{"id":4195,"date":"2016-10-05T19:07:44","date_gmt":"2016-10-06T01:07:44","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/richyrocks.com\/?p=4195"},"modified":"2019-05-15T12:40:24","modified_gmt":"2019-05-15T18:40:24","slug":"farc-u-colombia-votes-no","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/richyrocks.com\/coolenglish\/farc-u-colombia-votes-no\/","title":{"rendered":"farc u: colombia votes “no” on peace agreement"},"content":{"rendered":"

the world was already starting to celebrate the peace deal\u00a0\u00a0(arranged, negotiated) by\u00a0colombian president\u00a0juan manuel santos<\/strong>\u00a0that promises\u00a0an end to decades of armed conflict with the guerrilla movement farc<\/strong>. but then, as camila domonoske<\/strong> on npr.com<\/strong>, something unexpected happened.<\/p>\n

terms were agreed on<\/em>, a deal was finalized<\/em>, the accord was signed<\/em> \u2014 and then, in a stunning<\/em> turn of events<\/em>, the people of colombia voted against the agreement in a national referendum<\/em>.<\/h4>\n

notice the usage of . the parties\u00a0who agreed on, finalized and signed the agreement are\u00a0not mentioned. \u00a0turn of events<\/strong><\/em> is a synonym for change<\/em>. a referendum<\/strong><\/em> is a public vote on a specific issue<\/em>.\u00a0stunning<\/strong><\/em> means shocking, surprising<\/em>.<\/p>\n

<\/h4>\n
\"colombian<\/h6>\n
colombians reacting to the stunning<\/span> results of the referendum<\/span>. (reuters\/john vizcaino)<\/em><\/h6>\n

some statistical evidence of just how stunning<\/em> the results were…<\/p>\n

opinion polls<\/em> as recent as last week showed the peace deal was expected to win approval with anywhere from 60-70%, while the “nos” were predicted to get only 30-40%.<\/h4>\n

polls<\/strong><\/em><\/a> are surveys of the public that attempt to predict the outcome of a\u00a0vote<\/em>.<\/p>\n

\"the<\/h6>\n
the results of the peace referendum\u00a0in colombia: the polls<\/span> were wrong!<\/em>(elpais.com)<\/em><\/h6>\n

to explain what was supposed to happen\u00a0in colombia, the npr article uses the third conditional <\/strong>(modal auxiliary + have + past participle)….<\/p>\n

had the ‘yes’ vote triumphed, the farc\u00a0would have had<\/em><\/span> six months to gather<\/em> its 5,800 foot soldiers in special zones around colombia, where they were to turn in<\/em> their weapons to U.N. inspectors.<\/h4>\n

…and past perfect<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0(auxiliary have + past participle)<\/p>\n

the farc\u00a0had pledged<\/em><\/span> to get out of the cocaine smuggling<\/em> business, help the army locate and destroy landmines<\/em>, and to apologize to its victims….the government had pledged<\/em><\/span>…to invest huge sums in land reform and to build roads, schools and clinics in the impoverished rural areas that gave rise<\/em> to the farc\u00a0back in the 1960s. it had also predicted<\/span><\/em> a boom<\/em> in foreign investment and tourism.<\/h4>\n

gather<\/strong><\/em><\/a> implies a group coming together<\/em>. turn in <\/em><\/strong>means\u00a0give to authorities, deliver<\/em>. a pledge<\/em><\/strong><\/a> is a serious promise<\/em>.\u00a0smuggle<\/strong><\/em> means transport illegally to another country<\/em>. landmines<\/strong><\/em> are explosive devices planted in the ground<\/em>. \u00a0give rise to<\/em> <\/strong>acknowledges that creation of the farc was a result of poor living conditions. a boom<\/strong><\/em> is an increase<\/em>, economic prosperity<\/em>.<\/p>\n

\"a<\/h6>\n
a landmine<\/span>–it will explode when stepped on.\u00a0<\/em><\/h6>\n

nick miroff<\/strong> at the washington post<\/strong> anticipated the possiblity of this result a few months ago. he noted that though presidente santos calculated that colombians would overwhelmingly<\/strong><\/em><\/a>\u00a0(by a big majority)\u00a0choose peace over war, his old\u00a0boss, former president alvaro uribe<\/strong>, was\u00a0an obstacle.<\/p>\n

santos, who served as defense minister under uribe and then broke bitterly<\/em> with his former<\/a> boss to launch talks with the farc, has\u00a0staked<\/em> his legacy on the deal.<\/h4>\n

bitterly<\/strong><\/em> indicates that santos and uribe had an ugly, angry<\/em> political split. stake<\/em><\/strong><\/a> means his legacy depends on the success or failure of the peace deal.<\/p>\n

