【英语时差8,16】Margaret Thatcher 玛格丽特.撒切尔

"I have only one thing to say. U-turn if you want to. The lady’s not for turning." Margaret Thatcher¹, Prime Minister of Britain from 1979 until 1990.Very few were indifferent about her.Often called the Iron Lady. But she is the only woman to have held the post of Prime Minister in Britain. Lindsay Duncan is the actress who played the part of Thatcher. Here she is talking about the challenges or difficulties she had in playing the role. "The whole thing was quite emotive for me – her period in power – for many reasons. We do not share the same political point of view. But I’m an actress and in a way it’s all the more interesting actually. " That’s because she doesn’t share the same political point of view. She has different thoughts on how Britain should be governed or ruled.But she was tough-talking. That means she was strong and wouldn’t give in. "I think this is repeated in history – that the very characteristics which can put people in power – a single-mindedness, a confidence – that after time those qualities turn into intransigence². To a situation where you only want people around you who say yes to you. That you stop listening. And that’s definitely what happened to her. " Lindsay says that what happened to Thatcher is something that eventually happens to a lot of politicians. But you have to applaud³ or congratulate Thatcher for her strength and of course her amazing ability to speak to the public.

1 thatcher   

n.茅屋匠

参考例句：

• Tom Sawyer was in the skiff that bore Judge Thatcher. 汤姆 - 索亚和撒切尔法官同乘一条小艇。 来自英汉文学 - 汤姆历险
• Mrs. Thatcher was almost crazed; and Aunt Polly, also. 撒切尔夫人几乎神经失常，还有波莉姨妈也是。 来自英汉文学 - 汤姆历险

2 intransigence   

n.妥协的态度；强硬

参考例句：

• He often appeared angry and frustrated by the intransigence of both sides.他似乎常常为双方各不相让而生气沮丧。
• Yet for North Korea,intransigence is the norm.不过对朝鲜来说，决不妥协是其一贯作风。

3 applaud   

vt.鼓掌欢迎，赞同；vi.鼓掌欢迎，欢呼

参考例句：

• The pupils that had been watching started to applaud.一直在一旁观看的小学生们开始鼓起掌来。
• Please don't applaud until everyone has performed.请在每个人表演完毕后再鼓掌。