VOA常速英语2007年-Zimbabwe Ends Year With Uncertainty Over 2008 E

By Scott Bobb
Johannesburg
20 December 2007

Zimbabwe ended 2007 with uncertainty¹ looming² over national elections scheduled for next year.  Negotiations³ aimed at holding a free and fair vote had made progress, but remained deadlocked⁴ over key points.  Southern Africa Correspondent Scott Bobb reports from our bureau in Johannesburg.

As the year drew to a close, Zimbabwe's ruling ZANU-PF party was gearing up for national elections in March, while the two factions⁵ of the opposition⁶ Movement for Democratic Change insisted elections should be postponed⁷ and a new constitution enacted⁸ first.

ZANU-PF in December held a national congress that overwhelmingly endorsed⁹ President Robert Mugabe as its candidate for a sixth term.  Mr. Mugabe told party delegates that elections will be held as scheduled.

"If some parties are not ready, they have no one to blame," he said.  "We have given them enough time, and we still have another three months to go."

Nevertheless, both sides agreed considerable progress had been made in talks mediated¹⁰ by South African President Thabo Mbeki.

Mr. Mbeki launched the talks last March at the request of southern African leaders, following a series of attacks by Zimbabwean security forces on the opposition. In March, dozens of MDC leaders were detained and beaten after they tried to hold what they called a prayer meeting.

Opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai told reporters, after his release, that it would be impossible to hold elections under conditions at that time.

"How do you go into an election when the opposition is being battered," he asked.  "How do you go into an election when there is no freedom of assembly, freedom of expression, the media is banned?  How do you go into an election when the very same machinery¹¹ of running an election is militarized?"

But Mr. Mugabe, despite pressure from his neighbors and the international community, said illegal gatherings¹² would continue to be banned.

"They [the demonstrators] will get arrested and get bashed by the police," he added.

The talks started slowly and made little progress during the first six months.  But a breakthrough occurred in September when the two sides agreed to a constitutional amendment¹⁴ calling for presidential, parliamentary and local elections to be held together in March.

After that, the pace picked up and in December the two sides agreed to amend¹³ controversial security and media laws that restricted political dissidence and freedom of the press.

Despite the progress, the opposition maintained there was not enough time to organize a campaign.  It threatened to boycott¹⁵ the vote if it were not postponed.

Civic¹⁶ groups also wanted the elections postponed.  The director of the Zimbabwe Civic Education Trust, David Chimhini, said there was not enough time to educate voters on the new laws.

"We feel we have a lot that still has to be done in terms of civic education," he said.  "Because if we do not do that, we have the problem where we are going to get maybe a political settlement, but that may not really be a social-economic settlement and this is what people would want really to have addressed."

Zimbabwe Election Support Network Chairman Noel Kututwa said the new legislation was not sufficient to guarantee a proper vote.

"We still do not believe that the electoral framework as it stands really encourages free and fair elections," Kututwa explained.  "It is an improvement on the old framework, but it still has not got to where we can be satisfied that we now have an electoral framework that encourages free and fair elections."

He says his group will continue to lobby for more changes to the law and better implementation¹⁷ of the current legislation.

Analysts¹⁸ said Zimbabwe's economic problems and uncertainty over the presidential succession were severely¹⁹ straining the society.

Productivity continued to decline during the year, while annual inflation surpassed 8,000 percent.  Unemployment hovered²⁰ at 80 percent.  There were widespread shortages of food and fuel.  And tight restrictions²¹ on bank transactions aggravated²² the situation.

The Zimbabwean government blamed the crisis on western sanctions that were imposed after flawed elections five years ago.  Western governments say the sanctions only affect travel and personal investments of senior officials.

Independent analysts blamed the decline on a government land-reform program that transferred most commercial farms owned by the white minority to highly placed members of ZANU-PF.  And they blamed the hyper-inflation on the government's practice of printing money to cover rising budget deficits²³.

1 uncertainty   

n.易变，靠不住，不确知，不确定的事物

参考例句：

• Her comments will add to the uncertainty of the situation.她的批评将会使局势更加不稳定。
• After six weeks of uncertainty,the strain was beginning to take its toll.6个星期的忐忑不安后，压力开始产生影响了。

2 looming   

n.上现蜃景（光通过低层大气发生异常折射形成的一种海市蜃楼）v.隐约出现，阴森地逼近( loom的现在分词 )；隐约出现，阴森地逼近

参考例句：

• The foothills were looming ahead through the haze. 丘陵地带透过薄雾朦胧地出现在眼前。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Then they looked up. Looming above them was Mount Proteome. 接着他们往上看，在其上隐约看到的是蛋白质组山。 来自英汉非文学 - 生命科学 - 回顾与展望

