VOA慢速英语2019 回顾英国的脱欧之旅

As February begins, Britain is no longer a member of the European Union (EU). The British withdrawal¹ from the EU comes 3 and a half years after the country's voters decided² to leave the union.

从2月份开始，英国不再是欧盟成员国。在英国选民决定退出欧盟的三年半之后，这一刻终于来临了。

The move, known in news reports as Brexit, was one of the biggest issues in the history of the 62-year-old political and economic partnership³.

此举在新闻报道中被称为“脱欧”，它是这个有着62年历史的政治和经济合作伙伴关系遇到的最大问题之一。

Britain was never a full EU member. It always had its own national currency, but no one actually believed it would ever leave the EU. But the idea grew within Britain's Conservative Party, which had a small group of people who opposed EU membership.

英国从来不是完整的欧盟成员国。该国一直拥有自己的货币，但是没人真信它会退出欧盟。但是在英国保守党内部萌生了这个想法，该党有一小部分人反对作为欧盟成员国。

In 2016, Prime Minister David Cameron agreed to hold a nationwide referendum, saying he wanted to settle the issue. Most people believe he wanted kill the idea.

2016年，英国首相卡梅伦同意举行全国公投，称他想要解决这个问题。大多数人认为他想要彻底扼杀这个想法。

It did not happen. In 2016, a majority of voters decided to leave, shocking Britain's political class. It has taken several years to work out the details of the break-up, and the British people are still as divided as they were on the day of the referendum.

但是这最终没能实现。2016年，大多数选民投票决定离开欧盟，这震惊了英国政治阶层。英国花了数年时间解决了跟欧盟分手的细节，而英国人们仍跟公投当天一样意见分裂。

The city of London is home to more than 1 million EU citizens. People there voted by a large majority to stay in the union. London Mayor Sadiq Khan has linked the decision to a rise in racist⁴ and anti-immigrant abuse. He said Britain's capital would remain "a truly...European city."

伦敦市居住着超过100万欧盟公民。那里的人们以绝大多数票数决定留在欧盟。伦敦市长萨迪克·汗将这一决定与种族主义提升和反移民滥用联系了起来。他说英国首都伦敦仍是“一个真正的欧洲城市。”

"We will continue to welcome people from around the world, (without concern for) the color of their skin, the color of their passport or the colors of their national flag," he added.

他还说：“我们将会继续欢迎世界各地人们，不关心他们的肤色、护照的颜色和国旗的颜色。”

People in the United Kingdom (U.K.) will notice few changes immediately. The U.K. and the EU will have an 11-month ‘transition' period. During this time, the country will continue to follow the EU's rules while it organizes new agreements on trade, security and other issues. It is all likely to be difficult.

英国人很快就会发现一些细微的变化。美国和欧盟将会有11个月的“过渡期”。在这个时期，该国在发起贸易、安全等方面的新协议的期间会继续遵守欧盟的规定。各方面可能都会很困难。

Many people are celebrating Brexit. However, few remember just how difficult it was for Britain to join in the first place. After World War II, Britain's worldwide empire was dying. Its economy was failing. In 1957, it looked over at the European continent, where the newly created European Economic Community (EEC) brought in industry and investment.

很多人都在庆祝英国脱欧。但是很少有人会记得英国一开始加入欧盟有多艰难。二战之后，英国的全球帝国濒临倒塌。该国经济也日薄西山。1957年，该国审视了欧洲大陆，新成立的欧洲经济共同体带来了工业和投资。

In the 1960s, the British government pushed to join the EU, but was stopped two times by French President Charles de Gaulle, who had veto power.

上世纪60年代，英国政府推动加入欧盟，但是被拥有否决权的法国总统戴高乐两次否决。

De Gaulle had spent much of the war in London when France was under occupation. He warned the EEC members that Britain had a "deep...hostility⁵" to Europe that could bring about the end of what was then called the "common market." He worried that in times of trouble, Britain would always agree with the United States over its European neighbors.

法国被占领时，戴高乐在伦敦度过了大部分战争时期。他警告欧洲经济共同体成员，英国都欧洲怀有深深的敌意，这可能会导致当时所谓的“共同市场”的终结。他担心在遇到麻烦的时候，英国总是会跟美国，而不是跟它的欧洲邻国步伐一致。

The French kept the British out of the EU until 1973. Every British political party agreed with the decision to join what was now called the EU. The British government would follow the laws and the rules of the EU's leadership on trade, security and other areas.

法国一直将英国排除在欧盟之外，直到1973年为止。每家英国政党都同意加入现在所谓的欧盟。英国政府在贸易、安全和其它领域都将遵从欧盟领导层的规章法律。

Soon, in March, British politicians will start the work of pulling their country out of those regulations when they begin negotiating new agreements. Already, it does not appear it will be easy.

很快，到了3月份，英国政客在启动新协议谈判时将开始将该国从这些法规中撤出。现在来看这并不容易。

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson's government hopes to negotiate a deal with the EU, as well as a free trade agreement with the United States. That is likely to be unpopular with many Britons. There are already questions and worries about American food-safety issues and drug prices.

英国首相鲍里斯·约翰逊的政府希望与欧盟达成协议，并与美国达成自由贸易协定。对于很多英国人来说这可能不受欢迎。人们对美国食品安全和药品价格方面已经抱有疑问和忧虑。

Still others remain certain that Brexit holds a better future for Britain.

然而其他人仍然确信，脱欧会让英国拥有更美好的未来。

In the English port of Dover, just 32 kilometers from France, retiree Philip Barry welcomed the new reality.

在距离法国仅32公里的英国多佛港，退休人士菲利普·巴里欢迎新形势。

"My expectation is that there may be a little bump or two in the road but in the end it will even out," he said. "Somebody once said short-term pain, but long-term gain."

他说：“我预计这一路会有些波折，但最终会平稳下来。有人说过短期内会有痛苦，但是长期来看会受益。”

1 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。

2 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

3 partnership   

n.合作关系，伙伴关系

参考例句：

• The company has gone into partnership with Swiss Bank Corporation.这家公司已经和瑞士银行公司建立合作关系。
• Martin has taken him into general partnership in his company.马丁已让他成为公司的普通合伙人。

4 racist   

n.种族主义者，种族主义分子

参考例句：

• a series of racist attacks 一连串的种族袭击行为
• His speech presented racist ideas under the guise of nationalism. 他的讲话以民族主义为幌子宣扬种族主义思想。

5 hostility   

n.敌对，敌意；抵制［pl.］交战，战争

参考例句：

• There is open hostility between the two leaders.两位领导人表现出公开的敌意。
• His hostility to your plan is well known.他对你的计划所持的敌意是众所周知的。