翻译研讨VOA时事报道20091107 Karzai的第二次选举；美国失业率达10.2%

IN THE NEWS - A Second Term for Karzai; US Jobless Rate at 10.2%

时事报道——第二次选举；美国失业率达10.2%

This is IN THE NEWS in VOA Special English.

People in Afghanistan were supposed to vote again Saturday for president. But earlier this week the Independent Election Commission declared Hamid Karzai the winner of a second term. His only remaining opponent had withdrawn. Abdullah Abdullah said he did not believe the second vote would be any more fair.

阿富汗人民将在本周六再次的投票选举总统。但是本周早些时候独立选举委员会宣布Hamid Karzai为第二次选举的胜利者。他仅存的对手已经退选。Abdullah Abdullah说他相信第二轮选择会和第一次选举一样的不公平 。

International observers found widespread cheating in the election in August. Investigators rejected almost one-third of the ballots for President Karzai. That denied him the majority needed to avoid a runoff election.

国际观察员发现八月的选举有广泛的作弊现象。调查人员废掉了Karzai总统的三分之一的选票。这样他没能取得法定的可以不参加决赛竞选的多数票。

But Abdullah Abdullah withdrew Sunday after the president rejected his demands -- including dismissal of the head of the election commission.

但是在总统驳回他的多项要求后---其中包括撤掉选举委员会委员长的要求，Abdullah Abdullah就退选了。

Western leaders called on President Karzai to improve governance and security. He told reporters that he will "continue to make every possible effort," in his words, to end government corruption.

西方国家领导人呼吁Karzai总统改进管理和安全水平。他告诉记者他会继续进一切可能努力，用他的话说就是，杜绝政府腐败。

President Obama says the proof is going to be not in words but in actions. This week was the first anniversary of his own election. And one decision weighing heavily on him is whether to send thousands more troops to Afghanistan to fight the Taliban and al-Qaida.

奥巴马总统说证明在于行动而不是语言。到本周是奥选举第一周年。要作出是还是否阿富汗增兵打击塔利班和基地组织的决定让他很烦恼。

His top general there has warned that the eight-year effort to defeat the insurgency could fail without more troops. Sixty-eight thousand Americans and forty thousand other foreign troops are already in the war.

他的阿富汗最高指挥官警告说如果不增兵的话，8年打击叛乱分子的努力可能付之东流。已有68000名美国士兵和40000其它的外国士兵参加了这场战争。

Critics have accused the president of taking too long. Administration officials say they expect a decision in the coming weeks.

批评人士指责总统在这场战争中用了太长的时间。政府官员说他们预计未来几周决定结果就会出来。

This week, two American states, Virginia and New Jersey, elected governors. Republican Party candidates won both elections. Barack Obama won both states last year, and spent time campaigning for the Democrats in this year's races.

本周，美国两个州-----弗吉尼亚和新泽西，选出州长。共和党候选人胜出。奥在去年赢得这两个州的支持后花时间来为今年的民主党的竞选运动做准备。

Some people said the results showed displeasure with his policies. Others noted that a majority of voters said they did not consider him in their decision.

有人说结果表明人们不太欢迎他的政策。也有人提到大多数选民说他们以后不会将选他了。

Next November are the midterm elections. Democrats now control Congress and the White House. But historically the party that controls the White House suffers losses in elections halfway through a president's first term.

明年的11月将是中期选举的时间。民主党现在控制了国会和白宫。但是根据历史事实来看，控制白宫的政党历来都是在总统的第一任期的第二年所举行的（国会）中期选举中失败。

The economy is starting to improve. But high unemployment and issues like reform of the health care system could influence public opinion.

经济形式开始好转。但是高失业率和储如医疗体制改革等问题也可能影响公众观点。

On Thursday, the president thanked two groups for giving their support to a health care bill in the House of Representatives. One is a doctors group, the American Medical Association. The other is AARP, representing forty million older Americans.

在周二，总统感谢在参议院中通过支持他的医疗保健法案的两个团体。一个是医生团体----美国医学协会。另一个团体是AARP，代表美国4000万美国老人利益的团体。

On Friday President Obama signed into law a bill that extends payments for the unemployed and expands a tax credit for homebuyers.

总统奥巴马于本周五签字生效一项旨在延长对失业者补助时间和对进行买房人减税的法案。

But also Friday, the government reported that the unemployment rate was ten and two-tenths percent in October. That was higher than expected, and above ten percent for the first time in twenty-six years. But job losses have been slowing.

但是也是在周五，政府说10月份的失业率是10.2%，比原来预期的要高，也是26年来第一次高于10%.但是工作岗位消失的速度已变缓。

And that's IN THE NEWS in VOA Special English, written by Brianna Blake. I'm Mario Ritter.