VOA常速英语2021--哥伦比亚税改方案引发社会动荡

Colombia on Tuesday adopted a tax reform plan that was at the root of violent anti-government protests that left more than 60 people dead this year, but was eventually reconfigured to be kinder to the middle class and the poor.

哥伦比亚周二通过了一项税收改革计划，该计划是今年导致60多人死亡的暴力反政府抗议活动的根源，但最终被调整至对中产阶级和穷人更友好的形态。

President Iván Duque signed the so-called "social investment law," which has as its stated objective to combat poverty in a country hit hard by the coronavirus epidemic¹.

总统伊万·杜克签署了所谓的“社会投资法”，其宣称目标是在一个遭到冠状病毒疫情严重打击的国家消除贫困。

He says the law will, quote, "benefit nearly 29 million Colombians in a vulnerable situation" out of a total population of some 50 million.

他说，这项法律将使哥伦比亚总共约5000万人口中的“近2900万弱势群体受益”。

A first version of the law presented by Duque early this year to combat the economic consequences of the global health crisis would have significantly increased taxes on an already battered² middle class.

今年早些时候，杜克为应对全球健康危机带来的经济后果提出了该法案的第一版，该版本将大幅增加对本已遭受重创的中产阶级的税收。

Some 42 percent of Colombians now live in poverty, and more than 16 percent are unemployed³.

大约42%的哥伦比亚人现在生活在贫困中，超过16%的人失业。

The tax bill caused a social explosion, with thousands taking to the streets on April 28th claiming they would be left poorer.

这项税收法案引发了社会轰动，数千人在4月28日走上街头，声称他们会变得更穷。

Tunisia's president said Tuesday the country is being run by a "mafia" and pledged to fight corrupt⁴ politicians, adding, quote, "I will not engage in dialogue with thieves."

突尼斯总统星期二说，突尼斯正在由“黑手党”统治，并承诺打击腐败的政客。他还说，“我不会与窃贼对话。”

He is a legal theorist and former law professor, who was elected in 2019 and has billed himself as the ultimate interpreter of the constitution.

他是一名法律理论家和前法学教授，于2019年当选，并标榜自己为宪法的最终解释者。

He invoked⁵ that power on July 25th to fire the prime minister, freeze parliament and strip MPs of their immunity⁶ and assume all executive powers.

他在7月25日动用这一权力解雇了总理，冻结了议会，剥夺了议员的豁免权，并接管了所有的行政权力。

He has also taken control of the judiciary but has yet to appoint a new government or reveal a roadmap towards normalization⁷ despite repeated demands by political parties.

他还控制了司法部门，但尽管各政党一再要求，他仍未任命新政府，也未公布正常化的计划。

The African Union said Tuesday it wants to buy COVID-19 vaccines⁸ rather than keep waiting for donor-funded doses to arrive and implored⁹ producers to give the continent a fair shot at market access.

非洲联盟周二表示，它希望购买新冠疫苗，而不是一直等待捐助方资助的疫苗抵达，并恳求生产商给非洲大陆一个公平的市场准入机会。

The AU also urged manufacturing nations to lift export bans so the continent can begin to address for itself the glaring inequity in access to coronavirus jabs as wealthy nations hog¹⁰ available doses.

非盟还敦促制造业国家解除出口禁令，这样非洲大陆就可以开始自己解决在获取冠状病毒疫苗方面的明显不平等问题，因为富裕国家霸占了可用的疫苗。

1 epidemic   

n.流行病；盛行；adj.流行性的，流传极广的

参考例句：

• That kind of epidemic disease has long been stamped out.那种传染病早已绝迹。
• The authorities tried to localise the epidemic.当局试图把流行病限制在局部范围。

2 battered   

adj.磨损的；v.连续猛击；磨损

参考例句：

• He drove up in a battered old car.他开着一辆又老又破的旧车。
• The world was brutally battered but it survived.这个世界遭受了惨重的创伤,但它还是生存下来了。

3 unemployed   

adj.失业的，没有工作的；未动用的，闲置的

参考例句：

• There are now over four million unemployed workers in this country.这个国家现有四百万失业人员。
• The unemployed hunger for jobs.失业者渴望得到工作。

4 corrupt   

v.贿赂，收买；adj.腐败的，贪污的

参考例句：

• The newspaper alleged the mayor's corrupt practices.那家报纸断言市长有舞弊行为。
• This judge is corrupt.这个法官贪污。

5 invoked   

v.援引( invoke的过去式和过去分词 )；行使（权利等）；祈求救助；恳求

参考例句：

• It is unlikely that libel laws will be invoked. 不大可能诉诸诽谤法。
• She had invoked the law in her own defence. 她援引法律为自己辩护。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 immunity   

n.优惠；免除；豁免，豁免权

参考例句：

• The law gives public schools immunity from taxation.法律免除公立学校的纳税义务。
• He claims diplomatic immunity to avoid being arrested.他要求外交豁免以便避免被捕。

7 normalization   

n.（normalisation）正常化，标准化

参考例句：

• The visit signalled the normalization of relations between the two countries.这次访问显示两国关系已经正常化。
• He was pleased to the normalization of relationship between the police and the people.他很高兴警方和人民之间关系的正常化。

8 vaccines   

疫苗，痘苗( vaccine的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• His team are at the forefront of scientific research into vaccines. 他的小组处于疫苗科研的最前沿。
• The vaccines were kept cool in refrigerators. 疫苗放在冰箱中冷藏。

9 implored   

恳求或乞求（某人）( implore的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• She implored him to stay. 她恳求他留下。
• She implored him with tears in her eyes to forgive her. 她含泪哀求他原谅她。

10 hog   

n.猪；馋嘴贪吃的人；vt.把…占为己有，独占

参考例句：

• He is greedy like a hog.他像猪一样贪婪。
• Drivers who hog the road leave no room for other cars.那些占着路面的驾驶员一点余地都不留给其他车辆。