VOA慢速英语2019 法国港口城市关注英国脱欧的辩论（在线收听）

French Port Watches Britain’s Debate on EU Membership

“The last English city of France” are the words Francois Lavallee uses to describe the French port of Calais.

弗朗索瓦·拉瓦利形容法国港口加来市是“法国最后一个英国城市”。

Lavallee is president of the Chamber of Commerce for the Hauts-de-France area of northern France, of which Calais is a part. He adds that the city has “a lot of human and business exchange” with Britain. “It’s in our blood.”

拉瓦利是法国北部上法兰西大区的商会会长，加来就属于该区域的一部分。他还说，这座城市跟英国“有着大量的人员和商业往来。”“它刻在了我们的血液里。”

The port sits across the English Channel from Britain. British flags and public houses, called pubs, welcome ferryboats and their passengers to Calais. People also arrive in the city on the Channel Tunnel, which links southern England with northern France.

这座港口位于英国英吉利海峡对岸。英国国旗和酒吧欢迎着渡轮及其乘客抵达加来。人们还通过连接英国南部和法国北部的英吉利海峡隧道来到这座城市。

But today, Calais is preparing for Britain’s possible withdrawal from the European Union, a move known as Brexit. Such a move would affect the city’s long-standing economic ties with the country.

但是如今，加来正在为英国可能退出欧盟做准备，此举也被称为英国脱欧。这类举动将会影响加来市与英国的长期经济联系。

Britain is supposed to leave the EU at the end of October -- with or without a new agreement in place between the two sides.

英国应该会在10月底离开欧盟，无论双方是否达成新的协议。

In Calais and other northern industrial ports, the French government has added hundreds of new customs officers. France also is testing a new electronic customs system.

法国政府在加来和其它北部工业港口增加了数百名新的海关官员。法国也正在测试新的电子海关系统。

Calais has invested a lot of money in new infrastructure to help limit delays for the thousands of trucks that pass through each day with goods. Cross-channel trade for the Hauts-de-France region amounted to more than $7 billion last year.

加来已经在新的基础设施上投入了大量资金，以帮助减少每天运送货物的数千辆卡车的延误。去年上法兰西大区的跨海峡贸易总额达到了70亿美元。

“Britain is the third biggest market for the north of France,” after Belgium and Germany, noted Lavallee. “If there are problems with the British market, there may be bad consequences.”

拉瓦利指出，“英国是法国北部的第三大市场，”仅次于比利时和德国。“如果英国市场出现问题，可能会造成不良后果。”

A recent Chamber of Commerce report attempted to identify possible winners and losers in a no-deal Brexit. Local tourism businesses, fisheries and port traffic may suffer, it said. Some British-based companies might choose to move across the Channel, however. This could provide a much-needed economic boost for the region, which is one of France’s poorest.

最新一份商会报告试图找出无协议脱欧中可能的赢家和输家。报告称，当地旅游业、渔业和港口运输可能会受到影响。但是，一些英国公司可能会选择搬到海峡对面。这可能会给作为法国最贫困地区之一的加来提供急需的经济增长。

The family-owned Carpentier trucking company is one of many Calais businesses making Brexit preparations. Transporting goods to and from Britain makes up 20 percent of its business.

家族控股的卡朋蒂埃货运公司是加来众多准备迎接英国脱欧的企业之一。往返英国的货物运输业务占到了该公司业务量的20%。

Carpentier is carrying out its own tests to see if customs agents are truly prepared.

卡朋蒂埃货运公司正在进行自身测试，看海关代理商是否准备就绪。

“Whether it’s a hard or soft Brexit, we’ll still keep transporting to Britain,” said the company's transport director Arnaud Dequidt. “We can’t do without Britain, so we’ll adapt.”

该公司的运输主管阿诺德·德基特表示：“无论是硬脱欧还是软脱欧，我们都会继续运输到英国。我们离不开英国，所以只能去适应。”

Taxi driver Hughes Vanpeene dreams of a positive side to Brexit. Britons once came in large numbers to Calais, thanks to a duty-free zone that ended in the 1990s. Even with the city’s welcoming flags and pubs, their numbers have since shrunk.

出租车司机休斯·范佩内梦想着英国脱欧的积极面。得益于免税区，英国人曾一度大量涌入加来。90年代免税区关闭后，即使这座城市有着热情的旗帜和酒吧，英国人的数量自此也减少了。

“...We think that with Brexit, duty-free will come back, and we’ll again have people in Calais buying alcohol and cigarettes,” Vanpeene said.

范佩内表示：“我们认为随着英国脱欧，免税区会卷土重来。加来也会再次迎来前来购买烟酒的人们。”

Lavallee see things differently.

拉瓦利的看法不同。

“For us, it’s very difficult to understand Brexit,” he said. “For us, it’s a big mistake. We hope England will change her position on Brexit.”

他说：“我们很难理解英国脱欧。我们认为这是一个巨大的错误。我们希望英国改变她在脱欧上的立场。”

“But,” he adds, “If Brexit arrives, we will try capturing profits for the region.”

他还说：“但是如果英国脱欧确实发生了，我们将努力为该地区争取利润。”

I’m Ashley Thompson.

Words in This Story

chamber of commerce - n. a group of businesspeople who work together to try to help businesses in their town or city

infrastructure - n. the basic equipment and structures (such as roads and bridges) that are needed for a country, region, or organization to function properly

consequence - n. something that happens as a result of a particular action or set of conditions

tourism - n. the activity of traveling to a place for pleasure

boost - n. an increase in amount

adapt -v. to change your behavior so that it is easier to live in a particular place or situation

zone - n. one of the sections in a city or town that is used for a particular purpose