VOA常速英语2008年-Nepal Election Seen as Referendum for Monarchy,

By Steve Herman
Kathmandu
09 April 2008

Seventeen-and-a-half million people are eligible¹ to go to the polls in Nepal, Thursday. They will elect members of a constituent² assembly that will draft a constitution to complete the transfer from a feudal³ Himalayan state into a modern democracy. From Kathmandu, VOA Correspondent Steve Herman reports the twice-delayed election is seen as a referendum on the country's monarchy⁵, as well as on Nepal's Maoists who fought a decade-long civil war to topple the royals.

More than 50 parties are vying⁶ for the favor of Nepal's voters. But it is the two extremes of the Himalayan country's political spectrum⁷ on which much of the campaign has focused.

One of the candidates is Maoist Hisila Yami - serving in the Nepalese government as the cabinet minister in charge of public works.

"It's a referendum for Maoists, as well referendum for the monarchy," Yami said. "Because it's the Maoists who had given an ultimate challenge to monarchy. And, it is also a test for Maoists."

On the far right, former Information and Communications Minister Tanka Dhakal rejects the notion that the monarchy, which he supports, is facing a referendum in this election. Dhakal, a proportional representation candidate of the pro-monarchist RPP-Nepal party, says the balloting⁸ instead will gauge⁹ whether the public trusts the Maoists to participate in a democratic election .

"We want to establish democracy in Nepal or we want to establish the communist dictatorship in Nepal? This is the major question. I request them to transfer their [communist] ideology¹⁰ to the democratic line," he said.

The Maoists fought the state for a decade, in a violent confrontation¹¹ that left 13,000 people dead. Their main goal was to end any vestiges¹² of feudalism. And, that meant ridding the impoverished¹³ nation of the Shah Dynasty, which has ruled Nepal for two-and-a-half centuries.

The current monarch⁴, already stripped of authority and privilege, is the unpopular King Gyanendra. In January, the interim¹⁴ parliament formally declared Nepal a secular¹⁵ republic. The royal moniker has since disappeared - no longer a prefix¹⁶ for the name of the army, the national airline and other state entities¹⁷.

Gyanendra came to power seven years ago, when his nephew, who was crown prince, allegedly massacred much of the royal family, including Gyanendra's brother, King Birendra.

Gyanendra failed to crush the Maoist rebellion and his autocratic ways provoked widespread unrest. He was eventually forced to return authority to the government.

That led the Maoists to agree to a peace accord in late 2006, in which their fighters and weapons were put in camps under United Nations supervision¹⁹. Since then, they have emerged as one of the top three political parties. The others are the Congress Party, which once supported the monarchy, and another Communist party (Unified Marxist-Leninist), seen as more moderate than the Maoists.

Public Works Minister Yami says, however the Maoists fare in the vote tabulation²⁰, they have already declared victory.

"Politically, we have won already," Yami said. "And, even in terms of sentiment, we have won already because these sentiments were evoked²¹ during the war. And, now it is the peoples' sentiment. Now, only technically²² we have to win through the vote."

Maoist leaders say they will accept the outcome of the nationwide balloting, if the election is deemed to have been conducted fairly.

Many critics, including international human rights organizations, accuse the Maoists of not playing fairly. They allege¹⁸ the Young Communist League and other groups under the Maoist banner have been instigators of much of the campaign violence. But the Maoists say they have suffered more than any other party, with 60 of their cadres and supporters being killed, some gunned down by police.

In the Thamel tourist district, hammer-and-sickle flags of the Maoist party flutter above many shops. Here, there is little sympathy for the monarchy.

Clothing store proprietor²³ Sagar Adhikari says he believes, if the king does not give up his crown, there will be a resurgence²⁴ of violent clashes in the streets of Kathmandu.

"Monarchy, I don't like," he said. "If he leaves it's better - better for Nepal, better for Nepali [people] and better for him also."

One of Adhikari's competitors down the road, Satidevi Khanal, agrees with him that restoring law and order is the utmost priority.

She says Nepal must be declared a republic and that the king's fate does not really matter. But she adds that her personal opinion is that he should abdicate²⁵.

In every interview, people do agree on one thing - that their biggest hope for the election is whatever the outcome, peace will come to Nepal.

1 eligible   

adj.有条件被选中的；(尤指婚姻等)合适(意)的

参考例句：

• He is an eligible young man.他是一个合格的年轻人。
• Helen married an eligible bachelor.海伦嫁给了一个中意的单身汉。

2 constituent   

n.选民；成分，组分；adj.组成的，构成的

参考例句：

• Sugar is the main constituent of candy.食糖是糖果的主要成分。
• Fibre is a natural constituent of a healthy diet.纤维是健康饮食的天然组成部分。

3 feudal   

adj.封建的，封地的，领地的

参考例句：

• Feudal rulers ruled over the country several thousand years.封建统治者统治这个国家几千年。
• The feudal system lasted for two thousand years in China.封建制度在中国延续了两千年之久。

4 monarch   

n.帝王，君主，最高统治者

参考例句：

• The monarch's role is purely ceremonial.君主纯粹是个礼仪职位。
• I think myself happier now than the greatest monarch upon earth.我觉得这个时候比世界上什么帝王都快乐。

5 monarchy   

n.君主，最高统治者；君主政体，君主国

参考例句：

• The monarchy in England plays an important role in British culture.英格兰的君主政体在英国文化中起重要作用。
• The power of the monarchy in Britain today is more symbolical than real.今日英国君主的权力多为象徵性的，无甚实际意义。

