VOA标准英语2013--Brazil President Holds Emergency Meeting Over Growing Protests

 

Brazil President Holds Emergency Meeting Over Growing Protests

More than a million protesters rallied in dozens of cities across Brazil Thursday, including at least 300,000 in Rio de Janeiro where police fired tear gas to contain the crowds. Protesters also stormed the foreign ministry¹ in the capital, Brasilia, throwing burning objects and firecrackers into the building before being repelled² by police.

Rousseff met with several government ministers to discuss how to respond to the protests, the country's biggest in two decades. She has already called off a trip to Japan planned for next week.

This week's protests were originally triggered by an increase in bus and subway fares — proposals which the government has since scrapped³ — but protesters have since focused on what they say is the government's neglect of public services, high taxes, and rampant⁴ corruption⁵.

Gonzalo Abarca of VOA's Latin American Service says part of the problem is that the protests appear to be spontaneous and have no single leader.

"The government has a big, big problem. There is not a specific person that they can talk to," Abarca said. "Eighty percent of these demonstrators, according to O Globo, one of the most important newspapers, are non-partisan so there is no one single leader."

Abarca says political scandals that have erupted across Brazil have helped escalate⁶ the protests, but perhaps the key factor driving growing unrest is poverty. Many Brazilians, he says, cannot have basic needs met while the government spends lavishly⁷ in preparation for next year's World Cup and the 2016 Olympic games

"It's hard for them to understand that the government is going to invest in the World Cup, billions of dollars, and they cannot even get subsidies⁸ for going to school, education, transportation," he said.

Some protests have targeted the billions being spent to host the 2016 Summer Games, along with next year's World Cup and this month's Confederations Cup. Police in Rio cordoned⁹ off the area around Maracana Stadium Thursday, worried that protesters would try to disrupt the Confederations Cup football match under way inside.

Many protesters have been undeterred by the news that Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro have scrapped plans to increase public transportation fees.

1 ministry   

n.(政府的)部；牧师

参考例句：

• They sent a deputation to the ministry to complain.他们派了一个代表团到部里投诉。
• We probed the Air Ministry statements.我们调查了空军部的记录。

2 repelled   

v.击退( repel的过去式和过去分词 )；使厌恶；排斥；推开

参考例句：

• They repelled the enemy. 他们击退了敌军。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The minister tremulously, but decidedly, repelled the old man's arm. 而丁梅斯代尔牧师却哆里哆嗦地断然推开了那老人的胳臂。 来自英汉文学 - 红字

3 scrapped   

废弃(scrap的过去式与过去分词)； 打架

参考例句：

• This machine is so old that it will soon have to be scrapped. 这架机器太旧，快报废了。
• It had been thought that passport controls would be scrapped. 人们曾认为会放开护照管制。

4 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。

5 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。

6 escalate   

v.(使)逐步增长(或发展)，(使)逐步升级

参考例句：

• It would tempt Israel's neighbors to escalate their demands.它将诱使以色列的邻国不断把他们的要求升级。
• Defeat could cause one side or other to escalate the conflict.失败可能会导致其中一方将冲突升级。

7 lavishly   

adv.慷慨地，大方地

参考例句：

• His house was lavishly adorned.他的屋子装饰得很华丽。
• The book is lavishly illustrated in full colour.这本书里有大量全彩插图。

8 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》

9 cordoned   

v.封锁，用警戒线围住( cordon的过去式 )

参考例句：

• Police cordoned off the area until the bomb was defused. 警方封锁了这个地区直到炸弹被拆除为止。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Police cordoned off the road and diverted commuter traffic. 警察封锁了道路并分流交通。 来自《简明英汉词典》