2006年VOA标准英语-Raul Castro: More than Just the Cuban President

By Leta Hong Fincher
Washington, DC
02 August 2006
 
watch Raul Castro report

  
Raul Castro attends a rally in Havana, Cuba in this Jan. 24, 2000 file photo  
  
Raul Castro is Cuban President Fidel Castro's younger brother and designated successor.  Leta Hong Fincher has more on the man who has temporarily taken over as communist Cuba's leader.

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Raul Castro is 75 years old and widely seen as loyal, yet lacking his older brother's charisma¹.

Defense² Minister Raul Castro has for decades been Cuba's constitutional successor. He has overseen³ some of Cuba's most important economic experiments with limited market reforms. Analysts⁴ say Raul Castro has also expressed interest in China's model of economic reforms.

But he is known as a staunch defender⁵ of Cuba's communist system. He made the following comments in 2002 near the U.S. naval⁶ base in Guantanamo Bay:  "We already know they don't like our social system, but it's a reality that we are here and plan to remain."

Raul Castro was born in 1931, five years after Fidel.

He joined a communist youth group even before the Cuban revolution. He fought alongside older brother Fidel in the 1950s to overthrow⁷ dictator Fulgencio Batista.

President Fidel Castro said he wanted Raul to be his successor three weeks after taking power in 1959. Raul took control of Cuba's armed forces the same year. Cuba's troops grew to be 50,000 strong under his leadership.

Raul Castro was heavily involved in Cuba's military conflicts with Angola and Ethiopia in the 1970s. He also helped revive Cuba's economy after the collapse⁸ of the Soviet⁹ Union in 1991.

Fidel Castro officially designated Raul his successor at a Communist party congress in 1997.  "The important thing is that Raul is fit. He has climbed the Pico Turquino [Cuba's highest altitude] and in very quick time," said Cuba's president.

Raul Castro is married to Vilma Espin, who fought with him during the Cuban revolution and is now head of the Communist Party-linked women's federation¹⁰.

1 charisma   

n.(大众爱戴的)领袖气质，魅力

参考例句：

• He has enormous charisma. He is a giant of a man.他有超凡的个人魅力，是个伟人。
• I don't have the charisma to pull a crowd this size.我没有那么大的魅力，能吸引这么多人。

2 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

3 overseen   

v.监督，监视( oversee的过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He was overseen stealing the letters. 他被人撞见在偷信件。 来自辞典例句
• It will be overseen by ThomasLi, director of IBM China Research Laboratory. 该实验室由IBM中国研究院院长李实恭(ThomasLi)引导。 来自互联网

4 analysts   

分析家，化验员( analyst的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• City analysts forecast huge profits this year. 伦敦金融分析家预测今年的利润非常丰厚。
• I was impressed by the high calibre of the researchers and analysts. 研究人员和分析人员的高素质给我留下了深刻印象。

5 defender   

n.保卫者，拥护者，辩护人

参考例句：

• He shouldered off a defender and shot at goal.他用肩膀挡开防守队员，然后射门。
• The defender argued down the prosecutor at the court.辩护人在法庭上驳倒了起诉人。

6 naval   

adj.海军的，军舰的，船的

参考例句：

• He took part in a great naval battle.他参加了一次大海战。
• The harbour is an important naval base.该港是一个重要的海军基地。

7 overthrow   

v.推翻，打倒，颠覆；n.推翻，瓦解，颠覆

参考例句：

• After the overthrow of the government,the country was in chaos.政府被推翻后，这个国家处于混乱中。
• The overthrow of his plans left him much discouraged.他的计划的失败使得他很气馁。

8 collapse   

vi.累倒；昏倒；倒塌；塌陷

参考例句：

• The country's economy is on the verge of collapse.国家的经济已到了崩溃的边缘。
• The engineer made a complete diagnosis of the bridge's collapse.工程师对桥的倒塌做了一次彻底的调查分析。

9 Soviet   

adj.苏联的，苏维埃的；n.苏维埃

参考例句：

• Zhukov was a marshal of the former Soviet Union.朱可夫是前苏联的一位元帅。
• Germany began to attack the Soviet Union in 1941.德国在1941年开始进攻苏联。

10 federation   

n.同盟，联邦，联合，联盟，联合会

参考例句：

• It is a federation of 10 regional unions.它是由十个地方工会结合成的联合会。
• Mr.Putin was inaugurated as the President of the Russian Federation.普京正式就任俄罗斯联邦总统。