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VOA标准英语2012--Malawian Analysts Look for Improved Politics, Economy in 2013

时间:2012-12-31 11:17:39

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Malawian Analysts1 Look for Improved Politics, Economy in 2013

In Malawi, political scientists and human rights campaigners are looking back at 2012 as a year of both progress and setbacks. Over the past 12 months, Malawi gained its first woman president after the death of president Bingu wa Mutharika.

And, though the economy grew slowly, there was a return of donors2 who had withdrawn3 aid in protest over Mutharika’s human rights and governance policies.

Mustapha Hussein, a political scientist at Chancellor4 College of the University of Malawi in Zomba, says “there have been ups and downs and some negative things as well as positive things. On the positive side, the current government [of President Joyce Banda] has tried to stabilize5 the political environment. Politically, Malawi can be said to be stable. Unlike Bingu’s regime, there are no tensions between or among parties or between government and its citizens.”

Hussein says despite the stable political atmosphere, the country has not been faring well on the economic front.

“The issue of devaluation and floatation of the kwacha," he says, "has led to price increases that are affecting the disposable income of the people. They are suffering economically and the economic status of Malawi is fragile.”

Hussein says the change in the country’s top leadership helped calm the country’s contentious6 political atmosphere.

“The death of Bingu wa Mutharika was a sad occasion," he says, "but at the same time, it gave hope for changes for both on the political front as well as on the economic front. Prior to that there were political tensions; there were misunderstandings between the government and civil society which culminated7 in the demonstration8 in July (2011) where we lost lives.” 

However some Malawians have been accusing human rights groups of deliberately9 muting their criticisms of the new administration. They say the administration has failed to respond to consumers affected10 by currency devaluation and price hikes.

But human rights activist11 Billy Banda, who is the executive director for a rights lobby group Malawi Watch, says they were silent because they wanted to build support for the new government considering the many problems it had inherited.

“We were not deliberately keeping quiet," he says, "but were lobbying silently so that the new administration [with its difficulties] would be given sufficient support. But by giving support, that does not necessarily mean that were condoning12 the current administration. We are urging the administration to open a window of interaction so that whenever people raise concerns they should take heed13.”

In her Christmas address to the nation, president Joyce Banda cited the country’s struggling economy and asked Malawians to remain patient. She did so amid threats of protests by the Consumers Association of Malawi over the rising cost of imported fuel and farm inputs14. They’ve contributed to a drop in living standards. 

Analysts say the success of the new year depends in part on whether the government’s austerity measures – blamed by some for increasing hardships – can help turn around the economy. 


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1 analysts 167ff30c5034ca70abe2d60a6e760448     
分析家,化验员( analyst的名词复数 )
参考例句:
  • City analysts forecast huge profits this year. 伦敦金融分析家预测今年的利润非常丰厚。
  • I was impressed by the high calibre of the researchers and analysts. 研究人员和分析人员的高素质给我留下了深刻印象。
2 donors 89b49c2bd44d6d6906d17dca7315044b     
n.捐赠者( donor的名词复数 );献血者;捐血者;器官捐献者
参考例句:
  • Please email us to be removed from our active list of blood donors. 假如你想把自己的名字从献血联系人名单中删去,请给我们发电子邮件。
  • About half this amount comes from individual donors and bequests. 这笔钱大约有一半来自个人捐赠及遗赠。 来自《简明英汉词典》
3 withdrawn eeczDJ     
vt.收回;使退出;vi.撤退,退出
参考例句:
  • Our force has been withdrawn from the danger area.我们的军队已从危险地区撤出。
  • All foreign troops should be withdrawn to their own countries.一切外国军队都应撤回本国去。
4 chancellor aUAyA     
n.(英)大臣;法官;(德、奥)总理;大学校长
参考例句:
  • They submitted their reports to the Chancellor yesterday.他们昨天向财政大臣递交了报告。
  • He was regarded as the most successful Chancellor of modern times.他被认为是现代最成功的财政大臣。
5 stabilize PvuwZ     
vt.(使)稳定,使稳固,使稳定平衡;vi.稳定
参考例句:
  • They are eager to stabilize currencies.他们急于稳定货币。
  • His blood pressure tended to stabilize.他的血压趋向稳定。
6 contentious fa9yk     
adj.好辩的,善争吵的
参考例句:
  • She was really not of the contentious fighting sort.她委实不是好吵好闹的人。
  • Since then they have tended to steer clear of contentious issues.从那时起,他们总想方设法避开有争议的问题。
7 culminated 2d1e3f978078666a2282742e3d1ca461     
v.达到极点( culminate的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句:
  • a gun battle which culminated in the death of two police officers 一场造成两名警察死亡的枪战
  • The gala culminated in a firework display. 晚会以大放烟火告终。 来自《简明英汉词典》
8 demonstration 9waxo     
n.表明,示范,论证,示威
参考例句:
  • His new book is a demonstration of his patriotism.他写的新书是他的爱国精神的证明。
  • He gave a demonstration of the new technique then and there.他当场表演了这种新的操作方法。
9 deliberately Gulzvq     
adv.审慎地;蓄意地;故意地
参考例句:
  • The girl gave the show away deliberately.女孩故意泄露秘密。
  • They deliberately shifted off the argument.他们故意回避这个论点。
10 affected TzUzg0     
adj.不自然的,假装的
参考例句:
  • She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
  • His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。
11 activist gyAzO     
n.活动分子,积极分子
参考例句:
  • He's been a trade union activist for many years.多年来他一直是工会的积极分子。
  • He is a social activist in our factory.他是我厂的社会活动积极分子。
12 condoning 363997b8d741b81bc5d3bbd4cc3c3b74     
v.容忍,宽恕,原谅( condone的现在分词 )
参考例句:
  • I'm not condoning what he did, all right? 我并不是宽恕他的所作所为,好吗? 来自电影对白
  • Communist Party conservatives abhor the idea of condoning explicIt'sex. 党内的保守势力痛恨对赤裸性爱内容的宽容。 来自互联网
13 heed ldQzi     
v.注意,留意;n.注意,留心
参考例句:
  • You must take heed of what he has told.你要注意他所告诉的事。
  • For the first time he had to pay heed to his appearance.这是他第一次非得注意自己的外表不可了。
14 inputs a8aff967e1649a1c82ea607c881e8091     
n.输入( input的名词复数 );投入;输入端;输入的数据v.把…输入电脑( input的第三人称单数 )
参考例句:
  • Uncheck the inputs checked for optimization in the previous stage. 不测试那些已经测试过的优化了的以前步骤的inputs.(变量参数)。 来自互联网
  • Just in case, save in a file the inputs obtained at the previous stage. 以防万一,保存以前步骤获得的inputs(变量参数值)到一个文件中去。 来自互联网

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