New King Pledges to Serve Cambodian People

 

By Scott Bobb

Cambodia's new king, Norodom Sihamoni, has made his first address to the people, one day after assuming the throne. The new monarch¹ made the address Saturday to a crowd gathered at the main gate of the royal palace.

Thousands of Cambodians gathered early Saturday morning to see and hear their new king in person for the first time.

King Sihamoni, sitting with royal family members and senior government officials above the grand entrance to the palace grounds, called his selection two weeks ago a great honor. He quoted his father, Norodom Sihanouk, as saying that a king is never master of the people, but rather their servant.

"I will always be your faithful and devoted² servant," he said. "I will never live apart from the beloved people."

Prime Minister Hun Sen welcomed the succession, saying it made him proud.

The prime minister says upholding the constitutional monarchy³ is the main factor in ensuring continuity of the monarchy.

Cambodia's constitution mandates⁴ that the monarch remain outside politics. King Sihanouk, during a reign⁵ that spanned six decades, often came close to crossing that line. But he also acted as a unifying⁶ force during periods of war and civil strife⁷.

King Sihanouk, who is 82, announced his abdication⁸ because of ill health and age, in early October. His son was selected to succeed him two weeks ago and was crowned on Friday.

King Sihamoni has spent most of his life abroad, but as a United Nations cultural ambassador, he often spoke⁹ out for the disadvantaged.

The king pledged to give priority to the poor. And he urged Cambodians to banish¹⁰ injustice¹¹, favoritism, and corruption¹².

Mok San, a homemaker with four children, was among the thousands of people who gathered to greet the new king. She says she believes he will be a good leader.

Ms. Mok says the new king will be like a tree providing shelter and protection to the people.

Bun Lin Da, who works with a local civic¹³ group, says she thinks the king has good intentions.

She says if she could, she would ask the new king to help the poor, so that Cambodia can achieve peace and development.

Kheang Tam, a 53-year-old businessman, says it was time for a change in the monarchy.

Mr. Kheang says the king's father, Norodom Sihanouk, was old so he was right to let a younger person lead the country.

Twenty three-year-old Sam Ath agrees, but hopes the legacy¹⁴ of King Sihanouk lives on.

He says if he had the chance to talk to the king he would tell him to love his people and his country as his father did.

King Sihamoni will soon tour the countryside to meet rural Cambodians. In addition, officials say China has invited the king for his first state visit in the near future.

By Scott Bobb, VOA News, Phnom Penh.

注释：
Cambodia 柬埔寨
Norodom Sihamoni 诺罗敦·西哈莫尼，柬埔寨新国王
assume 就职
monarch 君主
address 就职演说
devoted 忠诚的
continuity 连贯性
abdication 退位
priority 优先权
banish 消除
injustice 不公平
favoritism 徇私

 

1 monarch   

n.帝王，君主，最高统治者

参考例句：

• The monarch's role is purely ceremonial.君主纯粹是个礼仪职位。
• I think myself happier now than the greatest monarch upon earth.我觉得这个时候比世界上什么帝王都快乐。

2 devoted   

adj.忠诚的，忠实的，热心的，献身于...的

参考例句：

• He devoted his life to the educational cause of the motherland.他为祖国的教育事业贡献了一生。
• We devoted a lengthy and full discussion to this topic.我们对这个题目进行了长时间的充分讨论。

3 monarchy   

n.君主，最高统治者；君主政体，君主国

参考例句：

• The monarchy in England plays an important role in British culture.英格兰的君主政体在英国文化中起重要作用。
• The power of the monarchy in Britain today is more symbolical than real.今日英国君主的权力多为象徵性的，无甚实际意义。

4 mandates   

托管（mandate的第三人称单数形式）

参考例句：

• Individual mandates would require all people to purchase health insurance. 个人托管要求所有人都要购买健康保险。
• While I agree with those benefits, I'm not a supporter of mandates. 我同意上述好处，我不是授权软件的支持者。

5 reign   

n.统治时期，统治，支配，盛行；v.占优势

参考例句：

• The reign of Queen Elizabeth lapped over into the seventeenth century.伊丽莎白王朝延至17世纪。
• The reign of Zhu Yuanzhang lasted about 31 years.朱元璋统治了大约三十一年。

6 unifying   

使联合( unify的现在分词 )； 使相同； 使一致； 统一

参考例句：

• In addition, there were certain religious bonds of a unifying kind. 此外，他们还有某种具有一种统一性质的宗教上的结合。
• There is a unifying theme, and that is the theme of information flow within biological systems. 我们可以用一个总的命题，把生物学系统内的信息流来作为这一研究主题。

7 strife   

n.争吵，冲突，倾轧，竞争

参考例句：

• We do not intend to be drawn into the internal strife.我们不想卷入内乱之中。
• Money is a major cause of strife in many marriages.金钱是造成很多婚姻不和的一个主要原因。

8 abdication   

n.辞职；退位

参考例句：

• The officers took over and forced his abdication in 1947.1947年军官们接管了政权并迫使他退了位。
• Abdication is precluded by the lack of a possible successor.因为没有可能的继承人，让位无法实现。

9 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。

10 banish   

vt.放逐，驱逐；消除，排除

参考例句：

• The doctor advised her to banish fear and anxiety.医生劝她消除恐惧和忧虑。
• He tried to banish gloom from his thought.他试图驱除心中的忧愁。

11 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。

12 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。

13 civic   

adj.城市的，都市的，市民的，公民的

参考例句：

• I feel it is my civic duty to vote.我认为投票选举是我作为公民的义务。
• The civic leaders helped to forward the project.市政府领导者协助促进工程的进展。

14 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。