VOA标准英语2011--Egyptians Rally Demanding Military Cede Power

Egyptians Rally Demanding Military Cede¹ Power

With a little more than a week before Egypt's first post-revolution elections, demonstrators turned out en masse to protest what they say is the military's attempt to prolong its "temporary" powers.

A sea of Islamists, secularists, conservatives and liberals converged³ on Cairo's Tahrir square Friday, demanding the military cede power in the coming months.

At issue is the so-called Selmi document, a proposal that would exempt⁴ the military from civilian⁵ oversight⁶ in the next constitution. The ruling Supreme⁷ Council of the Armed Forces, or SCAF, says the document is not binding⁸, an argument protesters say they don't believe.

Businessman Ashraf Saif says he is not sure what the rally will accomplish, but wants the army aware that popular will cannot be ignored.

He says the military council is like a snake in its dealings with the Egyptian nation. He bemoans⁹ the lack of openness on the part of the rulers - the same disregard of the people the old government showed.

Many at the rally, one of the largest in months, were also calling for a faster transition to democratic rule. Under the current plan, parliamentary elections will stretch from the end of this month into March. The new legislature will then spend up to a year drafting a new constitution and only then will presidential elections be held.

The possibility of the SCAF in charge until 2013 has managed to unite, on Tahrir Square, such disparate groups as Facebook activists¹⁰ and ultra-conservative Salafists, and those in between.

Ayman Mohamed Hassan, a member of al Azhar, the world's oldest Islamic institution, says the principles Egyptians fought for during their uprising earlier this year must be implemented¹¹.

He argues for democratic rule, the elimination¹² of remnants of the old regime and an end to corruption¹³. He also wants the election of a civilian president, and social justice so that people may regain¹⁴ their dignity.

Just what that social justice is based on, however, is a question that divided the crowd profoundly. The rally was called by Islamist groups, who had largely kept a backseat during the revolution, but are showing strength in campaigns around the country. Mahmoud el Nahat is a supporter of the Salafist al Nour party.

He argued Egypt "is a religious nation by nature" as he went through the crowd trying to draw votes for his candidate.

Nearby, an elderly woman, Behira Mohamed Abdl Fatah, said support for the fundamentalists was why she came out to Tahrir.

She says she's here to elect the al Nour party. She wants Islam. Asked whether al Nour or other Islamist parties might be against such revolutionary principles as equal rights, she said she's not worried.

But the secular² minority in the crowd clearly are. Liberal groups have campaigned heavily on the argument that an Islamist government would take Egypt backward, not forward. There were small skirmishes between the two sides across the square. But for the most part, at least for now, they remain united in opposing the military.

1 cede   

v.割让，放弃

参考例句：

• The debater refused to cede the point to her opponent.辩论者拒绝向她的对手放弃其主张。
• Not because I'm proud.In fact,in front of you I cede all my pride.这不是因为骄傲，事实上我在你面前毫无骄傲可言。

2 secular   

n.牧师，凡人；adj.世俗的，现世的，不朽的

参考例句：

• We live in an increasingly secular society.我们生活在一个日益非宗教的社会。
• Britain is a plural society in which the secular predominates.英国是个世俗主导的多元社会。

3 converged   

v.（线条、运动的物体等）会于一点( converge的过去式 )；（趋于）相似或相同；人或车辆汇集；聚集

参考例句：

• Thousands of supporters converged on London for the rally. 成千上万的支持者从四面八方汇聚伦敦举行集会。
• People converged on the political meeting from all parts of the city. 人们从城市的四面八方涌向这次政治集会。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 exempt   

adj.免除的；v.使免除；n.免税者，被免除义务者

参考例句：

• These goods are exempt from customs duties.这些货物免征关税。
• He is exempt from punishment about this thing.关于此事对他已免于处分。

5 civilian   

adj.平民的，民用的，民众的

参考例句：

• There is no reliable information about civilian casualties.关于平民的伤亡还没有确凿的信息。
• He resigned his commission to take up a civilian job.他辞去军职而从事平民工作。

6 oversight   

n.勘漏，失察，疏忽

参考例句：

• I consider this a gross oversight on your part.我把这件事看作是你的一大疏忽。
• Your essay was not marked through an oversight on my part.由于我的疏忽你的文章没有打分。

7 supreme   

adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的

参考例句：

• It was the supreme moment in his life.那是他一生中最重要的时刻。
• He handed up the indictment to the supreme court.他把起诉书送交最高法院。

8 binding   

有约束力的，有效的，应遵守的

参考例句：

• The contract was not signed and has no binding force. 合同没有签署因而没有约束力。
• Both sides have agreed that the arbitration will be binding. 双方都赞同仲裁具有约束力。

9 bemoans   

v.为（某人或某事）抱怨( bemoan的第三人称单数 )；悲悼；为…恸哭；哀叹

参考例句：

• He always bemoans the shortage of funds for research. 他总是叹息研究经费不足。 来自互联网

10 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》

11 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

12 elimination   

n.排除，消除，消灭

参考例句：

• Their elimination from the competition was a great surprise.他们在比赛中遭到淘汰是个很大的意外。
• I was eliminated from the 400 metres in the semi-finals.我在400米半决赛中被淘汰。

13 corruption   

n.腐败，堕落，贪污

参考例句：

• The people asked the government to hit out against corruption and theft.人民要求政府严惩贪污盗窃。
• The old man reviled against corruption.那老人痛斥了贪污舞弊。

14 regain   

vt.重新获得，收复，恢复

参考例句：

• He is making a bid to regain his World No.1 ranking.他正为重登世界排名第一位而努力。
• The government is desperate to regain credibility with the public.政府急于重新获取公众的信任。