VOA标准英语2008年-Thailand's Elected Parliament Reconvenes For Fi

By Luis Ramirez
Bangkok
21 January 2008

Thailand has an elected parliament this week for the first time since 2006, the year former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra was deposed¹ in a military coup². The new parliament includes many Thaksin allies, indicating the exiled leader could be poised³ for a comeback. VOA's Luis Ramirez reports from Bangkok.

The new session of parliament opened in a ceremony Monday with the kingdom's Crown Prince presiding.

It is the first time that Thailand has had an elected parliament since February 2006, when then-Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra dissolved it as protests escalated⁴ calling for his ouster. He was deposed in a military coup in September of that year.

Mr. Thaksin is in exile. His opponents in the military-appointed interim⁵ government ordered his Thai Rak Thai Party disbanded and he was banned from politics.

However, his allies regrouped under the People Power Party and scored a victory in post-coup elections last month. On Saturday they unveiled a six-party coalition⁶ government that controls more than 300 of the lower house's 480 seats.

Analysts⁷ say Thailand has averted⁸ further turmoil⁹ that threatened to erupt as those who wanted to keep Mr. Thaksin out of Thai politics faced off with his allies who are determined¹⁰ to bring the former prime minister back. 

Mr. Thaksin's opponents have lost all previous bids to finish him off politically. But Thitinan Pongsudhirak, a politics professor at Chulalongkorn University in Bangkok, says he believes Mr. Thaksin's rivals could resort to other forceful measures again to try to keep him out of power.

"It depends on how he plays the winning hand," Thitinan said. "If he can be magnanimous and modest, he can be patient and bide¹¹ his time, then we can reach some kind of settlement and reconciliation¹². But if he presses hard and corners his opponents, they may overreact. The establishment has shown that it has been willing to dissolve Thai Rak Thai the first time, and I think that it would not be reluctant to do it again if Mr. Thaksin corners them".

The military and other opponents accuse Mr. Thaksin of corruption¹³ and abuse of power. His support comes mainly from the poor, who are drawn¹⁴ by his populist agenda.

Selection of a new prime minister is scheduled for Friday. The post is expected to go to the PPP's Samak Sundaravej - a 72-year-old former Bangkok governor and TV cooking show host. 

One of the first items on the new government's agenda is restarting the Thai economy, which slumped¹⁵ following the coup. The PPP's campaign promises included removing capital controls that were imposed in late 2006.

1 deposed   

v.罢免( depose的过去式和过去分词 )；（在法庭上）宣誓作证

参考例句：

• The president was deposed in a military coup. 总统在军事政变中被废黜。
• The head of state was deposed by the army. 国家元首被军队罢免了。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 coup   

n.政变；突然而成功的行动

参考例句：

• The monarch was ousted by a military coup.那君主被军事政变者废黜了。
• That government was overthrown in a military coup three years ago.那个政府在3年前的军事政变中被推翻。

3 poised   

a.摆好姿势不动的

参考例句：

• The hawk poised in mid-air ready to swoop. 老鹰在半空中盘旋，准备俯冲。
• Tina was tense, her hand poised over the telephone. 蒂娜心情紧张，手悬在电话机上。

4 escalated   

v.（使）逐步升级( escalate的过去式和过去分词 )；（使）逐步扩大；（使）更高；（使）更大

参考例句：

• The fighting escalated into a full-scale war. 这场交战逐步扩大为全面战争。
• The demonstration escalated into a pitched battle with the police. 示威逐步升级，演变成了一场同警察的混战。

5 interim   

adj.暂时的，临时的；n.间歇，过渡期间

参考例句：

• The government is taking interim measures to help those in immediate need.政府正在采取临时措施帮助那些有立即需要的人。
• It may turn out to be an interim technology.这可能只是个过渡技术。

6 coalition   

n.结合体，同盟，结合，联合

参考例句：

• The several parties formed a coalition.这几个政党组成了政治联盟。
• Coalition forces take great care to avoid civilian casualties.联盟军队竭尽全力避免造成平民伤亡。

7 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。

8 averted   

防止，避免( avert的过去式和过去分词 )； 转移

参考例句：

• A disaster was narrowly averted. 及时防止了一场灾难。
• Thanks to her skilful handling of the affair, the problem was averted. 多亏她对事情处理得巧妙，才避免了麻烦。

9 turmoil   

n.骚乱，混乱，动乱

参考例句：

• His mind was in such a turmoil that he couldn't get to sleep.内心的纷扰使他无法入睡。
• The robbery put the village in a turmoil.抢劫使全村陷入混乱。

10 determined   

adj.坚定的；有决心的

参考例句：

• I have determined on going to Tibet after graduation.我已决定毕业后去西藏。
• He determined to view the rooms behind the office.他决定查看一下办公室后面的房间。

11 bide   

v.忍耐；等候；住

参考例句：

• We'll have to bide our time until the rain stops.我们必须等到雨停。
• Bide here for a while. 请在这儿等一会儿。

12 reconciliation   

n.和解，和谐，一致

参考例句：

• He was taken up with the reconciliation of husband and wife.他忙于做夫妻间的调解工作。
• Their handshake appeared to be a gesture of reconciliation.他们的握手似乎是和解的表示。

13 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。

14 drawn   

v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的

参考例句：

• All the characters in the story are drawn from life.故事中的所有人物都取材于生活。
• Her gaze was drawn irresistibly to the scene outside.她的目光禁不住被外面的风景所吸引。

15 slumped   

大幅度下降，暴跌( slump的过去式和过去分词 )； 沉重或突然地落下[倒下]

参考例句：

• Sales have slumped this year. 今年销售量锐减。
• The driver was slumped exhausted over the wheel. 司机伏在方向盘上，疲惫得睡着了。