纽约时报 英国首相鲍里斯在议会遭遇重挫(1)

Lawmakers Foil Britain’s Leader With Brexit Vote.

“脱欧”纷争：英国首相在议会遭遇重挫

By Stephen Castle

文/斯蒂芬·卡索

LONDON — British lawmakers on Tuesday rose up against Prime Minister Boris Johnson,

伦敦电——周二，英国议员与首相鲍里斯·约翰逊发生对抗，

moving to prevent him from taking the country out of the European Union without a formal agreement.

试图阻止他在没有达成正式协议的情况下脱欧。

The epic¹ showdown pushed Britain to the verge² of a new election.

这场史诗般的对决也将英国推到了新一轮大选的边缘。

After losing his first-ever vote as prime minister,

约翰逊上任后首次投票就以失败告终，表决结束后，

Mr. Johnson stood up in Parliament and said he intended to present a formal request

约翰逊从议会席站了起来，表示他打算向议员们提出正式的提前大选请求，

for a snap general election to lawmakers, who would have to approve it.

议员们将不得不同意他的这一请求。

A little over a month ago, Mr. Johnson, a brash, blustery politician often compared to President Trump³,

这名性情急躁，常被比作特朗普的政治家一个多月前刚刚走马上任，他在上任时宣称，

swept into office with a vow⁴ to finally wrest⁵ Britain from the European Union by whatever means necessary,

要不惜一切代价，即使意味着以混乱、无协议的方式退出，

even if it meant a disorderly, no-deal departure.

也要将英国从欧盟分离出来。

Now, Parliament has pulled the rug out from under him,

如今，议会打破了鲍里斯的计划，

and Mr. Johnson is at risk of falling into the same Brexit quagmire⁶ that dragged down his predecessor⁷ as prime minister, Theresa May.

鲍里斯即将面临陷入英国退欧泥潭的风险，而拖垮了他的前任特蕾莎·梅的正是这一泥潭。

The lawmakers forced his hand by voting by 328 to 301 to take control of Parliament away from the government

议员们以328：301票的投票结果从政府手中夺回了对议会的控制权，

and vote on legislation as soon as Wednesday that would block the prime minister from making good on his threat of a no-deal Brexit.

最快将在周三就立法进行投票，阻止首相兑现他提出的无协议退欧的威胁。

That prompted an angry response from the prime minister.

议员们的这一举动招致了首相的愤怒回应。

“I don’t want an election, the public don’t want an election,

“我不想要选举，公众也不想要选举，

but if the House votes for this bill tomorrow,

但如果下议院明天就这项法案进行投票的话，

the public will have to choose who goes to Brussels on Oct. 17 to sort this out and take this country forward,”

公众就要决定让谁在10月17日前往布鲁塞尔解决这个问题，带领这个国家向前发展。”

Mr. Johnson said, referring to the next European Union summit.

约翰逊说道，就前往布鲁塞尔一事而言，他指的是接下来的欧盟峰会。

Tuesday was a critical moment in Britain’s tortured, three-year effort to extract itself from the European Union.

为了脱离欧盟，英国已经做出了长达三年的艰苦卓绝的努力，因此，周二的投票颇为关键。

The saga⁸ has divided Britons, torn apart the ruling Conservative Party

这段传奇不仅破坏了英国民众的团结，分裂了执政的保守党，

and prompted complaints that Mr. Johnson has trampled⁹ the conventions of the country’s unwritten constitution.

还引发了诸多抱怨之声，其中之一就是约翰逊践踏了该国不成文宪法的惯例云云。

A majority of lawmakers are determined¹⁰ to block a withdrawal¹¹ from the European Union without a deal,

大多数议员都决意阻止无协议脱欧局面的发生，

which they believe would be disastrous¹² for the country’s economy.

认为无协议脱欧会给英国的国家经济带来灾难性的后果。

Tuesday’s vote suggested they have the numbers to succeed.

周二的投票表明，他们有足够的选票支持他们实现这一目标。

Mr. Johnson’s aides had made clear that, in the event of a defeat on Tuesday,

约翰逊的助手们已经明确表示，如果周二选举失败，

he would seek a general election on Oct. 14 — just a little over two weeks before the Brexit deadline of Oct. 31.

约翰逊会设法在10月14日举行大选——也即在距离英国退欧的最后期限10月31日只有半个月多一点的时间点举行大选。

In his rebuttal to Mr. Johnson’s call for elections, the opposition¹³ leader, Jeremy Corbyn,

反对党领袖杰里米·科尔宾反驳了约翰逊提出的大选呼吁，

said he would agree to an election only after Parliament passed legislation barring a no-deal Brexit.

