2007年VOA标准英语-Ukrainians Disillusioned With Orange Revolution
时间:2019-01-12 作者:英语课 分类:2007年VOA标准英语(四月)
Washington
19 April 2007
The ongoing 1 political stalemate in Ukraine is a far cry from the heady days of the so-called "Orange Revolution" in 2004. In this report from Washington, Senior Correspondent André de Nesnera looks at the current state of Ukrainian politics.
Viktor Yushchenko, 10 Apr 2007
Ukraine's current president, Viktor Yushchenko, was elected in December 2004 after hundreds of thousands of his supporters took to the streets to protest the results of an earlier election declared fraudulent by the Ukrainian Supreme 2 Court and international monitors. That massive protest became known as the "Orange Revolution," named after the color worn by Yushchenko's supporters. In a second, court-ordered election, Yushchenko defeated Viktor Yanukovych, the current prime minister.
There was great euphoria in Ukraine then and confidence that the "Orange Revolution" would usher 3 in a new era.
But Robert Legvold, a Ukraine and Russia expert at Columbia University in New York, says the euphoria quickly dissipated.
"And it dissipated because the 'Orange Revolution' coalition 4 couldn't hang together, was not effective," said Robert Legvold. "Yushchenko has not been a decisive and well-organized president. He's made one mistake after another. As a result of the compromises they'd reached in order to arrive at some kind of peaceful settlement of the fall events in 2004, they created a very weak presidency 5, a strong parliament which almost guaranteed gridlock because that had been, to an extent, the nature of Ukrainian politics even beforehand. And in that context of political gridlock, Yushchenko has shown himself to be evermore ineffective."
Viktor Yanukovych, 02 Apr 2007
Analysts 6 say gridlock was virtually assured when Yushchenko's rival Viktor Yanukovych made a political comeback in parliamentary elections last March. His "Party of Regions" received the most votes and, in August, Yanukovych became prime minister after fashioning a governing coalition with socialists 7 and communists.
David Marples, a Ukraine expert at the University of Alberta (in Canada), says Yanukovych's political comeback was remarkable 8.
"But there, one has to consider again Yushchenko's actions on taking the presidency," said David Marples. "It was always one of compromise with past foes 9 which is very commendable 10, but in political life is often a passport to political suicide, because he gave Yanukovich the opportunity to come back and he made compromises at every point. Yanukovich should be dead and buried, and it was up to Yushchenko to do that, and he failed to do it quite markedly."
Experts say another reason why Ukrainians have become disillusioned 11 with President Yushchenko is that his administration has been tainted 12 by allegations of corruption 13.
Margarita Balmaceda, a Ukraine expert at Seton Hall University (in New Jersey), says a glaring example is the agreement reached between Kyiv and Moscow early last year regarding Russian gas supplies.
"As more and more details of this agreement and all the corruption behind it started to come out into the press - because the press is quite free now - people really realized that you do not have a radically 14 different political game now as you had before the 'Orange Revolution' [people realized there was no change in the political system]," noted 15 Margarita Balmaceda. "And people see, once again, that politics are being conducted without them, that they are not sitting at the table, and people are disillusioned, and people do not feel part of this political process."
About a year ago, the Gallup Organization asked Ukrainians their views about the country's political leadership. The results indicated that only 26 percent of those questioned approved of their political leaders.
The Gallup Organization is expected to update its findings in the next few months. Analysts say it will be interesting to see whether the approval ratings are even lower.
- The problem is ongoing.这个问题尚未解决。
- The issues raised in the report relate directly to Age Concern's ongoing work in this area.报告中提出的问题与“关心老人”组织在这方面正在做的工作有直接的关系。
- 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。
- The usher seated us in the front row.引座员让我们在前排就座。
- They were quickly ushered away.他们被迅速领开。
- 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。
- Roosevelt was elected four times to the presidency of the United States.罗斯福连续当选四届美国总统。
- Two candidates are emerging as contestants for the presidency.两位候选人最终成为总统职位竞争者。
- 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。
- The socialists saw themselves as true heirs of the Enlightenment. 社会主义者认为自己是启蒙运动的真正继承者。
- The Socialists junked dogma when they came to office in 1982. 社会党人1982年上台执政后,就把其政治信条弃之不顾。
- She has made remarkable headway in her writing skills.她在写作技巧方面有了长足进步。
- These cars are remarkable for the quietness of their engines.这些汽车因发动机没有噪音而不同凡响。
- They steadily pushed their foes before them. 他们不停地追击敌人。
- She had fought many battles, vanquished many foes. 她身经百战,挫败过很多对手。
- The government's action here is highly commendable.政府这样的行动值得高度赞扬。
- Such carping is not commendable.这样吹毛求疵真不大好。
- I soon became disillusioned with the job. 我不久便对这个工作不再抱幻想了。
- Many people who are disillusioned in reality assimilate life to a dream. 许多对现实失望的人把人生比作一场梦。
- The administration was tainted with scandal. 丑闻使得政府声名狼藉。
- He was considered tainted by association with the corrupt regime. 他因与腐败政府有牵连而名誉受损。 来自《简明英汉词典》
- 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。
- I think we may have to rethink our policies fairly radically. 我认为我们可能要对我们的政策进行根本的反思。
- The health service must be radically reformed. 公共医疗卫生服务必须进行彻底改革。