【英语语言学习】突尼斯这样做对吗？

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

 

This is also a landmark¹ date in Tunisia, where the Arab Spring began. Three years ago today, Tunisia's long-time ruler stepped down in the face of a popular uprising. His departure sparked both celebration and uncertainty². A nation that blended European, Arab and African cultures became a scene of contention³ where Islamists took a growing share of power. But unlike other countries in the Arab Spring, Tunisians seemed to be overcoming their religious/secular⁴ divide.

 

NPR's Eleanor Beardsley is in the capital, Tunis, on the Mediterranean⁵ coast.

 

ELEANOR BEARDSLEY, BYLINE⁶: Sixty-two-year-old Mounir Khelifa is dining with his friends at a fashionable restaurant on the beach. Khelifa is part of Tunisia's significant secular population. Most live on the coast and look across the Mediterranean toward Europe. Khelifa is a literature professor. He is Muslim but he doesn't want religion to play a role in Tunisia's new democratic government.

 

MOUNIR KHELIFA: OK, let's raise a glass. Here's to you.

 

BEARDSLEY: Before the fall of the dictator in 2011, when overt⁷ religion was discouraged, Tunisians didn't fully⁸ know each other's beliefs. Khelifa and his friends were convinced that the majority of Tunisia's 11 million people were secular-minded like they were. When the moderate Islamist party, Ennahda, won 42 percent of the seats in an elected constituent⁹ assembly in 2011, they were stunned¹⁰. Khelifa says he and other secular Tunisians don't trust the Islamists.

 

KHELIFA: The government that is dominated by the moderate Islamists was getting its hands on all the apparatus¹¹ of the state and we feared that they would move towards an authoritarian¹², bureaucratic¹³ system of government.

 

(SOUNDBITE OF SINGING)

 

BEARDSLEY: The call to prayer rings out five times a day over Tunis. Only the most pious¹⁴ go to the mosque¹⁵ at 6:30 in the morning. Forty-three year old Nabil Resgui is one of them.

 

NABIL RESGUI: (Speaking foreign language)

 

BEARDSLEY: Afterwards, Resgui heads to work as he manager of a sports apparel store. Resgui voted for the moderate Islamist party Ennahda.

 

RESGUI: (Through interpreter) I wanted a democratic government that was also Islamist. I want both. The party had a lot of good ideas, but I admit they made some mistakes.

 

BEARDSLEY: The inexperienced party was inept¹⁶ at governing. The economy got worse and people say the trash doesn't even get picked up. And the Islamist-led government was accused of letting radical¹⁷ Salifis wreak¹⁸ havoc¹⁹. It was the last straw in 2013, when two secular politicians were gunned down in broad daylight, allegedly by Salafis.

 

After the second assassination²⁰, women, students, trade unions protested for weeks demanding that the Islamist-led government step down. Meanwhile, the military coup²¹ in Egypt ousting²² an Islamist party there sent shivers through Ennahda. They agreed to sit down with the secular opposition²³ to draft the country's constitution.

 

Attia Fattoum is an Islamist member of Tunisia's elected assembly. She says the party did right to compromise.

 

ATTIA FATTOUM: (Through interpreter) There's a mix of everyone in Tunisia, and it's not because we have a religious movement now or the secular people are going to go away. We've got to live together and respect each other.

 

BEARDSLEY: Ennahda has also agreed to step aside for a nonpolitical caretaker government and new elections this year. That process has already started. People here can watch their lawmakers write the constitution on the Tunisian equivalent of C-SPAN. There have been hard fought battles, like the one to enshrine equality between men and women.

 

When Article 45 on equality did pass, assembly members rose to their feet to sing the national anthem²⁴. Though each side is hardly getting everything it wants, it's this constitution, a roadmap for the future, that reassures²⁵ both Resgui in his sport apparel shop and Khelifa in his restaurant.

 

KHELIFA: I feel hopeful and optimistic, both that secularists and Islamists and activists²⁶ from civil society all got together and worked out a solution which is possibly not a perfect one, but a workable one.

 

BEARDSLEY: As Tunisians celebrate their anniversary today, many say that for the first time since the revolution, they feel confident they're building a democracy. Eleanor Beardsley, NPR News, Tunis.

1 landmark   

n.陆标，划时代的事，地界标

参考例句：

• The Russian Revolution represents a landmark in world history.俄国革命是世界历史上的一个里程碑。
• The tower was once a landmark for ships.这座塔曾是船只的陆标。

2 uncertainty   

n.易变，靠不住，不确知，不确定的事物

参考例句：

• Her comments will add to the uncertainty of the situation.她的批评将会使局势更加不稳定。
• After six weeks of uncertainty,the strain was beginning to take its toll.6个星期的忐忑不安后，压力开始产生影响了。

3 contention   

n.争论，争辩，论战；论点，主张

参考例句：

• The pay increase is the key point of contention. 加薪是争论的焦点。
• The real bone of contention,as you know,is money.你知道，争论的真正焦点是钱的问题。

