约翰逊下台内幕:他究竟做错了什么?(约翰逊道歉)

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当地时间7月7日,英国首相鲍里斯·约翰逊宣布,他将辞去首相一职。2019年,约翰逊以绝对多数优势登上首相之位,而短短不到三年的时间,如今他已经失去了党内同僚、政府要员以及大部分民众的支持。约翰逊为何会落到“众叛亲离”的境地?英国人是如何看待他的?一起来听今天的讲解。

约翰逊下台内幕:他究竟做错了什么?(约翰逊道歉)

英文原文

For Boris Johnson, a Tumultuous Tenure Ends With a Messy Exit

鲍里斯·约翰逊:动荡的首相生涯以混乱收场

The end, (when it finally came, )was just as chaotic, messy and jaw-dropping as every other chapter of Boris Johnson's political career.

鲍里斯·约翰逊的政治生涯最终划上了句号,这个结局就像他之前职业生涯中的每一个篇章一样:无序,混乱,令人瞠目结舌。

Holed up in Downing Street on Wednesday night, the prime minister faced an open rebellion of his cabinet, a catastrophic loss of support in his Conservative Party and a wholesale exodus of ministers, which threatened to leave significant parts of the British government without functioning leadership.

周三晚上,约翰逊躲在唐宁街的官邸之内,而摆在他面前的是内阁的公开反对、保守党同僚的大幅倒戈以及大臣们的集体辞职。这种局面可能会导致英国政府中一些重要领导职位空缺,无法正常运转。

Yet far from surrendering, Mr. Johnson’s aides put out word that he would continue to fight. It looked like a last roll of the dice by one of the great gamblers in British politics.

但是,约翰逊并没有罢手投降。他的助手放出消息称,约翰逊将会继续战斗。看起来,这位英国政坛最疯狂的赌徒想要赌上最后一把。

By Thursday morning, however, political gravity had finally reasserted itself. At midday, the prime minister went to a lectern in front of 10 Downing Street to announce he was relinquishing the leadership of a party that no longer supported him, and giving up a job he had pursued for much of his adult life.

然而,周四早上,“政治引力”终于重新发挥了作用。中午时分,约翰逊出现在唐宁街10号的演讲台前,宣布辞去党首职务,因为他的党派已经不再支持他的领导,而且这意味着,他放弃了自己在成年以来一直为之奋斗的首相一职。

After leading Britain out of the European Union in 2020, the prime minister did not have much of a plan for what to do next. He quickly became hostage to events, lurching from crisis to crisis as the coronavirus pandemic engulfed Britain. Mr. Johnson’s lack of truthfulness finally caught up with him. His constantly shifting accounts of his conduct finally exhausted the patience of his party and many voters.

在2020年带领英国脱欧之后,约翰逊对于下一步该怎么做并没有一个像样的计划。随着新冠疫情席卷英国,他很快就被各种事件所裹挟,疲于应对各种危机事件。到头来,约翰逊还是败在了缺乏真诚这一点上。对于自己的所作所为,他频繁地变换着说法,最终耗尽了他的党内同僚以及众多选民的耐心。

生词好句

1.tumultuous

英 [tʃuːˈmʌltʃuəs] 美 [tuːˈmʌltʃuəs]

adj. 动荡的,动乱的

拓展:

tumult UK /ˈtʃuːmʌlt/ US /ˈtuːmʌlt/

n. 骚乱,混乱

tumultuous years 动荡的岁月

tumultuous changes 纷乱的变动

2.tenure

英 [ˈtenjə ˈtenjʊə] 美 [ˈtenjər]

n. 任期

3.messy

英 [ˈmesi] 美 [ˈmesi]

adj. (情况)棘手的

拓展:

Life is always messy. It's supposed to be.

生活总是一地鸡毛。它本就如此。

4.jaw-dropping

英 [ˈdʒɔːˌdrɒpɪŋ] 美 [ˈdʒɑːˌdrɑːpɪŋ]

adj. 令人目瞪口呆,非常震惊的(very surprising or shocking)

拓展:

a jaw-dropping performance 令人叫绝的演出

a jaw-dropping waste of money 令人咋舌的撒钱行为

5.hole up/be holed up

躲藏,隐藏

拓展:

The gunmen are holed up in the mountains.

那几个持枪歹徒躲在山里。

6.catastrophic

英 [ˌkætəˈstrɒfɪk] 美 [ˌkætəˈstrɑːfɪk]

adj. 灾难性的,毁灭性的

拓展:

One false move could be catastrophic.

一步走错,就可能万劫不复。

7.wholesale

英 [ˈhəʊlseɪl] 美 [ˈhoʊlseɪl]

adj. 大规模的(多用来描述负面或极端的情况)

8.exodus

英 [ˈeksədəs] 美 [ˈeksədəs]

n. (大批人同时)离开,外出

拓展:

Exodus 《出埃及记》(基督教《圣经‧旧约》第二卷,记载摩西率领以色列人离开埃及之事)

The medical system is facing collapse because of an exodus of doctors.

由于医生大批离去,医疗系统面临崩溃。

9.aide

英 [eɪd] 美 [eɪd]

n. (政治家的)助理

拓展:

White House aides 白宫助理

presidential aide 总统助理

10.put something out / put out something

发出(信息)(to produce information)

拓展:

put out a warning 发出警告

put out a statement 发布声明

11.a roll of the dice

(本文)冒险的尝试(a risky attempt to do or achieve something);赌一把;碰运气

拓展:

Trying out a new restaurant is always a roll of the dice.

尝试新餐厅总是要碰运气。

12.reassert itself

(想法、习惯等)再次显现,重新发挥作用

拓展:

At last, common sense had reasserted itself.

最终,常识占了上风。

13.relinquish

英 [rɪˈlɪŋkwɪʃ] 美 [rɪˈlɪŋkwɪʃ]

v. (尤指不情愿地)放弃,交出(职位、权力等)

拓展:

近义表达:give up

No one wants to relinquish power once they have it.

人一旦有了权力就不愿意撒手。

14.become hostage to something

受制于……,被……牵着鼻子走

15.lurch

英 [lɜːtʃ] 美 [lɜrːtʃ]

v. 跌跌撞撞,踉跄(to walk or move suddenly in an uncontrolled or unsteady way)

拓展:

She just lurches from one bad relationship to another.

她情路坎坷,总是遇到不好的感情。

16.engulf

英 [ɪnˈɡʌlf] 美 [ɪnˈɡʌlf]

v. 吞没,淹没

拓展:

"疫情肆虐"的动词搭配积累:

The pandemic hit/struck/swept/took over a country.

国家疫情肆虐。

17.catch up with somebody

(坏事)纠缠住(某人),给(某人)带来麻烦

拓展:

His lies will catch up with him one day.

他总有一天会尝到撒谎的苦头。