美国国家公共电台 NPR Once Seen As Too Left-Wing, Will Jeremy Corbyn Be U.K.'s Next Prime Minister?

 

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

A couple of years ago, analysts¹ thought that Britain's Labour Party had sealed its doom². The party chose as its leader Jeremy Corbyn - a fringe politician considered much too far left to ever become prime minister.

DAVID GREENE, HOST:

Well, now Corbyn's party has been through an unexpectedly strong election. And suddenly people talk of Corbyn as a future prime minister. Lauren Frayer reports from London.

LAUREN FRAYER, BYLINE³: Less than two months ago, Jeremy Corbyn was way behind in the polls when he took the stage at a music festival in Liverpool, his shirt untucked...

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

UNIDENTIFIED MAN #1: Please welcome Mr. Jeremy Corbyn.

(CHEERING)

FRAYER: ...And delivered an impassioned defense⁴ of public funding for the arts.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

JEREMY CORBYN: A government that cares about sports, culture and the arts...

FRAYER: Thousands of youngsters in the audience began to chant...

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

UNIDENTIFIED CROWD: (Chanting) Oh, Jeremy Corbyn...

FRAYER: ...Oh, Jeremy Corbyn, to the tune⁵ of the White Stripes song "Seven Nation Army." And since then, those chants have spread...

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

UNIDENTIFIED MAN #2: (Singing) Oh, Jeremy Corbyn.

UNIDENTIFIED CROWD: (Chanting) Oh...

FRAYER: ...To soccer game, night clubs, universities - as Corbyn's popularity soared among youth angry about student debt, income inequality and Britain's upcoming exit from the European Union. That upended last month's general election. Prime Minister Theresa May called it early, thinking she'd increase her majority in Parliament. But instead, her missteps and Corbyn's sudden surge left May barely clinging to power.

EMMA REES: From a very, very low starting point, Jeremy Corbyn secured 40 percent of the popular votes, which is the largest swing to the Labour Party since the second world war.

FRAYER: Emma Rees works for Momentum⁶, a group of activists⁷ who stuck with Corbyn when many lawmakers from his own Labour Party said he was way too far left. MPs said his plans for tax hikes and more public spending and praise for the likes of the late Venezuelan leader Hugo Chavez made him unelectable. On top of that, they criticized his failure to campaign strongly against Brexit. Now that's all changed.

REES: There have been a number of public apologies from members of the parliamentary party who've been very critical of Jeremy in the past. They have had to, you know, now say, you know, I'm sorry. I got it wrong.

FRAYER: Labour now actually sees a path to power led by this 68-year-old in corduroys, known for pottering around his garden, making jam and railing against the Iraq War, nuclear power and austerity.

ERIKA UYTERHOEVEN: He's like the Bernie Sanders of the U.K. but with, like, a very refined accent (laughter).

FRAYER: Erika Uyterhoeven is a Boston native who worked for Bernie Sanders' presidential campaign and then moved to the U.K. to work for Corbyn.

UYTERHOEVEN: Both in the U.S. and the U.K., you know, young people are seeing, you know, health care get cut. But also, with university fees, people are leaving with, you know, tens of thousands of dollars in debt. Young people see that the cards are stacked against them.

FRAYER: Corbyn is hoping to build more support from both urban, educated young people and the traditional working class. But those two groups don't have much in common when it comes to the biggest issue of all - Brexit - says political scientist Patrick Diamond.

PATRICK DIAMOND: Younger, more pro-European voters who are extremely concerned about the Brexit, as against a group of more working-class voters, who are much more inclined to support leaving the EU. But in government, Jeremy Corbyn would be forced to disappoint one or the other.

FRAYER: The Brexit vote revealed disillusion⁸ with the status quo and mainstream⁹ politicians. It's put Britain on a path of real uncertainty¹⁰. As Prime Minister May enters tough talks with Brussels, she could be forced from power at home at any moment.

A new poll has Labour eight points ahead of her Conservatives. Jeremy Corbyn is waiting in the wings to possibly become Britain's most unlikely prime minister. Lauren Frayer, NPR News, London.

1 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。

2 doom   

n.厄运，劫数；v.注定，命定

参考例句：

• The report on our economic situation is full of doom and gloom.这份关于我们经济状况的报告充满了令人绝望和沮丧的调子。
• The dictator met his doom after ten years of rule.独裁者统治了十年终于完蛋了。

3 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

4 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

5 tune   

n.调子；和谐，协调；v.调音，调节，调整

参考例句：

• He'd written a tune,and played it to us on the piano.他写了一段曲子，并在钢琴上弹给我们听。
• The boy beat out a tune on a tin can.那男孩在易拉罐上敲出一首曲子。

6 momentum   

n.动力，冲力，势头；动量

参考例句：

• We exploit the energy and momentum conservation laws in this way.我们就是这样利用能量和动量守恒定律的。
• The law of momentum conservation could supplant Newton's third law.动量守恒定律可以取代牛顿第三定律。

7 activists   

n.（政治活动的）积极分子，活动家( activist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• His research work was attacked by animal rights activists . 他的研究受到了动物权益维护者的抨击。
• Party activists with lower middle class pedigrees are numerous. 党的激进分子中有很多出身于中产阶级下层。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 disillusion   

vt.使不再抱幻想，使理想破灭

参考例句：

• Do not say anything to disillusion them.别说什么叫他们泄气的话。
• I'd hate to be the one to disillusion him.我不愿意成为那个让他幻想破灭的人。

9 mainstream   

n.（思想或行为的）主流；adj.主流的

参考例句：

• Their views lie outside the mainstream of current medical opinion.他们的观点不属于当今医学界观点的主流。
• Polls are still largely reflects the mainstream sentiment.民调还在很大程度上反映了社会主流情绪。

10 uncertainty   

n.易变，靠不住，不确知，不确定的事物

参考例句：

• Her comments will add to the uncertainty of the situation.她的批评将会使局势更加不稳定。
• After six weeks of uncertainty,the strain was beginning to take its toll.6个星期的忐忑不安后，压力开始产生影响了。