VOA慢速英语2016 津巴布韦否认总统穆加贝心脏病发作

AS IT IS 2016-01-19 Zimbabwe Denies Reports of Mugabe Heart Attack 津巴布韦否认总统穆加贝心脏病发作

The government of Zimbabwe is denying a report that President Robert Mugabe has suffered a heart attack.

津巴布韦政府否认了总统穆加贝心脏病发作的相关报道。

Presidential spokesman¹ George Charamba told reporters on Thursday that the report by the website ZimEye.net was false. He said the report was published to increase the number of users, or people who visit the website, so its owners could increase their earnings².

本周四，总统发言人George Charamba接受记者采访时表示网站ZimEye.net上的报道属虚假信息。他表示发表该报道是为了增加用户数量或者增加网站的访问量，这样所有者的收入就会增加。

Reports that Mugabe’s health is poor are common. He will be 92 next month. He leaves the country for a long vacation every January.

有关穆加贝总统健康状况不佳的报道屡见不鲜。下个月将迎来92岁生日。穆加贝总统每年一月都会出国度次长假。

The president’s spokesman does not usually react to reports about the president’s health. But this time, Charamba complained about frequent reports that Mugabe has died.

总统发言人通常不会对总统健康相关的报道做出反应。但此次，Charamba表示有太多报道称穆加贝总统已经去世。

Mugabe has ruled Zimbabwe since 1980, when the country gained independence from Britain. He is the world’s oldest head of state. He has said he does not suffer from poor health. But last year he fell down stairs at Harare airport. And in September, he read the same speech to parliament that he had given a month earlier.

自1980年津巴布韦脱离英国的统治获得独立起，穆加贝一直担任津巴布韦总统一职。他是全球最老的国家元首。他已经否认健康不佳的说法。但去年时从哈拉雷机场的楼梯跌倒。九月份时，他向议会作演讲时用了一个月前的稿子。

His long rule and his age have created concerns about what will happen to the presidency³ after his death.

穆加贝长时间的统治和年龄，让人们开始担心穆加贝去世之后，总统职位会发生什么。

Some experts believe Senior Vice⁴ President Emmerson Mnangagwa will become president. But the president’s wife, Grace Mugabe, has been making political moves. She is the head of the women’s membership⁵ group of the ruling ZANU-PF party.

一些专家认为副总统Emmerson Mnangagwa将成为总统。但总统妻子Grace Mugabe一直都在发起政治运动。她是执政党非洲民族联盟-爱国阵线女性成员团体的领导。

Words in This Story

vacation - n. a period when someone spends time away from home, school or business, usually for traveling

complained - v. saying or writing about something you do not like

frequent - adj. many times; often

doubt - n. a feeling of being unsure about something

alleged⁶ - adj. accused or suspected of doing something

stairs - n. a series of steps that go from one level of a building to the next

1 spokesman   

n.发言人，代言人

参考例句：

• The government spokesman gave a quick briefing to the reporters.政府发言人向记者们作了情况简介。
• They drew lots to decide who should be their spokesman.他们抽签决定谁是他们的发言人。

2 earnings   

n.工资收人；利润，利益，所得

参考例句：

• That old man lives on the earnings of his daughter.那个老人靠他女儿的收入维持生活。
• Last year there was a 20% decrease in his earnings.去年他的收入减少了20%。

3 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。

4 vice   

n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的

参考例句：

• He guarded himself against vice.他避免染上坏习惯。
• They are sunk in the depth of vice.他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。

5 membership   

n.成员资格，会员全体，从属关系

参考例句：

• I must renew my membership of the sailing club.我必须延续我的航海俱乐部会员的资格。
• He made up his mind to apply for membership in the Party.他决心申请入党。

6 alleged   

a.被指控的，嫌疑的

参考例句：

• It was alleged that he had taken bribes while in office. 他被指称在任时收受贿赂。
• alleged irregularities in the election campaign 被指称竞选运动中的不正当行为