VOA标准英语2009年-Former Iranian President Criticizes Hard-L

Former Iranian President Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani delivered a blistering¹ Friday prayer sermon at Tehran University, before a crowd of thousands, warning those in high places to abide² by the will of the people and to heal the wounds of the recent crisis.
　
Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani delivers his sermon during Friday prayers at Tehran University in the Iranian capital, 17 Jul 2009

Thousands of people chanted as they listened to former Iranian President Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani deliver his much-anticipated Friday prayer sermon, and key figures of the opposition³ movement, including defeated presidential candidate Mir Hossein Mousavi and former President Mohammed Khatami, attended in a calculated show of force.

Former President Rafsanjani delivered a scathing⁴ attack against those in power, arguing that "if the people are not content with the government, it loses its legitimacy⁵." He said this was the "way of the Imam, [Islamic Republic founder⁶ Ayatollah Khomeini]" and also the "way of the Prophet [Mohammed]."

The former president also peppered his sermon with anecdotes⁷ of his years alongside the founder of Iran's Islamic Republic Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini noting that the Ayatollah withdrew his support for (former Prime Minister Mehdi) Bazargan, after he had lost the support of the people.

In a clear allusion⁸ to the incumbent⁹ President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, former president Rafsanjani argued that the Prophet (Mohammed) warned one of his followers¹⁰ that "if the people aren't happy with you, then you cannot rule over them."

He stressed "The people are the backbone¹¹ of the Islamic Republic," and he said,"we have an Islamic system, but we are above all a republic, which rests on the will of the people, and all of our officials are elected by the people."

The former president insisted that the only way out of the current crisis, which began with the disputed June 12 presidential election, was for "everyone to follow the law, including the president, the parliament and [the other] branches of the [republic]."

Only Iranian radio broadcast Friday's prayer sermon, however, in an apparent display of hostility¹² by the pro-Ahmadinejad faction¹³ which controls Iranian TV.

Iranian TV, instead, focused on a speech by embattled President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in the city of Mashhad, Thursday, in which he launched his usual attacks against the West.

Al Arabiya TV reported that those in charge of the official Iranian Broadcasting Corporation (IRIB) had been warned at the beginning of the week "not to televise the Rafsanjani sermon," and also "not to film the crowds in attendance."

The former president Rafsanjani also lashed¹⁴ out at the Iranian media for being biased¹⁵ in its coverage¹⁶ and insisted that the official government TV must "be a place where the people can debate their ideas," demanding that its airwaves be opened to everyone.

In the sermon, the appeal for a free media was followed by an appeal for the release of all prisoners who are now being held by the government in the wake of weeks of unrest following the disputed presidential election.

Former Iranian President Abolhassan Bani Sadr, who lives in exile in Paris, however, thinks that Rafsandjani's remarks reveal that he has submitted to the will of Iran's Supreme¹⁷ Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei:

He says that Rafsanjani did what was expected of him, since he's a man of the regime. He's submitted to the will of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and will accept Mr. Ahmedinejad as president. In exchange, Rafsanjani didn't ask for much, he complains: the freeing of prisoners, compensation for those who were killed, and a small measure of free speech. It remains¹⁸ to be seen, he argues, if Mousavi accepts the deal, and if he does, then, this part of the saga¹⁹ is over. But, he notes, the people of Tehran are still chanting "down with the dictator," and they don't accept the proposal; they want their freedom.

Eyewitnesses²⁰ say tens of thousands of supporters of Mr. Mousavi demonstrated in parts of the Iranian capital, after Friday prayers.

