VOA标准英语2010年-Celebrity Political Candidates Raise C

A sexually provocative¹ singer and actress's campaign for political office in Indonesia has triggered debate over the growing role of celebrities² in the young democracy.

If Indonesian celebrity³ Julia Perez is famous for one thing, it is being sexy. Her pop songs are filled with innuendo⁴, her acting⁵ roles are steamy and her photo shoots leave little to the imagination. Her last album, called Kamasutra, came with a free condom.

But Perez, popularly known as Jupe, has turned her eye to politics. A coalition⁶ of nine political parties in the rural region of Pacitan has asked her to run for district head.

 

The election is only for a minor⁷ position but it is causing a stir for two reasons. First, because Jupe's sexy image does not sit well with many conservative Indonesians. And second, because the East Java community is the hometown of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.

Pacitan is far from the bright lights of Indonesia's capital, Jakarta. Cows mill on an empty windswept beach where there are a couple of modest hotels. The main industries are farming and fishing.

Sutikno, the local head Hanura, one of the parties wooing Jupe, says the current district head from Yudhoyono's Democrat⁸ Party has failed Pacitan.

Sutikno says what Pacitan needs is foreign investment and Jupe – who was raised in Europe and speaks English, French and Dutch – can bring it in.

Sutikno says he doubts local people will reject Jupe simply because of her sexy image. He says he was happy that when he met Jupe, she wore revealing clothing rather than a modest outfit⁹. He says this shows at least she is more honest than many other politicians, who philander¹⁰ or engage in corruption¹¹ while projecting an upstanding public image.

But not everyone agrees. Jupe's candidacy has caused a media storm and some leaders in Jakarta of the parties backing her have rejected her candidacy. Many see her candidacy - as well as the political campaigns of other celebrities - as a sign Indonesian politics has been steadily¹² losing quality since the overthrow¹³ of the Suharto dictatorship in 1998.

Earlier this year the home minister, Gamawan Fauzi, proposed requirements that political candidates have a minimum level of experience in public service. That was widely interpreted as a response to Jupe's candidacy.

Jupe dismisses accusations¹⁴ she is unqualified, or too sexy, for the job. She also says being a famous entertainer – or artis, as they are known in Indonesia – at least means voters know enough about her to judge her on her merits.

"This is a sadness, also for me you know. People choose artis because they know them," says Jupe. "But I think this is like a good point also, they know them. What about if you don't know that person? What about if that person is a killer¹⁵, a corruptor?"

Mohammad Qodari, a political analyst¹⁶, says the rise of celebrity candidates is a result of Indonesia's confusing political scene. There are scores of political parties, but often there are few differences among them in ideology¹⁷ or policy.

The start of direct district-level elections in 2005 made the rise of celebrity candidates even more pronounced. But Qodari says Indonesian voters are getting smarter, and do not hesitate to kick out politicians who perform badly. He says political parties often ignore that.

"The main motivation is they [political parties] want to win and they have this main assumption, sweeping¹⁸ assumption, that all celebrities are popular and all celebrities have high electability and high probability to win, which is not the case," Qodari said.

In Pacitan, opinion is mixed but there is little strong objection to Jupe's candidacy.

Alexander is a fisherman at the port. He says the local sailors have few objections to being represented by a sexy woman.

He says the important thing is that the next district head improves the lives of local people. But if Jupe is elected, he says, she should dress a bit more modestly while on the job.

At a mosque¹⁹, prayer leader Tumadi also says Jupe is free to run as a candidate, despite her image.

But Tumadi says, as a Muslim he thinks it is better that a man, and not a woman, takes the job.

