美国国家公共电台 NPR--Boris Johnson survives no confidence vote

Boris Johnson survives no confidence vote

Transcript¹

While Johnson won his no confidence vote, the number of those who opposed him is far higher than most analysts² had expected.

LEILA FADEL, HOST:

Britain's prime minister, Boris Johnson, survived a no-confidence vote brought by his own party. The vote was 211-148, short of the majority needed to oust³ him as leader of the Conservatives. But it was enough to show how weakened Johnson is politically, following revelations about raucous⁴ parties at 10 Downing Street during COVID lockdowns. Joining us now from outside London is reporter Willem Marx. Hi, Willem.

WILLEM MARX: Hey, Leila.

FADEL: Now, Boris Johnson claimed victory after the vote. He said it was time for the country to move on to more important matters. But was that bluster⁵? Is Johnson really out of the woods here?

MARX: No, not by any means. The vote was far closer than expected. And until yesterday, only a few dozen legislators had publicly voiced criticism of the prime minister ahead of that vote. And yet after the vote itself took place, in private, the results of the secret ballot⁶ showed more than 40% of the Conservative legislators in Parliament had voted against Johnson's continued leadership.

FADEL: Wow.

MARX: Three previous Conservative prime ministers - they've fared better than that in comparable votes. None of them stayed in power for all that much time afterwards. And while the current internal rules of the Conservative Party prevent another similar challenge to Johnson's leadership over the next 12 months, those rules could potentially be changed, or else the pressure from such a rebellious⁷ rump of his own parliamentary party may make the process of actually governing increasingly difficult for the prime minister, particularly if he can't command a clear parliamentary majority for new legislation.

FADEL: Yeah, will make it more difficult. Remind us why so many people, including members of his own party, have turned on him. What exactly went on at the prime minister's residence that was so damaging?

MARX: Well, for many months there's been a pretty steady drip of revelations and reporting about that behavior inside Downing Street during the pandemic - drinks gatherings⁸, garden parties, even a karaoke machine - ignoring the kind of social restrictions⁹ that blanketed Britain for such long periods of time. And some senior advisers¹⁰ resigned over these reports. Johnson denied them initially¹¹. He subsequently admitted there may have been rule-breaking but insisted he was unaware¹² of it. And then after a police and civil service inquiry¹³ left him to pay a penalty fine for his own attendance at one such event, he still really refused to offer a heartfelt apology, let alone his resignation, as many demanded.

And so British public opinion turned sharply against him, less than three years after winning a convincing general election victory. And now, with a parliamentary ethics¹⁴ committee set to spend months examining whether he lied about what's become known here as partygate, Conservative legislators are bracing¹⁵ for many more critical headlines.

FADEL: So he's been in hot water before, but he's shown this uncanny knack¹⁶ for survival. If he is pushed out in the future, do we have any idea who might replace him, or is that part of the problem here?

MARX: Well, yeah, as even some of his staunchest critics will acknowledge, Johnson's shown a real talent for political comebacks, unexpected surprises - twice winning the London mayoral election, along with top government jobs, a leadership contest and then that 2019 general election. And what makes it so difficult for the Conservatives in selecting a replacement¹⁷ is that he so resoundingly defeated many of the party's leading lights in the contest that made him prime minister. And thanks to his, let's call it, high-profile celebrity¹⁸ status, he's that rare politician who appeals to people who might not typically vote Conservative because either they liked his unique personality or found him entertaining.

One potential challenger is the former health and foreign secretary, a man called Jeremy Hunt, who's got a relatively¹⁹ high profile, domestically and overseas. But for him or anyone else, one major obstacle would be creating a mechanism²⁰ to get Johnson out of Downing Street, kicking and screaming, as several reports have suggested. And the next hurdle²¹ would be uniting a party that seems so torn by internal conflict, Leila.

FADEL: Reporter Willem Marx, thank you so much for your reporting.

MARX: Thanks so much.

1 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

2 analysts   

分析家，化验员( analyst的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• City analysts forecast huge profits this year. 伦敦金融分析家预测今年的利润非常丰厚。
• I was impressed by the high calibre of the researchers and analysts. 研究人员和分析人员的高素质给我留下了深刻印象。

3 oust   

vt.剥夺，取代，驱逐

参考例句：

• The committee wanted to oust him from the union.委员会想把他从工会中驱逐出去。
• The leaders have been ousted from power by nationalists.这些领导人被民族主义者赶下了台。

4 raucous   

adj.(声音)沙哑的，粗糙的

参考例句：

• I heard sounds of raucous laughter upstairs.我听见楼上传来沙哑的笑声。
• They heard a bottle being smashed,then more raucous laughter.他们听见酒瓶摔碎的声音，然后是一阵更喧闹的笑声。

