美国国家公共电台 NPR--Liz Truss is Great Britain's new prime minister, replacing Boris Johnson

Liz Truss is Great Britain's new prime minister, replacing Boris Johnson

Transcript¹

Britain's Conservative Party announced that Foreign Minister Liz Truss will serve as the nation's next prime minister. She has a lot of work to do in these troubling political and economic times.

RACHEL MARTIN, HOST:

Liz Truss is Great Britain's new prime minister, replacing Boris Johnson.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

PRIME MINISTER LIZ TRUSS: I campaigned as a conservative, and I will govern as a conservative.

A MARTINEZ, HOST:

Truss inherits a country facing perhaps its worst economic crisis in decades. Rampant² inflation, skyrocketing energy prices and perhaps an early fight with the European Union loom³ for the woman who is now Britain's third female prime minister, after Margaret Thatcher⁴ and Theresa May.

MARTIN: We've got reporter Willem Marx with us from London. Hey, Willem.

WILLEM MARX: Hey.

MARTIN: She's got just a little bit of work to do in this job. Has Truss identified what her top priority is?

MARX: Well, as one political analyst⁵ put it to me, it's an unenviable in-tray, Rachel. Truss has said that the government's policies to tackle Britain's energy crisis will be top of her agenda once she gets into Downing Street. For many people here facing an 8% rise in their household energy costs next month and then further jumps in the months ahead, some kind of reassurance⁶ or relief cannot come soon enough. Truss has been pretty vague about details until now, but she's under huge pressure from her party, from Parliament, from the public to ensure that people can afford to heat and light their homes this winter.

MARTIN: She's already - I mean, because she's a conservative, she's already promised to cut taxes and grow the economy. That's sort of pro⁷ forma for someone in her party. But it still seems like a really tall order, given everything that you just said and the promises that she's made to help people deal with them.

MARX: Yeah. And she's faced a lot of criticism during this campaign to become leader this summer for some of the pronouncements she's made about taxes. The conservatives have actually been in power for more than a decade, and yet taxes are, by some metrics, as high as they've ever been, set to go even higher under Boris Johnson, had he stayed in power. And that was to pay off some of the debts racked up during the pandemic. It may well be that she ends up being forced by the financial realities into taking a more centrist approach when it comes to long-term decisions about taxing, about government borrowing and about public spending.

MARTIN: So before she became prime minister, Truss was Britain's foreign secretary and a hawk⁸, as was Boris Johnson, a supporter of Ukraine in its war with Russia. We presumably expect that support to continue, but what about other foreign policy issues? What should we expect from Liz Truss?

MARX: Well, she's been particularly vocal⁹ and hard-line about the European Union during discussions over the aftermath of Brexit, which has left the long-term trading status of Northern Ireland slightly unresolved. That could spell trouble for Britain's relationship with the European Union, but also could be a reason for Truss to rethink Westminster's relationship with Washington. That's according to Bronwen Maddox, the director and chief executive of the Chatham House think tank, which is focused on foreign affairs.

BRONWEN MADDOX: Obviously, the U.S. is, in a sense, the U.K.'s closest ally. And most prime ministers don't stand for very long in front of the steps of Downing Street without saying something like that. But Liz Truss, for one, has expressed a degree of caution about how close that relationship might be in the future. The bruising¹⁰ experience across the board has been Afghanistan last year, and that still hangs there.

MARTIN: The chaotic¹¹ withdrawal¹² of U.S. troops, no doubt being what she's referencing. So let me ask, though. The U.K. has been going through prime ministers at a fairly brisk rate as of late - four in the past six years, right? Is there any sense that she might have a little more longevity¹³ in the job?

MARX: Well, she's the third consecutive¹⁴ prime minister to take power without having to win a general election. In her speech yesterday, she hinted the idea there might be another election in 2024. People I've spoken to say unless she starts solving this energy crisis, she's going to struggle to succeed at that election.

MARTIN: Willem Marx, reporter based in London, we appreciate your reporting. Thank you, Willem.

MARX: Thanks so much.

1 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

2 rampant   

adj.(植物)蔓生的；狂暴的，无约束的

参考例句：

• Sickness was rampant in the area.该地区疾病蔓延。
• You cannot allow children to rampant through the museum.你不能任由小孩子在博物馆里乱跑。

3 loom   

n.织布机，织机；v.隐现，(危险、忧虑等)迫近

参考例句：

• The old woman was weaving on her loom.那位老太太正在织布机上织布。
• The shuttle flies back and forth on the loom.织布机上梭子来回飞动。

4 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

5 analyst   

n.分析家，化验员；心理分析学家

参考例句：

• What can you contribute to the position of a market analyst?你有什么技能可有助于市场分析员的职务？
• The analyst is required to interpolate values between standards.分析人员需要在这些标准中插入一些值。

6 reassurance   

n.使放心，使消除疑虑

参考例句：

• He drew reassurance from the enthusiastic applause.热烈的掌声使他获得了信心。
• Reassurance is especially critical when it comes to military activities.消除疑虑在军事活动方面尤为关键。

7 pro   

n.赞成，赞成的意见，赞成者

参考例句：

• The two debating teams argued the question pro and con.辩论的两组从赞成与反对两方面辩这一问题。
• Are you pro or con nuclear disarmament?你是赞成还是反对核裁军？

8 hawk   

n.鹰，骗子；鹰派成员

参考例句：

• The hawk swooped down on the rabbit and killed it.鹰猛地朝兔子扑下来,并把它杀死。
• The hawk snatched the chicken and flew away.老鹰叼了小鸡就飞走了。

9 vocal   

adj.直言不讳的；嗓音的；n.[pl.]声乐节目

参考例句：

• The tongue is a vocal organ.舌头是一个发音器官。
• Public opinion at last became vocal.终于舆论哗然。

10 bruising   

adj.殊死的；十分激烈的v.擦伤(bruise的现在分词形式)

参考例句：

• He suffered cracked ribs and bruising. 他断了肋骨还有挫伤。
• He slipped and fell, badly bruising an elbow. 他滑倒了，一只胳膊肘严重擦伤。 来自辞典例句

11 chaotic   

adj.混沌的，一片混乱的，一团糟的

参考例句：

• Things have been getting chaotic in the office recently.最近办公室的情况越来越乱了。
• The traffic in the city was chaotic.这城市的交通糟透了。

12 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。

13 longevity   

n.长命；长寿

参考例句：

• Good habits promote longevity.良好的习惯能增长寿命。
• Human longevity runs in families.人类的长寿具有家族遗传性。

14 consecutive   

adj.连续的，联贯的，始终一贯的

参考例句：

• It has rained for four consecutive days.已连续下了四天雨。
• The policy of our Party is consecutive.我党的政策始终如一。