VOA慢速英语2021--拜登发出全球民主警告

Biden Issues Warning about Worldwide Democracy

American President Joe Biden opened the first Summit for Democracy on Thursday. The gathering¹ aims to bring together world leaders who, in his words, "strengthen our own democracies and push back on authoritarianism³."

"This is an urgent matter," Biden said as he opened the two-day video meeting. "The data we're seeing is largely pointing in the wrong direction."

The president made note of a recent report from the International Institute of Democracy and Electoral Assistance. The report found that "more than half of all democracies have experienced a decline in at least one aspect of their democracy over the last 10 years, including the United States."

Michael Abramowitz is head of Freedom House, which produced yearly reports on the state of democracy around the world. He said American democracy has "been hurting in recent years." He added, "Right now, we're going through a phase in America where it's very difficult to get things done and to really prove that democracy can deliver."

Biden announced plans to spend up to $424 million to support independent media, fight corruption⁴, defend fair elections and advance democracy. The money must be approved by the United States Congress.

Other leaders speaking

World leaders took turns to speak about the state of democracy. Many of the video messages had been recorded at an earlier time.

"The democratic conversation is changing," said Denmark's Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen. New technologies, she said, have centered more on reaching people than on freedom of speech.

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who took part in Thursday's meeting, said on Twitter, "Democracy is not a given, it must be fought for." Zelensky was to meet with Biden later in the day. Biden had warned Russia not to invade Ukraine a day earlier.

Poland's Andrzej Duda also spoke⁵ out against Russia and its support of Belarus in his comments to the gathering. Poland's support for democracy "has made us the target of the Kremlin propaganda," he said.

The U.S. State Department listed more than 100 countries that were invited to the gathering. The countries include liberal democracies, weaker democracies and those with authoritarian² qualities.

Pakistan's Prime Minister Imran Khan declined to attend the meeting. In a statement issued ahead of the gathering, the foreign ministry⁶ said, "We value our partnership⁷ with the U.S. which we wish to expand both bilaterally⁸ as well as in terms of regional and international cooperation."

Hungary attempted unsuccessfully to block European Union Commission President Ursula von der Leyen from speaking at the gathering. Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó called the meeting a "political" event. Hungary was among the countries not invited to the event. Other such nations included Turkey and Egypt.

Words in This Story

authoritarianism - n. a belief requiring people to obey authority at the cost of personal freedom

aspect - n. a part of something

deliver - v. to produce the promised or expected results

advance - v. to move forward

adversary⁹ - n. an enemy or opponent

decline - v. to say that you will not do something

bilaterally - adv. involving two countries

regional - n. a part of the world

1 gathering   

n.集会，聚会，聚集

参考例句：

• He called on Mr. White to speak at the gathering.他请怀特先生在集会上讲话。
• He is on the wing gathering material for his novels.他正忙于为他的小说收集资料。

2 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。

3 authoritarianism   

权力主义，独裁主义

参考例句：

• Modern authoritarianism is a vestige of traditional personal rule. 现代独裁主义则是传统的个人统治的残余。
• In its latter days it was a byword for authoritarianism, incompetence, and corruption. 在后期，它是独裁、无能和腐化的代号。

4 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。

5 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。

6 ministry   

n.(政府的)部；牧师

参考例句：

• They sent a deputation to the ministry to complain.他们派了一个代表团到部里投诉。
• We probed the Air Ministry statements.我们调查了空军部的记录。

7 partnership   

n.合作关系，伙伴关系

参考例句：

• The company has gone into partnership with Swiss Bank Corporation.这家公司已经和瑞士银行公司建立合作关系。
• Martin has taken him into general partnership in his company.马丁已让他成为公司的普通合伙人。

8 bilaterally   

[医]adv.两侧，双向地

参考例句：

• The data in the Performance Test shall be Bilaterally recorded and confirmed. 在生产线考核期间的数据应由双方共同记录并确认。
• Anatomic constraints may preclude the insertion a transarticular screw unilaterally or bilaterally. 解剖制约可能妨碍单边或双边插入关节螺钉。

9 adversary   

adj.敌手，对手

参考例句：

• He saw her as his main adversary within the company.他将她视为公司中主要的对手。
• They will do anything to undermine their adversary's reputation.他们会不择手段地去损害对手的名誉。