VOA标准英语2010年-Iraqis Vote for New Parliament

Iraqis voted Sunday in national elections, despite a string of attacks across the country that left more than 38 people dead.  Security is a key issue in the campaign, as whoever leads the new government will oversee¹ the withdrawal² of American troops. 

Millions of Iraqi voters defied insurgents³' threats to disrupt the elections and came out in force to chose a new parliament. 

Iraqi military spokesman General Qassim Ata said while militants⁴ tried to scare people away, they failed.

The general said even more people turned out to vote than before.   Security forces stepped up checkpoints and patrols across the country, strict curfews were enforced and borders and airports  closed.

Baghdad voter Mohamad el-Bayati is one of the many voters who say security was a key issue in making his choice. "The American army will go out during this government.  That makes the elections so important," he said.

Half the remaining U.S. troops in Iraq are expected to leave by the end of August, with the other 50,000 out by the end of next year.  This is only the second national election since American troops led the invasion of Iraq in 2003, and the first in which Iraqi security has taken the lead.  

Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, who is running for re-election, has lost support for not bringing violence to an end.  But he continues to stress the importance of law and order, and held up the election as an example of how things are starting to get on track. The prime minister noted⁵ the presence of election monitors to help prevent any fraud.  One group of international observers told VOA their initial impressions were that the vote was going well.

The election will help shape Iraq's immediate⁶ future, either allowing sectarian and ethnic⁷ divides to deepen or giving more nationalist forces a boost. 

Not only is the election being seen as a test of national reconciliation⁸, but so too is its aftermath.  No party is expected to win outright⁹, which means that whoever comes out on top will have to reach out to other parties to form a government.   The hope is that it will not take too long, for fear a power vacuum could develop.

A key player in any coalition¹⁰ building is likely to be Kurdish parties.  Like the race elsewhere in Iraq, Kurdistan's future is open for re-alignment, with a new group called "Change" challenging the two traditional Kurdish parties.

Kurdistan Prime Minister Barham Saleh stressed the need for the vote to be perceived as open. He promised the Kurdish government would do its best to ensure the security of elections, which he said he hoped would be transparent¹¹, democratic, and honest.  

The fact there is no clear-cut front-runner, as is the norm in more stagnant¹², authoritarian¹³ states nearby, has led many voters to seize their chance to make a difference.
 

1 oversee   

vt.监督，管理

参考例句：

• Soldiers oversee the food handouts.士兵们看管着救济食品。
• Use a surveyor or architect to oversee and inspect the different stages of the work.请一位房产检视员或建筑师来监督并检查不同阶段的工作。

2 withdrawal   

n.取回，提款；撤退，撤军；收回，撤销

参考例句：

• The police were forced to make a tactical withdrawal.警方被迫进行战术撤退。
• They insisted upon a withdrawal of the statement and a public apology.他们坚持要收回那些话并公开道歉。

3 insurgents   

n.起义，暴动，造反( insurgent的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The regular troops of Baden joined the insurgents. 巴登的正规军参加到起义军方面来了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Against the Taliban and Iraqi insurgents, these problems are manageable. 要对付塔利班与伊拉克叛乱分子，这些问题还是可以把握住的。 来自互联网

4 militants   

激进分子，好斗分子( militant的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The militants have been sporadically fighting the government for years. 几年来，反叛分子一直对政府实施零星的战斗。
• Despite the onslaught, Palestinian militants managed to fire off rockets. 尽管如此，巴勒斯坦的激进分子仍然发射导弹。

5 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

6 immediate   

adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的

参考例句：

• His immediate neighbours felt it their duty to call.他的近邻认为他们有责任去拜访。
• We declared ourselves for the immediate convocation of the meeting.我们主张立即召开这个会议。

7 ethnic   

adj.人种的，种族的，异教徒的

参考例句：

• This music would sound more ethnic if you played it in steel drums.如果你用钢鼓演奏，这首乐曲将更具民族特色。
• The plan is likely only to aggravate ethnic frictions.这一方案很有可能只会加剧种族冲突。

8 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。

9 outright   

adv.坦率地；彻底地；立即；adj.无疑的；彻底的

参考例句：

• If you have a complaint you should tell me outright.如果你有不满意的事，你应该直率地对我说。
• You should persuade her to marry you outright.你应该彻底劝服她嫁给你。

10 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。

11 transparent   

adj.明显的，无疑的；透明的

参考例句：

• The water is so transparent that we can see the fishes swimming.水清澈透明，可以看到鱼儿游来游去。
• The window glass is transparent.窗玻璃是透明的。

12 stagnant   

adj.不流动的，停滞的，不景气的

参考例句：

• Due to low investment,industrial output has remained stagnant.由于投资少，工业生产一直停滞不前。
• Their national economy is stagnant.他们的国家经济停滞不前。

13 authoritarian   

n./adj.专制(的)，专制主义者，独裁主义者

参考例句：

• Foreign diplomats suspect him of authoritarian tendencies.各国外交官怀疑他有着独裁主义倾向。
• The authoritarian policy wasn't proved to be a success.独裁主义的政策证明并不成功。