VOA常速英语2007年-Pakistan Election Decision Tuesday, Stocks Fall

By Nancy-Amelia Collins
Islamabad
31 December 2007

Political violence in Pakistan is declining a day after the party of the slain¹ opposition² leader Benazir Bhutto announced it would contest upcoming elections. The pressure is now on President Pervez Musharraf to hold the polls, and electoral officials say they will announce on Tuesday whether or not to postpone³ the January 8 elections. Senior government and electoral officials told news agencies Monday the ballot⁴ will likely be postponed⁵ for at least several weeks.VOA's Nancy-Amelia Collins in Islamabad has more.

Life is slowly returning to normal across Pakistan just four days after opposition leader Benazir Bhutto was assassinated⁶ as she was leaving a rally in Rawalpindi. But political conflict continues over when to hold elections.

Ms. Bhutto's death caused chaos⁷ as violence broke out across this nuclear-armed nation, killing⁸ more than 40 people, damaging millions of dollars worth of property.

Shoaib Memon, the director of the Karachi Stock Exchange, which plunged⁹ 4.7 percent after opening Monday, says the market will not improve unless elections are held soon.

"If elections are deferred¹⁰ that would add uncertainties¹¹ and I think in the next few weeks we can see markets falling by another 10 to 15 percen," said Memon.

Elections officials said Monday the decision on whether or not to postpone the January 8 elections would be announced Tuesday.

Fazalur Rehman, director of the Institute of Strategic Studies in Islamabad, says it is vital to hold elections.

"I think that is very crucial. Elections are going to be held under any circumstances, if not now maybe a few weeks down the road, but certainly they'll have to hold elections," said Rehman. "The people are in no mood to compromise on that."

On Sunday, Ms. Bhutto's Pakistan People's Party announced her 19-year-old son, Bilawal Bhutto Zadari, would lead the PPP. Her husband, Asif Ali Zadari, as co-chairman, will run the party while his son returns to Oxford¹² University in Britain to finish his studies. The PPP also said it would contest the polls.

Opposition parties are demanding the government hold the elections on January 8 as planned, but an official with the country's ruling party, the Pakistan Muslim-Q, said the polls could be delayed for up to three or four months.

Political analyst¹³ Fazalur Rehman says the government of President Pervez Musharraf is likely to be concerned the PPP will gain too much power if the elections are held now.

"It's a big question for President Musharraf because now the PPP will certainly have a lot of sympathy vote… and the PPP can emerge as the very strong political party in the parliament," added Rehman. "So that is something, which might be a major concern for the government."

While most of the country appeared to be recovering from the violence on Monday, sporadic¹⁴ violence still broke out in parts of Pakistan with protestors firing into the air in the southern city of Hyderabad and throwing stones.

1 slain   

杀死，宰杀，杀戮( slay的过去分词 )； (slay的过去分词)

参考例句：

• The soldiers slain in the battle were burried that night. 在那天夜晚埋葬了在战斗中牺牲了的战士。
• His boy was dead, slain by the hand of the false Amulius. 他的儿子被奸诈的阿缪利乌斯杀死了。

2 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。

3 postpone   

v.延期，推迟

参考例句：

• I shall postpone making a decision till I learn full particulars.在未获悉详情之前我得从缓作出决定。
• She decided to postpone the converastion for that evening.她决定当天晚上把谈话搁一搁。

4 ballot   

n.（不记名）投票，投票总数，投票权；vi.投票

参考例句：

• The members have demanded a ballot.会员们要求投票表决。
• The union said they will ballot members on whether to strike.工会称他们将要求会员投票表决是否罢工。

5 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。

6 assassinated   

v.暗杀( assassinate的过去式和过去分词 )；中伤；诋毁；破坏

参考例句：

• The prime minister was assassinated by extremists. 首相遭极端分子暗杀。
• Then, just two days later, President Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas. 跟着在两天以后，肯尼迪总统在达拉斯被人暗杀。 来自辞典例句

7 chaos   

n.混乱，无秩序

参考例句：

• After the failure of electricity supply the city was in chaos.停电后，城市一片混乱。
• The typhoon left chaos behind it.台风后一片混乱。

8 killing   

n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财

参考例句：

• Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
• Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。

9 plunged   

v.颠簸( plunge的过去式和过去分词 )；暴跌；骤降；突降

参考例句：

• The train derailed and plunged into the river. 火车脱轨栽进了河里。
• She lost her balance and plunged 100 feet to her death. 她没有站稳，从100英尺的高处跌下摔死了。

10 deferred   

adj.延期的，缓召的v.拖延，延缓，推迟( defer的过去式和过去分词 )；服从某人的意愿，遵从

参考例句：

• The department deferred the decision for six months. 这个部门推迟了六个月才作决定。
• a tax-deferred savings plan 延税储蓄计划

11 uncertainties   

无把握( uncertainty的名词复数 )； 不确定； 变化不定； 无把握、不确定的事物

参考例句：

• One of the uncertainties of military duty is that you never know when you might suddenly get posted away. 任军职不稳定的因素之一是你永远不知道什么时候会突然被派往它处。
• Uncertainties affecting peace and development are on the rise. 影响和平与发展的不确定因素在增加。 来自汉英非文学 - 十六大报告

12 Oxford   

n.牛津（英国城市）

参考例句：

• At present he has become a Professor of Chemistry at Oxford.他现在已是牛津大学的化学教授了。
• This is where the road to Oxford joins the road to London.这是去牛津的路与去伦敦的路的汇合处。

13 analyst   

n.分析家，化验员；心理分析学家

参考例句：

• What can you contribute to the position of a market analyst?你有什么技能可有助于市场分析员的职务？
• The analyst is required to interpolate values between standards.分析人员需要在这些标准中插入一些值。

14 sporadic   

adj.偶尔发生的 [反]regular；分散的

参考例句：

• The sound of sporadic shooting could still be heard.仍能听见零星的枪声。
• You know this better than I.I received only sporadic news about it.你们比我更清楚，而我听到的只是零星消息。