VOA标准英语2014--阿富汗:总统候选人需要共同努力

 

Afghans: Presidential Candidates Need to Work Together

KABUL — Life has returned to normal on the streets of Kabul.

Voters who defied Taliban threats to cast their ballots¹ for a new president over the weekend are now focused on the future, and they are asking that political candidates and rivals, Ashraf Ghani and Abdullah Abdullah, will bridge their differences for the good of the nation.

Syed Masood Islami, who is unemployed², says he hopes whoever wins, goes beyond party politics and works for the good of the nation.

“I ask that the next president bring security to Afghanistan. Once we have that, our economy will improve, and once the economy is better, we will be able to get jobs and then people’s quality of life will improve," Islami said.

About 7 million people chose Saturday between candidates Ghani, an ex-World Bank official, and Abdullah, a former foreign minister, to be the country’s next leader.

Analyst³ Mir Ahmad Joyenda of the Afghanistan Research and Evaluation⁴ Unit says the vote is a turning point for the country.

“Now, after hundreds of years, finally the people of Afghanistan have come to the conclusion that their vote can change their fate and their destiny,” Joyenda said.

Claims of voter fraud

U.N. special representative to Afghanistan Jan Kubis has warned of the dangers of political polarization.

“At the end of the day when it will be clear who is the next president of the country, there will also be an agreement on how he will cooperate with the people with the group with the team of the second because this is perhaps the way for the future of the country," Kubis said.

But rival candidates Abdullah and Ghani are both claiming evidence of voting irregularities, and appear far from ready to cooperate politically.

International and national leaders said it is crucial for Afghanistan’s electoral commissions to deal with reports of fraud and deliver a credible⁵ election result to the people.

The country is facing too many difficulties to be able to absorb divisive political clashes, Joyenda said.

“The insurgency⁶ is a challenge, interferences from neighboring countries are challenges, corruption⁷ is a challenge, rule of law is challenge, land-grabbing is a challenge, mafia is challenge, money laundering⁸ is challenge, there is a lot of challenges," he said. "Without the cooperation from both sides, we cannot solve these issues and these problems.”

Preliminary results of the election are expected July 2, with the final results to be announced July 22.

1 ballots   

n.投票表决( ballot的名词复数 )；选举；选票；投票总数v.（使）投票表决( ballot的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• They're counting the ballots. 他们正在计算选票。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The news of rigged ballots has rubbed off much of the shine of their election victory. 他们操纵选票的消息使他们在选举中获得的胜利大为减色。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 unemployed   

adj.失业的，没有工作的；未动用的，闲置的

参考例句：

• There are now over four million unemployed workers in this country.这个国家现有四百万失业人员。
• The unemployed hunger for jobs.失业者渴望得到工作。

3 analyst   

n.分析家，化验员；心理分析学家

参考例句：

• What can you contribute to the position of a market analyst?你有什么技能可有助于市场分析员的职务？
• The analyst is required to interpolate values between standards.分析人员需要在这些标准中插入一些值。

4 evaluation   

n.估价，评价；赋值

参考例句：

• I attempted an honest evaluation of my own life.我试图如实地评价我自己的一生。
• The new scheme is still under evaluation.新方案还在评估阶段。

5 credible   

adj.可信任的，可靠的

参考例句：

• The news report is hardly credible.这则新闻报道令人难以置信。
• Is there a credible alternative to the nuclear deterrent?是否有可以取代核威慑力量的可靠办法？

6 insurgency   

n.起义；暴动；叛变

参考例句：

• And as in China, unrest and even insurgency are widespread. 而在中国，动乱甚至暴乱都普遍存在。 来自互联网
• Dr Zyphur is part an insurgency against this idea. 塞弗博士是这一观点逆流的一部分。 来自互联网

7 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。

8 laundering   

n.洗涤（衣等），洗烫（衣等）；洗（钱）v.洗（衣服等），洗烫（衣服等）( launder的现在分词 )；洗（黑钱）（把非法收入改头换面，变为貌似合法的收入）

参考例句：

• Separate the white clothes from the dark clothes before laundering. 洗衣前应当把浅色衣服和深色衣服分开。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He was charged with laundering money. 他被指控洗钱。 来自《简明英汉词典》