VOA常速英语2007-Ethiopia Blasts US Lawmakers' Bill Barring Finan

By Nick Wadhams
Nairobi
04 October 2007

Ethiopian officials have condemned¹ a bill passed in the U.S. House of Representatives that would bar some financial aid to Ethiopia unless the government in Addis Ababa improves its record on democracy and human rights. Nick Wadhams has the story from Nairobi.

A version of the House bill that was passed on Tuesday still must go before the Senate, and it includes a provision that allows President Bush to waive² punishment if he decides to do so.

Nonetheless, the White House opposes restrictions³ on Ethiopia, which is a major ally in the war on terror.  And the Ethiopian government says the bill is based on politics more than anything else.

A chief adviser⁴ to Ethiopia's Prime Minister Meles Zenawi, Bereket Simon, says his nation is an emerging democracy.  He accused U.S. members of Congress of trying to undermine the Ethiopian government.

"It has nothing to do with democracy, it has nothing to do with human rights, this is a matter of personal vendetta⁵ and definitely that is not going to work," Bereket said. "This is a sovereign country, a country which has never bowed to any foreign aggression⁶ or foreign force.  We assure these guys, these congressmen, that that is not going to blackmail⁷ Ethiopia in any form."

The Ethiopian government has been accused of widespread abuse since 2005, when it cracked down on demonstrators protesting parliamentary elections that were seen as severely⁸ flawed.  Human rights groups also argue that the government is inflicting⁹ massive suffering on civilians¹⁰ in its eastern Ogaden region as it battles a rebel group, the Ogaden National Liberation Front.

In the meantime, Germany's Chancellor¹¹ Angela Merkel, who is visiting Ethiopia, urged the government to do more to open the political system and protect the rights of the opposition¹².

Merkel was speaking at a news conference with Prime Minister Meles, who left her criticism unanswered, but went on to criticize the bill passed by the House of Representatives.  He also said that Ethiopia would contribute 5,000 troops to the new AU/U.N.peacekeeping force in Sudan's Darfur region.

1 condemned   

adj. 被责难的, 被宣告有罪的 动词condemn的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• He condemned the hypocrisy of those politicians who do one thing and say another. 他谴责了那些说一套做一套的政客的虚伪。
• The policy has been condemned as a regressive step. 这项政策被认为是一种倒退而受到谴责。

2 waive   

vt.放弃，不坚持(规定、要求、权力等)

参考例句：

• I'll record to our habitat office waive our claim immediately.我立即写信给咱们的总公司提出放弃索赔。
• In view of the unusual circumstances,they agree to waive their requirement.鉴于特殊情况，他们同意放弃他们的要求。

3 restrictions   

约束( restriction的名词复数 )； 管制； 制约因素； 带限制性的条件（或规则）

参考例句：

• I found the restrictions irksome. 我对那些限制感到很烦。
• a snaggle of restrictions 杂乱无章的种种限制

4 adviser   

n.劝告者，顾问

参考例句：

• They employed me as an adviser.他们聘请我当顾问。
• Our department has engaged a foreign teacher as phonetic adviser.我们系已经聘请了一位外籍老师作为语音顾问。

5 vendetta   

n.世仇，宿怨

参考例句：

• For years he pursued a vendetta against the Morris family.多年来他一直在寻求向莫里斯家族报世仇。
• She conducted a personal vendetta against me.她对我有宿仇。

6 aggression   

n.进攻，侵略，侵犯，侵害

参考例句：

• So long as we are firmly united, we need fear no aggression.只要我们紧密地团结，就不必惧怕外来侵略。
• Her view is that aggression is part of human nature.她认为攻击性是人类本性的一部份。

7 blackmail   

n.讹诈，敲诈，勒索，胁迫，恫吓

参考例句：

• She demanded ＄1000 blackmail from him.她向他敲诈了1000美元。
• The journalist used blackmail to make the lawyer give him the documents.记者讹诈那名律师交给他文件。

8 severely   

adv.严格地；严厉地；非常恶劣地

参考例句：

• He was severely criticized and removed from his post.他受到了严厉的批评并且被撤了职。
• He is severely put down for his careless work.他因工作上的粗心大意而受到了严厉的批评。

9 inflicting   

把…强加给，使承受，遭受( inflict的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• He was charged with maliciously inflicting grievous bodily harm. 他被控蓄意严重伤害他人身体。
• It's impossible to do research without inflicting some pain on animals. 搞研究不让动物遭点罪是不可能的。

10 civilians   

平民，百姓( civilian的名词复数 )； 老百姓

参考例句：

• the bloody massacre of innocent civilians 对无辜平民的血腥屠杀
• At least 300 civilians are unaccounted for after the bombing raids. 遭轰炸袭击之后，至少有300名平民下落不明。

11 chancellor   

n.(英)大臣；法官；(德、奥)总理；大学校长

参考例句：

• They submitted their reports to the Chancellor yesterday.他们昨天向财政大臣递交了报告。
• He was regarded as the most successful Chancellor of modern times.他被认为是现代最成功的财政大臣。

12 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。