他表示，只有在议会通过立法禁止实行无协议脱欧后，他才会同意举行选举。

The House of Commons is expected to approve the measure on Wednesday.

预计，周三英国下议院将批准该议案。

Tuesday’s vote marked a moment when Mr. Johnson’s hardball tactics, for once, were met with equal resistance.

周二的表决标志着约翰逊的强硬策略第一次遭遇了势均力敌的阻力。

On a day of high drama, Mr. Johnson lost his working majority in Parliament even before the vote took place,

在充满戏剧性的周二这天，投票还未开始，约翰逊就失去了议会中多数议员的支持，

when one Conservative rebel, Phillip Lee, quit the party to join the Liberal Democrats¹⁴,

保守派议员菲利浦·李倒戈，加入了自由民主党的阵营，

who have managed to stage a resurgence¹⁵ by positioning themselves as an unambiguously anti-Brexit party.

自由民主党则凭借着明确反对英国脱欧这一立场得以重新崛起。

1 epic   

n.史诗，叙事诗；adj.史诗般的，壮丽的

参考例句：

• I gave up my epic and wrote this little tale instead.我放弃了写叙事诗，而写了这个小故事。
• They held a banquet of epic proportions.他们举行了盛大的宴会。

2 verge   

n.边，边缘；v.接近，濒临

参考例句：

• The country's economy is on the verge of collapse.国家的经济已到了崩溃的边缘。
• She was on the verge of bursting into tears.她快要哭出来了。

3 trump   

n.王牌，法宝；v.打出王牌，吹喇叭

参考例句：

• He was never able to trump up the courage to have a showdown.他始终鼓不起勇气摊牌。
• The coach saved his star player for a trump card.教练保留他的明星选手，作为他的王牌。

4 vow   

n.誓(言)，誓约；v.起誓，立誓

参考例句：

• My parents are under a vow to go to church every Sunday.我父母许愿，每星期日都去做礼拜。
• I am under a vow to drink no wine.我已立誓戒酒。

5 wrest   

n.扭，拧，猛夺；v.夺取，猛扭，歪曲

参考例句：

• The officer managed to wrest the gun from his grasp.警官最终把枪从他手中夺走了。
• You wrest my words out of their real meaning.你曲解了我话里的真正含义。

6 quagmire   

n.沼地

参考例句：

• On their way was a quagmire which was difficult to get over.路上他俩遇到了—个泥坑,很难过得去。
• Rain had turned the grass into a quagmire.大雨使草地变得一片泥泞。

7 predecessor   

n.前辈，前任

参考例句：

• It will share the fate of its predecessor.它将遭受与前者同样的命运。
• The new ambassador is more mature than his predecessor.新大使比他的前任更成熟一些。

8 saga   

n.(尤指中世纪北欧海盗的)故事，英雄传奇

参考例句：

• The saga of Flight 19 is probably the most repeated story about the Bermuda Triangle.飞行19中队的传说或许是有关百慕大三角最重复的故事。
• The novel depicts the saga of a family.小说描绘了一个家族的传奇故事。

9 trampled   

踩( trample的过去式和过去分词 )； 践踏； 无视； 侵犯

参考例句：

• He gripped his brother's arm lest he be trampled by the mob. 他紧抓着他兄弟的胳膊，怕他让暴民踩着。
• People were trampled underfoot in the rush for the exit. 有人在拼命涌向出口时被踩在脚下。

10 determined   

adj.坚定的；有决心的

参考例句：

• I have determined on going to Tibet after graduation.我已决定毕业后去西藏。
• He determined to view the rooms behind the office.他决定查看一下办公室后面的房间。

11 withdrawal   

n.取回，提款；撤退，撤军；收回，撤销

参考例句：

• The police were forced to make a tactical withdrawal.警方被迫进行战术撤退。
• They insisted upon a withdrawal of the statement and a public apology.他们坚持要收回那些话并公开道歉。

12 disastrous   

adj.灾难性的，造成灾害的；极坏的，很糟的

参考例句：

• The heavy rainstorm caused a disastrous flood.暴雨成灾。
• Her investment had disastrous consequences.She lost everything she owned.她的投资结果很惨，血本无归。

13 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

14 democrats   

n.民主主义者，民主人士( democrat的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The Democrats held a pep rally on Capitol Hill yesterday. 民主党昨天在国会山召开了竞选誓师大会。
• The democrats organize a filibuster in the senate. 民主党党员组织了阻挠议事。 来自《简明英汉词典》

15 resurgence   

n.再起，复活，再现

参考例句：

• A resurgence of his grief swept over Nim.悲痛又涌上了尼姆的心头。
• Police say drugs traffickers are behind the resurgence of violence.警方说毒贩是暴力活动重新抬头的罪魁祸首。