时间:2018-12-08 作者:英语课 分类:VOA标准英语2008年(十二月)


英语课
South Korea's parliament is experiencing a extended period of paralysis 1 that is getting increasing physical. Minority politicians have vowed 2 to block a set of bills they oppose by any means necessary. So far they are keeping their word.

About 50 members of South Korea's minority Democratic Party forced their way into the main voting hall of the country's parliament Friday and locked themselves in. Their aim was to prevent ruling party members from holding a plenary session that might have resulted in the passing of bills the Democratic party opposes.

South Korean television showed images of police dusting the plenary hall doors for fingerprints 3, in hopes of narrowing down which specific Democratic Party members initiated 4 the incursion into the hall.

The Democratic Party has 83 seats in South Korea's 298-member parliament. The ruling Grand National Party of South Korean President Lee Myung-bak controls 172 seats and easily outnumbers its opponents. The GNP has promised to pass a number of controversial measures, including a free trade deal with the United States.
 






A South Korean opposition 5 Democratic Party member with a hammer beats a door to enter into a parliamentary committee room, Seoul, 18 Dec. 2008



Last week, clashes broke out as minority lawmakers sought to force their way into a committee room to disrupt the process of ratifying 6 the U.S. free trade deal. Security guards opened up fire extinguishers on opponents of the deal as they hammered away at locked and barricaded 7 doors. The damaged doors have since been replaced with reinforced steel, in anticipation 8 of more physical conflict between the parties.

Democratic Party Chairman Chung Sye-kyun says the National Assembly has turned into a battleground, and he holds the president to blame.

He says the war now taking place in the assembly can be defined as a war initiated by President Lee. He says Mr. Lee is trying to take away the Parliament's role of limiting government power.

Chung and his allies object to several bills they have labeled "evil." The measures would enhance the ability of law enforcement to tap domestic phones, consolidate 9 the power of major media companies, and tighten 10 rules regarding how citizens post messages online. Democratic lawmakers say the bills put South Korea on a path to the authoritarian 11 days of the country's past.

Cho Yoon-seon, spokeswoman for the ruling GNP, says it is the minority Democratic Party that is in the wrong.

She says the DP should stop destroying public facilities, and start participating normally in getting bills passed. She adds, the DP should apologize to the people as they showed contempt for parliamentary process.

It remains 12 to be seen whether ruling party politicians will choose to engage in dialogue with opponents, or seek a more muscular approach. There is also a question of whether the conflict will remain contained within parliamentary buildings, or possibly manifest itself in broader public demonstrations 13.



1 paralysis
n.麻痹(症);瘫痪(症)
  • The paralysis affects his right leg and he can only walk with difficulty.他右腿瘫痪步履维艰。
  • The paralysis affects his right leg and he can only walk with difficulty.他右腿瘫痪步履维艰。
2 vowed
起誓,发誓(vow的过去式与过去分词形式)
  • He vowed quite solemnly that he would carry out his promise. 他非常庄严地发誓要实现他的诺言。
  • I vowed to do more of the cooking myself. 我发誓自己要多动手做饭。
3 fingerprints
n.指纹( fingerprint的名词复数 )v.指纹( fingerprint的第三人称单数 )
  • Everyone's fingerprints are unique. 每个人的指纹都是独一无二的。
  • They wore gloves so as not to leave any fingerprints behind (them). 他们戴着手套,以免留下指纹。 来自《简明英汉词典》
4 initiated
n.反对,敌对
  • The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
  • The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。
5 ratifying
v.批准,签认(合约等)( ratify的现在分词 )
  • They call their State Assembly a disgrace for ratifying the 35th. 他们把州议会通过的第35号修正案说成是可耻的行为。 来自辞典例句
  • The Obama administration, unlike its predecessor, talks of ratifying the test-ban treaty. 该会议五年举办一次,回顾其间发生的事情。 来自互联网
6 barricaded
设路障于,以障碍物阻塞( barricade的过去式和过去分词 ); 设路障[防御工事]保卫或固守
  • The police barricaded the entrance. 警方在入口处设置了路障。
  • The doors had been barricaded. 门都被堵住了。
7 anticipation
n.预期,预料,期望
  • We waited at the station in anticipation of her arrival.我们在车站等着,期待她的到来。
  • The animals grew restless as if in anticipation of an earthquake.各种动物都变得焦躁不安,像是感到了地震即将发生。
8 consolidate
v.使加固,使加强;(把...)联为一体,合并
  • The two banks will consolidate in July next year. 这两家银行明年7月将合并。
  • The government hoped to consolidate ten states to form three new ones.政府希望把十个州合并成三个新的州。
9 tighten
v.(使)变紧;(使)绷紧
  • Turn the screw to the right to tighten it.向右转动螺钉把它拧紧。
  • Some countries tighten monetary policy to avoid inflation.一些国家实行紧缩银根的货币政策,以避免通货膨胀。
10 authoritarian
n./adj.专制(的),专制主义者,独裁主义者
  • 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。
11 remains
n.剩余物,残留物;遗体,遗迹
  • He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
  • The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。
12 demonstrations
证明( demonstration的名词复数 ); 表明; 表达; 游行示威
  • Lectures will be interspersed with practical demonstrations. 讲课中将不时插入实际示范。
  • The new military government has banned strikes and demonstrations. 新的军人政府禁止罢工和示威活动。
学英语单词
a large yield of wheat
abron
acid stain
adhered-to
adjustment washer
antarcticite
aspergation
assawaman i.
asymbolical
banjaxes
Beaworthy
Bidor
Brodie's sign
calling tone
cercosporella thladianthae
chataways
ciraldo
constant humidity cabinet
currency regulations
cybertechnology
Dagestan, Respublika
deficious
dilute Russell's viper venom time
discharge ability
drive someone to despair
dual memory theory
Easter Sundays
enalite
entremet
execx
exhibitings
export organization
facies proximalis
French law
gage height
get out of scrapes
giant swelling
globemaking
GM_at-in-and-to-movement
grammaticalizations
granular cell carcinoma of kidney
homoeopathist
hydroxy-phenyl-acetic acid
immediate extend
ink application
instrument mode
isses
it-based
jobbles
keep one's nose to the grindstone
LABRACOGLOSSIDAE
lagrange top
lead base babbit
life-saving service
liquid medicine bottle
manifest deviation
mastery of the electromagnetic
mesne notice
methyldiphenyl
michalczewski
model efficiency
modulation device
molded spectacle glass
mols
Montanchez
multiwall paper bag
NCTS
neutral spore
Nigan
Nishiwaki
nomarch
normal tax rate
NYCTA
oncotherapy
peplow
perversenesses
pictets
pilot licence
Populus pseudomaximowiczii
product-market scope
radiac instruments
radioactivetracer
ratione temperis
resiege
rose-bed
Royal Palm Beach
rth
second-b
signed manuscript
slot tear
technical know-why
Tocumen
torque-limiter clutch
trace-mode debugging
trappan
two-deck classifier
wet commodities
witch-hunters
with attitude
wrongful-termination
yellowband
Zugurma