2006年VOA标准英语-Sharon Remains in Coma as Election Heats U

By Robert Berger
Jerusalem
13 January 2006

Ariel Sharon  
  
Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon remains¹ in critical but stable condition at a Jerusalem hospital.  Over a week after Mr. Sharon's massive stroke, the Israeli election campaign is moving into high gear.

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According to Israeli media reports, Mr. Sharon's doctors are worried that they have not yet been able to wake him from a drug-induced coma². They began weaning him off sedatives³ on Monday and hoped that he might revive in a few days. If Mr. Sharon wakes up, doctors can conduct tests to determine the extent of brain damage.

But the prime minister's condition has stabilized⁴, and since his life is in no immediate⁵ danger, Israeli politics have kicked back into high gear ahead of national elections on March 28.  Israeli political scientist Reuven Hazan told Israel Radio.

"We are about to get into the real politics season, and at some point we have to understand that political decisions have to be made regardless of the situation of the Prime Minister," he said.

The embattled Likud party, which Mr. Sharon abandoned in November, held primaries to choose a list of candidates for the elections. The results show that the Likud, led by former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, is moving further to the right. That means the party will oppose Mr. Sharon's plan for future Israeli withdrawals⁶ from parts of the West Bank.  Only two of the top 15 candidates supported the prime minister's pullout from the Gaza Strip in August.

"Likud has decided⁷ to stake a hard claim on the hard right," he said.

But that won't help the Likud in the elections because the Israeli public appears to be moving toward the center. Polls show that Mr. Sharon's centrist Kadima party, which supports territorial⁸ concessions⁹ to the Palestinians, is growing in popularity despite his departure from the political scene. According to the latest surveys, Kadima, led by acting¹⁰ Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, would win up to 43 seats in the 120-member parliament, compared to just 17 seats for the Likud.

1 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

2 coma   

n.昏迷，昏迷状态

参考例句：

• The patient rallied from the coma.病人从昏迷中苏醒过来。
• She went into a coma after swallowing a whole bottle of sleeping pills.她吃了一整瓶安眠药后就昏迷过去了。

3 sedatives   

n.镇静药，镇静剂( sedative的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• A wide variety of mild sedatives and tranquilizers have become available. 现在有许多种镇静剂和安定剂。 来自辞典例句
• Since July 1967 there has been a restriction on the prescribing of sedatives in Australia. 自从1967年7月起，澳大利亚的镇静药处方受到限制。 来自辞典例句

4 stabilized   

v.（使）稳定， （使）稳固( stabilize的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The patient's condition stabilized. 患者的病情稳定下来。
• His blood pressure has stabilized. 他的血压已经稳定下来了。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

5 immediate   

adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的

参考例句：

• His immediate neighbours felt it their duty to call.他的近邻认为他们有责任去拜访。
• We declared ourselves for the immediate convocation of the meeting.我们主张立即召开这个会议。

6 withdrawals   

n.收回，取回，撤回( withdrawal的名词复数 )；撤退，撤走；收回[取回，撤回，撤退，撤走]的实例；推出（组织），提走（存款），戒除毒瘾，对说过的话收回，孤僻

参考例句：

• He has made several withdrawals from his bank account. 他从银行账户上提了几次款。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• It is not the bank's policy to deduct interest on withdrawals. 提款需扣除利息这并非是本银行的政策。 来自辞典例句

7 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。

8 territorial   

adj.领土的，领地的

参考例句：

• The country is fighting to preserve its territorial integrity.该国在为保持领土的完整而进行斗争。
• They were not allowed to fish in our territorial waters.不允许他们在我国领海捕鱼。

9 concessions   

n.（尤指由政府或雇主给予的）特许权( concession的名词复数 )；承认；减价；（在某地的）特许经营权

参考例句：

• The firm will be forced to make concessions if it wants to avoid a strike. 要想避免罢工，公司将不得不作出一些让步。
• The concessions did little to placate the students. 让步根本未能平息学生的愤怒。

10 acting   

n.演戏，行为，假装；adj.代理的，临时的，演出用的

参考例句：

• Ignore her,she's just acting.别理她，她只是假装的。
• During the seventies,her acting career was in eclipse.在七十年代，她的表演生涯黯然失色。