VOA常速英语2008年-Former US President Carter Believes Serious Vio

By Steve Herman
Kathmandu
09 April 2008

The most prominent international observer for Thursday's election in Nepal, former U.S. President Jimmy Carter, has told VOA News that incidents of "serious" violence, including seven deaths, do not appear to be derailing the country's commitment to carry out the long-delayed vote. VOA Correspondent Steve Herman reports from Kathmandu.

Assassinations¹ and abductions of candidates, rioting, bomb blasts and fatal shootings of Maoists by police are some of the violent incidents Nepal confronted in the hours before polls opened nationwide.

The election to choose an assembly, that is expected to write a constitution formalizing Nepal as a republic, has put the international spotlight² on the small and impoverished³ Himalayan country.

Among those credentialed as election observers is former U.S. President Jimmy Carter.  He tells VOA News the violence will likely not derail Nepal's strong desire to successfully conduct the balloting⁴.

"We are quite confident that despite some of these disturbances⁵ that have been serious that the overall commitment is very deep and [the election] will be successful," he said.

The former president's non-profit Carter Center has been active here for the past five years, at the invitation of Nepal's government and the political parties, helping⁶ Nepal prepare for the twice-delayed election.

Mr. Carter is to visit numerous polling stations in the capital on Thursday.  He says any serious violations⁷ he or the other Carter Center observers witness or hear of will be reported promptly⁸.

"My first move would be to go to the election commission," he added.  "They have assured us that we will be welcome at any time to make our request or to explain our questions or to take action if there is a defect that needs to be corrected."

In addition to the 850 observers from outside Nepal, the country's non-governmental organizations are deploying⁹ 60,000 Nepalese observers.

Leaders of all the major parties have predicted victory, including the Maoists who waged a 10-year war against the state with the goal of ending the monarchy¹⁰.

The once autocratic King Gyanendra, now stripped of power, issued a rare statement.  The unpopular sovereign urged all those eligible¹¹ to exercise their "democratic right in a free and fair environment."

The king, once revered¹² as a Hindu god, is not among those heading to the polls, which are another step in deciding the fate of the 250-year-old royal dynasty.  The royal family has been deemed ineligible¹³ to vote.

1 assassinations   

n.暗杀( assassination的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Most anarchist assassinations were bungled because of haste or spontaneity, in his view. 在他看来，无政府主义者搞的许多刺杀都没成功就是因为匆忙和自发行动。 来自辞典例句
• Assassinations by Israelis of alleged terrorists habitually kill nearby women and children. 在以色列，自称恐怖分子的炸弹自杀者杀害靠近自己的以色列妇女和儿童。 来自互联网

2 spotlight   

n.公众注意的中心，聚光灯，探照灯，视听，注意，醒目

参考例句：

• This week the spotlight is on the world of fashion.本周引人瞩目的是时装界。
• The spotlight followed her round the stage.聚光灯的光圈随着她在舞台上转。

3 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》

4 balloting   

v.（使）投票表决( ballot的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• Clark took a commanding leading in the early balloting. 在最初投票时，克拉克遥遥领先。 来自辞典例句
• The balloting had stagnated, he couldn't win. 投票工作陷于停顿，他不能得胜。 来自辞典例句

5 disturbances   

n.骚乱( disturbance的名词复数 )；打扰；困扰；障碍

参考例句：

• The government has set up a commission of inquiry into the disturbances at the prison. 政府成立了一个委员会来调查监狱骚乱事件。
• Extra police were called in to quell the disturbances. 已调集了增援警力来平定骚乱。

6 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

7 violations   

违反( violation的名词复数 )； 冒犯； 违反（行为、事例）； 强奸

参考例句：

• This is one of the commonest traffic violations. 这是常见的违反交通规则之例。
• These violations of the code must cease forthwith. 这些违犯法规的行为必须立即停止。

8 promptly   

adv.及时地，敏捷地

参考例句：

• He paid the money back promptly.他立即还了钱。
• She promptly seized the opportunity his absence gave her.她立即抓住了因他不在场给她创造的机会。

9 deploying   

（尤指军事行动）使展开( deploy的现在分词 )； 施展； 部署； 有效地利用

参考例句：

• Provides support for developing and deploying distributed, component-based applications. 为开发和部署基于组件的分布式应用程序提供支持。
• Advertisement, publishing, repair, and install-on-demand are all available when deploying your application. 在部署应用程序时提供公布、发布、修复和即需即装功能。

10 monarchy   

n.君主，最高统治者；君主政体，君主国

参考例句：

• The monarchy in England plays an important role in British culture.英格兰的君主政体在英国文化中起重要作用。
• The power of the monarchy in Britain today is more symbolical than real.今日英国君主的权力多为象徵性的，无甚实际意义。

11 eligible   

adj.有条件被选中的；(尤指婚姻等)合适(意)的

参考例句：

• He is an eligible young man.他是一个合格的年轻人。
• Helen married an eligible bachelor.海伦嫁给了一个中意的单身汉。

12 revered   

v.崇敬，尊崇，敬畏( revere的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• A number of institutions revered and respected in earlier times have become Aunt Sally for the present generation. 一些早年受到尊崇的惯例，现在已经成了这代人嘲弄的对象了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The Chinese revered corn as a gift from heaven. 中国人将谷物奉为上天的恩赐。 来自辞典例句

13 ineligible   

adj.无资格的，不适当的

参考例句：

• The new rules have made thousands more people ineligible for legal aid.新规定使另外数千人不符合接受法律援助的资格。
• The country had been declared ineligible for World Bank lending.这个国家已被宣布没有资格获得世界银行的贷款。