1 blistering   

adj.酷热的；猛烈的；使起疱的；可恶的v.起水疱；起气泡；使受暴晒n.[涂料] 起泡

参考例句：

• The runners set off at a blistering pace. 赛跑运动员如脱缰野马般起跑了。
• This failure is known as preferential wetting and is responsible for blistering. 这种故障称为优先吸湿，是产生气泡的原因。 来自辞典例句

2 abide   

vi.遵守；坚持；vt.忍受

参考例句：

• You must abide by the results of your mistakes.你必须承担你的错误所造成的后果。
• If you join the club,you have to abide by its rules.如果你参加俱乐部，你就得遵守它的规章。

3 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。

4 scathing   

adj.（言词、文章）严厉的，尖刻的；不留情的adv.严厉地，尖刻地v.伤害，损害（尤指使之枯萎）( scathe的现在分词)

参考例句：

• a scathing attack on the new management 针对新的管理层的猛烈抨击
• Her speech was a scathing indictment of the government's record on crime. 她的演讲强烈指责了政府在犯罪问题上的表现。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 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。

6 Founder   

n.创始者，缔造者

参考例句：

• He was extolled as the founder of their Florentine school.他被称颂为佛罗伦萨画派的鼻祖。
• According to the old tradition,Romulus was the founder of Rome.按照古老的传说，罗穆卢斯是古罗马的建国者。

7 anecdotes   

n.掌故，趣闻，轶事( anecdote的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• amusing anecdotes about his brief career as an actor 关于他短暂演员生涯的趣闻逸事
• He related several anecdotes about his first years as a congressman. 他讲述自己初任议员那几年的几则轶事。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 allusion   

n.暗示，间接提示

参考例句：

• He made an allusion to a secret plan in his speech.在讲话中他暗示有一项秘密计划。
• She made no allusion to the incident.她没有提及那个事件。

9 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。

10 followers   

追随者( follower的名词复数 )； 用户； 契据的附面； 从动件

参考例句：

• the followers of Mahatma Gandhi 圣雄甘地的拥护者
• The reformer soon gathered a band of followers round him. 改革者很快就获得一群追随者支持他。

11 backbone   

n.脊骨，脊柱，骨干；刚毅，骨气

参考例句：

• The Chinese people have backbone.中国人民有骨气。
• The backbone is an articulate structure.脊椎骨是一种关节相连的结构。

12 hostility   

n.敌对，敌意；抵制［pl.］交战，战争

参考例句：

• There is open hostility between the two leaders.两位领导人表现出公开的敌意。
• His hostility to your plan is well known.他对你的计划所持的敌意是众所周知的。

13 faction   

n.宗派，小集团；派别；派系斗争

参考例句：

• Faction and self-interest appear to be the norm.派系之争和自私自利看来非常普遍。
• I now understood clearly that I was caught between the king and the Bunam's faction.我现在完全明白自己已陷入困境，在国王与布纳姆集团之间左右为难。

14 lashed   

adj.具睫毛的v.鞭打( lash的过去式和过去分词 )；煽动；紧系；怒斥

参考例句：

• The rain lashed at the windows. 雨点猛烈地打在窗户上。
• The cleverly designed speech lashed the audience into a frenzy. 这篇精心设计的演说煽动听众使他们发狂。 来自《简明英汉词典》

15 biased   

a.有偏见的

参考例句：

• a school biased towards music and art 一所偏重音乐和艺术的学校
• The Methods: They employed were heavily biased in the gentry's favour. 他们采用的方法严重偏袒中上阶级。

16 coverage   

n.报导，保险范围，保险额，范围，覆盖

参考例句：

• There's little coverage of foreign news in the newspaper.报纸上几乎没有国外新闻报道。
• This is an insurance policy with extensive coverage.这是一项承保范围广泛的保险。

17 supreme   

adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的

参考例句：

• It was the supreme moment in his life.那是他一生中最重要的时刻。
• He handed up the indictment to the supreme court.他把起诉书送交最高法院。

18 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。

19 saga   

n.(尤指中世纪北欧海盗的)故事，英雄传奇

参考例句：

• The saga of Flight 19 is probably the most repeated story about the Bermuda Triangle.飞行19中队的传说或许是有关百慕大三角最重复的故事。
• The novel depicts the saga of a family.小说描绘了一个家族的传奇故事。

20 eyewitnesses   

目击者( eyewitness的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The examination of all the eyewitnesses took a week. 对所有证人的质询用了一周的时间。
• Several eyewitnesses testified that they saw the officers hit Miller in the face. 几位目击证人证明他们看见那几个警官打了米勒的脸。