2006年VOA标准英语- Conservatives Declare Election Victory in

By Craig McCulloch
Vancouver
24 January 2006

Canada's Conservative opposition¹ has won the country's general election, ending 12 years of Liberal government. 

Conservative Leader Stephen Harper gives thumbs up in Calgary, Canada, Monday, Jan. 23, 2006  
  
The results will make 46-year-old economist² Stephen Harper the twenty-second prime minister of Canada. The Conservative Party elected 124 out of a possible 308 members of parliament and took just over 36 percent of the popular vote.

This defeats the party of now outgoing Liberal leader and Prime Minister Paul Martin, who has held office for just over two years. While he will remain the local member of parliament from Montreal, he announced his resignation as Liberal Leader in his concession³ speech. His party finished with 103 seats Canada's House of Commons and just over 30 percent of the popular vote.

The Bloc⁴ Quebecois Party, which advocates Quebec's separation from Canada, will have 51 seats. The left-wing New Democratic Party garnered⁵ 29 seats, with Party Leader Jack⁶ Layton and his wife Olivia Chow becoming only the second husband and wife team in parliament in Canadian history.

In Canada, voters cast ballots⁷ for local members of parliament, not the party leaders. The party with the most seats, or MPs as they are known, forms a government and the party leader, in this case Stephen Harper, becomes prime minister.

In his victory speech to supporters in Calgary, Mr. Harper says he is mindful that the other parties outnumber his new minority government. In a conciliatory gesture, he is promising⁸ to work with his political rivals.

"Tonight, although Canadians have voted for change, they have not given any one party in the House of Commons a majority. They have asked us to cooperate, to work together and get on with tackling the real concerns of ordinary working people and their families," he said. "I look forward to working with all of the parties and all of the members of parliament to build consensus⁹ and move this country forward. Friends, I have never been so proud of our great country. And I honoured and overwhelmed to be asked to lead it."

The change of power will most likely happen within the next two weeks. Once in office, Mr. Harper says he will introduce an accountability act. This is a campaign promise to eliminate the chance for scandal and corruption¹⁰.

A report alleging¹¹ criminal wrongdoing and corruption of different government officials when previous Liberal Prime Minister Jean Chretien was in office, forced the election. The report and other alleged¹² scandals plagued the Liberal Party and Paul Martin throughout the campaign.

As the new prime minister, Mr. Harper says his new government will also focus on reducing taxes, reform Canada's justice system, offer parents tax credits for child care, and reduce the time it takes to get surgery under Canada's public healthcare system.

1 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。

2 economist   

n.经济学家，经济专家，节俭的人

参考例句：

• He cast a professional economist's eyes on the problem.他以经济学行家的眼光审视这个问题。
• He's an economist who thinks he knows all the answers.他是个经济学家，自以为什么都懂。

3 concession   

n.让步，妥协；特许(权)

参考例句：

• We can not make heavy concession to the matter.我们在这个问题上不能过于让步。
• That is a great concession.这是很大的让步。

4 bloc   

n.集团；联盟

参考例句：

• A solid bloc of union members support the decision.工会会员团结起来支持该决定。
• There have been growing tensions within the trading bloc.贸易同盟国的关系越来越紧张。

5 garnered   

v.收集并（通常）贮藏（某物），取得，获得( garner的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Mr. Smith gradually garnered a national reputation as a financial expert. 史密斯先生逐渐赢得全国金融专家的声誉。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He has garnered extensive support for his proposals. 他的提议得到了广泛的支持。 来自辞典例句

6 jack   

n.插座，千斤顶，男人；v.抬起，提醒，扛举；n.（Jake）杰克

参考例句：

• I am looking for the headphone jack.我正在找寻头戴式耳机插孔。
• He lifted the car with a jack to change the flat tyre.他用千斤顶把车顶起来换下瘪轮胎。

7 ballots   

n.投票表决( ballot的名词复数 )；选举；选票；投票总数v.（使）投票表决( ballot的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• They're counting the ballots. 他们正在计算选票。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The news of rigged ballots has rubbed off much of the shine of their election victory. 他们操纵选票的消息使他们在选举中获得的胜利大为减色。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 promising   

adj.有希望的，有前途的

参考例句：

• The results of the experiments are very promising.实验的结果充满了希望。
• We're trying to bring along one or two promising young swimmers.我们正设法培养出一两名有前途的年轻游泳选手。

9 consensus   

n.(意见等的)一致，一致同意，共识

参考例句：

• Can we reach a consensus on this issue?我们能在这个问题上取得一致意见吗？
• What is the consensus of opinion at the afternoon meeting?下午会议上一致的意见是什么？

10 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。

11 alleging   

断言，宣称，辩解( allege的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• His reputation was blemished by a newspaper article alleging he'd evaded his taxes. 由于报上一篇文章声称他曾逃税，他的名誉受到损害。
• This our Peeress declined as unnecessary, alleging that her cousin Thornhill's recommendation would be sufficient. 那位贵人不肯，还说不必，只要有她老表唐希尔保荐就够了。

12 alleged   

a.被指控的，嫌疑的

参考例句：

• It was alleged that he had taken bribes while in office. 他被指称在任时收受贿赂。
• alleged irregularities in the election campaign 被指称竞选运动中的不正当行为