英国首相道歉

近日，在“血液污染丑闻”调查结果公布后，英国首相里希·苏纳克（Rishi Sunak）公开道歉，他说，“这是英国国家耻辱日。事情本不必如此，也绝不应该如此。代表本届政府以及自20世纪70年代以来的历届英国政府，我深表歉意。”

英国政府公布的“血液污染丑闻”调查报告指出，20世纪70年代至80年代，英国国家医疗服务体系（NHS）从美国进口的血液制品被丙型肝炎和艾滋病毒污染，造成3万人感染，3000人死亡。

🤔️小作业：

1. Based on the passage, why was Sunak criticized despite his apology?

A) For not establishing a compensation scheme a year ago

B) For downplaying the severity of the scandal

C) For blaming previous governments

D) For not apologizing earlier

A) To shift blame away from the current government

B) To emphasize the collective responsibility for the scandal

C) To minimize the impact of Sunak's apology

D) To suggest that no political party can resolve the issue

无注释原文：

'Day of shame': Rishi Sunak offers unequivocal apology for infected blood scandal

From: The Guardian

Rishi Sunak declared Monday a “day of shame for the British state” as he apologised for the failures of successive governments over the infected blood scandal and promised to pay whatever it takes to compensate the victims.

The prime minister issued his apology in a packed House of Commons chamber, hours after Brian Langstaff published his report that accused the British government of covering up the disaster.

Sunak spared no element of the British government in his criticism, which highlighted failures by ministers, civil servants and the NHS. But he was also accused of deepening victims' pain by not setting up a compensation scheme a year ago when it was first recommended by Langstaff.

He said: “This is a day of shame for the British state. Today's report shows a decades-long moral failure at the heart of our national life – from the National Health Service to the civil service to ministers in successive governments at every level – that people and institutions in which we place our trust failed in the most harrowing and devastating way.”

Sunak added: “This is an apology from the state – to every single person impacted by this scandal. It did not have to be this way; it should never have been this way. And on behalf of this and every government stretching back to the 1970s, I am truly sorry.”

Ministers will reveal on Tuesday how much they will set aside for compensation payment to victims and their families: 30,000 people were infected and 3,000 died. “Whatever it costs to deliver this scheme, we will pay it,” Sunak promised on Monday.

Langstaff unveiled the findings of his 2,500-page report. The report found much of the damage done by the scandal could have been avoided, but that successive governments “did not put patient safety first”.

Sunak's address to the Commons followed in a line of prime ministerial apologies on behalf of the British state, including those by David Cameron for the Bloody Sunday massacre and the Hillsborough tragedy.

John Glen, the paymaster general, will give full details of the compensation scheme on Tuesday. Sunak is reported to have authorised payments worth about £10bn, which will be funded by extra borrowing and counted as capital spending to avoid breaching the government's borrowing targets.

Labour is expected to back the scheme and promise to keep it in place should it come to power later this year.

Keir Starmer, the Labour leader, said: “Politics itself failed you. That failure applies to all parties including my own. There is only one word: sorry.

“And by that apology, I acknowledge that this suffering was caused by wrongdoing, delay and systemic failure across the board, compounded by institutional defensiveness.”

Theresa May, who commissioned Langstaff's report when she was prime minister, said there had been “a devastating and abject failure of the British state – medical professionals, civil servants, politicians – all of whom felt their job was to protect their own reputation rather than to serve and look after the public who they were there to serve”.

- ◆ -

注：完整题目见本文开头；中文文本为机器翻译并非一一对应，仅供参考

含注释全文：

'Day of shame': Rishi Sunak offers unequivocal apology for infected blood scandal

From: The Guardian

Rishi Sunak declared Monday a “day of shame for the British state” as he apologised for the failures of successive governments over the infected blood scandal and promised to pay whatever it takes to compensate the victims.

