VOA标准英语2014--Across Egypt's Political Spectrum, Compromise Elusive 埃及各政治派别难达成共识

 

Across Egypt's Political Spectrum¹, Compromise Elusive² 埃及各政治派别难达成共识

CAIRO — Egyptian Field Marshal Abdel Fattah el-Sissi is widely expected to become the country's next president, drawing on support from voters tired of upheaval³ and domestic media that almost uniformly sing his praises. Now, it seems inevitable⁴ that  another military figure might become president.

The space for political dialogue in Egypt is taken up very much by one man. Field Marshal Abdel Fatah al-Sissi dominates the landscape and, though he has yet to declare his candidacy, his supporters call him the nation's only hope.

Squeezed to the sidelines, Strong Egypt Party founder⁵ Aboul Moneim Aboul Fatouh finds that sense of all or nothing is at the heart of what is wrong with the country, three years after a popular uprising.

He says Egypt had a revolution and offered up martyrs⁶ for the sake of having real elections.

Aboul Fatouh believes the current military-installed government has made “real elections” impossible.  

He argues that in the name of fighting terrorism, the government is oppressing political opposition⁷. What is needed, he says, is dialogue among all sides.

Inclusiveness is something Aboul Fatouh says he tried in the 2012 election. A former Muslim Brotherhood⁸ leader, he presented himself as a moderate independent, attracting everyone from students and housewives to ultraconservative Salafists, all while boasting an unveiled, Marxist woman as a political advisor⁹.   

He saw no such inclusion in the presidency¹⁰ of the race's victor, former Brotherhood colleague Mohamed Morsi. Aboul Fatouh was among those who last year called for early elections. But he rejected the military's forcing Morsi out.  

He says the military claimed it acted to prevent a civil war, but only succeeded in bringing one about, with killings¹¹, ongoing¹² conflict and deepening polarization.

Some see the problem as a lack of seasoned politicians to face up to the problems. Aboul Fatouh, for example, is an accomplished¹³ physician, but in the last campaign lacked what many felt was a credible¹⁴ economic plan.

Political analyst¹⁵ Hisham Kassem, who thinks Aboul Fatouh would only gain single digit¹⁶ support, also finds fault with a public - even one which overthrew¹⁷ long-serving autocrat¹⁸ Hosni Mubarak -- sadly comfortable with strongman leadership.

“In an authoritarian¹⁹ rule, you are always stuck with a lot of hypocrites, okay," he said. "And if Sissi tomorrow decides I am not running, they are going to look for the runner up and move their guns [support] there.”

If so, they may have options. Retired²⁰ Armed Forces Chief of Staff Sami Annan has made plans to enter the race.

Aboul Fatouh blames not just military figures, but also the stubbornness of Egypt's other political parties.

He says politicians lack experience in the art of dialogue, acceptance, of gaining something and losing something else - the very nature of democratic politics.  

 

Even this potential bridge candidate has given up on the possibility of give-and-take in a country he now calls a 'republic of fear.'  Aboul Fatouh is refusing to run.

1 spectrum   

n.谱，光谱，频谱；范围，幅度，系列

参考例句：

• This is a kind of atomic spectrum.这是一种原子光谱。
• We have known much of the constitution of the solar spectrum.关于太阳光谱的构成，我们已了解不少。

2 elusive   

adj.难以表达(捉摸)的；令人困惑的；逃避的

参考例句：

• Try to catch the elusive charm of the original in translation.翻译时设法把握住原文中难以捉摸的风韵。
• Interpol have searched all the corners of the earth for the elusive hijackers.国际刑警组织已在世界各地搜查在逃的飞机劫持者。

3 upheaval   

n.胀起，(地壳)的隆起；剧变，动乱

参考例句：

• It was faced with the greatest social upheaval since World War Ⅱ.它面临第二次世界大战以来最大的社会动乱。
• The country has been thrown into an upheaval.这个国家已经陷入动乱之中。

4 inevitable   

adj.不可避免的，必然发生的

参考例句：

• Mary was wearing her inevitable large hat.玛丽戴着她总是戴的那顶大帽子。
• The defeat had inevitable consequences for British policy.战败对英国政策不可避免地产生了影响。

5 Founder   

n.创始者，缔造者

参考例句：

• He was extolled as the founder of their Florentine school.他被称颂为佛罗伦萨画派的鼻祖。
• According to the old tradition,Romulus was the founder of Rome.按照古老的传说，罗穆卢斯是古罗马的建国者。

6 martyrs   

n.martyr的复数形式；烈士( martyr的名词复数 )；殉道者；殉教者；乞怜者（向人诉苦以博取同情）

参考例句：

• the early Christian martyrs 早期基督教殉道者
• They paid their respects to the revolutionary martyrs. 他们向革命烈士致哀。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

7 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。

8 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。

9 advisor   

n.顾问，指导老师，劝告者

参考例句：

• They employed me as an advisor.他们聘请我当顾问。
• The professor is engaged as a technical advisor.这位教授被聘请为技术顾问。

10 presidency   

n.总统(校长，总经理)的职位(任期)

参考例句：

• Roosevelt was elected four times to the presidency of the United States.罗斯福连续当选四届美国总统。
• Two candidates are emerging as contestants for the presidency.两位候选人最终成为总统职位竞争者。

11 killings   

谋杀( killing的名词复数 )； 突然发大财，暴发

参考例句：

• His statement was seen as an allusion to the recent drug-related killings. 他的声明被视为暗指最近与毒品有关的多起凶杀案。
• The government issued a statement condemning the killings. 政府发表声明谴责这些凶杀事件。

12 ongoing   

adj.进行中的，前进的

参考例句：

• The problem is ongoing.这个问题尚未解决。
• The issues raised in the report relate directly to Age Concern's ongoing work in this area.报告中提出的问题与“关心老人”组织在这方面正在做的工作有直接的关系。

13 accomplished   

adj.有才艺的；有造诣的；达到了的

参考例句：

• Thanks to your help,we accomplished the task ahead of schedule.亏得你们帮忙,我们才提前完成了任务。
• Removal of excess heat is accomplished by means of a radiator.通过散热器完成多余热量的排出。

14 credible   

adj.可信任的，可靠的

参考例句：

• The news report is hardly credible.这则新闻报道令人难以置信。
• Is there a credible alternative to the nuclear deterrent?是否有可以取代核威慑力量的可靠办法？

15 analyst   

n.分析家，化验员；心理分析学家

参考例句：

• What can you contribute to the position of a market analyst?你有什么技能可有助于市场分析员的职务？
• The analyst is required to interpolate values between standards.分析人员需要在这些标准中插入一些值。

16 digit   

n.零到九的阿拉伯数字，手指，脚趾

参考例句：

• Her telephone number differs from mine by one digit.她的电话号码和我的只差一个数字。
• Many animals have five digits.许多动物有5趾。

17 overthrew   

overthrow的过去式

参考例句：

• The people finally rose up and overthrew the reactionary regime. 人们终于起来把反动的政权推翻了。
• They overthrew their King. 他们推翻了国王。

18 autocrat   

n.独裁者；专横的人

参考例句：

• He was an accomplished politician and a crafty autocrat.他是个有造诣的政治家，也是个狡黠的独裁者。
• The nobles tried to limit the powers of the autocrat without success.贵族企图限制专制君主的权力,但没有成功。

19 authoritarian   

n./adj.专制(的)，专制主义者，独裁主义者

参考例句：

• Foreign diplomats suspect him of authoritarian tendencies.各国外交官怀疑他有着独裁主义倾向。
• The authoritarian policy wasn't proved to be a success.独裁主义的政策证明并不成功。

20 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。