Stakes high as Afghans go to vote

Millions of Afghans have begun voting in the country's second presidential election since the fall of the Taliban.
　　Militants 2 have threatened(威胁) to disrupt the polls, in which President Hamid Karzai is running for a second term.
　　Some 300,000 Afghan and international troops have been deployed 3 to protect voters, but sporadic 4 outbreaks of violence have been reported.
　　A police commander said the bodies of two militants had been recovered after a gun battle with police in Kabul.
　　The militants had been holed up in a house in the residential 1 district of Karti Naw, but the house is now reported to have been retaken by security（安全） forces.
　　In northern Baghlan province, a district police chief was killed when Taliban militants attacked a police post, and clashes were said to be continuing with unconfirmed casualties on the Taliban side.
　　Small rocket attacks were also reported in Helmand, Kandahar and Ghazni provinces.
　　Voting fearsPolling stations opened at 0700 (0230 GMT) for voting in what is Afghanistan's second direct presidential election since 2001, but the first organised primarily by Afghans themselves.
　　In most of Kabul, the streets were quiet, with most shops closed and security personnel out numbering pedestrians 5, reported the BBC's Ian Pannell.
　　I request my dear countrymen to come out and cast their vote to decide their futureHamid Karzai, Afghan presidentAre you voting? Have your sayCars have been driven through the streets broadcasting patriotic 6 music and encouraging people to vote, he says.
　　"I really am interested to vote today, but early in the morning on the way to my office, I have seen the streets so quiet and lots of Afghan security officials," Kabul resident Murtaza told the BBC in an email.
　　"I really don't want to lose my life, for voting."But another resident, Mirwais, had just voted.
　　"I really felt secure and safe. The only problem was the making holes in voting cards. Their cutters （切割机）were not working and instead of cutters they were using scissors which was not trustworthy."Across the country, some 17 million Afghans are eligible 7 to vote until polling stations close at 1600.
　　Queues were reported to be forming at some of the country's 6,969 polling stations - the vast majority of which, the UN said, had been able to open despite the security threat.
　　The interior ministry 8 has said about a third of the country is at high risk of attack and that no polling stations will be open in eight districts under Taliban control.
　　There were also concerns about corruption 9 in the run up to the poll, with reports of voting cards being openly sold and of candidates offering large bribes 10.
　　Taliban threatsOpinion polls suggest support for Hamid Karzai, one of more than 30 candidates, is at around 45%, with his former foreign minister, Abdullah Abdullah, in second place with 25%.
　　His other two main opponents are the independent candidate Ashraf Ghani Ahmadzai and ex-World Bank official Ramazan Bashardost.
　　AT THE SCENECaroline Wyatt, BBC News, Lashkar Gah, Helmand provinceWe went out to polling stations as they opened in Lashkar Gah this morning and the first thing that happened was a loud explosion could be heard near the governor's compound.
　　We were told to get down, to get into safety. After that we went back out and we heard in total six other explosions until about 0830.
　　I had presumed that would mean people would be less keen to vote. I was wrong. We went to a high school, one of the men's voting centres. There were queues coming out of every room. People we spoke 11 to were extremely enthusiastic about voting. They were all supporters of President Hamid Karzai.
　　They said they were not scared by the Taliban's threat to chop off their fingers if they were found with ink showing that they voted, and they were not scared by the Taliban's bombs and rockets.
　　Elections for provincial 12 councils are also taking place, with more than 3,000 candidates contesting 420 council（理事会） seats in 34 provinces.
　　Voting in Kabul shortly after polls opened, Mr Karzai urged all Afghans to cast ballots 13 in defiance 14 of the insurgents 15.
　　"I request my dear countrymen to come out and cast their vote to decide their future," he said.
　　"God willing, this will be for peace, for progress, and for the well-being 16 of the Afghan people. Vote. No violence."Militants have made repeated threats against the polls and more than 25 people have been killed in bombings and attacks in the last two days.
　　In a statement earlier this week, the Taliban said 20 suicide bombers 17 had made their way to the capital, Kabul, where they were preparing attacks.
　　In Helmand province, insurgents warned that anyone with indelible ink on their finger, used to identify people who have voted, would have it cut off.
　　Nonetheless, the BBC's Caroline Wyatt in the Helmand city of Lashkar Gah says voting was brisk in the polling stations she visited.
　　Reporters harassedThe US has expressed concern about the apparent attempts by militants to intimidate 19 voters.
　　But state department spokesman Ian Kelly said there was a "very strong will of the majority of people in Afghanistan to be responsible for their own destiny".
　　Mr Kelly also criticised Afghan attempts to ban media coverage 20 of violence during the polls - a move the government said was aimed at encouraging turn-out.
　　Some journalists have reported being harassed 18 and beaten by security forces. The United Nations has asked for the ban to be lifted, saying the Afghan constitution guarantees a free press.
　　Thursday's vote is Afghanistan's second presidential election since the US-led invasion in 2001 toppled the Taliban regime.
　　Preliminary official results for the presidential election should be announced sometime on Saturday evening.
　　If the winning candidate fails to gain more than 50% of the vote on Thursday, there will be a second-round run-off in October.
　　As he voted, Mr Karzai said a first-round victory would be "in the interest of the nation".（本文由在线英语听力室整理编辑）