VOA标准英语2012--Egyptian Villagers Debate Candidates' Economic Plans

 

Egyptian Villagers Debate Candidates' Economic Plans

Life in rural Egypt under the previous government was hard. Poverty was endemic - a third of Egyptians live on less than $2 a day. Prospects¹ for change were almost nil². So the promise of new leadership has many in the countryside upbeat.

In Mazoura, a village in Beni Suef, south of Cairo, farmer Abu Samra Zaki Mahmoud is pinning his hopes on presidential candidate Ahmed Shafiq - an old guard technocrat³ credited with bringing Egypt's aviation up to modern standards.

Samra says Shafiq is a man of experience in politics and economics. “He knows how to put the country in shape," he said. 

Samra is canvassing⁴ Mazoura on Shafiq's behalf. With some voters, it's an easy sell.

A voter calls Shafiq a role model - someone who would benefit villagers like himself and bring reform.

Like many Egyptians, the people of Mazoura feel the burden of rising prices and unemployment, declining subsidies⁵ and a bureaucracy that quashes initiative.

But those same conditions helped propel Shafiq's rival, the Muslim Brotherhood's Mohamed Morsi, to first place in an earlier round of voting.

The Islamist group's long history of grassroots charity has given it an edge, as evidenced as Abu Samra makes his way through a particularly pro-Morsi lane.

Despite the differences that spawn⁶ such loyalties⁷, some say Morsi and Shafiq are surprisingly close on economic matters.

"Both candidates subscribe⁸ to a private-led economy, to some government intervention⁹ in the form of rules and regulations to streamline¹⁰ the process," said Magda Kandil, the director of the Egyptian Center for Economic Studies. "There are more of targeted social measures to provide a pro-active support to the small and medium enterprises.”

The similarities won't stop some voters from arguing over the candidates' relative merits.

Kandil says voters should be concerned that neither candidate has shown specifically how he plans to achieve ambitious goals.

"They are not very concrete in terms of the instruments and accordingly I am very concerned about their ability to connect with reality,” said Kandil.

It’s an observation that, if born out, likely means neither candidate will be able to ease economic woes¹¹ any time soon.

1 prospects   

n.希望，前途(恒为复数)

参考例句：

• There is a mood of pessimism in the company about future job prospects. 公司中有一种对工作前景悲观的情绪。
• They are less sanguine about the company's long-term prospects. 他们对公司的远景不那么乐观。

2 nil   

n.无，全无，零

参考例句：

• My knowledge of the subject is practically nil.我在这方面的知识几乎等于零。
• Their legal rights are virtually nil.他们实际上毫无法律权利。

3 technocrat   

n.技术人员，技术官僚

参考例句：

• He is a distant technocrat who is unable to connect with ordinary voters.作为一个冷淡的技术官僚，他不能做到与普通选民息息相通。
• Jack Lew,the new budget director,is the quintessential technocrat.新预算主管杰克·卢就是一个典型的技术官僚。

4 canvassing   

v.（在政治方面）游说( canvass的现在分词 )；调查（如选举前选民的）意见；为讨论而提出（意见等）；详细检查

参考例句：

• He spent the whole month canvassing for votes. 他花了整整一个月四处游说拉选票。
• I'm canvassing for the Conservative Party. 我在为保守党拉选票。 来自辞典例句

5 subsidies   

n.补贴，津贴，补助金( subsidy的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• European agriculture ministers failed to break the deadlock over farm subsidies. 欧洲各国农业部长在农业补贴问题上未能打破僵局。
• Agricultural subsidies absorb about half the EU's income. 农业补贴占去了欧盟收入的大约一半。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 spawn   

n.卵，产物，后代，结果；vt.产卵，种菌丝于，产生，造成；vi.产卵，大量生产

参考例句：

• The fish were madly pushing their way upstream to spawn.鱼群为产卵而疯狂地向上游挤进。
• These fish will lay spawn in about one month from now.这些鱼大约一个月内会产卵。

7 loyalties   

n.忠诚( loyalty的名词复数 )；忠心；忠于…感情；要忠于…的强烈感情

参考例句：

• an intricate network of loyalties and relationships 忠诚与义气构成的盘根错节的网络
• Rows with one's in-laws often create divided loyalties. 与姻亲之间的矛盾常常让人两面为难。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 subscribe   

vi.(to)订阅，订购；同意；vt.捐助，赞助

参考例句：

• I heartily subscribe to that sentiment.我十分赞同那个观点。
• The magazine is trying to get more readers to subscribe.该杂志正大力发展新订户。

9 intervention   

n.介入，干涉，干预

参考例句：

• The government's intervention in this dispute will not help.政府对这场争论的干预不会起作用。
• Many people felt he would be hostile to the idea of foreign intervention.许多人觉得他会反对外来干预。

10 streamline   

vt.使成流线型；使简化；使现代化

参考例句：

• We must streamline our methods.我们必须简化方法。
• Any liquid or gas passing it will have streamline flow.任何通过它的液体或气体将呈流线型的流动。

11 woes   

困境( woe的名词复数 )； 悲伤； 我好苦哇； 某人就要倒霉

参考例句：

• Thanks for listening to my woes. 谢谢您听我诉说不幸的遭遇。
• She has cried the blues about its financial woes. 对于经济的困难她叫苦不迭。