里希·苏纳克（Rishi Sunak）宣称星期一是“英国国家耻辱日”，并为历届英国政府在受感染血液丑闻中的失职道歉，承诺将不惜一切代价赔偿受害者。

successive /səkˈses.ɪv/ 表示“接连地，连续地”，英文解释为“happening one after the other without any break”举个🌰：It was the team's fourth successive defeat. 那是球队接连第4次失利。

infect /ɪnˈfekt/ 1）表示“（疾病）传染，感染”，英文解释为“to pass a disease to a person, animal, or plant”举个🌰：The ward was full of children infected with TB. 病房里住满了感染结核病的孩子。

2）表示“使感染有害菌”，英文解释为“To infect a substance or area means to cause it to contain harmful germs or bacteria.”举个🌰：The birds infect the milk. 鸟使牛奶受污染。

3）表示“使受影响”，英文解释为“When people, places, or things are infected by a feeling or influence, it spreads to them.”举个🌰：For an instant I was infected by her fear. 一瞬间，我被她的恐惧所感染。

4）表示“使（计算机）中毒”，英文解释为“If a virus infects a computer, it damages or destroys files or programs.”举个🌰：This virus infected thousands of computers across the U.S. and Europe within days. 这种病毒几天之内就使美国和欧洲成千上万台电脑中毒。

compensate /ˈkɒm.pən.seɪt/ 表示“弥补，补偿，抵消”，英文解释为“to provide something good or useful in place of something or to make someone feel better about something that has failed or been lost or missed”举个🌰：Nothing will ever compensate for his lost childhood. 什么也不能弥补他失去的童年。

The prime minister issued his apology in a packed House of Commons chamber, hours after Brian Langstaff published his report that accused the British government of covering up the disaster.

布莱恩·兰斯塔夫（Brian Langstaff）发表报告指责英国政府掩盖了这场灾难，数小时后，英国首相在座无虚席的下议院发表了道歉声明。

packed /pækt/ 表示“挤满的，拥挤的”，英文解释为“completely full”举个🌰：The train was so packed that I couldn't find a seat. 火车里挤满了人，我一个座位也找不到。

jam-packed /ˌdʒæmˈpækt/ 表示“挤得满满的，塞得紧紧的”，英文解释为“full of people or things that are pushed closely together”举个🌰：The streets were jam-packed with tourists. 街道被游客挤得水泄不通。

the House of Commons /ˌhaʊs əv ˈkɒm.ənz/ 表示“（英国或加拿大议会中的）下议院”，英文解释为“one of the two parts of parliament in the UK and Canada, whose members are each elected to represent a particular official area of the country, or its members, or the place where it meets”

chamber /ˈtʃeɪm.bər/ 1）表示“（用于特定用途或官方用途的）房间，室，厅；会议厅”，英文解释为“a hall in a public building that is used for formal meetings”如：the Senate/House chamber 参议院/众议院会议厅，举个🌰：The members left the council chamber. 议员离开了会议厅。

2）表示“（机器、植物或动物的）腔，膛，室”，英文解释为“a closed space in a machine, plant, or body”举个🌰：The human heart has four chambers. 人的心脏有4个心室。

3）表示“（议会的）议院”，英文解释为“one of the parts of a parliament”如：the Lower / Upper Chamber (= in Britain, the House of Commons/House of Lords) 下 / 上议院（英国为the House of Commons / House of Lords）。

Sunak spared no element of the British government in his criticism, which highlighted failures by ministers, civil servants and the NHS. But he was also accused of deepening victims' pain by not setting up a compensation scheme a year ago when it was first recommended by Langstaff.

