voa标准英语2008年-Southern Africa Leaders to Discuss Zimbabwe Sta

Southern Africa leaders plan to meet Sunday in South Africa in an attempt to break a stalemate over allocating¹ Cabinet positions in a planned government of national unity² in Zimbabwe. Peta Thornycroft reports for VOA from Johannesburg, that in the meantime government repression³ against ordinary Zimbabweans, including farmers and activists⁴, is continuing.
　

Shoppers in Harare

A full regional summit will try to prod⁵ Zimbabwe Prime Minister-designate Morgan Tsvangirai and President Robert Mugabe toward agreement over the allocation of Cabinet posts.

There is growing concern in the region over the ever-deteriorating plight⁶ of Zimbabweans and what experts say is an unprecedented⁷ shortage of food and increasing levels of hunger. The World Food Program says it expects to be feeding five million Zimbabweans by early next year.

But VOA has learned that despite this widespread suffering, police have prevented one of Zimbabwe's most productive farmers from planting his maize⁸ crop. Doug Taylor-Freeme is the only farmer in the large and fertile Makonde district in northern Zimbabwe to have already begun planting maize, which is the staple⁹ crop in Zimbabwe.

He said the Lands Department asked him to grow more maize this year because of the desperate shortage of food. He had planted nearly a third of his crop, which was expected to be the largest grown this season, when police moved in last Thursday and stopped him. Armed police were left at his farm to ensure he did not resume planting.

In order to obtain maximum yields all planting should be completed by the end of November, after that yields will become progressively smaller.

In a similar incident, the country's last remaining wheat-seed producer was arrested last weekend. Patrick Stooks, who farms about 80 kilometers north of Harare, his wife Susan, and 12 of their workers were arrested Saturday.

The government says the Stooks remained on their farm in contravention of land laws and accused them of inciting¹⁰ violence. But the Commercial Farmers Union says the real reason is that a Zimbabwe diplomat¹¹ normally based in Japan wants their farm.

The Stooks were arrested at gun point. Mrs. Stooks has been held in a tiny bathroom with a blocked toilet since Saturday. The room is so small she is unable to lie down.

The farmers union says no farmer can be evicted¹² without prior notification and it says Mrs. Stooks is being held in inhumane conditions.

Elsewhere in Zimbabwe, scores of activists, including several members of the group Women of Zimbabwe Arise, have been arrested at peaceful protests in recent weeks. All remain in jail after being refused bail¹³.

The Movement for Democratic Change says the power sharing agreement signed in September by Mr. Tsvangirai and Mr. Mugabe has been seriously undermined by the arrests. Under the agreement, Mr. Mugabe committed himself to allow farmers to get on with producing food.

1 allocating   

分配，分派( allocate的现在分词 )； 把…拨给

参考例句：

• Administrative practice generally follows the judicial model in allocating burdens of proof. 在分配举证责任方面，行政实践通常遵循司法模式。
• A cyclical multiplexing technique, allocating resources in fixed-time slices. 以固定的时间片分配资源的循环复用技术。

2 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。

3 repression   

n.镇压，抑制，抑压

参考例句：

• The repression of your true feelings is harmful to your health.压抑你的真实感情有害健康。
• This touched off a new storm against violent repression.这引起了反对暴力镇压的新风暴。

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 prod   

vt.戳，刺；刺激，激励

参考例句：

• The crisis will prod them to act.那个危机将刺激他们行动。
• I shall have to prod him to pay me what he owes.我将不得不催促他把欠我的钱还给我。

6 plight   

n.困境，境况，誓约，艰难；vt.宣誓，保证，约定

参考例句：

• The leader was much concerned over the plight of the refugees.那位领袖对难民的困境很担忧。
• She was in a most helpless plight.她真不知如何是好。

7 unprecedented   

adj.无前例的，新奇的

参考例句：

• The air crash caused an unprecedented number of deaths.这次空难的死亡人数是空前的。
• A flood of this sort is really unprecedented.这样大的洪水真是十年九不遇。

8 maize   

n.玉米

参考例句：

• There's a field planted with maize behind the house.房子后面有一块玉米地。
• We can grow sorghum or maize on this plot.这块地可以种高粱或玉米。

9 staple   

n.主要产物，常用品，主要要素，原料，订书钉，钩环；adj.主要的，重要的；vt.分类

参考例句：

• Tea is the staple crop here.本地产品以茶叶为大宗。
• Potatoes are the staple of their diet.土豆是他们的主要食品。

10 inciting   

刺激的，煽动的

参考例句：

• What are you up to inciting mutiny and insubordination? 你们干吗在这里煽动骚动的叛乱呀。
• He was charged with inciting people to rebel. 他被控煽动民众起来叛乱。

11 diplomat   

n.外交官，外交家；能交际的人，圆滑的人

参考例句：

• The diplomat threw in a joke, and the tension was instantly relieved.那位外交官插进一个笑话，紧张的气氛顿时缓和下来。
• He served as a diplomat in Russia before the war.战前他在俄罗斯当外交官。

12 evicted   

v.（依法从房屋里或土地上）驱逐，赶出( evict的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• A number of tenants have been evicted for not paying the rent. 许多房客因不付房租被赶了出来。
• They had evicted their tenants for non-payment of rent. 他们赶走了未交房租的房客。

13 bail   

v.舀（水），保释；n.保证金，保释，保释人

参考例句：

• One of the prisoner's friends offered to bail him out.犯人的一个朋友答应保释他出来。
• She has been granted conditional bail.她被准予有条件保释。