VOA标准英语2012--Russians Vote for President

Russians Vote for President

In voting from the Pacific to the Baltic, turnout appears strong. Three months ago, Russia’s parliamentary elections were clouded by charges of widespread fraud. To combat fraud this time, more than 200,000 people are volunteering as poll watchers, and one million more are registered to watch the voting on web cameras installed in all of Russia’s polling places.

At a Moscow school, Alexander Pavlovsky, a 37-year-old advertising¹ account manager, explains why he has volunteered:

Planning to stay with the vote count through the night, he says he wants Russia’s next generation to only know clean and democratic elections.

Judging by the steady flow of voters, many in fur coats and hats, it appears that, after a winter of controversy² over the parliamentary elections, turnout for the presidential contest is strong.

Maria Tarasova, a history teacher at the school, presides over the local voting committee. She says three months of national furor³ over fraud accusations⁴ brought two changes to her local voting station.

She says there are more citizen observers and there are two web cameras. Anyone with an Internet connection can watch the voting process live.

About one-half of Russian adults now use the Internet, a new factor in this election.

Vitaly Chobanu, an Internet user and first time voter, said he was voting for the new face in the five-candidate presidential race - Mikhail Prokhorov.

He says he likes Prokhorov’s pro-business, pro-democracy stance.

Support for Prokhorov also came from Olga Mikhailova. Dressed in a fur coat, she runs a small business that sells fur coats.

She says she liked Putin, but says running a small business has become increasingly difficult. She says she hopes that Prokhorov, a businessman, “will change something because it feels like we're being strangled.”

But two middle aged⁵ men coming quickly out of the polling station said they voted for Putin, who served two terms as president before becoming prime minister.

Why? Asks one. For stability.

Lyudmila Elbakri, a retired⁶ economist⁷, lingers to talk.

She says she lived through the stagnation⁸ years of the 1970s under long ruling Soviet⁹ leader Leonid Brezhnev.

She says she voted for Prokhorov. At age 75, she said Russia should not stop, it needs changes.

If Putin wins today’s vote, he will begin a six-year term in May. After that, he would be eligible¹⁰ to run for a second six-year term, a move that would put him at the top of Russian politics for a quarter-century.

1 advertising   

n.广告业；广告活动 a.广告的；广告业务的

参考例句：

• Can you give me any advice on getting into advertising? 你能指点我如何涉足广告业吗?
• The advertising campaign is aimed primarily at young people. 这个广告宣传运动主要是针对年轻人的。

2 controversy   

n.争论，辩论，争吵

参考例句：

• That is a fact beyond controversy.那是一个无可争论的事实。
• We ran the risk of becoming the butt of every controversy.我们要冒使自己在所有的纷争中都成为众矢之的的风险。

3 furor   

n.狂热；大骚动

参考例句：

• His choice of words created quite a furor.他的措辞引起了相当大的轰动。
• The half hour lecture caused an enormous furor.那半小时的演讲引起了极大的轰动。

4 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。

5 aged   

adj.年老的，陈年的

参考例句：

• He had put on weight and aged a little.他胖了，也老点了。
• He is aged,but his memory is still good.他已年老，然而记忆力还好。

6 retired   

adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的

参考例句：

• The old man retired to the country for rest.这位老人下乡休息去了。
• Many retired people take up gardening as a hobby.许多退休的人都以从事园艺为嗜好。

7 economist   

n.经济学家，经济专家，节俭的人

参考例句：

• He cast a professional economist's eyes on the problem.他以经济学行家的眼光审视这个问题。
• He's an economist who thinks he knows all the answers.他是个经济学家，自以为什么都懂。

8 stagnation   

n. 停滞

参考例句：

• Poor economic policies led to a long period of stagnation and decline. 糟糕的经济政策道致了长时间的经济萧条和下滑。
• Motion is absolute while stagnation is relative. 运动是绝对的，而静止是相对的。

9 Soviet   

adj.苏联的，苏维埃的；n.苏维埃

参考例句：

• Zhukov was a marshal of the former Soviet Union.朱可夫是前苏联的一位元帅。
• Germany began to attack the Soviet Union in 1941.德国在1941年开始进攻苏联。

10 eligible   

adj.有条件被选中的；(尤指婚姻等)合适(意)的

参考例句：

• He is an eligible young man.他是一个合格的年轻人。
• Helen married an eligible bachelor.海伦嫁给了一个中意的单身汉。