VOA慢速英语2013 苏丹示威活动蔓延到首都

 

AS IT IS 2013-10-02 Demonstrations¹ Spread to the Capital in Sudan 苏丹示威活动蔓延到首都

From VOA Learning English, welcome to AS IT IS. Today, we hear about recent protests in the African nation of Sudan. Then, we learn about the growing interest around the world in ancestry². People in many countries are using online resources to find out more about their heritage. And some companies see a big market.

Sudan Demonstrations

Sudan has seen its most serious protests in almost 30 years recently.  The demonstrations over rising prices have taken place after the government decided³ to end support that kept fuel prices low. Many people have died as a result of riots that developed out of the protests.  Experts say this could be a turning point for the ruling party and longtime President Omar al-Bashir. 

The protests started a week ago in one town, but quickly spread to others and the capital, Khartoum. There protesters burned vehicles, gas stations, and police buildings, and threw stones at security forces.

The protests are seen as the greatest show of opposition⁴ to President Omar al-Bashir’s rule since he came to power in a military takeover in 1989.

Sudanese historian and author Douglas Johnson says there have not been such protests in Sudan since two governments were overthrown⁵ in the 1960s and 1980s. Mr. Johnson says the fact that protests have spread beyond Khartoum is important.

“I don’t know if they’re being coordinated⁶, but that is an indication of a rising sea of discontent.  What you’ve got to have in Sudan for this to be successful is one, you have to have a public that has nothing left to fear -- and I think we’re beginning to see that -- and two, you’ve got to see a loss of morale⁷ in security services. 

VOA spoke⁸ with rebel commander Malik Agar.  His forces in the states of Blue Nile and South Kordofan have allied⁹ with rebels in the Darfur region. He said the increase in fuel prices was more than most people would accept.

“My perception is that these demonstrations are not going to stop.  They are going to go ahead, and I think the people of the Sudan are fed up with the misadministration of the system, they are economically tied and they are even at the stage of economic suffocation¹⁰.”

Islam Al-Tayeb is a Sudanese analyst¹¹ for the international Institute for Strategic Studies in Bahrain. She says the lack of strong opposition parties offering another political choice could be a problem.

She also says that, after being ruled by one man for 25 years, many Sudanese people are worried about joining protests. They believe that they will not receive help from the international community. But the number of deaths has shocked many into action. 

“The risk is high, and the mobilization is serious.  And the problem this time also is the crackdown has led to the deaths of many Sudanese.”

Al-Tayeb says that the government would sacrifice President Bashir to maintain control of the country. But, this would happen only if risks and demands grow significantly, and if more people take to the streets.

Genealogy¹² Gains International Popularity

Many people are interested in the history of their families. It is an area of study called genealogy.

Interest in genealogy has increased markedly in recent years. Possibly because of the availability and ease of online databases, people around the world are becoming more interested in their family heritage. So it is no surprise that some businesses see a big market for online genealogy products.  Chrisopher Cruise tells us more in this report from VOA’s Mike Richman.

The research company Global Industry Analysts¹³ says there are more than 80 million people who study genealogy for personal interest or as an occupation. It estimates the market for genealogy products and services will grow to $4.3 billion by 2018.

Two providers of family history records recently announced a deal that will speed access to genealogical records. Ancestry.com is a for-profit business, while FamilySearch.org is operated by a religious group: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. They plan to put about one million historical records on the Internet. The records include birth, marriage, death and immigration certificates.

Ancestry.com and FamilySearch.org are major players in the genealogy business. Paul Nauta is head of FamilySearch.org. He says the base of people connected through technology is bigger than ever before.

“Because of technology and everyone’s connectedness through technology, one, it is easier and less expensive than ever to make the world’s historic records available for people online.  But two, there’s a larger base of our world population than ever that is now connected through this worldwide technology, and they’re using it to socialize and communicate with each other.”

Nick Eastman edits an online genealogical newsletter. He says there are about 10,000 genealogy sites online. He thinks people have always been interested in genealogy and their family history.