4 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。

5 Mediterranean   

adj.地中海的；地中海沿岸的

参考例句：

• The houses are Mediterranean in character.这些房子都属地中海风格。
• Gibraltar is the key to the Mediterranean.直布罗陀是地中海的要冲。

6 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

7 overt   

adj.公开的，明显的，公然的

参考例句：

• His opponent's intention is quite overt.他的对手的意图很明显。
• We should learn to fight with enemy in an overt and covert way.我们应学会同敌人做公开和隐蔽的斗争。

8 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。

9 constituent   

n.选民；成分，组分；adj.组成的，构成的

参考例句：

• Sugar is the main constituent of candy.食糖是糖果的主要成分。
• Fibre is a natural constituent of a healthy diet.纤维是健康饮食的天然组成部分。

10 stunned   

adj. 震惊的，惊讶的 动词stun的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• The fall stunned me for a moment. 那一下摔得我昏迷了片刻。
• The leaders of the Kopper Company were then stunned speechless. 科伯公司的领导们当时被惊得目瞪口呆。

11 apparatus   

n.装置，器械；器具，设备

参考例句：

• The school's audio apparatus includes films and records.学校的视听设备包括放映机和录音机。
• They had a very refined apparatus.他们有一套非常精良的设备。

12 authoritarian   

n./adj.专制(的)，专制主义者，独裁主义者

参考例句：

• Foreign diplomats suspect him of authoritarian tendencies.各国外交官怀疑他有着独裁主义倾向。
• The authoritarian policy wasn't proved to be a success.独裁主义的政策证明并不成功。

13 bureaucratic   

adj.官僚的，繁文缛节的

参考例句：

• The sweat of labour washed away his bureaucratic airs.劳动的汗水冲掉了他身上的官气。
• In this company you have to go through complex bureaucratic procedures just to get a new pencil.在这个公司里即使是领一支新铅笔，也必须通过繁琐的手续。

14 pious   

adj.虔诚的；道貌岸然的

参考例句：

• Alexander is a pious follower of the faith.亚历山大是个虔诚的信徒。
• Her mother was a pious Christian.她母亲是一个虔诚的基督教徒。

15 mosque   

n.清真寺

参考例句：

• The mosque is a activity site and culture center of Muslim religion.清真寺为穆斯林宗教活动场所和文化中心。
• Some years ago the clock in the tower of the mosque got out of order.几年前，清真寺钟楼里的大钟失灵了。

16 inept   

adj.不恰当的，荒谬的，拙劣的

参考例句：

• Whan an inept remark to make on such a formal occasion.在如此正式的场合，怎么说这样不恰当的话。
• He's quite inept at tennis.他打网球太笨。

17 radical   

n.激进份子，原子团，根号；adj.根本的，激进的，彻底的

参考例句：

• The patient got a radical cure in the hospital.病人在医院得到了根治。
• She is radical in her demands.她的要求十分偏激。

18 wreak   

v.发泄；报复

参考例句：

• She had a burning desire to wreak revenge.她复仇心切。
• Timid people always wreak their peevishness on the gentle.怯懦的人总是把满腹牢骚向温和的人发泄。

19 havoc   

n.大破坏，浩劫，大混乱，大杂乱

参考例句：

• The earthquake wreaked havoc on the city.地震对这个城市造成了大破坏。
• This concentration of airborne firepower wrought havoc with the enemy forces.这次机载火力的集中攻击给敌军造成很大破坏。

20 assassination   

n.暗杀；暗杀事件

参考例句：

• The assassination of the president brought matters to a head.总统遭暗杀使事态到了严重关头。
• Lincoln's assassination in 1865 shocked the whole nation.1865年，林肯遇刺事件震惊全美国。

21 coup   

n.政变；突然而成功的行动

参考例句：

• The monarch was ousted by a military coup.那君主被军事政变者废黜了。
• That government was overthrown in a military coup three years ago.那个政府在3年前的军事政变中被推翻。

22 ousting   

驱逐( oust的现在分词 )； 革职； 罢黜； 剥夺

参考例句：

• The resulting financial chaos led to the ousting of Bristol-Myers' s boss. 随后引发的财政混乱导致了百时美施贵宝的总裁下台。
• The ousting of the president has drawn widespread criticism across Latin America and the wider world. 洪都拉斯总统被驱逐时间引起拉丁美洲甚至全世界的广泛批评。

23 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

24 anthem   

n.圣歌，赞美诗，颂歌

参考例句：

• All those present were standing solemnly when the national anthem was played.奏国歌时全场肃立。
• As he stood on the winner's rostrum,he sang the words of the national anthem.他站在冠军领奖台上，唱起了国歌。

25 reassures   

v.消除恐惧或疑虑，恢复信心( reassure的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• A significant benefit of Undo is purely psychological: It reassures users. 撤销的一个很大好处纯粹是心理上的，它让用户宽心。 来自About Face 3交互设计精髓
• Direct eye contact reassures the person that you are confident and honest. 直接的目光接触让人相信你的自信和诚实。 来自口语例句

26 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》