\"carlton,<\/h6>\n
carlton’s look on fresh prince of bel-air<\/strong> was preppy<\/span><\/em><\/h6>\n

uribe doesn’t support the peace agreement. \u00a0miroff called some of uribe’s supporters preppy<\/em> activists and said they don’t mince words. <\/em><\/strong>\u00a0part of a speech from one of the preppy<\/em> activists is included in miroff’s article:<\/p>\n

do you support santos\u2019s deal with farc? doesn\u2019t it bother<\/em> you that those criminals won\u2019t see a single day in a prison cell? do you think it\u2019s fair that santos will let all those farc\u00a0gangsters keep all their drug money, while families here struggle<\/em> to survive?<\/h4>\n

frequently students ask me for a similar word for\u00a0the mexican idiom\u00a0fresa<\/em><\/span> (strawberry). preppy<\/strong><\/em> isn’t a perfect translation, but it’s not bad either. \u00a0spoiled<\/a> kids who dress like they go to private school are\u00a0preppies<\/em>. \u00a0mince words<\/em><\/strong> means say nice things to be polite<\/em>. the expression is most often used in the negative, as it is here. \u00a0bother<\/strong><\/em> means upset,unsettle<\/em>.\u00a0struggle<\/strong><\/em><\/a> means the families mentioned have economic\u00a0problems<\/em>, \u00a0they are fighting<\/em> to survive.<\/p>\n

\"president<\/h6>\n
president juan manuel santos votes “yes” on the referendum<\/span> for peace. (afp)<\/em><\/h6>\n

manuel rueda<\/strong> on fusion.com<\/strong> also talked about<\/a> why colombians opposed the deal<\/p>\n

throughout<\/em> the peace talks with the guerrillas, opposition parties here chastised<\/em> the government for conceding too much<\/em> to the rebels in exchange for their weapons. critics said the peace deal was too lenient<\/em> on guerrilla leaders who have forcibly recruited thousands of children into the war, and financed the farc\u00a0insurgency through kidnappings and drug trafficking.<\/h4>\n

throughout<\/strong><\/em><\/a>\u00a0means from start to finish<\/em>. \u00a0chastise<\/strong><\/em> is similar to criticize<\/em>. too<\/strong><\/em><\/a> is used to show government concessions are excessive<\/em>. \u00a0lenient<\/em><\/strong> means permissive<\/em>. easy<\/em>.<\/p>\n

\"alvaro-uribe-votes-no\"<\/h6>\n
former president alvaro uribe votes “no” on the peace plebiscite<\/span>.\u00a0(guillermo legaria,afp)<\/em><\/h6>\n

voter turnout<\/strong><\/em>\u00a0(participation, attendance) was extremely low, which may\u00a0have helped opponents of the\u00a0peace accord.<\/p>\n

only 37% of eligible voters participated in sunday\u2019s plebiscite<\/em>, and most of them were from the \u201cno\u201d camp, which appears to have been more energized by their resentment towards<\/em> the guerrillas.<\/h4>\n

plebiscite<\/strong><\/em> is the same as referendum<\/em>. towards<\/em><\/strong> means in the direction of<\/em>.<\/p>\n

fun esl practice\u00a0\":)\"\u00a0richyrocks on youtube<\/a><\/h4>\n

so\u00a0what\u00a0will happen next in\u00a0colombia? rueda breaks it down like this<\/p>\n

the guerrillas will have to decide whether to re-enter another round of peace talks that promise to offer them fewer benefits, to try and start the peace talks from scratch<\/em> or go back to war.<\/h4>\n

from scratch<\/strong><\/em> gives the idea that the peace talks would start again from zero.<\/p>\n

\"jimi<\/h6>\n
sticking with<\/span> it\u00a0(not giving up<\/span>) worked for jimi hendrix and his guitar. but will it work for colombian negotiators?<\/em><\/h6>\n

santos is<\/p>\n

urging the guerrillas to stick with<\/em> peace talks,<\/h4>\n

stick with<\/strong><\/em> means continue<\/em>.<\/p>\n

\"timochenko-smoking-a-cigar\"<\/h6>\n
timochenko will not give up<\/span> on peace. (efe)<\/em><\/h6>\n

and farc leader rodrigo londo\u00f1o<\/strong> (aka timochenko<\/strong>) has said he will not give up <\/strong><\/em><\/a>on\u00a0(quit) the peace process.<\/p>\n

what’s your opinion about\u00a0this ordeal<\/strong><\/em><\/a> (problem, trauma)? is peace in the nation more important than making the farc pay for past crimes? share your views under leave a reply<\/strong><\/p>\n