“The difference now is we’ve got tools to satisfy that interest, whether you’re seated in your home or whether you have to go to a library someplace.”

Once, genealogy was considered a pastime for older adults and the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. But people with other beliefs and younger adults are getting interested in finding out about their family heritage.

Nick Eastman says many people have a desire to find out about their ancestors. People from countries that have accepted many waves of immigrants appear to be especially interested in genealogy. Such countries include the United States, Canada, Argentina and Brazil. People from Western European countries also are interested in genealogy products and services. This means the market for such information may only increase over time.

The Model T Changed America

One hundred five years ago, Henry Ford¹⁴ introduced the Model “T” Sedan. It was first produced on October 1st, 1905. The Model “T” was not the first car ever made. But it was the first manufactured using an assembly line process. The assembly line permitted workers to be more productive, so that the Ford Motor Company could build more cars at a lower cost.

The lower cost of production made it possible for average Americans to buy a car. Ford stopped making the Model “T” in 1925. Fifteen million of the cars had been produced by then. Many people consider the Model “T” to be the car that changed American culture forever.

And that’s our show for today. Join us tomorrow for another As It Is program from VOA Learning English.

1 demonstrations   

证明( demonstration的名词复数 )； 表明； 表达； 游行示威

参考例句：

• Lectures will be interspersed with practical demonstrations. 讲课中将不时插入实际示范。
• The new military government has banned strikes and demonstrations. 新的军人政府禁止罢工和示威活动。

2 ancestry   

n.祖先，家世

参考例句：

• Their ancestry settled the land in 1856.他们的祖辈1856年在这块土地上定居下来。
• He is an American of French ancestry.他是法国血统的美国人。

3 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

4 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。

5 overthrown   

adj. 打翻的，推倒的，倾覆的 动词overthrow的过去分词

参考例句：

• The president was overthrown in a military coup. 总统在军事政变中被赶下台。
• He has overthrown the basic standards of morality. 他已摒弃了基本的道德标准。

6 coordinated   

adj.协调的

参考例句：

• The sound has to be coordinated with the picture. 声音必须和画面协调一致。
• The numerous existing statutes are complicated and poorly coordinated. 目前繁多的法令既十分复杂又缺乏快调。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法

7 morale   

n.道德准则，士气，斗志

参考例句：

• The morale of the enemy troops is sinking lower every day.敌军的士气日益低落。
• He tried to bolster up their morale.他尽力鼓舞他们的士气。

8 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

9 allied   

adj.协约国的；同盟国的

参考例句：

• Britain was allied with the United States many times in history.历史上英国曾多次与美国结盟。
• Allied forces sustained heavy losses in the first few weeks of the campaign.同盟国在最初几周内遭受了巨大的损失。

10 suffocation   

n.窒息

参考例句：

• The greatest dangers of pyroclastic avalanches are probably heat and suffocation. 火成碎屑崩落的最大危害可能是炽热和窒息作用。 来自辞典例句
• The room was hot to suffocation. 房间热得闷人。 来自辞典例句

11 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。

12 genealogy   

n.家系，宗谱

参考例句：

• He had sat and repeated his family's genealogy to her,twenty minutes of nonstop names.他坐下又给她细数了一遍他家族的家谱，20分钟内说出了一连串的名字。
• He was proficient in all questions of genealogy.他非常精通所有家谱的问题。

13 analysts   

分析家，化验员( analyst的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• City analysts forecast huge profits this year. 伦敦金融分析家预测今年的利润非常丰厚。
• I was impressed by the high calibre of the researchers and analysts. 研究人员和分析人员的高素质给我留下了深刻印象。

14 Ford   

n.浅滩，水浅可涉处；v.涉水，涉过

参考例句：

• They were guarding the bridge,so we forded the river.他们驻守在那座桥上，所以我们只能涉水过河。
• If you decide to ford a stream,be extremely careful.如果已决定要涉过小溪，必须极度小心。