VOA慢速英语2021--海地总统在家中遇刺身亡

Haitian President Jovenel Moise was assassinated² during an attack by gunmen inside his home early Wednesday.

The killing³ was confirmed by the country's interim⁴ prime minister, Claude Joseph, who said the president's wife was wounded in the attack.

"A group of unidentified individuals, some of them speaking Spanish, attacked the private residence of the president of the republic and thus fatally wounded the head of state," Joseph said in a statement.

A state of emergency was declared and the police and military were currently in control of security, he added. Joseph condemned⁵ the president's killing as "hateful" and "inhumane." He promised that "democracy and the republic will win."

Haiti has recently experienced an increase in gang violence, anti-government protests and a rise in coronavirus infections.

The streets of Haiti's capital, Port-au-Prince, remained mostly quiet Wednesday morning. But there were reports of people damaging some businesses in one part of the city. Officials closed the country's international airport.

President Moise, who was 53, had been ruling by decree for more than a year. This was after the country failed to hold elections and the opposition⁶ demanded that he step down in recent months.

Joseph is likely to lead Haiti for now, said Alex Dupuy, a Haiti-born sociologist⁷ who teaches at Wesleyan University in the United States. He told The Associated Press that the best possible situation would be for Joseph and opposition parties to come together and hold elections.

"But, in Haiti, nothing can be taken for granted. It depends how the current balance of forces in Haiti plays out," Dupuy said. Haiti's police force is already dealing⁸ with a recent increase in violence in Port-au-Prince that has displaced more than 14,700 people, he added.

Former President Michel Martelly, whom Moise succeeded, said he was praying for first lady Martine Moise. Officials said the 47-year-old first lady was receiving treatment in the hospital.

A person who lives near the president's home told the AP she heard the attack. "I thought there was an earthquake, there was so much shooting," she said. The woman did not want to be named because she said she feared for her life. "The president had problems with many people, but this is not how we expected him to die. This is something I wouldn't wish on any Haitian."

The White House described the attack as "horrific" and "tragic⁹" and said it was still gathering¹⁰ information on what happened.

Moise was killed a day after he nominated Ariel Henry, a neurosurgeon, as Haiti's new prime minister. Joseph took over the job of interim prime minister in April following the resignation of the previous head of government, Joseph Jouthe.

Haiti's economic, political and social problems have recently worsened, with gang violence intensifying¹¹ in the capital. Inflation also led to food and fuel shortages in a country where 60 percent of the population makes less than $2 a day.

Opposition leaders accused Moise of seeking to increase his power, including by approving a decree that limited the powers of a court that audits¹³ government contracts.

The president faced large demonstrations¹⁴ in recent months that turned violent. Opposition leaders and their supporters protested his plans to hold a constitutional referendum with proposals that would strengthen the presidency¹⁵.

Words in This Story

assassinate¹ – v. to kill (someone, such as a famous or important person) usually for political reasons

fatally – adv. causing death

gang – n. a group of young people who do illegal things together and who often fight against other gangs

decree – n. an official order or decision from a government or leader

take for granted – phr. to value something too lightly

neurosurgeon – n. a doctor who operates on the brain

audit¹² – n. an examination of an organization's financial records by an independent person in order to produce a report

referendum – n. an election in which people in an area vote on a specific issue

1 assassinate   

vt.暗杀，行刺，中伤

参考例句：

• The police exposed a criminal plot to assassinate the president.警方侦破了一个行刺总统的阴谋。
• A plot to assassinate the banker has been uncovered by the police.暗杀银行家的密谋被警方侦破了。

2 assassinated   

v.暗杀( assassinate的过去式和过去分词 )；中伤；诋毁；破坏

参考例句：

• The prime minister was assassinated by extremists. 首相遭极端分子暗杀。
• Then, just two days later, President Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas. 跟着在两天以后，肯尼迪总统在达拉斯被人暗杀。 来自辞典例句

3 killing   

n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财

参考例句：

• Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
• Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。

4 interim   

adj.暂时的，临时的；n.间歇，过渡期间

参考例句：

• The government is taking interim measures to help those in immediate need.政府正在采取临时措施帮助那些有立即需要的人。
• It may turn out to be an interim technology.这可能只是个过渡技术。

5 condemned   

adj. 被责难的, 被宣告有罪的 动词condemn的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• He condemned the hypocrisy of those politicians who do one thing and say another. 他谴责了那些说一套做一套的政客的虚伪。
• The policy has been condemned as a regressive step. 这项政策被认为是一种倒退而受到谴责。

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 sociologist   

n.研究社会学的人，社会学家

参考例句：

• His mother was a sociologist,researching socialism.他的母亲是个社会学家，研究社会主义。
• Max Weber is a great and outstanding sociologist.马克斯·韦伯是一位伟大的、杰出的社会学家。

8 dealing   

n.经商方法，待人态度

参考例句：

• This store has an excellent reputation for fair dealing.该商店因买卖公道而享有极高的声誉。
• His fair dealing earned our confidence.他的诚实的行为获得我们的信任。

9 tragic   

adj.悲剧的，悲剧性的，悲惨的

参考例句：

• The effect of the pollution on the beaches is absolutely tragic.污染海滩后果可悲。
• Charles was a man doomed to tragic issues.查理是个注定不得善终的人。

10 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。

11 intensifying   

v.（使）增强， （使）加剧( intensify的现在分词 )；增辉

参考例句：

• The allies are intensifying their air campaign. 联军部队正加大他们的空战强度。 来自辞典例句
• The rest of the European powers were in a state of intensifying congestion. 其余的欧洲强国则处于越来越拥挤的状态。 来自英汉非文学 - 历史

12 audit   

v.审计；查帐；核对；旁听

参考例句：

• Each year they audit our accounts and certify them as being true and fair.他们每年对我们进行账务审核，以确保其真实无误。
• As usual,the yearly audit will take place in December.跟往常一样，年度审计将在十二月份进行。

13 audits   

n.审计，查账( audit的名词复数 )v.审计，查账( audit的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• Requires that use of all bond funds is subject to independent audits. 需要使用的所有债券基金是受独立审计。 来自互联网
• Support the locations during customer-visits, audits and quality-improvement programs. 支持客户参观，稽核和提高品质等项目。 来自互联网

14 demonstrations   

证明( demonstration的名词复数 )； 表明； 表达； 游行示威

参考例句：

• Lectures will be interspersed with practical demonstrations. 讲课中将不时插入实际示范。
• The new military government has banned strikes and demonstrations. 新的军人政府禁止罢工和示威活动。

15 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。