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The man formally known as Sir Fred Goodwin is going to have to get used to being called plain old Mr Goodwin. He has now lost his knighthood.

The former head of Royal Bank of Scotland became the subject of a public outcry after RBS had to be bailed out by the British taxpayer, whose bill came to ￡45 billion (450 billion yuan).

Unsurprisingly, Sir Fred left the company under a cloud. But it was after this that the Scot was really pilloried - for drawing payments worth about ￡700,000 (seven million yuan) a year from a massive pension pot worth ￡16 million (160 million yuan).

After coming under fire for the package, Sir Fred eventually reduced his pension by ￡200,000 (two million yuan). But that wasn't enough to appease his critics, who have never forgiven Sir Fred for his role in causing the financial crisis. They continued baying for blood and began to clamour for the removal of a knighthood he had received in 2004 for services to banking.

Yesterday the Queen stripped the honour from the discredited banker. But now some people have hit out at the government for vilifying Goodwin. They believe that he has been made a scapegoat and is taking the fall for a much wider global financial crisis. The former Chancellor Alistair Darling said:

"I'm not here to defend Sir Fred... I just think we're getting into awful trouble here if we go after people on a whim."

At least Goodwin has a nickname he can revert to if he finds himself missing his title. In his days as a cost-cutting superboss he was proud of being known as 'Fred the Shred'.

Quiz

Is Fred Goodwin a popular man in the UK?

No.

What was Fred Goodwin called when he had a knighthood?

Sir Fred Goodwin.

Was it cloudy when Goodwin left RBS?

Possibly, but that isn't relevant. If someone leaves a company under a cloud it means that they leave in disgrace.

Is this statement true, false or not given? Fred Goodwin chose to reduce his pension.

True.

Look at the article. What noun describes a person or group that is blamed for something they are not entirely responsible for?

A scapegoat.

Glossary 词汇表

a knighthood 爵位

a public outcry 公众呼吁

to leave under a cloud 因坏名声而灰溜溜地离开 

to be pilloried 当众受辱/受嘲弄

to come under fire 受到批评

to appease someone 安抚某人

to bay for blood 群起而攻之

to clamour for something 大声要求

to be discredited 使丢脸

to hit out at something 猛打/痛打

to vilify someone 诽谤/中伤某人

a scapegoat 替罪羊 

to take the fall for something 众人错一人承担 

to go after someone 追逐并制裁某人