讀外媒：老驥伏櫪：92歲馬哈蒂爾當選馬來西亞總理

背景知識

2018年5月10日，92歲的馬哈蒂爾當選馬來西亞總理，全球最高齡國家領導人的記錄被刷新。在此之前，紀錄保持者分別是英國女王伊麗莎白（1926.4）和突尼西亞總統埃塞卜西（1926.11）。當然，這也有賴於穆加貝（1924.2）去年黯然出局，退出政治。

更傳奇的是，此前的馬哈蒂爾已經當過22年馬來西亞總理，卸任宣布退出政壇也有15年，已經被視為一個退出歷史、歸隱山林的人。

誰想到在90高齡之時，因為對自己親手挑選的繼任者不滿，他與相伴一生的執政黨斷然脫離關係，自組反對党參選，然後在種種不利情況下還贏了，順便也讓馬來西亞「變天」，這簡直是現代政治史上的奇蹟。

正文閱讀

Malaysia"s Mahathir Mohamad has returned to power as prime minister, becoming the world"s oldest elected leader.

Mahathir is 92 years old. He previously ruled Malaysia for 22 years.

He led a group of opposition parties that won a parliamentary election on Wednesday. Official results showed the opposition parties – called the Alliance of Hope – received more than the 112 seats required to win a majority in parliament.

Mahathir was sworn in Thursday by Malaysia"s king, Sultan Muhammad V.

The election ended 60 years of rule by the National Front coalition. The party had led Malaysia since it became independent from Britain in 1957.

Former prime minister and National Front leader Najib Razak accepted defeat. In a press conference, he said he recognized the verdict of the people. He added that the National Front would honor the principle of democracy in parliament.

The National Front"s loss came after Najib became involved in a major corruption scandal. He also faced political problems for supporting new taxes that greatly affected poor Malaysians.

Mahathir told reporters he was ready to carry out major changes for Malaysia. He promised to cancel the unpopular goods and service tax approved in 2015. He said the government could also renegotiate terms of Chinese loans for infrastructure projects.

Mahathir ruled Malaysia from 1981 to 2003. He is credited with building a strong and lasting economy. But he was also known for taking some actions seen as undemocratic. These included silencing and imprisoning political opponents and influencing the country"s courts.

Mahathir said his government would not seek revenge against political opponents. However, he said officials would seek to bring back the rule of law and prosecute those who break it.

Supporters of Malaysia"s new government took to the streets of the capital, Kuala Lumpur, to celebrate the victory. Some stood on roadsides waving the white, blue and red flag of the opposition Alliance of Hope. Others sounded car horns while driving through the streets. One woman who was waving an opposition flag said, We"ll have a better Malaysia now. Malaysia reborn!

I"m Bryan Lynn.

生詞注釋

參考譯文

馬來西亞馬哈蒂爾 穆罕默德(Mahathir Mohamad)重返政壇，擔任總理一職。此舉使他成為全球最年長的領導人。

馬哈蒂爾今年92歲了。之前他曾當政22年。

他領導的反對黨於周三贏得了議會選舉。官方數據顯示，反對黨，也就是在野聯盟希望聯盟——獲得的席位數超高了最低要求的112個，佔據了議會的大多數席位。

馬哈蒂爾周四在國王穆罕默德五世前宣誓就職。

馬哈蒂爾的當選終結了國民陣線聯盟長達60年的統治。自1957年馬來西亞獨立於英國以來，國民陣線聯盟就一直是馬來西亞的執政黨。

前總理兼國民陣線領袖納吉布(Najib Razak)接受了失敗的結局。在一次新聞發布會上，他表示，他認可人民的裁定。他還補充說，國民陣線會尊重議會的民主性原則。

國民陣線在此次失利之前，納吉布就身陷一場重大腐敗醜聞之中。他還面臨著一些政治問題，因為他支持新稅法，而新稅法極大地影響了馬來西亞的窮人。

馬哈蒂爾在接受記者採訪時表示，他願意為馬來西亞人民實現重大變革。他承諾會取消備受詬病的商品及服務稅，該稅法是2015年通過的。馬哈蒂爾表示，馬來西亞政府也會重新溝通中國對馬來西亞基礎設施項目貸款中的條款。

1981-2003年期間，馬哈蒂爾在馬來西亞當政。大家普遍認為，馬哈蒂爾打造了強大持久的經濟。但眾所周知的是，他還有一些被認為是破壞民主的行為，包括淹沒政敵的發聲，囚禁政敵，影響國家司法秩序。

馬哈蒂爾表示，他的政府不會報復政敵。不過，他表示，他任職期間，政府官員會恢復法制，並追究破壞法制的人。

馬來西亞新政府的支持者們走上首都吉隆坡的街頭，以慶賀選舉得勝。一些人站在道路兩邊，揮舞著反對黨在野聯盟希望聯盟白、藍、紅相間的旗幟。一位揮舞著反對黨旗幟的女性表示，我們的馬來西亞將更加美好。馬來西亞重生了！

布萊恩 林恩(Bryan Lynn)為您播報。

難點解析

Mahathir was sworn in Thursday by Malaysia"s king, Sultan Muhammad V.

馬哈蒂爾周四在國王穆罕默德五世前宣誓就職。

請思考這裡的swear為什麼要使用被動語態的形式?

?在這裡動詞swear 是＂使發誓，使承諾(保守秘密)＂的意思．正常語序是:

Malaysia"s king,Sultan Muhammad V swore Mahathir in Thursday.

把Mahathir放里前面就變成了文中的被動語態形式．

?還可以從另一種角度來理解這裡的swear為什麼要用被動語態：

美國（或其他國家)的總統或州長宣誓上任是在大法官(或國王等）前宣誓的，所以是被宣誓，法律要求他無法主動宣誓，只有在大法官前由大法官說一句他跟一句地宣誓才有效，只能用被動語態。

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