VOA标准英语2012--Egypt's Politics Move Ahead, Economy Lags Behind

Egypt's Politics Move Ahead, Economy Lags Behind

Egypt's revolution bears fruit this month with the nation's first widely-contested presidential election. But another force behind last year's uprising - economic discontent - has yet to be eased.

For some, there is no end in sight. Mohamed Said Zaki is among the estimated 25 percent of Egypt's youth who are unemployed¹. He said he doesn't know where the country is headed. "We come out of one crisis to go into another."

Rising prices unchecked

At a market in the Delta² town Zagazig, northeast of Cairo, business is tough for vegetable vendor³ Nagy el Din⁴ Osman. He said that after the revolution, prices soared and there was no monitoring or controls.

Part of the problem is that in the chaos⁵ of the last year, black marketeers have made fortunes from subsidized goods. Zaki said average Egyptians now face shortages. He said he can't get such basic commodities as a loaf of bread or a canister of gas.

It's not just individual Egyptians who are hurting. The nation's debts are mounting, foreign reserves are dropping, and every flare-up of political protest delays recovery in the key tourism industry.

Western-oriented economists⁶ say the nation needs an injection of foreign cash to push through the crisis, but distrust of foreign powers runs deep. A survey earlier this year indicated a majority of Egyptians don't want U.S. help.

Accusations⁷ of rampant⁸ corruption⁹

More to the point, say some, Egypt is rich enough on its own. Corruption, they argue, is the problem.

Zaki said the country has lots of resources, but he argued they are not equally distributed.

Most candidates have promised to stamp out the cronyism¹⁰ and favoritism that marked the economy under the old government. But their economic platforms, for the large part, remain generalities. And even for those with concrete plans, without a constitution it remains¹¹ unclear how much power the next president will even wield¹².

The promise of a better life under new leaders was one of the implicit¹³ promises of Egypt's revolution. Abdel Hamid Sayed, a retiree sitting in a Zagazig cafe, has heard a lifetime of promises.

As he pointed¹⁴ to the waiters and the patrons nearby, he said all that was needed is that these poor people could make a living. That's all we need, he added, from the president or anyone.

1 unemployed   

adj.失业的，没有工作的；未动用的，闲置的

参考例句：

• There are now over four million unemployed workers in this country.这个国家现有四百万失业人员。
• The unemployed hunger for jobs.失业者渴望得到工作。

2 delta   

n.（流的）角洲

参考例句：

• He has been to the delta of the Nile.他曾去过尼罗河三角洲。
• The Nile divides at its mouth and forms a delta.尼罗河在河口分岔，形成了一个三角洲。

3 vendor   

n.卖主；小贩

参考例句：

• She looked at the vendor who cheated her the other day with distaste.她厌恶地望着那个前几天曾经欺骗过她的小贩。
• He must inform the vendor immediately.他必须立即通知卖方。

4 din   

n.喧闹声，嘈杂声

参考例句：

• The bustle and din gradually faded to silence as night advanced.随着夜越来越深，喧闹声逐渐沉寂。
• They tried to make themselves heard over the din of the crowd.他们力图让自己的声音盖过人群的喧闹声。

5 chaos   

n.混乱，无秩序

参考例句：

• After the failure of electricity supply the city was in chaos.停电后，城市一片混乱。
• The typhoon left chaos behind it.台风后一片混乱。

6 economists   

n.经济学家，经济专家( economist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The sudden rise in share prices has confounded economists. 股价的突然上涨使经济学家大惑不解。
• Foreign bankers and economists cautiously welcomed the minister's initiative. 外国银行家和经济学家对部长的倡议反应谨慎。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 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。

8 rampant   

adj.(植物)蔓生的；狂暴的，无约束的

参考例句：

• Sickness was rampant in the area.该地区疾病蔓延。
• You cannot allow children to rampant through the museum.你不能任由小孩子在博物馆里乱跑。

9 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。

10 cronyism   

n.任人唯亲，对好朋友的偏袒

参考例句：

• Many small town mayor and city official practice cronyism.许多小镇的市长和大城市的官员都有任人唯亲的行为。
• Bringing business people into politics can also produce corruption and cronyism.商人从政也容易带来腐败和任人唯亲。

11 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

12 wield   

vt.行使，运用，支配；挥，使用(武器等)

参考例句：

• They wield enormous political power.他们行使巨大的政治权力。
• People may wield the power in a democracy.在民主国家里，人民可以行使权力。

13 implicit   

a.暗示的，含蓄的，不明晰的，绝对的

参考例句：

• A soldier must give implicit obedience to his officers. 士兵必须绝对服从他的长官。
• Her silence gave implicit consent. 她的沉默表示默许。

14 pointed   

adj.尖的，直截了当的

参考例句：

• He gave me a very sharp pointed pencil.他给我一支削得非常尖的铅笔。
• She wished to show Mrs.John Dashwood by this pointed invitation to her brother.她想通过对达茨伍德夫人提出直截了当的邀请向她的哥哥表示出来。