 

1 provocative   

adj.挑衅的，煽动的，刺激的，挑逗的

参考例句：

• She wore a very provocative dress.她穿了一件非常性感的裙子。
• His provocative words only fueled the argument further.他的挑衅性讲话只能使争论进一步激化。

2 celebrities   

n.（尤指娱乐界的）名人( celebrity的名词复数 )；名流；名声；名誉

参考例句：

• He only invited A-list celebrities to his parties. 他只邀请头等名流参加他的聚会。
• a TV chat show full of B-list celebrities 由众多二流人物参加的电视访谈节目

3 celebrity   

n.名人，名流；著名，名声，名望

参考例句：

• Tom found himself something of a celebrity. 汤姆意识到自己已小有名气了。
• He haunted famous men, hoping to get celebrity for himself. 他常和名人在一起, 希望借此使自己获得名气。

4 innuendo   

n.暗指，讽刺

参考例句：

• The report was based on rumours,speculation,and innuendo.这份报告建立在谣言、臆断和含沙射影的基础之上。
• Mark told by innuendo that the opposing team would lose the game.马克暗讽地说敌队会在比赛中输掉。

5 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。

6 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。

7 minor   

adj.较小(少)的，较次要的；n.辅修学科；vi.辅修

参考例句：

• The young actor was given a minor part in the new play.年轻的男演员在这出新戏里被分派担任一个小角色。
• I gave him a minor share of my wealth.我把小部分财产给了他。

8 democrat   

n.民主主义者，民主人士；民主党党员

参考例句：

• The Democrat and the Public criticized each other.民主党人和共和党人互相攻击。
• About two years later,he was defeated by Democrat Jimmy Carter.大约两年后，他被民主党人杰米卡特击败。

9 outfit   

n.（为特殊用途的）全套装备，全套服装

参考例句：

• Jenney bought a new outfit for her daughter's wedding.珍妮为参加女儿的婚礼买了一套新装。
• His father bought a ski outfit for him on his birthday.他父亲在他生日那天给他买了一套滑雪用具。

10 philander   

v.不真诚地恋爱，调戏

参考例句：

• He spent his time philander with the girls in the village.他把时间花在和村子里的姑娘们调情上了。
• I had no time or inclination to philander.我是没有时间拈花惹草的，也不喜欢。

11 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。

12 steadily   

adv.稳定地；不变地；持续地

参考例句：

• The scope of man's use of natural resources will steadily grow.人类利用自然资源的广度将日益扩大。
• Our educational reform was steadily led onto the correct path.我们的教学改革慢慢上轨道了。

13 overthrow   

v.推翻，打倒，颠覆；n.推翻，瓦解，颠覆

参考例句：

• After the overthrow of the government,the country was in chaos.政府被推翻后，这个国家处于混乱中。
• The overthrow of his plans left him much discouraged.他的计划的失败使得他很气馁。

14 accusations   

n.指责( accusation的名词复数 )；指控；控告；（被告发、控告的）罪名

参考例句：

• There were accusations of plagiarism. 曾有过关于剽窃的指控。
• He remained unruffled by their accusations. 对于他们的指控他处之泰然。

15 killer   

n.杀人者，杀人犯，杀手，屠杀者

参考例句：

• Heart attacks have become Britain's No.1 killer disease.心脏病已成为英国的头号致命疾病。
• The bulk of the evidence points to him as her killer.大量证据证明是他杀死她的。

16 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。

17 ideology   

n.意识形态，(政治或社会的)思想意识

参考例句：

• The ideology has great influence in the world.这种思想体系在世界上有很大的影响。
• The ideal is to strike a medium between ideology and inspiration.我的理想是在意识思想和灵感鼓动之间找到一个折衷。

18 sweeping   

adj.范围广大的，一扫无遗的

参考例句：

• The citizens voted for sweeping reforms.公民投票支持全面的改革。
• Can you hear the wind sweeping through the branches?你能听到风掠过树枝的声音吗？

19 mosque   

n.清真寺

参考例句：

• The mosque is a activity site and culture center of Muslim religion.清真寺为穆斯林宗教活动场所和文化中心。
• Some years ago the clock in the tower of the mosque got out of order.几年前，清真寺钟楼里的大钟失灵了。