VOA慢速英语2017 委内瑞拉人民抗议总统重新制定宪法的决定

 

Venezuelans blocked streets in Caracas Tuesday to protest the president’s call for a new constitution.

本周二，委内瑞拉人民占领了加拉加斯的街道，抗议总统要求制定新宪法的决定。

Protesters filled streets with pieces of metal and building materials. Others set fire to small mountains of trash.

抗议者涌入街道，拿着金属工具和建筑材料。还有些人放火点燃了一小堆垃圾。

On Monday, President Nicolas Maduro signed a decree to begin the process of rewriting the constitution. The declaration orders the formation of a constitutional assembly.

周一，尼古拉斯·马杜罗总统签署一项法令，开启重新修订宪法的进程。法令宣布召开制宪大会。

In a speech, Maduro said some of the assembly’s 500 members would be elected by "workers" to replace the document.

马杜罗在一次讲话中称，制宪大会的500名成员的部分成员将由“工人”选举，代替原先的规定。

The Venezuelan constitution was last changed in 1999, under the rule of then-president Hugo Chavez.

委内瑞拉宪法上次修订是在1999年，当时的总统是乌戈·查韦斯。

“The day has come, brothers,” Maduro said. “Don’t fail me now. Don’t fail Chavez and don’t fail your motherland." The Associated Press reported his comments.

“这一天来了，兄弟们，”马杜罗说。“不要辜负我。不要辜负查韦斯总统，不要辜负你们的祖国。”美联社报道了他的言论。

Fewer than half of the assembly’s members would be elected, Maduro said. He added that political parties would not be involved.

马杜罗称，大会将会选举不足一半的成员。他补充道，这次大会不包括各个政党。

Maduro’s opponents and some observers say the measure is part of a plan to postpone¹ elections set for later this year and presidential elections in 2018.

马杜罗的反对者和一些观察人士表示这一举措是计划的一部分为了推迟今年下半年选举和2018年总统选举。

Opposition² leaders urged Venezuelans to ignore Maduro and to continue the protests that have lasted for more than a month.

反对派领袖敦促委内瑞拉人民不要理会马杜罗总统，继续进行这场已持续一个多月的抗议。

We must continue fighting, said Julio Borges, president of the National Assembly. He said Maduro’s move was "a scam to deceive the Venezuelan people."

“我们必须继续战斗，”国会主席博尔格斯说道。他说马杜罗的行动是“欺骗委内瑞拉人民的骗局。”

Borges urged Venezuelans to fill Caracas’ streets for two hours on Tuesday. He called for larger demonstrations³ on Wednesday.

周二，博尔格斯敦促委内瑞拉人民占领加拉加斯的街道，占领持续了2个小时。他要求在星期三举行更大的游行。

Thousands of Maduro’s supporters marched in Caracas on Monday in a show of support for the president.

许多马杜罗的支持者也于周一在加拉加斯游行示威，他们表示支持总统。

The current political tensions started last July, when Venezuela’s Supreme⁴ Court announced a ruling to cancel the National Assembly’s legislative⁵ powers.

当前这一紧张的政治局势始发于去年7月，当时委内瑞拉最高法院宣布取消国会的立法权。

Years of political and economic problems have led to shortages of food, medicine, and other goods.

多年的政治和经济问题导致食物短缺、药品不足、物资紧张。

Demonstrators are asking for the return of democratic ideas, including recognizing the National Assembly’s decisions, releasing political prisoners and permitting humanitarian⁶ aid.

示威者要求恢复民主，包括认可国会的决议、释放政治犯和允许人道主义救援。

Words in This Story

decree – n. an official order given by a person with power or by a government

scam – n. a dishonest way to make money by deceiving people

trash – n. something worth very little or nothing at all

1 postpone   

v.延期，推迟

参考例句：

• I shall postpone making a decision till I learn full particulars.在未获悉详情之前我得从缓作出决定。
• She decided to postpone the converastion for that evening.她决定当天晚上把谈话搁一搁。

2 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。

3 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。

4 supreme   

adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的

参考例句：

• It was the supreme moment in his life.那是他一生中最重要的时刻。
• He handed up the indictment to the supreme court.他把起诉书送交最高法院。

5 legislative   

n.立法机构，立法权；adj.立法的，有立法权的

参考例句：

• Congress is the legislative branch of the U.S. government.国会是美国政府的立法部门。
• Today's hearing was just the first step in the legislative process.今天的听证会只是展开立法程序的第一步。

6 humanitarian   

n.人道主义者，博爱者，基督凡人论者

参考例句：

• She has many humanitarian interests and contributes a lot to them.她拥有很多慈善事业，并作了很大的贡献。
• The British government has now suspended humanitarian aid to the area.英国政府现已暂停对这一地区的人道主义援助。