6 vying   

adj.竞争的；比赛的

参考例句：

• California is vying with other states to capture a piece of the growing communications market.为了在日渐扩大的通讯市场分得一杯羹，加利福尼亚正在和其他州展开竞争。
• Four rescue plans are vying to save the zoo.4个拯救动物园的方案正争得不可开交。

7 spectrum   

n.谱，光谱，频谱；范围，幅度，系列

参考例句：

• This is a kind of atomic spectrum.这是一种原子光谱。
• We have known much of the constitution of the solar spectrum.关于太阳光谱的构成，我们已了解不少。

8 balloting   

v.（使）投票表决( ballot的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• Clark took a commanding leading in the early balloting. 在最初投票时，克拉克遥遥领先。 来自辞典例句
• The balloting had stagnated, he couldn't win. 投票工作陷于停顿，他不能得胜。 来自辞典例句

9 gauge   

v.精确计量；估计；n.标准度量；计量器

参考例句：

• Can you gauge what her reaction is likely to be?你能揣测她的反应可能是什么吗？
• It's difficult to gauge one's character.要判断一个人的品格是很困难的。

10 ideology   

n.意识形态，(政治或社会的)思想意识

参考例句：

• The ideology has great influence in the world.这种思想体系在世界上有很大的影响。
• The ideal is to strike a medium between ideology and inspiration.我的理想是在意识思想和灵感鼓动之间找到一个折衷。

11 confrontation   

n.对抗，对峙，冲突

参考例句：

• We can't risk another confrontation with the union.我们不能冒再次同工会对抗的危险。
• After years of confrontation,they finally have achieved a modus vivendi.在对抗很长时间后，他们最后达成安宁生存的非正式协议。

12 vestiges   

残余部分( vestige的名词复数 )； 遗迹； 痕迹； 毫不

参考例句：

• the last vestiges of the old colonial regime 旧殖民制度最后的残余
• These upright stones are the vestiges of some ancient religion. 这些竖立的石头是某种古代宗教的遗迹。

13 impoverished   

adj.穷困的，无力的，用尽了的v.使（某人）贫穷( impoverish的过去式和过去分词 )；使（某物）贫瘠或恶化

参考例句：

• the impoverished areas of the city 这个城市的贫民区
• They were impoverished by a prolonged spell of unemployment. 他们因长期失业而一贫如洗。 来自《简明英汉词典》

14 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。

15 secular   

n.牧师，凡人；adj.世俗的，现世的，不朽的

参考例句：

• We live in an increasingly secular society.我们生活在一个日益非宗教的社会。
• Britain is a plural society in which the secular predominates.英国是个世俗主导的多元社会。

16 prefix   

n.前缀；vt.加…作为前缀；置于前面

参考例句：

• We prefix "Mr."to a man's name.我们在男士的姓名前加“先生”。
• In the word "unimportant ","un-" is a prefix.在单词“unimportant”中“un”是前缀。

17 entities   

实体对像； 实体，独立存在体，实际存在物( entity的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Our newspaper and our printing business form separate corporate entities. 我们的报纸和印刷业形成相对独立的企业实体。
• The North American continent is made up of three great structural entities. 北美大陆是由三个构造单元组成的。

18 allege   

vt.宣称，申述，主张，断言

参考例句：

• The newspaper reporters allege that the man was murdered but they have given no proof.新闻记者们宣称这个男人是被谋杀的，但他们没提出证据。
• Students occasionally allege illness as the reason for absence.学生时不时会称病缺课。

19 supervision   

n.监督，管理

参考例句：

• The work was done under my supervision.这项工作是在我的监督之下完成的。
• The old man's will was executed under the personal supervision of the lawyer.老人的遗嘱是在律师的亲自监督下执行的。

20 tabulation   

作表，表格； 表列结果； 列表； 造表

参考例句：

• A tabulation of a function of two variables is cumbersome, but possible. 二元函数的列表法是不方便的，然而是可能的。
• Such a tabulation cannot represent adequately the complex gradation relationships between the types. 这样的图表不能充分代表各类型之间的复杂级配关系。

21 evoked   

[医]诱发的

参考例句：

• The music evoked memories of her youth. 这乐曲勾起了她对青年时代的回忆。
• Her face, though sad, still evoked a feeling of serenity. 她的脸色虽然悲伤，但仍使人感觉安详。

22 technically   

adv.专门地，技术上地

参考例句：

• Technically it is the most advanced equipment ever.从技术上说，这是最先进的设备。
• The tomato is technically a fruit,although it is eaten as a vegetable.严格地说，西红柿是一种水果，尽管它是当作蔬菜吃的。

23 proprietor   

n.所有人；业主；经营者

参考例句：

• The proprietor was an old acquaintance of his.业主是他的一位旧相识。
• The proprietor of the corner grocery was a strange thing in my life.拐角杂货店店主是我生活中的一个怪物。

24 resurgence   

n.再起，复活，再现

参考例句：

• A resurgence of his grief swept over Nim.悲痛又涌上了尼姆的心头。
• Police say drugs traffickers are behind the resurgence of violence.警方说毒贩是暴力活动重新抬头的罪魁祸首。

25 abdicate   

v.让位，辞职，放弃

参考例句：

• The reason I wnat to abdicate is to try something different.我辞职是因为我想尝试些不一样的东西。
• Yuan Shikai forced emperor to abdicate and hand over power to him.袁世凯逼迫皇帝逊位，把政权交给了他。