VOA标准英语2011--Egypt's Old Guard Faces New Generation

As the post-Hosni Mubarak phase begins in Egypt, analysts¹ say the military, which is now in power, is facing off against young Egyptians who have made clear they aspire² to democracy.
Egypt's military leader, the Soviet-trained defense³ minister, Mohammed Hussein Tantawi drove on Saturday morning to Tahrir Square, the center of the protests seeking a transition to democratic, civilian⁴ rule. He did not get out of his car.
Paul Beran, a Middle East expert from Harvard University, says so far, given the change in power, Tantawi is being well accepted, but that he will have to manage the situation very carefully.
Beran says Egypt's generational shift is also taking place within the military itself, one of many challenges facing Tantawi.
"[Tantawi] seems to have the goodwill⁵ of the vast majority of Egyptians and indeed those include the military, and so we can assume that, I do not think he has been plotting for this day, but I am sure he has been thinking about it for a number of weeks and wondering how the next steps happen," he said.
So far, the military council now ruling Egypt has issued repeated statements urging cooperation while promising⁶ a peaceful transition to an elected civilian democratic state.
A group called the Coalition⁷ of the Youth of the Revolution held a news conference saying protesters should leave Tahrir Square and return next Friday to honor those who died during the protests.
Others said they needed to continue demonstrating until Egypt's 30-year emergency law which allows detention⁸ without charges is lifted.
Robert Danin, from the U.S.-based Council on Foreign Relations, says this demand puts the military in a difficult position.
"Ironically, the emergency law looks a little more relevant today than it did a few days ago, a few weeks ago, because of what is happening on the streets but clearly this is one of the most hated elements of the old regime and so to be smart they are going to have to lift it," said Danin.
Ed Husain, a U.S.-based expert on Islamic fundamentalism, says that in terms of current political dynamics⁹, it is important to note that Islamic extremists who tried to topple Mr. Mubarak, repeatedly failed, and that the current movement was youth-driven and non-violent.
"The Jihadis who wanted to overthrow¹⁰ him, they tried again and again using any tactic¹¹ possible, but they failed to overthrow him," noted¹² Husain. "As [U.S.] President Barack Obama rightly identified, what we saw this time around was people with the Gandhi, Martin Luther King model winning in the Arab world, inconceivable three weeks ago, but here we are illustrating¹³ the facts that Arabs, like the rest of us in the world want freedom, human rights and democracy."
Later this year, Egyptians are hoping for free and fair elections, but Danin says it is difficult to predict at this point the early electoral frontrunners.
He mentions Omar Suleiman, who was named as vice¹⁴ president during the protests and the current head of the Arab League Egyptian Amr Moussa, as being part of the so-called old guard.
"I tend to think that people that we know well are likely to be the ones who will ultimately be bypassed," noted Danin. "General Tantawi, Omar Suleiman, even to a certain extent Amr Moussa I think, are going to be just too closely associated with the old guard and to the extent that they are singing a new tune¹⁵ perhaps seen as carpetbaggers."
Well-known opposition¹⁶ figures include Ayman Nour, the head of the liberal El-Ghad party, Mohamed ElBaradei, a former UN nuclear watchdog often quoted in foreign media, and Mohamed Badi, the new leader of the Muslim Brotherhood¹⁷.
One of the protest organizers, the Google Internet search engine regional manager Wael Ghonim, 30, has insisted he is not a leader, and that he is not interested in entering politics.
But analysts say they believe a new class of younger political leaders could emerge very quickly, using social media tools, as they did in planning the protests, to further advance their causes and even win future elections.

1 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。

2 aspire   

vi.(to，after)渴望，追求，有志于

参考例句：

• Living together with you is what I aspire toward in my life.和你一起生活是我一生最大的愿望。
• I aspire to be an innovator not a follower.我迫切希望能变成个开创者而不是跟随者。

3 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。

4 civilian   

adj.平民的，民用的，民众的

参考例句：

• There is no reliable information about civilian casualties.关于平民的伤亡还没有确凿的信息。
• He resigned his commission to take up a civilian job.他辞去军职而从事平民工作。

5 goodwill   

n.善意，亲善，信誉，声誉

参考例句：

• His heart is full of goodwill to all men.他心里对所有人都充满着爱心。
• We paid ￡10,000 for the shop,and ￡2000 for its goodwill.我们用一万英镑买下了这家商店，两千英镑买下了它的信誉。

6 promising   

adj.有希望的，有前途的

参考例句：

• The results of the experiments are very promising.实验的结果充满了希望。
• We're trying to bring along one or two promising young swimmers.我们正设法培养出一两名有前途的年轻游泳选手。

7 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。

8 detention   

n.滞留，停留；拘留，扣留；(教育)留下

参考例句：

• He was kept in detention by the police.他被警察扣留了。
• He was in detention in connection with the bribery affair.他因与贿赂事件有牵连而被拘留了。

9 dynamics   

n.力学，动力学，动力，原动力；动态

参考例句：

• In order to succeed,you must master complicated knowledge of dynamics.要取得胜利，你必须掌握很复杂的动力学知识。
• Dynamics is a discipline that cannot be mastered without extensive practice.动力学是一门不做大量习题就不能掌握的学科。

10 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。

11 tactic   

n.战略，策略；adj.战术的，有策略的

参考例句：

• Reducing prices is a common sales tactic.降价是常用的销售策略。
• She had often used the tactic of threatening to resign.她惯用以辞职相威胁的手法。

12 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。

13 illustrating   

给…加插图( illustrate的现在分词 )； 说明； 表明； （用示例、图画等）说明

参考例句：

• He upstaged the other speakers by illustrating his talk with slides. 他演讲中配上幻灯片，比其他演讲人更吸引听众。
• Material illustrating detailed structure of graptolites has been etched from limestone by means of hydrofluoric acid. 表明笔石详细构造的物质是利用氢氟酸从石灰岩中侵蚀出来。

14 vice   

n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的

参考例句：

• He guarded himself against vice.他避免染上坏习惯。
• They are sunk in the depth of vice.他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。

15 tune   

n.调子；和谐，协调；v.调音，调节，调整

参考例句：

• He'd written a tune,and played it to us on the piano.他写了一段曲子，并在钢琴上弹给我们听。
• The boy beat out a tune on a tin can.那男孩在易拉罐上敲出一首曲子。

16 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。

17 brotherhood   

n.兄弟般的关系，手中情谊

参考例句：

• They broke up the brotherhood.他们断绝了兄弟关系。
• They live and work together in complete equality and brotherhood.他们完全平等和兄弟般地在一起生活和工作。