2006年VOA标准英语-France Lifts Two-Month State of Emergency

By Lisa Bryant
Paris
03 January 2006

The French government has decided¹ to lift a state of emergency imposed two months ago, when riots and arson² attacks swept across France. The situation has calmed, but critics warn the unrest may return.

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A hooded³ youth walks past plainclothes policemen on patrol in a low-income housing complex near Paris in November   
  

The government instituted the state of emergency in November, during the worst social unrest to hit France in nearly 40 years. The trouble began in Paris-area suburbs in late October, after two youths of African origin were accidentally electrocuted while hiding from the police, and the violence spread across the nation. Nearly 9,000 vehicles were burned and 3,000 people arrested during three weeks of turmoil⁴.

French President Jacques Chirac has called for the state of emergency to be lifted as of Wednesday. The decree allows local officials to impose curfews, conduct house-to-house searches, and ban public gatherings⁵. And while many towns decided not to impose such measures, the violence abated⁶ rapidly.

But the state of emergency was controversial from the beginning, and critics like Dominique Sopo, the head of the anti-discrimination group SOS Racism⁷, say it should never have been imposed.

Mr. Sopo denounced the state of emergency as simply a political gesture that offers only a law-and-order response to the problem at hand. He said Mr. Chirac's center-right government has failed to address discrimination facing ethnic⁸-immigrants, which has stoked anger and ultimately unleashed⁹ the wave of violence.

French officials have unveiled a raft of plans to address the problems of youths and others living in France's gritty suburban¹⁰ ghettos. Many are second-and third-generation ethnic immigrants and French citizens - yet are not integrated into French society.

The measures range from offering better educational opportunities and tackling job discrimination, to restoring funding for neighborhood services the government cut a couple of years ago, but Mr. Sopo is among a number of critics who say that, so far, they have not seen any results.

1 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

2 arson   

n.纵火，放火

参考例句：

• He was serving a ten spot for arson.他因纵火罪在服十年徒刑。
• He was arraigned on a charge of arson.他因被指控犯纵火罪而被传讯。

3 hooded   

adj.戴头巾的；有罩盖的；颈部因肋骨运动而膨胀的

参考例句：

• A hooded figure waited in the doorway. 一个戴兜帽的人在门口等候。
• Black-eyed gipsy girls, hooded in showy handkerchiefs, sallied forth to tell fortunes. 黑眼睛的吉卜赛姑娘，用华丽的手巾包着头，突然地闯了进来替人算命。 来自辞典例句

4 turmoil   

n.骚乱，混乱，动乱

参考例句：

• His mind was in such a turmoil that he couldn't get to sleep.内心的纷扰使他无法入睡。
• The robbery put the village in a turmoil.抢劫使全村陷入混乱。

5 gatherings   

聚集( gathering的名词复数 )； 收集； 采集； 搜集

参考例句：

• His conduct at social gatherings created a lot of comment. 他在社交聚会上的表现引起许多闲话。
• During one of these gatherings a pupil caught stealing. 有一次，其中一名弟子偷窃被抓住。

6 abated   

减少( abate的过去式和过去分词 )； 减去； 降价； 撤消（诉讼）

参考例句：

• The worker's concern about cuts in the welfare funding has not abated. 工人们对削减福利基金的关心并没有减少。
• The heat has abated. 温度降低了。

7 racism   

n.民族主义；种族歧视(意识)

参考例句：

• He said that racism is endemic in this country.他说种族主义在该国很普遍。
• Racism causes political instability and violence.种族主义道致政治动荡和暴力事件。

8 ethnic   

adj.人种的，种族的，异教徒的

参考例句：

• This music would sound more ethnic if you played it in steel drums.如果你用钢鼓演奏，这首乐曲将更具民族特色。
• The plan is likely only to aggravate ethnic frictions.这一方案很有可能只会加剧种族冲突。

9 unleashed   

v.把（感情、力量等）释放出来，发泄( unleash的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The government's proposals unleashed a storm of protest in the press. 政府的提案引发了新闻界的抗议浪潮。
• The full force of his rage was unleashed against me. 他把所有的怒气都发泄在我身上。 来自《简明英汉词典》

10 suburban   

adj.城郊的，在郊区的

参考例句：

• Suburban shopping centers were springing up all over America. 效区的商业中心在美国如雨后春笋般地兴起。
• There's a lot of good things about suburban living.郊区生活是有许多优点。