VOA新闻杂志2022--英国首相鲍里斯·约翰逊辞职

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British Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced his resignation on Thursday.

A series of political scandals led to Johnson losing the support of numerous government ministers and members of his Conservative Party.

Johnson said he will remain in office until his replacement¹ is found. But his resignation as leader of the Conservative Party is immediate².

"Today I have appointed a cabinet to serve, as I will, until a new leader is in place," Johnson said. "I know that there will be many people who are relieved and perhaps quite a few who will also be disappointed.

Johnson added: "I want you to know how sad I am to be giving up the best job in the world. But them's the breaks."

The 58-year-old Johnson came to power almost three years ago. At the time, he promised voters he would effectively guide Britain through its withdrawal³ from the European Union, a process known as "Brexit." Britain voted to leave the EU in a special election in 2016.

The Conservative Party will now have to elect a new leader in a process that could take weeks or months. Among the possible candidates to succeed him are former Health Secretary Sajid Javid, former Treasury⁴ chief Rishi Sunak, Foreign Secretary Liz Truss and Defense⁵ Secretary Ben Wallace.

In recent days, about 50 cabinet secretaries, ministers and lower-level officials resigned from their positions. Some spoke⁶ out in public about the prime minister's lack of integrity.

Johnson had remained in power as he defended himself against a series of political accusations⁷. He had been accused of being too close to party donors⁸ and of protecting supporters from bullying¹⁰ and corruption¹¹ complaints. He also faced accusations that he misled parliament about government office parties that violated COVID-19 restrictions¹².

Most recently, it became public that Johnson knew about reports of sexual wrongdoing by a Conservative lawmaker before he appointed him to a high position in government.

After the latest scandal, Johnson held on to power for days. He told lawmakers on Wednesday that he had a "mandate¹³" from voters and planned to get on with the business of governing.

But he was forced to accept defeat Thursday morning after one of his closest allies, newly appointed Treasury chief Nadhim Zahawi, publicly told him to resign for the good of the country.

Words in This Story

relieved – adj. feeling happy because something unpleasant did not happen or you are not worried about something anymore

disappoint – v. to make someone feel unhappy because someone or something was not as good as they had expected

integrity – n. honesty and the ability to do or know what is morally right

bully⁹ – v. to purposely frighten someone who is smaller or weaker than you

complaint – n. a statement that something is wrong or not satisfactory

mandate – n. support for action given to someone by the people voting or them

1 replacement   

n.取代，替换，交换；替代品，代用品

参考例句：

• We are hard put to find a replacement for our assistant.我们很难找到一个人来代替我们的助手。
• They put all the students through the replacement examination.他们让所有的学生参加分班考试。

2 immediate   

adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的

参考例句：

• His immediate neighbours felt it their duty to call.他的近邻认为他们有责任去拜访。
• We declared ourselves for the immediate convocation of the meeting.我们主张立即召开这个会议。

3 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。

4 treasury   

n.宝库；国库，金库；文库

参考例句：

• The Treasury was opposed in principle to the proposals.财政部原则上反对这些提案。
• This book is a treasury of useful information.这本书是有价值的信息宝库。

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 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

7 accusations   

n.指责( accusation的名词复数 )；指控；控告；（被告发、控告的）罪名

参考例句：

• There were accusations of plagiarism. 曾有过关于剽窃的指控。
• He remained unruffled by their accusations. 对于他们的指控他处之泰然。

8 donors   

n.捐赠者( donor的名词复数 )；献血者；捐血者；器官捐献者

参考例句：

• Please email us to be removed from our active list of blood donors. 假如你想把自己的名字从献血联系人名单中删去，请给我们发电子邮件。
• About half this amount comes from individual donors and bequests. 这笔钱大约有一半来自个人捐赠及遗赠。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 bully   

n.恃强欺弱者，小流氓；vt.威胁，欺侮

参考例句：

• A bully is always a coward.暴汉常是懦夫。
• The boy gave the bully a pelt on the back with a pebble.那男孩用石子掷击小流氓的背脊。

10 bullying   

v.恐吓，威逼( bully的现在分词 )；豪；跋扈

参考例句：

• Many cases of bullying go unreported . 很多恐吓案件都没有人告发。
• All cases of bullying will be severely dealt with. 所有以大欺小的情况都将受到严肃处理。 来自《简明英汉词典》

11 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。

12 restrictions   

约束( restriction的名词复数 )； 管制； 制约因素； 带限制性的条件（或规则）

参考例句：

• I found the restrictions irksome. 我对那些限制感到很烦。
• a snaggle of restrictions 杂乱无章的种种限制

13 mandate   

n.托管地；命令，指示

参考例句：

• The President had a clear mandate to end the war.总统得到明确的授权结束那场战争。
• The General Election gave him no such mandate.大选并未授予他这种权力。