VOA标准英语2011--Turkish Youth Uneasy With Leadership

Turkish Youth Uneasy With Leadership

 

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has become a hero of the Arab street, a leader determined² to raise his country's profile in the region. He speaks of a balance between Islam and secularism⁴, and praises Turkey's model of democracy. Not everyone, however, is comfortable with his leadership.

Istanbul is a hip¹, largely secular³ city in this Muslim-majority nation. The youth here smoke, drink, get tattoos⁵, and like Berk Erkogan, skateboard in the city's parks. But when it comes to politics, the conversation stops.

"I do not want to talk too much, but we are going more Islamic than secular. Nowadays, we can even be punished for our thoughts," said Erkogan.

Prime Minister Erdogan commands respect and popularity among many at home and abroad. His ruling AK party spokesman Huseyin Celik dismisses the idea that Erdogan's conservative agenda is repressive.

"Talk of an autocratic leader or heading toward a totalitarian regime in this country has nothing to do with what we have here," said Celik.

Student Cansu Ergun and her friends live comfortably in a global world connected through the Internet. They buy jewelry⁶ on eBay, write blogs, DJ at local clubs. They tend to ignore politics.

Turkey's Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan addresses members of parliament from his ruling AK Party during a meeting at the Turkish parliament in Ankara, Turkey, October 11, 2011.

Ergun believes people would protest, though, if those freedoms were taken away.

"But in Turkey people are very silent actually, they do not protest too much, like because they are like very used to being shutted up, because government does not let people speak too much. But if there were a big radical⁷ change backwards⁸ people would do something for that, I believe, I want to believe," said Ergun.

Faruk Logoglu of Turkey's opposition⁹ Republican People's Party agrees that people are too frightened to speak out. He said Turkey's democracy and Western lifestyle are under threat by Erdogan's ruling party.

"They have in mind reducing the scope of secularism in favor of a more religious outlook," said Logoglu.

He said the government has thrown dozens of journalists in jail, and blocked sites like YouTube. He said the result is an atmosphere of fear.

"People are not just afraid to talk to you, but they are afraid to talk to each other, because there is widespread wiretapping in this country and this is a problem that unfortunately affects all of us," said Logoglu.

Turkish youth are proud of their country. Where their future lies depends on how well Erdogan navigates¹⁰ the path between a conservative ideology¹¹ and outspoken¹² freedom.

1 hip   

n.臀部，髋；屋脊

参考例句：

• The thigh bone is connected to the hip bone.股骨连着髋骨。
• The new coats blouse gracefully above the hip line.新外套在臀围线上优美地打着褶皱。

2 determined   

adj.坚定的；有决心的

参考例句：

• I have determined on going to Tibet after graduation.我已决定毕业后去西藏。
• He determined to view the rooms behind the office.他决定查看一下办公室后面的房间。

3 secular   

n.牧师，凡人；adj.世俗的，现世的，不朽的

参考例句：

• We live in an increasingly secular society.我们生活在一个日益非宗教的社会。
• Britain is a plural society in which the secular predominates.英国是个世俗主导的多元社会。

4 secularism   

n.现世主义；世俗主义；宗教与教育分离论；政教分离论

参考例句：

• Unless are devoted to God, secularism shall not leave us. 除非我们奉献于神，否则凡俗之心便不会离开我们。 来自互联网
• They are no longer a huge threat to secularism. 他们已不再是民主的巨大威胁。 来自互联网

5 tattoos   

n.文身( tattoo的名词复数 )；归营鼓；军队夜间表演操；连续有节奏的敲击声v.刺青，文身( tattoo的第三人称单数 )；连续有节奏地敲击；作连续有节奏的敲击

参考例句：

• His arms were covered in tattoos. 他的胳膊上刺满了花纹。
• His arms were covered in tattoos. 他的双臂刺满了纹身。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 jewelry   

n.（jewllery）（总称）珠宝

参考例句：

• The burglars walked off with all my jewelry.夜盗偷走了我的全部珠宝。
• Jewelry and lace are mostly feminine belongings.珠宝和花边多数是女性用品。

7 radical   

n.激进份子，原子团，根号；adj.根本的，激进的，彻底的

参考例句：

• The patient got a radical cure in the hospital.病人在医院得到了根治。
• She is radical in her demands.她的要求十分偏激。

8 backwards   

adv.往回地，向原处，倒，相反，前后倒置地

参考例句：

• He turned on the light and began to pace backwards and forwards.他打开电灯并开始走来走去。
• All the girls fell over backwards to get the party ready.姑娘们迫不及待地为聚会做准备。

9 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

10 navigates   

v.给（船舶、飞机等）引航，导航( navigate的第三人称单数 )；（从海上、空中等）横越；横渡；飞跃

参考例句：

• Dolpins also navigates by some kind of echo system. 原来海豚也是借助某种回声系统寻向的。 来自辞典例句
• Navigates in menus, lists, choice screens and into edited texts. 可以操纵菜单、列表、屏幕选项和进入编辑文本。 来自互联网

11 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。

12 outspoken   

adj.直言无讳的，坦率的，坦白无隐的

参考例句：

• He was outspoken in his criticism.他在批评中直言不讳。
• She is an outspoken critic of the school system in this city.她是这座城市里学校制度的坦率的批评者。