VOA标准英语2013--World Press Freedom Declines

 

World Press Freedom Declines

Just one out of six people across the globe enjoyed a free press last year. Freedom House President David Kramer says the global decline in press freedom is a huge concern.

"A free press is critical to any country's democratic development. It acts as a check and balance. It acts as a check on corruption¹. It promotes transparency. It promotes good government, and so a  free press is indispensable," Kramer said.  

The report says the percentage of people enjoying a free media environment fell to its lowest point in more than a decade due to repression² by authoritarian³ regimes, political instability and threats from radical⁴ Islamists.  

Mansour Ali is a reporter in the tribal⁵ areas of Pakistan, one of 64 countries the group says is "unfree" for media.

"Security is the foremost problem, because just two days ago my colleague was injured in a suicide attack and another was killed," Ali said.

Mali, once Africa's freest media environment, suffered the year's biggest decline in press freedom. It slid from a "free press" nation to one of 70 "partly free" countries following a military coup⁶ and the capture of its northern half by Islamist militants⁷.

In Europe, Greece also slid into the partly free category. Its economic troubles led to widespread staff cuts in the media and closures.

In the Middle East, Libya and Tunisia retained gains in press freedom won during the Arab Spring revolts.  But in Egypt the media environment declined and is now described as unfree.

Karin Karlekar of Freedom House, says many factors are behind Egypt's decline.

"Partly it was the new constitution, which was worrying in terms of the provisions for freedom of expression, the polarization of the media after the president's election and the very high levels of attacks and harassment⁸ of journalists, particularly by Islamist groups," Karlekar said.

Despite the declines, the report noted⁹ improvement in some countries, including Burma.

"Compared to where it was two years ago, it has been a huge improvement, and so in that regard I would say it is a model for other repressive governments," Karlekar said.

The world’s eight worst-rated countries for press freedom-dubbed the worst-of-the-worst, were Belarus, Cuba, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Iran, North Korea, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan. Independent media in these states are nonexistent or barely able to operate. 

1 corruption   

n.腐败，堕落，贪污

参考例句：

• The people asked the government to hit out against corruption and theft.人民要求政府严惩贪污盗窃。
• The old man reviled against corruption.那老人痛斥了贪污舞弊。

2 repression   

n.镇压，抑制，抑压

参考例句：

• The repression of your true feelings is harmful to your health.压抑你的真实感情有害健康。
• This touched off a new storm against violent repression.这引起了反对暴力镇压的新风暴。

3 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。

4 radical   

n.激进份子，原子团，根号；adj.根本的，激进的，彻底的

参考例句：

• The patient got a radical cure in the hospital.病人在医院得到了根治。
• She is radical in her demands.她的要求十分偏激。

5 tribal   

adj.部族的，种族的

参考例句：

• He became skilled in several tribal lingoes.他精通几种部族的语言。
• The country was torn apart by fierce tribal hostilities.那个国家被部落间的激烈冲突弄得四分五裂。

6 coup   

n.政变；突然而成功的行动

参考例句：

• The monarch was ousted by a military coup.那君主被军事政变者废黜了。
• That government was overthrown in a military coup three years ago.那个政府在3年前的军事政变中被推翻。

7 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。

8 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。

9 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。