VOA慢速英语2015--昂山素季重返议会

AS IT IS 2015-11-17 Aung San Suu Kyi Attends Parliament 昂山素季重返议会

Myanmar pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi attended Parliament’s closing meeting on Monday.

Aung San Suu Kyi and her National League for Democracy (NLD) party won a strong victory in recent elections. The NLD received many more votes than the Union Solidarity¹ and Development Party, or USDP.

The USDP is supported by the government and the military.

The NLD will have a strong majority of seats in the new parliament. The military will control about one quarter of the seats. The military has controlled the country and its government for the past 50 years.

The meeting of Parliament on Monday was the last time the legislature met under the presidency² of Thein Sein. He was a leader of the USDP.

Last week, the Obama administration congratulated both Thein Sein and Aung San Suu Kyi on what it called “historic elections.” But it said Myanmar must take more steps toward becoming a democracy. It said Myanmar must change its constitution so that Aung San Suu Kyi can become president.

The military put a rule into the constitution that bars anyone from becoming president if they have children who are citizens of another country. Aung San Suu Kyi has sons who are British citizens.  

President Barack Obama’s foreign policy advisor³ Ben Rhodes said the Obama administration has “consistently said over the course of the last several years that a full transition to domestic civilian⁴ rule in Burma would require a process of constitutional reform.”

?Aung San Suu Kyi recently talked to Radio Free Asia’s Myanmar service. She said her supporters should, in her words, “control themselves.” She said they should not react to any moves by the government because the election process, in her words, is “not finished yet.”

She said after the NLD forms a new government, it will reveal its plan for reforms. She said reforms are, in her words, “still far ahead.” She said winning the election is only the first step in a long process.

More than 30 million people voted in the election. Most international observers said the election was successful. But some said they were concerned that some Muslims and other minorities were not permitted to vote.

They also said there was a lack of openness in the counting of ballots⁵ that some voters chose to mark before the election took place.

This was the first national election in Myanmar since military leaders created a government led by civilians⁶ in 2011. The military controlled the government but named civilians as leaders.

Aung San Suu Kyi was under house arrest for almost 20 years. The election allows her and the NLD party to operate more freely now.

Words in This Story

transition – n. a change from one state or condition to another

1 solidarity   

n.团结；休戚相关

参考例句：

• They must preserve their solidarity.他们必须维护他们的团结。
• The solidarity among China's various nationalities is as firm as a rock.中国各族人民之间的团结坚如磐石。

2 presidency   

n.总统(校长，总经理)的职位(任期)

参考例句：

• Roosevelt was elected four times to the presidency of the United States.罗斯福连续当选四届美国总统。
• Two candidates are emerging as contestants for the presidency.两位候选人最终成为总统职位竞争者。

3 advisor   

n.顾问，指导老师，劝告者

参考例句：

• They employed me as an advisor.他们聘请我当顾问。
• The professor is engaged as a technical advisor.这位教授被聘请为技术顾问。

4 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。

5 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》

6 civilians   

平民，百姓( civilian的名词复数 )； 老百姓

参考例句：

• the bloody massacre of innocent civilians 对无辜平民的血腥屠杀
• At least 300 civilians are unaccounted for after the bombing raids. 遭轰炸袭击之后，至少有300名平民下落不明。