2007年VOA标准英语-Guinea, Guinea Bissau Alliance Plays Role in Un

By Kari Barber
Dakar
06 February 2007

Guinea's President Lansana Conte has been getting help and advice from the government of neighboring Guinea Bissau to put an end to union-led protests.  Union leaders in Guinea are threatening to resume a nationwide strike if a new prime minister is not named this week.  Kari Barber reports from the VOA regional bureau in Dakar.

 
Guinea President Lansana Conte (file photo)
Mr. Conte, who has often rejected outside involvement in Guinea, has refused ECOWAS offers to allow regional mediators to help resolve the country's conflict.  But he held recent meetings with Guinea Bissau's President Joao Bernardo Vieira in Conakry. 

London-based analyst¹ Richard Reeve with the Royal Institute of International Affairs says rejecting outside involvement, even the help of neighboring countries, is typical of Mr. Conte's government, which has few allies.  Reeve says Mr. Vieira is an exception.

The two men have had a long relationship going back to when Mr. Conte supported Mr. Vieira in his bid to gain independence from Portugal.

"Vieira is Conte's closest regional ally, and even more so, Conte is Vieira's closest regional ally," he noted².  "Neither man is exactly isolated³ in the region, but they do have a history going back to the mid⁴ '60s working together on liberation struggles and did rely on each other to a degree on security cooperation."

 
Mamadou Cellou Bah, 25, a demonstrator who was shot in the arm recovers from his wound in a Hospital in Conakry, Guinea
During the strikes in Guinea, which left scores of protesters dead, many reported seeing Portuguese-speaking troops from Guinea Bissau operating in Guinea.  Guinea Bissau has denied these reports.

Reeve says Guinea Bissau, one of the poorest nations in the world, has little to offer Guinea so sending troops would be a symbolic⁵ gesture.

"Even if people were sent it would be simply a sign of cooperation on the part of the two regimes, rather than some kind of crucial prop⁶ to Conte," he added.

Advisors⁷ to the two men say Mr. Conte called Mr. Vieira at the height of protests, and that he suggested accepting the nomination⁸ of a new prime minister.  This was promised in an agreement to suspend the strike last month, but not yet implemented⁹.

Union leaders are now threatening to resume protests if Mr. Conte does not name a prime minister this week.  They are also angry that he has been making key nominations¹⁰ to state entities¹¹ and embassies in recent days, without waiting for a new national unity¹² government to do this.

Reeve says the decision to name a new prime minister will be difficult, and Mr. Conte is likely to delay his announcement as long as possible.

"Conte is not very good at modifying his behavior to suit the situation," he explained.  "Whether he understands the urgency in the situation, I do not know."

Reeve says in the past Mr. Conte has taken months to make decisions on crucial matters such as this.

Reeve says other agreements to end the strike included that Guinea stop exporting food, but he says that is not likely to be enacted¹³.  He says most exports are cash crops and not foods people in the country, suffering from inflated¹⁴ rice prices, would be able to eat.

The strike in Guinea began in early January amid unrest over soaring rice and gasoline prices and deteriorating¹⁵ government services.

1 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。

2 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。

3 isolated   

adj.与世隔绝的

参考例句：

• His bad behaviour was just an isolated incident. 他的不良行为只是个别事件。
• Patients with the disease should be isolated. 这种病的患者应予以隔离。

4 mid   

adj.中央的，中间的

参考例句：

• Our mid-term exam is pending.我们就要期中考试了。
• He switched over to teaching in mid-career.他在而立之年转入教学工作。

5 symbolic   

adj.象征性的，符号的，象征主义的

参考例句：

• It is symbolic of the fighting spirit of modern womanhood.它象征着现代妇女的战斗精神。
• The Christian ceremony of baptism is a symbolic act.基督教的洗礼仪式是一种象征性的做法。

6 prop   

vt.支撑；n.支柱，支撑物；支持者，靠山

参考例句：

• A worker put a prop against the wall of the tunnel to keep it from falling.一名工人用东西支撑住隧道壁好使它不会倒塌。
• The government does not intend to prop up declining industries.政府无意扶持不景气的企业。

7 advisors   

n.顾问，劝告者( advisor的名词复数 )；（指导大学新生学科问题等的）指导教授

参考例句：

• The governors felt that they were being strung along by their advisors. 地方长官感到他们一直在受顾问们的愚弄。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• We will consult together with advisors about her education. 我们将一起和专家商议她的教育事宜。 来自互联网

8 nomination   

n.提名，任命，提名权

参考例句：

• John is favourite to get the nomination for club president.约翰最有希望被提名为俱乐部主席。
• Few people pronounced for his nomination.很少人表示赞成他的提名。

9 implemented   

v.实现( implement的过去式和过去分词 )；执行；贯彻；使生效

参考例句：

• This agreement, if not implemented, is a mere scrap of paper. 这个协定如不执行只不过是一纸空文。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• The economy is in danger of collapse unless far-reaching reforms are implemented. 如果不实施影响深远的改革，经济就面临崩溃的危险。 来自辞典例句

10 nominations   

n.提名，任命( nomination的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Nominations are invited for the post of party chairman. 为党主席职位征集候选人。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Much coverage surrounded his abortive bids for the 1960,1964, and 1968 Republican Presidential nominations. 许多消息报道都围绕着1960年、1964年和1968年他为争取提名为共和党总统候选人所做努力的失败。 来自辞典例句

11 entities   

实体对像； 实体，独立存在体，实际存在物( entity的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Our newspaper and our printing business form separate corporate entities. 我们的报纸和印刷业形成相对独立的企业实体。
• The North American continent is made up of three great structural entities. 北美大陆是由三个构造单元组成的。

12 unity   

n.团结，联合，统一；和睦，协调

参考例句：

• When we speak of unity,we do not mean unprincipled peace.所谓团结，并非一团和气。
• We must strengthen our unity in the face of powerful enemies.大敌当前，我们必须加强团结。

13 enacted   

制定（法律），通过（法案）( enact的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• legislation enacted by parliament 由议会通过的法律
• Outside in the little lobby another scene was begin enacted. 外面的小休息室里又是另一番景象。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹

14 inflated   

adj.（价格）飞涨的；（通货）膨胀的；言过其实的；充了气的v.使充气（于轮胎、气球等）( inflate的过去式和过去分词 )；（使）膨胀；（使）通货膨胀；物价上涨

参考例句：

• He has an inflated sense of his own importance. 他自视过高。
• They all seem to take an inflated view of their collective identity. 他们对自己的集体身份似乎都持有一种夸大的看法。 来自《简明英汉词典》

15 deteriorating   

恶化，变坏( deteriorate的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• The weather conditions are deteriorating. 天气变得越来越糟。
• I was well aware of the bad morale and the deteriorating factories. 我很清楚，大家情绪低落，各个工厂越搞越坏。