纽约时报 英国首相鲍里斯在议会遭遇重挫(2)（在线收听）

The practical effect of Mr. Lee’s defection for Mr. Johnson was limited, however,

然而，李的倒戈并没有给约翰逊带来太大影响，

because the government would fall only if it were defeated in a confidence motion.

因为只有在信心动议之际被击败政府才会倒台。

But in a moment weighty with symbolism, Mr. Lee walked across the floor of the House of Commons

然而，就在首相谈及最近举行的七国首脑会议这个充满象征意义的时刻，

and sat beside Jo Swinson, the leader of the Liberal Democrats, as the prime minister was speaking about the recent Group of 7 summit.

李穿过下议院，坐到了自由民主党领袖乔·斯温森身旁。

Mr. Lee accused Mr. Johnson of pursuing a damaging withdrawal from the European Union in unprincipled ways,

李指责约翰逊为了脱欧不择手段，这种脱欧方式危害十足，

and of “putting lives and livelihoods at risk.”

是“将无数的生命和生计置于不顾”的做法。

Mr. Lee’s break with the Tories was most likely just the first of many.

李与保守党的决裂很有可能只是给其他人与保守党决裂起了个开端。

On Tuesday night, Downing Street began pressing ahead with plans to discipline those rebels who voted against the government,

周二晚，唐宁街开始推动惩罚那些投票反对政府的反对派的有关事宜，

moving to expel them from the Conservative Party.

意图将他们驱逐出保守党。

Those who defied the government included two former chancellors of the Exchequer, Philip Hammond and Kenneth Clarke,

公然反抗政府的成员包括前财政大臣菲利普·哈蒙德和肯尼斯·克拉克，

and Nicholas Soames, the grandson of Winston Churchill.

以及温斯顿·丘吉尔的孙子尼古拉斯·索米斯。

That could threaten Mr. Johnson’s ability to manage day-to-day business in Parliament, underscoring the need for a new election.

这一举措可能会威胁到约翰逊管理国会日常事务的能力，继而也凸显出了重新选举的必要性。

The extent of the Tory civil war was on full display

包括哈蒙德在内的多位保守派评论专家都向约翰逊抛出了充满敌意的问题，

as several of Mr. Johnson’s Conservative critics, including Mr. Hammond, lobbed hostile questions at him,

保守党内部的分裂程度可见一斑，

making it plain that they had not been brought back into line by threats of expulsion from the party.

很明显，开除党籍的威胁并没有让他们变规矩。

Opponents of a no-deal Brexit argue that leaving the block without a deal —

反对“无协议退欧”的人士辩称，不达成协议就离开欧盟——

as Mr. Johnson has promised to do, if no agreement is reached — would be catastrophic for the British economy.

约翰逊承诺过，如果不能达成协议，就实行硬脱欧——将对英国经济带来灾难性的后果。

Many experts say it could lead to shortages of food, fuel and medicine,

许多专家表示，硬脱欧可能导致食品、燃料和药品短缺，

and wreak havoc on parts of the manufacturing sector that rely on the seamless flow of goods across the English Channel.

还会对依赖英吉利海峡两岸无缝物流的制造业造成严重破坏。

Leaked government reports paint a bleak picture of what it might look like.

从泄露的政府报告来看，该国前景颇为黯淡。

Mr. Johnson says he needs to keep the no-deal option on the table to give him leverage in talks in Brussels,

约翰逊表示，他需要将零协议脱欧这一选项留在谈判桌上，作在布鲁塞尔的谈判中傍身之用，

because an abrupt exit would also damage continental economies, if not as much as Britain’s.

因为突然的退出不仅会损害英国本土的经济，也会损害欧洲大陆的经济，即使程度不及英国严重。

The prime minister appealed to his own lawmakers not to support what he called “Jeremy Corbyn’s surrender bill,”

首相呼吁议员们不要支持他所谓的“杰里米·科尔宾的投降法案”，

a reference to the leader of the opposition Labour Party.

他指的是反对党工党的领袖。

“It means running up the white flag,” he said.

“其实质等同于挂起了白旗，”他说。

Mr. Johnson also claimed to have made progress in talks with European Union leaders,

约翰逊还声称，自己已经在与欧盟领导人的会谈中取得了进展，

although his own Brexit secretary, Stephen Barclay, on Monday gave a much less rosy assessment of the state of negotiations.

他的脱欧事务大臣斯蒂芬·巴克莱周一对谈判状况的评估则远没有那么乐观。

Britain’s main demand is for the European Union to ditch the so-called Irish backstop,

英国主要的诉求是欧盟放弃所谓的爱尔兰后盾，

a guarantee that the bloc insists it needs to ensure that goods flow smoothly across the Irish border

但欧盟坚持要求，无论与英国的贸易谈判结果如何，

whatever happens in trade negotiations with Britain.

欧盟都需要确保货物能够顺利通过英爱边境。

Mr. Johnson said he planned to visit Dublin next week for talks with his Irish counterpart, Leo Varadkar.

约翰逊表示，他计划下周访问都柏林，与爱尔兰总理利奥·瓦拉德卡尔举行会谈。

Conservative rebels believe Mr. Johnson is more interested in uniting Brexit supporters behind him

保守派反对派认为，相比在布鲁塞尔成功达成脱欧协议，

ahead of a general election than in securing an agreement in Brussels.

约翰逊更感兴趣的是在大选前团结脱欧支持者。