VOA标准英语10月-Conservatives Win Lithuanian Parliament Election

Lithuania's opposition¹ conservatives have won the country's parliamentary election, which will give Lithuania its first conservative-led government in seven years. Stefan Bos reports for VOA from Budapest.
　

Lithuania's Homeland Union leader Andrius Kubilius, 26 Oct 2008

Lithuania's opposition party, the Homeland Union, hopes to capitalize on voters' fears of energy dependence² on nearby Russia, at a time when the economy is slowing in the wake of the global financial crisis.

The Homeland Union, won the most seats in the first round of voting on October 12. The second round is a runoff for 68 of the 141 seats in parliament.

Lithuania is under pressure from the European Union to close its only nuclear power plant by the end of 2009. The long-ruling Social Democratic-led government of Prime Minister Gediminas Kirkilas has said closing the plant was a condition for Lithuania to join the EU in 2004.

However, he recently told reporters he wants to re-negotiate the accord.

"We are respecting our agreements, our commitments and we don't want to violate agreements," said Gediminas Kirkilas. "But our proposal is to have some new interpretation³. I believe that we will discuss this, and that we will continue our discussions with the European commission [and] with of course the leaders of the [European] goverments."

The editor-in-chief of the Baltic News Service, Arturas Rachas, suggests to Russia Today television that voters believe the government could have done more for energy security.

"It has nothing to do with Lithuanians' commitment to the European Union," said Arturas Rachas. "It has to do only with the government's, I would say, impotence for the few recent years. They did nothing."

Analysts⁴ say a planned replacement⁵ of Lithuania's power plant, to be built jointly⁶ with Estonia, Latvia and Poland, is unlikely to be ready before 2015.

Some voters say they want the next government to ensure the existing plant remains⁷ open for the coming years, as it provides 70 percent of the country's energy needs.

The opposition Homeland Union party has also campaigned on economic issues, saying it wants to cut taxes and backs the launch of the euro currency as early as 2011 or 2012.

Commentators⁸ say that although the Homeland Union is expected to gain enough seats to form a coalition⁹ government, the long-ruling Social Democratic Party could strike a deal with two populist parties in an effort to retain power.

However Homeland Union leader Andrius Kubilius says he believes it will be possible for conservatives to form a new government for the first time in nearly a decade, together with center-right and liberal parties.

1 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。

2 dependence   

n.依靠，依赖；信任，信赖；隶属

参考例句：

• Doctors keep trying to break her dependence of the drug.医生们尽力使她戒除毒瘾。
• He was freed from financial dependence on his parents.他在经济上摆脱了对父母的依赖。

3 interpretation   

n.解释，说明，描述；艺术处理

参考例句：

• His statement admits of one interpretation only.他的话只有一种解释。
• Analysis and interpretation is a very personal thing.分析与说明是个很主观的事情。

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 replacement   

n.取代，替换，交换；替代品，代用品

参考例句：

• We are hard put to find a replacement for our assistant.我们很难找到一个人来代替我们的助手。
• They put all the students through the replacement examination.他们让所有的学生参加分班考试。

6 jointly   

ad.联合地，共同地

参考例句：

• Tenants are jointly and severally liable for payment of the rent. 租金由承租人共同且分别承担。
• She owns the house jointly with her husband. 她和丈夫共同拥有这所房子。

7 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

8 commentators   

n.评论员( commentator的名词复数 )；时事评论员；注释者；实况广播员

参考例句：

• Sports commentators repeat the same phrases ad nauseam. 体育解说员翻来覆去说着同样的词语，真叫人腻烦。
• Television sports commentators repeat the same phrases ad nauseam. 电视体育解说员说来说去就是那么几句话，令人厌烦。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 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。