2006年VOA标准英语-Prime Minister Blair's Resignation Will Affect

By Peter Fedynsky
Washington, DC
11 September 2006
 
watch report Blair US Relations

 
Bill Clinton and Tony Blair 
  
British Prime Minister Tony Blair's three terms in office have coincided with the terms of two American presidents, Bill Clinton and George W. Bush.  Mr. Blair enjoyed warm, even friendly relations with both men.  However, he lost the support of the British people, many of whom strongly opposed his close association with President Bush's Iraq policy.  This led, in part, to Mr. Blair's announcement that he will resign by next year.  VOA's Peter Fedynsky examines what Mr. Blair's departure could mean for U.S.-British relations.

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Tony Blair and Bill Clinton are liberal politicians who embraced a new approach to governing -- the so-called "third way," which combined market forces with government action.

 
Tony Blair and George Bush, July 28, 2006 
  
Tony Blair and George W. Bush -- the liberal and the conservative -- waged an increasingly unpopular war in Iraq.  Nile Gardiner, a political analyst¹ with the Heritage Foundation think tank in Washington, D.C. says this relationship was heartfelt.

"Both leaders, I think, shared a common black and white world view,” says Mr. Gardiner, “which is that the United States and Great Britain are engaged in an almighty² conflict against an evil, barbaric enemy and that it's down to the U.S. and the U.K. to stand together to defeat al-Qaida and global terrorism."

Rupert Cornwell  
  
But in Britain, where a majority opposes the Iraq war, the public is less charitable.  Rupert Cornwell, Washington Bureau Chief of the Independent newspaper, says, "He is under accusation³ that he is Mr. Bush's poodle, of having meekly⁴ followed him into the war."

President Bush was asked specifically about the poodle accusation, prompting a rigorous defense⁵ of Mr. Blair's leadership.

"When he says something, he means it," said the president. "He is a big thinker, he's got a clear vision, and when times get tough he doesn't wilt⁶. When the criticism starts to come his way, I suspect that might be happening on occasion, he stands for what he believes in.  That is the type of person I like to deal with."

Members of Mr. Blair's Labor⁷ Party, fearing that voter disapproval⁸ of his policies could damage their own election chances, maneuvered⁹ to force his resignation announcement.  Mr. Blair's likely successor is expected to be Britain's current Chancellor¹⁰ of the Exchequer¹¹, Gordon Brown, who has relatively¹² little foreign policy experience.  

Nile Gardiner  
  
Nile Gardiner says Brown is not likely to duplicate the Blair-Bush relationship.  "We are talking about one of the most striking political partnerships¹⁴ of our time certainly, and a partnership¹³ that is highly unlikely to be emulated¹⁵ by another British prime minister, at least for this generation."

Tony Blair has not set a date for his departure, but indicates it will be within the next 12 months.  The ruling Labor Party's new leader will automatically become Prime Minister.  A general election in Britain must be scheduled at the latest by 2010.  The United States holds its next presidential election in 2008.

1 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。

2 almighty   

adj.全能的，万能的；很大的，很强的

参考例句：

• Those rebels did not really challenge Gods almighty power.这些叛徒没有对上帝的全能力量表示怀疑。
• It's almighty cold outside.外面冷得要命。

3 accusation   

n.控告，指责，谴责

参考例句：

• I was furious at his making such an accusation.我对他的这种责备非常气愤。
• She knew that no one would believe her accusation.她知道没人会相信她的指控。

4 meekly   

adv.温顺地，逆来顺受地

参考例句：

• He stood aside meekly when the new policy was proposed. 当有人提出新政策时，他唯唯诺诺地站 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He meekly accepted the rebuke. 他顺从地接受了批评。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

6 wilt   

v.(使)植物凋谢或枯萎；(指人)疲倦，衰弱

参考例句：

• Golden roses do not wilt and will never need to be watered.金色的玫瑰不枯萎绝也不需要浇水。
• Several sleepless nights made him wilt.数个不眠之夜使他憔悴。

7 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。

8 disapproval   

n.反对，不赞成

参考例句：

• The teacher made an outward show of disapproval.老师表面上表示不同意。
• They shouted their disapproval.他们喊叫表示反对。

9 maneuvered   

v.移动，用策略( maneuver的过去式和过去分词 )；操纵

参考例句：

• I maneuvered my way among the tables to the back corner of the place. 我在那些桌子间穿行，来到那地方后面的角落。 来自辞典例句
• The admiral maneuvered his ships in the battle plan. 舰队司令按作战计划进行舰队演习。 来自辞典例句

10 chancellor   

n.(英)大臣；法官；(德、奥)总理；大学校长

参考例句：

• They submitted their reports to the Chancellor yesterday.他们昨天向财政大臣递交了报告。
• He was regarded as the most successful Chancellor of modern times.他被认为是现代最成功的财政大臣。

11 exchequer   

n.财政部；国库

参考例句：

• In Britain the Chancellor of the Exchequer deals with taxes and government spending.英国的财政大臣负责税务和政府的开支。
• This resulted in a considerable loss to the exchequer.这使国库遭受了重大损失。

12 relatively   

adv.比较...地，相对地

参考例句：

• The rabbit is a relatively recent introduction in Australia.兔子是相对较新引入澳大利亚的物种。
• The operation was relatively painless.手术相对来说不痛。

13 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。

14 partnerships   

n.伙伴关系( partnership的名词复数 )；合伙人身份；合作关系

参考例句：

• Partnerships suffer another major disadvantage: decision-making is shared. 合伙企业的另一主要缺点是决定要由大家来作。 来自英汉非文学 - 政府文件
• It involved selling off limited partnerships. 它涉及到售出有限的合伙权。 来自辞典例句

15 emulated   

v.与…竞争( emulate的过去式和过去分词 )；努力赶上；计算机程序等仿真；模仿

参考例句：

• The havoc that months had previously wrought was now emulated by the inroads of hours. 前几个月已经使他垮下来，如今更是一小时一小时地在恶化。 来自辞典例句
• The key technology emulated by CAD and the circuit is showed. 对关键技术进行了仿真，给出了电路实现形式。 来自互联网