美国有线新闻 CNN 英国启动脱欧进程 两年之后正式退出欧盟

 

We're talking about the Brexit, the British exit from the European Union. The E.U. has been around for decades. It's a political and economic partnership¹ of 28 European Countries. Last June, Britain's voted 51.9 percent to 48.1 percent to separate from the E.U., potentially leaving 27 countries in it.

One major issue in Britain's decision was immigration. A majority of voters wanted Britain itself, not the E.U., to set British immigration rules. Another issue was the economy. Those who wanted to leave felt that Britain could do better business without European Union rules.

Britain was and is deeply divided over the vote. But the nation's prime² minister, Theresa May, has said Brexit means Brexit. And now, she's just one day away from formally triggering³ Article 50. That's part of the European Union agreement.

What Article 50 does is begin the two-year process to separate Britain from the E.U. Two sides have to agree on the terms of their division⁴. Why would something like this take so long? One reason is paperwork.

NINA DOS SANTOS, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT⁵: At the heart of Europe, five floors down, on five miles of shelving, thousands upon thousands of containers, row after row of red tape that Brexit supporters want Britain to leave behind.

Here in the archives of the Council⁶ of the European Union, you get an idea of the sheer⁷ scale of the paperwork that's involved with being a member of the E.U. Each of these boxes contains hundreds of legal documents, various texts and policy papers. And as the U.K. leaves, well, it will have to decide which ones it wants to keep, and which ones it wants to lose.

But for all the millions of words stored in Brussels, only 255 are needed to start that decision-making process. The five brief paragraphs of Article 50 provide the blueprint⁸ for exiting the European Union. With everyone watching, both the E.U. and the U.K. are hoping for a speedy harmonious⁹ conclusion, so that the writing at different floors in agreements that will eventually line these shelves can begin.

Nina Dos Santos, CNN, Brussels.

1 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。

2 prime   

adj.首要的，主要的；最好的，第一流的

参考例句：

• The prime minister spoke of the general insecurity in the country.总理谈到了全国普遍存在的不安全。
• He met with the Prime Minister of Japan for an hour.他和日本首相会见了一个小时。

3 triggering   

起动，触发，控制

参考例句：

• To set off an H-bomb, a special triggering device is required. 要爆炸氢弹，就需有一个特殊的引爆装置。
• This is triggering a second stage of new star formation. 由此触发了第二阶段新恒星的形成。

4 division   

n.区分，分开，除法，公司，部门，师(军队里)

参考例句：

• Have you learnt division?你学会除法了吗？
• The division commander ordered that we start the attack before dawn.师长令我们在拂晓前发起攻击。

5 correspondent   

n.记者，通信者；adj.符合的，一致的，相当的

参考例句：

• He volunteered as a correspondent for the war.他自愿担任作报道这次战争的记者。
• The result was correspondent with my wishes.结果与我的愿望是一致的。

6 council   

n.理事会，委员会，议事机构

参考例句：

• The town council passed a law forbidding the distribution of handbills.市议会通过法律，禁止散发传单。
• The city council has declared for improving the public bus system.市议会宣布同意改进公共汽车系统。

7 sheer   

adj.绝对的，全然的，峻峭的；v.躲开，躲避，使...避开； adv.完全，全然，峻峭

参考例句：

• He achieved his aim by sheer strength of will.他纯粹靠意志力达到了目的。
• I guess It'sheer waste of time arguing about it.看来争论这件事纯粹是浪费时间。

8 blueprint   

n.蓝图，设计图，计划；vt.制成蓝图，计划

参考例句：

• All the machine parts on a blueprint must answer each other.设计图上所有的机器部件都应互相配合。
• The documents contain a blueprint for a nuclear device.文件内附有一张核装置的设计蓝图。

9 harmonious   

adj.和睦的，调和的，和谐的，协调的

参考例句：

• Their harmonious relationship resulted in part from their similar goals.他们关系融洽的部分原因是他们有着相似的目标。
• The room was painted in harmonious colors.房间油漆得色彩调和。