3 negotiations   

协商( negotiation的名词复数 )； 谈判； 完成（难事）； 通过

参考例句：

• negotiations for a durable peace 为持久和平而进行的谈判
• Negotiations have failed to establish any middle ground. 谈判未能达成任何妥协。

4 deadlocked   

陷入僵局的；僵持不下的

参考例句：

• The plan deadlocked over the funds. 这个计划由于经费问题而搁浅了。
• The meeting deadlocked over the wage issue. 会议因工资问题而停顿下来。

5 factions   

组织中的小派别，派系( faction的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The gens also lives on in the "factions." 氏族此外还继续存在于“factions〔“帮”〕中。 来自英汉非文学 - 家庭、私有制和国家的起源
• rival factions within the administration 政府中的对立派别

6 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。

7 postponed   

vt.& vi.延期，缓办，（使）延迟vt.把…放在次要地位；[语]把…放在后面（或句尾）vi.（疟疾等）延缓发作（或复发）

参考例句：

• The trial was postponed indefinitely. 审讯无限期延迟。
• The game has already been postponed three times. 这场比赛已经三度延期了。

8 enacted   

制定（法律），通过（法案）( enact的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• legislation enacted by parliament 由议会通过的法律
• Outside in the little lobby another scene was begin enacted. 外面的小休息室里又是另一番景象。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹

9 endorsed   

vt.& vi.endorse的过去式或过去分词形式v.赞同( endorse的过去式和过去分词 )；在（尤指支票的）背面签字；在（文件的）背面写评论；在广告上说本人使用并赞同某产品

参考例句：

• The committee endorsed an initiative by the chairman to enter discussion about a possible merger. 委员会通过了主席提出的新方案，开始就可能进行的并购进行讨论。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The government has broadly endorsed a research paper proposing new educational targets for 14-year-olds. 政府基本上支持建议对14 岁少年实行新教育目标的研究报告。 来自《简明英汉词典》

10 mediated   

调停，调解，斡旋( mediate的过去式和过去分词 )； 居间促成； 影响…的发生； 使…可能发生

参考例句：

• He mediated in the quarrel between the two boys. 他调解两个孩子之间的争吵。
• The government mediated between the workers and the employers. 政府在工人与雇主间搞调和。

11 machinery   

n.(总称)机械，机器；机构

参考例句：

• Has the machinery been put up ready for the broadcast?广播器材安装完毕了吗？
• Machinery ought to be well maintained all the time.机器应该随时注意维护。

12 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。

13 amend   

vt.修改，修订，改进；n.[pl.]赔罪，赔偿

参考例句：

• The teacher advised him to amend his way of living.老师劝他改变生活方式。
• You must amend your pronunciation.你必须改正你的发音。

14 amendment   

n.改正，修正，改善，修正案

参考例句：

• The amendment was rejected by 207 voters to 143.这项修正案以207票对143票被否决。
• The Opposition has tabled an amendment to the bill.反对党已经就该议案提交了一项修正条款。

15 boycott   

n./v.(联合)抵制，拒绝参与

参考例句：

• We put the production under a boycott.我们联合抵制该商品。
• The boycott lasts a year until the Victoria board permitsreturn.这个抗争持续了一年直到维多利亚教育局妥协为止。

16 civic   

adj.城市的，都市的，市民的，公民的

参考例句：

• I feel it is my civic duty to vote.我认为投票选举是我作为公民的义务。
• The civic leaders helped to forward the project.市政府领导者协助促进工程的进展。

17 implementation   

n.实施，贯彻

参考例句：

• Implementation of the program is now well underway.这一项目的实施现在行情看好。

18 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。

19 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。

20 hovered   

鸟( hover的过去式和过去分词 )； 靠近（某事物）； （人）徘徊； 犹豫

参考例句：

• A hawk hovered over the hill. 一只鹰在小山的上空翱翔。
• A hawk hovered in the blue sky. 一只老鹰在蓝色的天空中翱翔。

21 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

22 aggravated   

使恶化( aggravate的过去式和过去分词 )； 使更严重； 激怒； 使恼火

参考例句：

• If he aggravated me any more I shall hit him. 假如他再激怒我，我就要揍他。
• Far from relieving my cough, the medicine aggravated it. 这药非但不镇咳，反而使我咳嗽得更厉害。

23 deficits   

n.不足额( deficit的名词复数 )；赤字；亏空；亏损

参考例句：

• The Ministry of Finance consistently overestimated its budget deficits. 财政部一贯高估预算赤字。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Many of the world's farmers are also incurring economic deficits. 世界上许多农民还在遭受经济上的亏损。 来自辞典例句