate in the Polish TV, in Warsaw, Poland, 13 Jun 2010

Poland is preparing to elect a new president on Sunday, with a center-right and far-right candidates in the lead.  The election is being held earlier than originally scheduled, following the death of Polish President Lech Kaczynski in a plane crash.  The crash is still casting its shadow over Polish politics.

 

Sunday, Polish voters cast their ballots³, electing their next president nearly four months earlier than originally planned.  The election date was moved up after Poland's president, Lech Kaczynski, was killed along with 95 others in a plane crash on April 10th near the Russian town, Smolensk.

There are two front-runners. One is Bronislaw Komorowski, from the governing center-right Civic⁴ Platform party. The other is Jaroslaw Kaczynski, twin brother of the late president, who is running for the far-right Law and Justice Party.

Jacek Kucharczyk, of the Warsaw-based Institute of Public Affairs, says the crash at Smolensk did more than just change the date of the election.  He says it could also affect its outcome.

"Before April 10, most people thought that Lech Kaczynski was not electable for a second term," noted⁵ Kucharczyk.  "Most people thought that Civic Platform would recapture the presidency⁶. The Smolensk air disaster changed a lot of that.  Suddenly, it became almost impossible to criticize the legacy⁷ of the late president and this outburst of national emotions, after the disaster, changed the balance of power on the political scene."

Jaroslaw Kaczynski has been trying to convince voters that, as president, he would carry on his late brother's legacy.  The strategy has had some success and, although he still trails Komorowski in opinion polls, one recent poll narrowed Komorowski's lead to as little as two points.

Both Kaczynski and his brother Lech have been known for their combative⁸ attitude toward Poland's historical enemies. But last month, Kaczynski surprised many people by delivering a conciliatory televised speech to Russia.

In the speech, he referred to his "Russian friends" and thanked the Russian people for their sympathy and support.

As political analyst⁹ Jacek Kucharczyk explains, this new approach represents a dramatic shift.

"If you look at the content of Lech Kaczynski's policies, it was basically this sense of threat to Poland coming both from external sources, from Russia, from Germany, from the European Union," noted Kucharczyk.  "Obviously Kaczynski, if he wanted to increase his chances of success, had to play down all these ideas. He's trying to play a sort of moderate, right of the center candidate very much like Komorowksi."

Komorowski too has shied away from confrontational¹⁰ politics in his campaign.

As Komorowski told Polish television, he thinks that problems begin when politicians become more concerned about winning than about serving the state. 

To win the election on Sunday, one of the candidates must secure at least 50 percent of the vote. Otherwise, the two top candidates will be facing each other again on July 4, in a runoff vote.

 

1 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。

2 joint   

adj.联合的，共同的；n.关节，接合处；v.连接，贴合

参考例句：

• I had a bad fall,which put my shoulder out of joint.我重重地摔了一跤，肩膀脫臼了。
• We wrote a letter in joint names.我们联名写了封信。

3 ballots   

n.投票表决( ballot的名词复数 )；选举；选票；投票总数v.（使）投票表决( ballot的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• They're counting the ballots. 他们正在计算选票。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The news of rigged ballots has rubbed off much of the shine of their election victory. 他们操纵选票的消息使他们在选举中获得的胜利大为减色。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 civic   

adj.城市的，都市的，市民的，公民的

参考例句：

• I feel it is my civic duty to vote.我认为投票选举是我作为公民的义务。
• The civic leaders helped to forward the project.市政府领导者协助促进工程的进展。

5 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

6 presidency   

n.总统(校长，总经理)的职位(任期)

参考例句：

• Roosevelt was elected four times to the presidency of the United States.罗斯福连续当选四届美国总统。
• Two candidates are emerging as contestants for the presidency.两位候选人最终成为总统职位竞争者。

7 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。

8 combative   

adj.好战的；好斗的

参考例句：

• Mr. Obama has recently adopted a more combative tone.奥巴马总统近来采取了一种更有战斗性的语调。
• She believes that women are at least as combative as are.她相信女性至少和男性一样好斗。

9 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。

10 confrontational   

adj.挑衅的；对抗的

参考例句：

• Fans love rappers partly because they strike such a confrontational pose. 乐迷热爱这些饶舌艺人一定程度上是因为他们所采取的那种战斗姿态。 来自互联网
• You prefer a non confrontational approach when it comes to resolving disputes. 面对争端，你不喜欢采用对抗性的手段来解决。 来自互联网