2007年VOA标准英语-Violence Continues After Gusmao Named East Timo

By Nancy-Amelia Collins
Jakarta
07 August 2007

Scattered¹ violence continued a day after independence hero Xanana Gusmao was named the new prime minister of East Timor. VOA's Nancy-Amelia Collins in Jakarta has more.

Australian troops guard empty road near airport in Dili, 07 Aug 2007

Violence broke out in several areas of East Timor Tuesday, a day after President Jose Ramos Horta asked a coalition² led by Xanana Gusmao to form a new government.

That announcement followed an impasse³ caused when no party won a majority in the 63-seat parliament in the June 30 elections.

Those elections were dominated by the Fretilin party and the CNRT party formed by Mr. Gusmao, who now becomes prime minister.

Although Fretilin won more seats than the CNRT, it still fell short of a majority.

The CNRT then formed a majority coalition with several smaller parties, leading to Mr. Ramos-Horta's decision on Monday.

"Today I make the decision that the alliance form the government," he said. "The alliance has appointed Xanana to become prime minister. I have told Xanana Gusmao to hand over the names of the new cabinet before Wednesday."

Fretilin's leader, Mari Alkitiri, slammed the decision, calling it illegal, and vowed⁴ to challenge it in court.

His supporters are suspected of leading Tuesday's violence. There have been reports of a few buildings being set on fire in the towns of Baucau and Viqueque, street fights and gangs throwing rocks at security personnel in the capital Dili.

Allison Cooper, a spokeswoman for the U.N. Mission in East Timor, says security has been increased but that the violence is limited and under control.

"Within Dili itself and within Baucau, static security at various key locations has been increased, and also patrols are ongoing⁵. As many police officers as we've got are out on the streets at the moment," she said.

An international peacekeeping force led by Australia has been in the country at the government's request since devastating⁶ violence broke out in May 2006.

The firing of nearly a third of the army led to gang fights, looting and arson⁷. Tens of thousands of people fled to refugee camps where thousands remain.

Fretilin's head, Mr. Alkitiri, stepped down as prime minister following the violence in 2006, which many blamed on him.

East Timor has been struggling to build its new government since voting for independence from Indonesia's brutal⁸ 24-year rule in 1999.

After several years under United Nations supervision⁹, the impoverished¹⁰ country became fully¹¹ independent in 2002.

1 scattered   

adj.分散的，稀疏的；散步的；疏疏落落的

参考例句：

• Gathering up his scattered papers,he pushed them into his case.他把散乱的文件收拾起来，塞进文件夹里。

2 coalition   

n.结合体，同盟，结合，联合

参考例句：

• The several parties formed a coalition.这几个政党组成了政治联盟。
• Coalition forces take great care to avoid civilian casualties.联盟军队竭尽全力避免造成平民伤亡。

3 impasse   

n.僵局；死路

参考例句：

• The government had reached an impasse.政府陷入绝境。
• Negotiations seemed to have reached an impasse.谈判似乎已经陷入僵局。

4 vowed   

起誓，发誓（vow的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• He vowed quite solemnly that he would carry out his promise. 他非常庄严地发誓要实现他的诺言。
• I vowed to do more of the cooking myself. 我发誓自己要多动手做饭。

5 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。

6 devastating   

adj.毁灭性的，令人震惊的，强有力的

参考例句：

• It is the most devastating storm in 20 years.这是20年来破坏性最大的风暴。
• Affairs do have a devastating effect on marriages.婚外情确实会对婚姻造成毁灭性的影响。

7 arson   

n.纵火，放火

参考例句：

• He was serving a ten spot for arson.他因纵火罪在服十年徒刑。
• He was arraigned on a charge of arson.他因被指控犯纵火罪而被传讯。

8 brutal   

adj.残忍的，野蛮的，不讲理的

参考例句：

• She has to face the brutal reality.她不得不去面对冷酷的现实。
• They're brutal people behind their civilised veneer.他们表面上温文有礼，骨子里却是野蛮残忍。

9 supervision   

n.监督，管理

参考例句：

• The work was done under my supervision.这项工作是在我的监督之下完成的。
• The old man's will was executed under the personal supervision of the lawyer.老人的遗嘱是在律师的亲自监督下执行的。

10 impoverished   

adj.穷困的，无力的，用尽了的v.使（某人）贫穷( impoverish的过去式和过去分词 )；使（某物）贫瘠或恶化

参考例句：

• the impoverished areas of the city 这个城市的贫民区
• They were impoverished by a prolonged spell of unemployment. 他们因长期失业而一贫如洗。 来自《简明英汉词典》

11 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。