VOA慢速英语2014 印尼人准备总统选举

 

AS IT IS 2014-07-08 Indonesians Ready to Elect a President 印尼人准备总统选举

Indonesia is the world’s third largest democracy. On Wednesday, Indonesians will choose their president for the next five years.  The election has two candidates.  They are the governor of Jakarta, Joko Widodo, and former Army Special Forces Commander Prabowo Subianto.

In recent months, Joko Widodo -- or “Jokowi” as he is known in Indonesia -- has lost support among likely voters.  At one time, public opinion surveys showed him leading his opponent by 25 points.  Now, the two men seem to be very close in the race for the presidency¹.

Prabowo Subianto has put forward a strong campaign.  Last week, some surveys showed him less than three points behind the Jakarta governor.

Douglas Ramage is a long-time Indonesia observer.  He now works for the Bower² Group Asia.  He says the former commander has been preparing for the election for a long time.

“Bear in mind, this is a presidential candidate who may be one of the most-experienced presidential candidates in Asia.  To think about it, he has run for president three times in Indonesia, and he has gotten good at it.”

A growing number of Indonesians have shown interest in the former general’s well-organized campaign and his speeches about reclaiming³ Indonesia’s resource wealth.  But some people are worried about his activities as a military commander.  Prabowo Subianto is accused of human rights abuses in East Timor.  He has also been accused of ordering the kidnapping of pro-democracy activists⁴ in 1998 while he led the Army special forces.

He has never faced the charges in a civilian⁵ court.  His critics fear that if he becomes president, he will cancel democratic freedoms that Indonesians have enjoyed since the fall of former president Suharto.

Last week, the Wall Street Journal newspaper published an interview with the United States Ambassador to Indonesia, Robert O. Blake.  The ambassador said the U.S. government is not supporting any side in the presidential election.  But he noted⁶ the government has urged Indonesia to investigate the reported rights abuses.

His comments angered some Indonesian officials.  They say it is not unacceptable for the United States to become involved in Indonesia’s national issues.  Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa called the comments, “a lapse⁷ of judgment⁸ that is difficult to accept.”

Aleksius Jemadu is a political science professor at Pelita Harapan University on the Indonesian island of Java.  He says the United States wants an Indonesian leader who will support American foreign policy and interests.

“This is very clear that Prabowo’s administration is going to be very nationalistic and might not be easy for the United States to invite Indonesia within the strategic calculation of the United States, vis-a-vis China’s rising at the moment.”

Joko Widodo’s popularity appears to have been hurt by questions about his religion and ethnicity.  The Jakarta governor was forced to dispute reports that he is Christian¹⁰ or ethnic⁹ Chinese.  Indonesia has the world’s largest Muslim population. Experts say his campaign has suffered because he had to spend time denying the reports.  But he is known for his populist leadership and opposition¹¹ to corruption¹² -- qualities that appeal to some voters.

The presidential election is an important step in the nation’s democratic progress. It will be the first time power will be given from one elected leader to another.  President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has served two terms in office and is barred from seeking a third.

1 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。

2 bower   

n.凉亭，树荫下凉快之处；闺房；v.荫蔽

参考例句：

• They sat under the leafy bower at the end of the garden and watched the sun set.他们坐在花园尽头由叶子搭成的凉棚下观看落日。
• Mrs. Quilp was pining in her bower.奎尔普太太正在她的闺房里度着愁苦的岁月。

3 reclaiming   

v.开拓( reclaim的现在分词 )；要求收回；从废料中回收（有用的材料）；挽救

参考例句：

• People here are reclaiming land from the sea. 这儿的人们正在填海拓地。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• How could such a man need reclaiming? 这么一个了不起的人怎么还需要别人拯救呢？ 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹

4 activists   

n.（政治活动的）积极分子，活动家( activist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• His research work was attacked by animal rights activists . 他的研究受到了动物权益维护者的抨击。
• Party activists with lower middle class pedigrees are numerous. 党的激进分子中有很多出身于中产阶级下层。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 civilian   

adj.平民的，民用的，民众的

参考例句：

• There is no reliable information about civilian casualties.关于平民的伤亡还没有确凿的信息。
• He resigned his commission to take up a civilian job.他辞去军职而从事平民工作。

6 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

7 lapse   

n.过失，流逝，失效，抛弃信仰，间隔；vi.堕落，停止，失效，流逝；vt.使失效

参考例句：

• The incident was being seen as a serious security lapse.这一事故被看作是一次严重的安全疏忽。
• I had a lapse of memory.我记错了。

8 judgment   

n.审判；判断力，识别力，看法，意见

参考例句：

• The chairman flatters himself on his judgment of people.主席自认为他审视人比别人高明。
• He's a man of excellent judgment.他眼力过人。

9 ethnic   

adj.人种的，种族的，异教徒的

参考例句：

• This music would sound more ethnic if you played it in steel drums.如果你用钢鼓演奏，这首乐曲将更具民族特色。
• The plan is likely only to aggravate ethnic frictions.这一方案很有可能只会加剧种族冲突。

10 Christian   

adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒

参考例句：

• They always addressed each other by their Christian name.他们总是以教名互相称呼。
• His mother is a sincere Christian.他母亲是个虔诚的基督教徒。

11 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。

12 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。