经济学人:英国脱欧带伤闯关前途叵测(1)

 Leaders 社论

Into the endgame 进入尾声

How Parliament should weigh up the Brexit deal 英国议会应该如何权衡退欧协议

At last, Britain’s game of three-dimensional chess with the European Union is entering its closing phase. 最终，英国与欧盟的三维棋局正进入最后阶段。

On November 14th the two parties published a draft divorce agreement, 585 pages in length. 11月14日，双方公布了一份长达585页的脱欧协议草案。

Nearly two-and-a-half years after the British shocked their own government by voting to leave the EU, they are about to discover what Brexit really means. 在英国投票退出欧盟震惊本国政府近两年半后，他们即将发现英国退欧的真正含义。

The game is by no means over. 游戏绝不可能结束。

The deal still has to be agreed by the EU and, harder still, by the British Parliament. 该协议仍需得到欧盟的同意，更困难的是英国议会的同意。

Several ministers, including the Brexit secretary, resigned in protest; Theresa May could yet be toppled. 包括英国退欧大臣在内的几位部长辞职以示抗议；特雷莎·梅可能会被推翻。

MPs must grapple with multiple loyalties¹: to their constituents², their parties and their own beliefs, all of which are likely to have shifted since the referendum. 议员们必须与多重忠诚做斗争:选民、政党和自己的信仰，这些都可能在公投后发生改变。

Within weeks they will have to make the biggest decision facing Britain, and one of the biggest for Europe, in generations. 几周内，他们将不得不做出英国乃至欧洲几代人以来最大的决定。

If the country has learned anything since 2016, it is to look before it leaps. 自2016年以来，如果说英国学到了什么，那就是三思而后行。

Yet, in what well summed up the level of debate on Brexit, hardline Leavers and Remainers alike trashed the deal before they had read a word of it. 然而，在英国退欧辩论的激烈程度上，强硬的退欧派和留欧派在还没读到一字之前就把协议搞砸了。

This makes no sense. 这毫无道理。

The terms of the divorce will take time for MPs and those they represent to digest— 对于议员和他们所代表的人来说，脱欧条款需要时间来消化。

and they may well be amended³ by European leaders before Parliament has its vote. 在议会投票之前，欧洲领导人很可能会修改这些条款。

Nor is it clear what would happen in the event that the deal were voted down: 也不清楚如果交易被否决会发生什么：

more negotiating, a second referendum or crashing out without a deal? 更多谈判、第二次公投，还是没有达成协议就崩溃?

But as the crunch⁴ vote nears, MPs must consider how to approach this fateful question. 但随着关键投票的临近，议员们必须考虑如何处理这个重大问题。

First, forget the past. 首先，忘记过去。

The cheating that went on during the campaign, the premature⁵ triggering of Article 50 and the thin preparations are maddening. 竞选期间的作弊行为、第50条的过早触发以及准备不足都让人抓狂。

But they are questions for the inquiry⁶ that will surely one day dissect⁷ this national fiasco. 但这些都是调查的问题，有朝一日肯定会剖析这场全国性的惨败。

The task before Parliament is to decide in a cool-headed way whether adopting the terms on offer is better for the country than rejecting them. 摆在议会面前的任务是冷静地决定，接受所提供的条款是否比拒绝它们对国家更好。

 

1 loyalties   

n.忠诚( loyalty的名词复数 )；忠心；忠于…感情；要忠于…的强烈感情

参考例句：

• an intricate network of loyalties and relationships 忠诚与义气构成的盘根错节的网络
• Rows with one's in-laws often create divided loyalties. 与姻亲之间的矛盾常常让人两面为难。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 constituents   

n.选民( constituent的名词复数 )；成分；构成部分；要素

参考例句：

• She has the full support of her constituents. 她得到本区选民的全力支持。
• Hydrogen and oxygen are the constituents of water. 氢和氧是水的主要成分。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 Amended   

adj. 修正的 动词amend的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• He asked to see the amended version. 他要求看修订本。
• He amended his speech by making some additions and deletions. 他对讲稿作了些增删修改。

4 crunch   

n.关键时刻；艰难局面；v.发出碎裂声

参考例句：

• If it comes to the crunch they'll support us.关键时刻他们是会支持我们的。
• People who crunch nuts at the movies can be very annoying.看电影时嘎吱作声地嚼干果的人会使人十分讨厌。

5 premature   

adj.比预期时间早的；不成熟的，仓促的

参考例句：

• It is yet premature to predict the possible outcome of the dialogue.预言这次对话可能有什么结果为时尚早。
• The premature baby is doing well.那个早产的婴儿很健康。

6 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。

7 dissect   

v.分割；解剖

参考例句：

• In biology class we had to dissect a frog.上生物课时我们得解剖青蛙。
• Not everyone can dissect and digest the public information they receive.不是每个人都可以解析和消化他们得到的公共信息的。