VOA慢速英语2013 南非哀悼曼德拉但质疑他的政党

 

AS IT IS 2013-12-15 South Africa Mourns Mandela but Questions His Party 南非哀悼曼德拉但质疑他的政党

Hello, and welcome back to As It Is. I’m Kelly Jean Kelly.

A funeral service honoring anti-apartheid leader Nelson Mandela is taking place this weekend in his childhood hometown of Qunu, in Eastern Cape¹.  Most South Africans  are mourning his death.  But there appears to be growing dissatisfaction with the party that brought him to power: the African National Congress. VOA reporter Anita Powell recently spoke² with a group of South Africans in Johannesburg who are struggling to separate their personal and political feelings.  Jim  Tedder³ has her report. Nelson Mandela often liked to joke about what he planned to do immediately after he died.  He said he planned to set up an office of the African National Congress in  the afterlife.  But the party he led to power in 1994 seems to be losing its influence.

South African is set to hold national elections next year.  The year marks the 20th anniversary of the country’s move from white-minority rule to democracy.  The ANC  has led the nation since that time.  ANC leaders often talk about Nelson Mandela’s loyalty⁴ to his party.  It can be hard to tell where one begins and the other one  ends. However, South Africans say the recent death of Nelson Mandela has made it easier to separate their love for the man from their growing dissatisfaction with the party.

South Africa may be free, but it is far from equal.  Blacks are still the poorest members of society.  The nation’s unemployment rate stands at 26 percent.  And in  recent years, ANC members have been named in a number of corruption⁵ cases.

Sixty-six year old Frans Maloka lives in Alexandra Township.  He says he no longer trusts the party that earned him his freedom.  And, he says he trusts current  president Jacob Zuma even less.

“No, no, no, no, no.  I won’t go there.  I tell you, there’s no security.  But I won’t vote ANC.  I rather can vote DA.  Look, now we are suffer.  You see, ANC no  more good.  Under Zuma is no more good.  You see, it’s not ANC we need.  We voting when Mandela, we put Mandela.  This ANC’s no good.”

He is talking about the nation’s main opposition⁶ party, the Democratic Alliance.  Mmusi Mainmane is a spokesman for the party.  He says the party has avoided talking  about politics since Mandela’s death.  Like many South Africans, Maimane used the nickname Madiba when talking about Mandela.

“As a party, we’ve taken a view that says we don’t want to divert the focus so that it becomes about politicking⁷ and politics.  But that, in fact, it is about  Nelson Mandela’s life, it is about the celebration of that, it is about the Madiba family.  And so to cloud that with so many political issues would be in some ways  to do an injustice⁸ to a life well lived.”

Maimane says his party accepts that Nelson Mandela is inseparably tied to politics.  He notes that criticism of the ANC was increasing long before Mandela’s death. “That feeling is one that has been growing regardless of the passing of Nelson Mandela.  There’s a broad parallel where people are questioning the future of this  country and there’s a question about that that still lingers on.  And I think, as, it’s a very difficult time and so people are going to make statements either way  or another.  Ours is to accept the fact that there is going to be an election next year which is going to be an interesting one, a tough one at that.”

Jan Mogano is an unemployed⁹ construction worker.  He says he worries that Nelson Mandela’s death will have a negative effect on elections.

“Even our ruling party, the way things are now, it’s like, I think, lots of people, they don’t know who to vote for now.”

That, truly, is Mr.  Mandela’s legacy¹⁰ -- a leader so inspiring, so beloved, that many cannot envision a future without him. I’m Jim Tedder.

And I’m Kelly Jean Kelly.

Thanks for joining us on As It Is.

1 cape   

n.海角，岬；披肩，短披风

参考例句：

• I long for a trip to the Cape of Good Hope.我渴望到好望角去旅行。
• She was wearing a cape over her dress.她在外套上披着一件披肩。

2 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

3 tedder   

n.（干草）翻晒者，翻晒机

参考例句：

• Jim Tedder has more. 吉姆？特德将给我们做更多的介绍。 来自互联网
• Jim Tedder tells us more. 吉姆？泰德给我们带来更详细的报道。 来自互联网

4 loyalty   

n.忠诚，忠心

参考例句：

• She told him the truth from a sense of loyalty.她告诉他真相是出于忠诚。
• His loyalty to his friends was never in doubt.他对朋友的一片忠心从来没受到怀疑。

5 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。

6 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。

7 politicking   

n.政治活动，竞选活动v.从政( politic的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• A lot of politicking preceded the choice of the new director. 在选新领导人之前进行了大量的拉拢活动。 来自辞典例句
• This colleague is always politicking. 这位同僚总是忙于政治活动。 来自互联网

8 injustice   

n.非正义，不公正，不公平，侵犯（别人的）权利

参考例句：

• They complained of injustice in the way they had been treated.他们抱怨受到不公平的对待。
• All his life he has been struggling against injustice.他一生都在与不公正现象作斗争。

9 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。

10 legacy   

n.遗产，遗赠；先人(或过去)留下的东西

参考例句：

• They are the most precious cultural legacy our forefathers left.它们是我们祖先留下来的最宝贵的文化遗产。
• He thinks the legacy is a gift from the Gods.他认为这笔遗产是天赐之物。