VOA标准英语2008年-Britain, US Urge Zimbabwe to Accept Election Mo

By Tendai Maphosa
London
16 June 2008

British Prime Minister Gordon Brown and U.S. President George Bush have condemned¹ the ongoing² pre-election violence in Zimbabwe and urged the government in Harrare to accept international election monitors. Tendai Maphosa has more in this report from London.
　

U.S. President Bush (l) is seen at a press conference with British Prime Minister Gordon Brown (r) at the Foreign and Commonwealth3 Office in London, 16 Jun 2008

The two leaders made their comments during a joint⁴ news conference in London. Prime Minister Gordon Brown described the government of incumbent⁵ Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe as increasingly desperate and criminal. Mr. Brown said he deplores⁶ the violence and arrests of opposition⁷ politicians, including Morgan Tsvangirai who is challenging Mr. Mugabe in the June 27 runoff presidential election.

Mr. Brown said everything should be done to make sure the poll reflects the will of the Zimbabwean people.

"Mugabe must not be allowed to steal the election that is now less than two weeks away, and that is why we call for Zimbabwe to accept a United Nations human rights envoy⁸ to visit Zimbabwe now, and to accept the international monitors from all parts of the world who are available to ensure that this is a free and fair election," he said.

Mr. Brown's strong words come amid growing reports of increased government-sponsored violence in Zimbabwe and massive intimidation⁹ and harassment¹⁰ of voters and opposition supporters.

President Bush said the U.S. government would support all efforts to bring about free and fair elections in Zimbabwe.

"The people of Zimbabwe have suffered under Mugabe's leadership and we will work with you to ensure that these good folks have free and fair elections to the best extent possible, which obviously Mr. Mugabe does not want to have," he said.

President Bush and Prime Minister Brown are among a growing number of voices expressing alarm over events in Zimbabwe. Last week, 40 prominent Africans, including former U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan, signed an open letter calling for free and fair elections.
　

Kofi Annan (22 Apr 2008 file photo)

Mr. Annan also gave a separate press briefing in London, calling for the Zimbabwean government to stop its intimidation campaign and allow the opposition to campaign freely.

"Whoever wins the elections, we hope the result will be announced promptly¹¹ by the electoral commission, and that anyone who tries to come into power through fraudulent elections will have a price to pay," he said. "I think the people of Zimbabwe and the Africans will not accept it and he will not have legitimacy¹² to rule, and the international community will not accept him either."

The June 27 poll follows the result of the March 29 election, in which opposition Movement for Democratic Change leader Morgan Tsvangirai won the most votes. But Zimbabwe election officials say he did not win the necessary majority to claim the presidency¹³.

Mr. Mugabe recently threatened war to stop the opposition from coming to power. He describes the Movement for Democratic Change as traitors¹⁴ being used and sponsored by the British to recolonize Zimbabwe. The opposition party and Britain deny his charges.

1 condemned   

adj. 被责难的, 被宣告有罪的 动词condemn的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• He condemned the hypocrisy of those politicians who do one thing and say another. 他谴责了那些说一套做一套的政客的虚伪。
• The policy has been condemned as a regressive step. 这项政策被认为是一种倒退而受到谴责。

2 ongoing   

adj.进行中的，前进的

参考例句：

• The problem is ongoing.这个问题尚未解决。
• The issues raised in the report relate directly to Age Concern's ongoing work in this area.报告中提出的问题与“关心老人”组织在这方面正在做的工作有直接的关系。

3 commonwealth   

n.共和国，联邦，共同体

参考例句：

• He is the chairman of the commonwealth of artists.他是艺术家协会的主席。
• Most of the members of the Commonwealth are nonwhite.英联邦的许多成员国不是白人国家。

4 joint   

adj.联合的，共同的；n.关节，接合处；v.连接，贴合

参考例句：

• I had a bad fall,which put my shoulder out of joint.我重重地摔了一跤，肩膀脫臼了。
• We wrote a letter in joint names.我们联名写了封信。

5 incumbent   

adj.成为责任的，有义务的；现任的，在职的

参考例句：

• He defeated the incumbent governor by a large plurality.他以压倒多数票击败了现任州长。
• It is incumbent upon you to warn them.你有责任警告他们。

6 deplores   

v.悲叹，痛惜，强烈反对( deplore的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• He often deplores his past sins. 他经常痛悔自己过去的罪恶。 来自辞典例句
• Regretting the lack of spontaneity and real sensuousness in other contemporary poets, he deplores in Tennyson. 他对于和他同时代的诗人缺乏自发性和真实的敏感，感到惋惜，他对坦尼森感到悲痛。 来自辞典例句

7 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。

8 envoy   

n.使节，使者，代表，公使

参考例句：

• Their envoy showed no sign of responding to our proposals.他们的代表对我方的提议毫无回应的迹象。
• The government has not yet appointed an envoy to the area.政府尚未向这一地区派过外交官。

9 intimidation   

n.恐吓，威胁

参考例句：

• The Opposition alleged voter intimidation by the army.反对党声称投票者受到军方的恐吓。
• The gang silenced witnesses by intimidation.恶帮用恐吓的手段使得证人不敢说话。

10 harassment   

n.骚扰，扰乱，烦恼，烦乱

参考例句：

• She often got telephone harassment at night these days.这些天她经常在夜晚受到电话骚扰。
• The company prohibits any form of harassment.公司禁止任何形式的骚扰行为。

11 promptly   

adv.及时地，敏捷地

参考例句：

• He paid the money back promptly.他立即还了钱。
• She promptly seized the opportunity his absence gave her.她立即抓住了因他不在场给她创造的机会。

12 legitimacy   

n.合法，正当

参考例句：

• The newspaper was directly challenging the government's legitimacy.报纸直接质疑政府的合法性。
• Managing from the top down,we operate with full legitimacy.我们进行由上而下的管理有充分的合法性。

13 presidency   

n.总统(校长，总经理)的职位(任期)

参考例句：

• Roosevelt was elected four times to the presidency of the United States.罗斯福连续当选四届美国总统。
• Two candidates are emerging as contestants for the presidency.两位候选人最终成为总统职位竞争者。

14 traitors   

卖国贼( traitor的名词复数 )； 叛徒； 背叛者； 背信弃义的人

参考例句：

• Traitors are held in infamy. 叛徒为人所不齿。
• Traitors have always been treated with contempt. 叛徒永被人们唾弃。