美国有线新闻 CNN 英国提前举行大选 为脱欧谈判奠定基础

 

In Britain or the U.K., general elections are scheduled to take place every five years. The last one happened in 2015, the next was initially¹ scheduled for 2020. But yesterday, an unexpected move was made. British Prime Minister Theresa May said the government would try to hold a snap election, an early election, on June 8th of this year. This is legal in Britain and has been done before.

But Prime Minister May had said previously² that she wouldn't call for an early election. The reason she did — political disagreements in Westminster, which is the Washington, D.C. of Britain.

THERESA MAY, BRITISH PRIME MINISTER: At this point of enormous national significance, there should be unity³ here in Westminster. But instead, there is division. The country is coming together, but Westminster is not.

AZUZ: The moment of national significance she referred to is the Brexit, the British exit from the European Union. Last summer, British voters approved separating from the union by a margin⁴ of about 52 percent to 48 percent.

The process has begun. It's a long one, with a lot of negotiations⁵. It's expected to take two years. The nation's deeply divided over it in exactly how the Brexit should be carried out.

That brings us to Prime Minister May. Her political party, the Conservative Party, has a majority in Britain's parliament, but it's a small one. And the parties that opposed it had been complicating⁶ the conservatives' Brexit plans, though most British lawmakers say they will go through with the Brexit.

By calling for early elections, what the prime minister is hoping is that her party will gain seats to show it has the support of the British people, and that could strengthen its strategy for the Brexit.

It appears that Prime Minister May does have the support she wants. Her personal approval ratings are high, and her party is expected to win more seats in the vote. Opposition⁷ parties say they welcome the early election decision. It's put the country in the full throttle⁸ election mood.

MAY: We agree that the government should call a general election to be held on the 8th of June.

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: The one thing you need to know about Theresa May's announcement of a snap election on June the 8th is that she wants to have a stronger hand in the Brexit negotiations. She says that the opposition parties, Labour, the Liberal Democrats⁹, the Scottish National Party in Scotland are all working to undermine unity in Westminster. She also criticized the House of Lords, saying they were doing the same.

Theresa May's critics however say that she is not working in the national interests, that she is, in fact, working to strengthen the position of the conservative party. Polls, if they're to be believed, and they've been notoriously unreliable in recent years, indicate that her party is doing well over the Labour Party.

What Theresa May says she wants to do is to avoid arriving towards the end and the toughest part of the Brexit negotiations, at the same time, the country is preparing for general elections. This is widely seen as an attempt by Theresa May to force her way with a hard Brexit.

1 initially   

adv.最初，开始

参考例句：

• The ban was initially opposed by the US.这一禁令首先遭到美国的反对。
• Feathers initially developed from insect scales.羽毛最初由昆虫的翅瓣演化而来。

2 previously   

adv.以前，先前（地）

参考例句：

• The bicycle tyre blew out at a previously damaged point.自行车胎在以前损坏过的地方又爆开了。
• Let me digress for a moment and explain what had happened previously.让我岔开一会儿，解释原先发生了什么。

3 unity   

n.团结，联合，统一；和睦，协调

参考例句：

• When we speak of unity,we do not mean unprincipled peace.所谓团结，并非一团和气。
• We must strengthen our unity in the face of powerful enemies.大敌当前，我们必须加强团结。

4 margin   

n.页边空白；差额；余地，余裕；边，边缘

参考例句：

• We allowed a margin of 20 minutes in catching the train.我们有20分钟的余地赶火车。
• The village is situated at the margin of a forest.村子位于森林的边缘。

5 negotiations   

协商( negotiation的名词复数 )； 谈判； 完成（难事）； 通过

参考例句：

• negotiations for a durable peace 为持久和平而进行的谈判
• Negotiations have failed to establish any middle ground. 谈判未能达成任何妥协。

6 complicating   

使复杂化( complicate的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• High spiking fever with chills is suggestive of a complicating pylephlebitis. 伴有寒战的高热，暗示合并门静脉炎。
• In America these actions become executive puberty rites, complicating relationships that are already complicated enough. 在美国，这些行动成了行政青春期的惯例，使本来已经够复杂的关系变得更复杂了。

7 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

8 throttle   

n.节流阀，节气阀，喉咙；v.扼喉咙，使窒息，压

参考例句：

• These government restrictions are going to throttle our trade.这些政府的限制将要扼杀我们的贸易。
• High tariffs throttle trade between countries.高的关税抑制了国与国之间的贸易。

9 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》