VOA标准英语2010-British Party Leaders Lock Horns in Secon

Labour's Prime Minister Gordon Brown (right) and Liberal Democrat¹ Party leader Nick Clegg (center) listen to Conservative leader David Cameron (left) during Britain's second televised election debate being braodcast from Bristol, 22 Apr 2010

Britain's nuclear deterrent² and its role in the European Union were the focus of a televised debate between the country's three main party leaders Thursday. Britain is gearing up for an election on May 6 and political analysts³ say the prospect⁴ of a hung parliament is becoming increasingly likely.

 

Britain's political life has been dominated for the past three decades by two parties - the Conservatives, now led by David Cameron, and Labor⁵ headed by current Prime Minister Gordon Brown.

But a third party, the Liberal Democrats⁶, are turning this election into a three-horse race.

Their campaign was given a major boost by Britain's first ever televised debate last week; Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg emerged as the clear winner.

Viewer polls taken after this second debate, which focused on foreign policy, showed there was no runaway⁷ victor.

But Clegg took the opportunity once again to depict⁸ the Liberal Democrats as the party of change. "Something really exciting is beginning to happen. People are beginning to believe, beginning to hope that we can do something different this time," he said.

But Clegg was heavily criticized by both Brown and Cameron for his party's attitude to Britain's nuclear deterrent. Clegg does not want to renew Britain's Trident nuclear missile program. Gordon Brown said Trident is vital to Britain's security.

"Get real about the danger that we face if we have North Korea, Iran, and other countries with nuclear weapons and we give up our own," he said.

Another key sticking point in the debate was over Britain's relationship with Europe. There is a clear dividing line between Labor and the Liberal Democrats on the one side and the skeptical⁹ Conservative policy on Europe on the other. The Conservative party contains many members who would like Britain to leave the EU all together.

Steven Fielding, professor of Political History at Britain's Nottingham University, says these televised debates may prove crucial to the outcome of the election. He says many Britons haven't yet decided¹⁰ who to vote for. 

"So if you get an audience of 10 million people there's a lot of 'don't knows' who watch you and what you say, what you do, in those 90 minutes could be quite decisive," said Fielding.

But he says a hung parliament - in which no party has the overall majority - seems increasingly likely.

"Labor can't form a majority government - they're too far behind. The Liberal Democrats can't form a majority government on their own either and the Conservative chances of doing that, which were slim when the campaign started, have receded¹¹ - they're the main victim of the surge in support for the Liberal Democrats that occurred last week," said Fielding.

The last time Britain had a hung parliament was in 1974. A final televised debate is to take place next Thursday, followed by the election on May 6.

 

1 democrat   

n.民主主义者，民主人士；民主党党员

参考例句：

• The Democrat and the Public criticized each other.民主党人和共和党人互相攻击。
• About two years later,he was defeated by Democrat Jimmy Carter.大约两年后，他被民主党人杰米卡特击败。

2 deterrent   

n.阻碍物，制止物；adj.威慑的，遏制的

参考例句：

• Large fines act as a deterrent to motorists.高额罚款是对开车的人的制约。
• I put a net over my strawberries as a deterrent to the birds.我在草莓上罩了网，免得鸟歇上去。

3 analysts   

分析家，化验员( analyst的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• City analysts forecast huge profits this year. 伦敦金融分析家预测今年的利润非常丰厚。
• I was impressed by the high calibre of the researchers and analysts. 研究人员和分析人员的高素质给我留下了深刻印象。

4 prospect   

n.前景，前途；景色，视野

参考例句：

• This state of things holds out a cheerful prospect.事态呈现出可喜的前景。
• The prospect became more evident.前景变得更加明朗了。

5 labor   

n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦

参考例句：

• We are never late in satisfying him for his labor.我们从不延误付给他劳动报酬。
• He was completely spent after two weeks of hard labor.艰苦劳动两周后，他已经疲惫不堪了。

6 democrats   

n.民主主义者，民主人士( democrat的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The Democrats held a pep rally on Capitol Hill yesterday. 民主党昨天在国会山召开了竞选誓师大会。
• The democrats organize a filibuster in the senate. 民主党党员组织了阻挠议事。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 runaway   

n.逃走的人，逃亡，亡命者；adj.逃亡的，逃走的

参考例句：

• The police have not found the runaway to date.警察迄今没抓到逃犯。
• He was praised for bringing up the runaway horse.他勒住了脱缰之马受到了表扬。

8 depict   

vt.描画，描绘；描写，描述

参考例句：

• I don't care to see plays or films that depict murders or violence.我不喜欢看描写谋杀或暴力的戏剧或电影。
• Children's books often depict farmyard animals as gentle,lovable creatures.儿童图书常常把农场的动物描写得温和而可爱。

9 skeptical   

adj.怀疑的，多疑的

参考例句：

• Others here are more skeptical about the chances for justice being done.这里的其他人更为怀疑正义能否得到伸张。
• Her look was skeptical and resigned.她的表情是将信将疑而又无可奈何。

10 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。

11 receded   

v.逐渐远离( recede的过去式和过去分词 )；向后倾斜；自原处后退或避开别人的注视；尤指问题

参考例句：

• The floodwaters have now receded. 洪水现已消退。
• The sound of the truck receded into the distance. 卡车的声音渐渐在远处消失了。