5 bluster   

v.猛刮；怒冲冲的说；n.吓唬，怒号；狂风声

参考例句：

• We could hear the bluster of the wind and rain.我们能听到狂风暴雨的吹打声。
• He was inclined to bluster at first,but he soon dropped.起初他老爱吵闹一阵，可是不久就不做声了。

6 ballot   

n.（不记名）投票，投票总数，投票权；vi.投票

参考例句：

• The members have demanded a ballot.会员们要求投票表决。
• The union said they will ballot members on whether to strike.工会称他们将要求会员投票表决是否罢工。

7 rebellious   

adj.造反的，反抗的，难控制的

参考例句：

• They will be in danger if they are rebellious.如果他们造反，他们就要发生危险。
• Her reply was mild enough,but her thoughts were rebellious.她的回答虽然很温和，但她的心里十分反感。

8 gatherings   

聚集( gathering的名词复数 )； 收集； 采集； 搜集

参考例句：

• His conduct at social gatherings created a lot of comment. 他在社交聚会上的表现引起许多闲话。
• During one of these gatherings a pupil caught stealing. 有一次，其中一名弟子偷窃被抓住。

9 restrictions   

约束( restriction的名词复数 )； 管制； 制约因素； 带限制性的条件（或规则）

参考例句：

• I found the restrictions irksome. 我对那些限制感到很烦。
• a snaggle of restrictions 杂乱无章的种种限制

10 advisers   

顾问，劝告者( adviser的名词复数 )； （指导大学新生学科问题等的）指导教授

参考例句：

• a member of the President's favoured circle of advisers 总统宠爱的顾问班子中的一员
• She withdrew to confer with her advisers before announcing a decision. 她先去请教顾问然后再宣布决定。

11 initially   

adv.最初，开始

参考例句：

• The ban was initially opposed by the US.这一禁令首先遭到美国的反对。
• Feathers initially developed from insect scales.羽毛最初由昆虫的翅瓣演化而来。

12 unaware   

a.不知道的，未意识到的

参考例句：

• They were unaware that war was near. 他们不知道战争即将爆发。
• I was unaware of the man's presence. 我没有察觉到那人在场。

13 inquiry   

n.打听，询问，调查，查问

参考例句：

• Many parents have been pressing for an inquiry into the problem.许多家长迫切要求调查这个问题。
• The field of inquiry has narrowed down to five persons.调查的范围已经缩小到只剩5个人了。

14 ethics   

n.伦理学；伦理观，道德标准

参考例句：

• The ethics of his profession don't permit him to do that.他的职业道德不允许他那样做。
• Personal ethics and professional ethics sometimes conflict.个人道德和职业道德有时会相互抵触。

15 bracing   

adj.令人振奋的

参考例句：

• The country is bracing itself for the threatened enemy invasion. 这个国家正准备奋起抵抗敌人的入侵威胁。
• The atmosphere in the new government was bracing. 新政府的气氛是令人振奋的。

16 knack   

n.诀窍，做事情的灵巧的，便利的方法

参考例句：

• He has a knack of teaching arithmetic.他教算术有诀窍。
• Making omelettes isn't difficult,but there's a knack to it.做煎蛋饼并不难，但有窍门。

17 replacement   

n.取代，替换，交换；替代品，代用品

参考例句：

• We are hard put to find a replacement for our assistant.我们很难找到一个人来代替我们的助手。
• They put all the students through the replacement examination.他们让所有的学生参加分班考试。

18 celebrity   

n.名人，名流；著名，名声，名望

参考例句：

• Tom found himself something of a celebrity. 汤姆意识到自己已小有名气了。
• He haunted famous men, hoping to get celebrity for himself. 他常和名人在一起, 希望借此使自己获得名气。

19 relatively   

adv.比较...地，相对地

参考例句：

• The rabbit is a relatively recent introduction in Australia.兔子是相对较新引入澳大利亚的物种。
• The operation was relatively painless.手术相对来说不痛。

20 mechanism   

n.机械装置；机构，结构

参考例句：

• The bones and muscles are parts of the mechanism of the body.骨骼和肌肉是人体的组成部件。
• The mechanism of the machine is very complicated.这台机器的结构是非常复杂的。

21 hurdle   

n.跳栏，栏架；障碍，困难；vi.进行跨栏赛

参考例句：

• The weather will be the biggest hurdle so I have to be ready.天气将会是最大的障碍，所以我必须要作好准备。
• She clocked 11.6 seconds for the 80 metre hurdle.八十米跳栏赛跑她跑了十一秒六。