2022年经济学人 英国宣布减税以应对生活成本飙升

The world this week -- Politics

本周国际要闻——政治

North Korea test-launched what appeared to be its largest intercontinental ballistic missile ever, according to South Korean officials.

据韩国官员称，朝鲜试射了一枚似乎是其有史以来最大的洲际弹道导弹。

Japan called the launch “reckless”.

日本称这次发射行动“不计后果”。

Rishi Sunak, Britain’s chancellor¹, announced giveaways including a cut in fuel duty, a higher threshold at which people pay national insurance (a payroll² tax) and a lower standard rate of income tax from 2024.

英国财政大臣里希·苏纳克宣布了一些优惠措施，包括降低燃油税，提高人们缴纳国民保险(工资税)的门槛，以及从2024年起降低标准所得税税率。

But living costs are soaring and Mr Sunak’s new measures offset³ only around a sixth of previously⁴ announced tax increases as a share of GDP.

但生活成本正在飙升，苏纳克的新措施仅抵消了此前宣布的增税(作为GDP份额的一部分)的六分之一左右。

Madeleine Albright, the first woman to serve as America’s secretary of state, died aged⁵ 84.

美国第一位女国务卿马德琳·奥尔布赖特去世，享年84岁。

An immigrant from Czechoslovakia, she served in the post from 1997 to 2001 during Bill Clinton’s presidency⁶.

她是来自捷克斯洛伐克的移民，1997年至2001年在比尔·克林顿总统任期内担任该职位。

Canada’s prime minister, Justin Trudeau, looks likely to stay in power until 2025, after his Liberal party struck a “supply and confidence” deal with the New Democratic Party.

加拿大总理贾斯汀·特鲁多看似将会执政到2025年，此前他所在的自由党与新民主党达成了一项“供应与信心”协议。

The Liberals will continue to govern as a minority, with support from the other left-leaning party, whose goals on social issues, the environment and housing the Liberals promise to advance.

自由党将继续以少数党的身份执政，得到另一个左倾政党的支持，自由党承诺在社会问题、环境和住房方面推进其目标。

Erika Aifán, a Guatemalan judge, resigned and fled to the United States after attempts to strip her of immunity⁷ appeared close to success.

危地马拉法官Erika Aifán辞职逃到了美国，此前剥夺她豁免权的企图似乎已接近成功。

Ms Aifán, who also faced death threats and lawsuits⁸, was overseeing a case involving alleged⁹ corruption¹⁰ by the president.

Aifán还面临着死亡威胁和诉讼，当时她正在监管一宗涉及总统涉嫌腐败的案件。

Brazil’s Supreme¹¹ Court blocked Telegram, a messaging app, for several days.

巴西最高法院屏蔽了即时通讯应用Telegram数日。

The court argued that the app had ignored its orders over battling disinformation ahead of October’s presidential election.

法院辩称，该应用程序无视其在10月总统选举前打击虚假信息的命令。

Separately YouTube said it would remove videos peddling¹² lies about fraud in the 2018 election.

另外，YouTube表示，将删除散播2018年选举舞弊谎言的视频。

President Jair Bolsonaro has claimed his margin¹³ of victory would have been bigger were it not for vote-rigging.

总统雅伊尔·博尔索纳罗称，如果不是选举舞弊，他的优势会更大。

A trip to the Caribbean by the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, intended to strengthen the British monarchy’s links with Commonwealth¹⁴ countries after Barbados removed the queen as head of state, sparked protests.

在巴巴多斯解除女王国家元首后，剑桥公爵和公爵夫人前往加勒比地区，旨在加强英国君主制与英联邦国家的联系，此举引发了抗议。

A group of Jamaican politicians, business leaders and activists¹⁵ called on the royal family to apologise for colonialism, and demanded reparations for slavery.

牙买加政治家、商界领袖和活动人士呼吁王室为殖民主义道歉，并要求对奴隶制进行赔偿。

The couple cancelled another engagement in Belize, which also saw demonstrations¹⁶.

这对夫妇取消了在伯利兹的另一个出席活动，那里也发生了示威活动。

1 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。

2 payroll   

n.工资表，在职人员名单，工薪总额

参考例句：

• His yearly payroll is $1.2 million.他的年薪是120万美元。
• I can't wait to get my payroll check.我真等不及拿到我的工资单了。

3 offset   

n.分支，补偿；v.抵消，补偿

参考例句：

• Their wage increases would be offset by higher prices.他们增加的工资会被物价上涨所抵消。
• He put up his prices to offset the increased cost of materials.他提高了售价以补偿材料成本的增加。

4 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。

5 aged   

adj.年老的，陈年的

参考例句：

• He had put on weight and aged a little.他胖了，也老点了。
• He is aged,but his memory is still good.他已年老，然而记忆力还好。

6 presidency   

n.总统(校长，总经理)的职位(任期)

参考例句：

• Roosevelt was elected four times to the presidency of the United States.罗斯福连续当选四届美国总统。
• Two candidates are emerging as contestants for the presidency.两位候选人最终成为总统职位竞争者。

7 immunity   

n.优惠；免除；豁免，豁免权

参考例句：

• The law gives public schools immunity from taxation.法律免除公立学校的纳税义务。
• He claims diplomatic immunity to avoid being arrested.他要求外交豁免以便避免被捕。

8 lawsuits   

n.诉讼( lawsuit的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Lawsuits involving property rights and farming and grazing rights increased markedly. 涉及财产权，耕作与放牧权的诉讼案件显著地增加。 来自辞典例句
• I've lost and won more lawsuits than any man in England. 全英国的人算我官司打得最多，赢的也多，输的也多。 来自辞典例句

9 alleged   

a.被指控的，嫌疑的

参考例句：

• It was alleged that he had taken bribes while in office. 他被指称在任时收受贿赂。
• alleged irregularities in the election campaign 被指称竞选运动中的不正当行为

10 corruption   

n.腐败，堕落，贪污

参考例句：

• The people asked the government to hit out against corruption and theft.人民要求政府严惩贪污盗窃。
• The old man reviled against corruption.那老人痛斥了贪污舞弊。

11 supreme   

adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的

参考例句：

• It was the supreme moment in his life.那是他一生中最重要的时刻。
• He handed up the indictment to the supreme court.他把起诉书送交最高法院。

12 peddling   

忙于琐事的，无关紧要的

参考例句：

• He worked as a door-to-door salesman peddling cloths and brushes. 他的工作是上门推销抹布和刷子。
• "If he doesn't like peddling, why doesn't he practice law? "要是他不高兴卖柴火，干吗不当律师呢？

13 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。

14 commonwealth   

n.共和国，联邦，共同体

参考例句：

• He is the chairman of the commonwealth of artists.他是艺术家协会的主席。
• Most of the members of the Commonwealth are nonwhite.英联邦的许多成员国不是白人国家。

15 activists   

n.（政治活动的）积极分子，活动家( activist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• His research work was attacked by animal rights activists . 他的研究受到了动物权益维护者的抨击。
• Party activists with lower middle class pedigrees are numerous. 党的激进分子中有很多出身于中产阶级下层。 来自《简明英汉词典》

16 demonstrations   

证明( demonstration的名词复数 )； 表明； 表达； 游行示威

参考例句：

• Lectures will be interspersed with practical demonstrations. 讲课中将不时插入实际示范。
• The new military government has banned strikes and demonstrations. 新的军人政府禁止罢工和示威活动。