VOA常速英语2008年-Conservatives Win Solid Majority in Iran's Parl

By Challiss McDonough
Cairo
17 March 2008

According to partial results, conservatives have won most of the seats in Iran's parliamentary election. But the conservative bloc¹ is divided, and hardline President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad could find himself facing more resistance to some of his policies from rivals within the conservative camp. VOA Correspondent Challiss McDonough has more from our Middle East bureau in Cairo.

With most of the results in, the Interior Ministry² indicated that conservative factions⁴ will retain the roughly three quarters majority they held in the last parliament. But rivalries⁵ have emerged between two conservative factions.

The president's hardline allies will likely still hold the largest single bloc in the 290-seat Parliament, but a sizable number of seats was won by another conservative group, led by critics of the president.

Journalist Kassam Kasir oversees⁶ foreign political coverage⁷ for Al-Arab newspaper in Qatar, and has been paying close attention to the Iranian political scene.

Kasir calls the results "a message from the Iranian people to [President ] Ahmadinejad," showing disapproval⁸ of his policies, especially regarding the economy. He said the outcome is likely to affect next year's presidential election.

A number of Mr. Ahmadinejad's conservative rivals won seats in parliament, including Ali Larijani, who resigned as chief nuclear negotiator last year, after differing with the president over his approach to dealing⁹ with the West on the nuclear issue. It is possible that he or one of Mr. Ahmadinejad's other rivals could use their positions in Parliament as a springboard to run for president next year.

Meanwhile, spokesmen for reformist groups said they had won a slight increase in seats over the last parliament, even though most of their candidates were not allowed to run. Pre-election vetting¹⁰ by the cleric-led Guardian¹¹ Council and the Interior Ministry disqualified hundreds of candidates, including the most prominent reformists.

The complicated electoral system makes it hard to say exactly how many seats have been won by each faction³, since some candidates were backed by more than one group, and others were listed as independents, with their political affiliations¹² still unclear.

A number of seats have yet to be determined¹³, and a second round of voting will be held in races where no candidate won at least 25 percent.

The Iranian Foreign Ministry angrily denounced a European Union statement calling the election "neither fair nor free" because of the candidate disqualifications.

Slovenia, which holds the rotating EU presidency¹⁴, on Sunday said Iranians were unable to choose from a full range of political views, and called the barring of reformist candidates "a clear violation¹⁵ of international norms."

The Iranian foreign ministry condemned¹⁶ the EU statement as "hasty" and "unacceptable."

The United States has called the election "cooked," meaning rigged.

The Interior Ministry said around 60 percent of registered voters went to the polls, more than the last election. Government officials called the turnout "glorious" and categorized it as a victory over Iran's critics.

1 bloc   

n.集团；联盟

参考例句：

• A solid bloc of union members support the decision.工会会员团结起来支持该决定。
• There have been growing tensions within the trading bloc.贸易同盟国的关系越来越紧张。

2 ministry   

n.(政府的)部；牧师

参考例句：

• They sent a deputation to the ministry to complain.他们派了一个代表团到部里投诉。
• We probed the Air Ministry statements.我们调查了空军部的记录。

3 faction   

n.宗派，小集团；派别；派系斗争

参考例句：

• Faction and self-interest appear to be the norm.派系之争和自私自利看来非常普遍。
• I now understood clearly that I was caught between the king and the Bunam's faction.我现在完全明白自己已陷入困境，在国王与布纳姆集团之间左右为难。

4 factions   

组织中的小派别，派系( faction的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The gens also lives on in the "factions." 氏族此外还继续存在于“factions〔“帮”〕中。 来自英汉非文学 - 家庭、私有制和国家的起源
• rival factions within the administration 政府中的对立派别

5 rivalries   

n.敌对，竞争，对抗( rivalry的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The new government was torn by rivalries. 新政府由于各派对立而四分五裂。 来自辞典例句
• Rivalries could bring about pain and hatred or give rise to fighting. 竞争会带来痛苦、仇恨，或者引起争斗。 来自互联网

6 oversees   

v.监督，监视( oversee的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• She oversees both the research and the manufacturing departments. 她既监督研究部门又监督生产部门。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The Department of Education oversees the federal programs dealing with education. 教育部监管处理教育的联邦程序。 来自互联网

7 coverage   

n.报导，保险范围，保险额，范围，覆盖

参考例句：

• There's little coverage of foreign news in the newspaper.报纸上几乎没有国外新闻报道。
• This is an insurance policy with extensive coverage.这是一项承保范围广泛的保险。

8 disapproval   

n.反对，不赞成

参考例句：

• The teacher made an outward show of disapproval.老师表面上表示不同意。
• They shouted their disapproval.他们喊叫表示反对。

9 dealing   

n.经商方法，待人态度

参考例句：

• This store has an excellent reputation for fair dealing.该商店因买卖公道而享有极高的声誉。
• His fair dealing earned our confidence.他的诚实的行为获得我们的信任。

10 vetting   

n.数据检查[核对，核实]v.审查（某人过去的记录、资格等）( vet的现在分词 )；调查；检查；诊疗

参考例句：

• Scripts had to be submitted to Ministry of Information officials for vetting. 必须把脚本提交给信息部官员审查。 来自互联网
• Their purpose in clicking deeper into a site is one of vetting. 他们深入点击网站的目的是一种诊疗。 来自互联网

11 guardian   

n.监护人；守卫者，保护者

参考例句：

• The form must be signed by the child's parents or guardian. 这张表格须由孩子的家长或监护人签字。
• The press is a guardian of the public weal. 报刊是公共福利的卫护者。

12 affiliations   

n.联系( affiliation的名词复数 )；附属机构；亲和性；接纳

参考例句：

• She had affiliations of her own in every capital. 她原以为自己在欧洲各国首府都有熟人。 来自辞典例句
• The society has many affiliations throughout the country. 这个社团在全国有很多关系。 来自辞典例句

13 determined   

adj.坚定的；有决心的

参考例句：

• I have determined on going to Tibet after graduation.我已决定毕业后去西藏。
• He determined to view the rooms behind the office.他决定查看一下办公室后面的房间。

14 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。

15 violation   

n.违反(行为)，违背(行为)，侵犯

参考例句：

• He roared that was a violation of the rules.他大声说，那是违反规则的。
• He was fined 200 dollars for violation of traffic regulation.他因违反交通规则被罚款200美元。

16 condemned   

adj. 被责难的, 被宣告有罪的 动词condemn的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• He condemned the hypocrisy of those politicians who do one thing and say another. 他谴责了那些说一套做一套的政客的虚伪。
• The policy has been condemned as a regressive step. 这项政策被认为是一种倒退而受到谴责。