VOA慢速英语2019 英国的政治危机使首相与议会对立

Britain's Political Crisis Sets Prime Minister against Parliament

Britain will most likely hold general elections in November. Prime Minister Boris Johnson has lost his parliamentary majority and no longer has the votes to pass legislation.

英国可能在11月举行大选。英国首相鲍里斯·约翰逊已经失去了议会多数席位，不再有足够票数通过立法。

Parliament was officially suspended early Tuesday morning. The move came just weeks before Britain is supposed to leave the European Union.

英国议会周二早上正式宣布休会。此举发生在英国原本将要脱离欧盟的数周之前。

Opposition¹ lawmakers have likened parliament’s suspension to a coup². A high court agrees. Judges at Scotland’s highest court have ruled the suspension “illegal.”

反对派议员将议会休会比作政变。一家高等法院也表示认同。苏格兰最高法院的法官裁定这次休会“非法”。

The case is to go to Britain’s Supreme³ Court next week.

该案件将于下周进入英国最高法院审理。

The country is set to withdraw from the European Union on October 31. Last week, opposition lawmakers passed legislation that may force the prime minister to ask EU officials for an extension.

该国将于10月31日退出欧盟。上周，反对派议员通过立法，可能迫使英国首相向欧盟官员申请脱欧延期。

The political crisis must end soon, says Stephen Booth. He is acting⁴ director of the Open Europe policy group in London.

斯蒂芬·布斯表示，这次政治危机必须尽快结束。他是伦敦“开放欧洲”政策组织的代理主任。

The British public is readying for an election, he said, and that is one reason Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbin and others want to see “Johnson sent to Brussels…to ask for an extension.”

布斯表示，英国公众正准备参加大选，这也是工党领袖杰里米·科宾等人希望看到“约翰逊向欧盟申请延期脱欧”的原因之一。

Johnson says Brexit will happen

约翰逊称脱欧将会实现

On Tuesday, the prime minister met with students at a London school, where he announced new investment in education. The announcement was widely seen as a start to his election campaign.

约翰逊周二在伦敦一所学校会见了学生们，并在那里宣布了新的教育投资。这次宣告也被广泛视为他竞选活动的开始。

“I think we will get a deal (with the EU). But if absolutely necessary, we will come out with no deal,” Johnson told reporters.

约翰逊对记者表示：“我认为我们将会与欧盟达成协议。但是如果有绝对必要，我们也会无协议脱欧。”

Opposition lawmakers have warned they will take him to court if he refuses to ask for an extension.

反对派议员警告说，如果约翰逊拒绝申请延期，他们将会把他告上法庭。

British politicians are looking for an escape route, noted⁵ Stephen Booth.

布斯指出，英国政界人士正在寻找退路。

“One is simply refusing to comply and seeing what happens in terms of any court cases or legal action that might happen,” he said.

他说：“其中一条是拒绝服从，并且看看告上法庭会发生什么。”

Parliament suspended

英国议会休会

For now, parliament has been silenced, and opposition lawmakers are angry.

目前英国议会已经休会，反对派议员感到愤怒。

Tuesday morning, several lawmakers interrupted parliament’s closing ceremony by trying to stop the parliament speaker from leaving his chair. Others held up protest signs and shouted “Shame on you!” at Conservative Party lawmakers.

周二早上，一些议员试图阻止议长离席，从而中断议会的休会仪式。还有人举着抗议标语，并对保守党议员高喊“丢人吧您呐”。

The Conservatives will likely have an election campaign that accuses parliament of trying to overturn the 2016 EU membership referendum, says Catherine Barnard. She is a professor of European Union Law at the University of Cambridge.

凯瑟琳·巴纳德表示，保守党可能发起竞选活动指责议会试图推翻2016年欧盟成员身份公投。她是剑桥大学欧盟法学教授。

“What we’re seeing…is direct democracy through referendum fighting representative democracy” through parliament, Barnard added.

巴纳德补充说：“我们所看到的是公投的直接民主对抗议会的代议制民主。”

On Tuesday, EU officials began appointing a new team of representatives for negotiations⁶. Even if Britain asks for an extension, some EU member countries could veto it, Booth said.

周二，欧盟官员开始任命新的谈判代表团。布斯说，即使英国要求延期，一些欧盟成员国也可以否决它。

“I think (there is) a growing frustration⁷ in the European Union, sort of, ‘We are open to an extension but what is the plan?’” he added.

他还说：“我认为欧盟内部越来越有挫败感。就像是，‘我们对延期持开放态度，但是你有什么方案？’”

One of the major problems in negotiations is the border between Ireland and Northern Ireland. Now a peaceful, open border, there are fears that any changes resulting from Britain’s EU withdrawal⁸ could lead to a return of violence.

谈判的主要问题之一是爱尔兰和北爱尔兰之间的边界。这里现在是和平、开放的边界，人们担心英国脱欧产生的任何变化可能会导致暴力回归。

On Monday, dissident Irish Republicans attacked police in Londonderry, a sign that the effects of a British withdrawal are about more than political theatrics.

周一，持不同政见的爱尔兰共和党人在伦敦德里袭击了警方，这标志着英国脱欧的影响绝不仅仅是政治问题。

I’m Susan Shand.

Words in this Story

coup – n. a sudden attempt to take over the government and get rid of the ruling party

supreme – adj. chief or leading; first

route – n. a way of getting from a starting point to a target or goal

comply – v. to follow, obey or respect

interrupt – v. to stop the progress of someone or something

shame – n. dishonor or disgrace

referendum – n. an event in which the people of a county, state, etc., vote for or against a law that deals with a specific issue : a public vote on a particular issue

frustration – n. anger; bitterness

1 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。

2 coup   

n.政变；突然而成功的行动

参考例句：

• The monarch was ousted by a military coup.那君主被军事政变者废黜了。
• That government was overthrown in a military coup three years ago.那个政府在3年前的军事政变中被推翻。

3 supreme   

adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的

参考例句：

• It was the supreme moment in his life.那是他一生中最重要的时刻。
• He handed up the indictment to the supreme court.他把起诉书送交最高法院。

4 acting   

n.演戏，行为，假装；adj.代理的，临时的，演出用的

参考例句：

• Ignore her,she's just acting.别理她，她只是假装的。
• During the seventies,her acting career was in eclipse.在七十年代，她的表演生涯黯然失色。

5 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

6 negotiations   

协商( negotiation的名词复数 )； 谈判； 完成（难事）； 通过

参考例句：

• negotiations for a durable peace 为持久和平而进行的谈判
• Negotiations have failed to establish any middle ground. 谈判未能达成任何妥协。

7 frustration   

n.挫折，失败，失效，落空

参考例句：

• He had to fight back tears of frustration.他不得不强忍住失意的泪水。
• He beat his hands on the steering wheel in frustration.他沮丧地用手打了几下方向盘。

8 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。