苏纳克毫不留情地批评了英国政府各个部门，指出了大臣、公职人员和国家医疗服务体系（NHS）的失职。然而，他也受到指责，没有在一年前兰斯塔夫首次提议时设立赔偿计划，从而让受害者更加痛苦。

1）表示“饶恕；不伤害；不毁坏”，英文解释为“to not hurt or destroy something or someone”举个🌰：They asked him to spare the women and children. 他们要他放过妇女和儿童。

2）表示“使避免，使免遭”，英文解释为“to prevent someone from having to experience something unpleasant”举个🌰：Luckily, I was spared the embarrassment of having to sing in front of everyone. 幸运的是，我躲过了在大家面前唱歌的尴尬。

📍spare no effort/expense 表示“不遗余力／不惜工本”，英文解释为“to use a lot of effort, expense, etc. to do something”举个🌰：We will spare no effort to find out who did this. 我们会不遗余力，一定查出是谁做了这件事。

📍spare no element不是固定用法，而是由“spare”这个单词的含义延伸出来的表达。“no element”指“没有任何一个元素”。结合起来，“spare no element”意思是“没有放过任何一个部分”，即“毫无遗漏”。

civil servant /ˌsɪv.əl ˈsɜː.vənt/ 表示“公务员，文职人员”，英文解释为“a person who works in the Civil Service”

recommend /ˌrek.əˈmend/ 表示“推荐，介绍；建议”，英文解释为“to suggest that someone or something would be good or suitable for a particular job or purpose, or to suggest that a particular action should be done”举个🌰：I can recommend the chicken in mushroom sauce - it's delicious. 我可以向您推荐蘑菇汁鸡肉——这道菜非常可口。

📍单词“recommend”由词根“-mend”（来自拉丁语“mendare”，表示“赞扬”）和前缀“reco-”（表示强调）组成。想象你正在强烈推荐一道美味的鸡肉沙拉，这就是“recommend”。

He said: “This is a day of shame for the British state. Today's report shows a decades-long moral failure at the heart of our national life – from the National Health Service to the civil service to ministers in successive governments at every level – that people and institutions in which we place our trust failed in the most harrowing and devastating way.”

他说：“这是英国国家耻辱日。今天的报告表明，从国家医疗服务体系到行政部门，再到历届各级政府大臣，我们国家生活的核心存在长达数十年的道德败坏，我们信任的人和机构以最令人痛心和最具毁灭性的方式辜负了我们的信任。”

harrowing /ˈher.oʊ.ɪŋ/ 表示“折磨人的；令人肠断的；使人十分难过的；恐怖的”，英文解释为“A harrowing experience is extremely upsetting or disturbing.”举个🌰：You've had a harrowing time this past month. 在这过去的一个月里，你已经历了一段痛苦的日子。

devastating /ˈdev.ə.steɪ.tɪŋ/ 1）表示“破坏性极强的”，英文解释为“If you describe something as devastating, you are emphasizing that it is very harmful or damaging.”

2）表示“令人震惊的”，英文解释为“You can use devastating to emphasize that something is very shocking, upsetting, or terrible.”举个🌰：The diagnosis was devastating. She had cancer. 诊断结果令人震惊。她得了癌症。

Sunak added: “This is an apology from the state – to every single person impacted by this scandal. It did not have to be this way; it should never have been this way. And on behalf of this and every government stretching back to the 1970s, I am truly sorry.”

苏纳克补充道：“这是国家对每一个受此丑闻影响的人的道歉。事情本不必如此，也绝不应该如此。代表本届政府以及自20世纪70年代以来的历届英国政府，我深表歉意。”

stretch /stretʃ/ 作名词，1）表示“（连续的）一段时间”，英文解释为“a continuous period of time”举个🌰：The elderly generally need far less rest than the young, and tend to sleep in several short stretches. 年长者一般需要的休息时间比年轻人要少得多，而且往往会分成几个小段时间睡觉。

2）表示“（土地或水域的）一片，一段”，英文解释为“a continuous area of land or water”举个🌰：This particular stretch of coast is especially popular with hikers. 在这一段海岸散步的人特别多。

作动词，1）表示“到…的限度；超过…的限度；竭尽”，英文解释为“to go as far as or past the usual limit of something”举个🌰：Many families' budgets are already stretched to breaking point. 许多家庭的预算已经撑到了极限。

2）表示“伸出；伸长；拉伸”，英文解释为“to cause something to reach, often as far as possible, in a particular direction”举个🌰：She stretched out her hand and helped him from his chair. 她伸手将他从椅子上扶起来。

3）表示“展开，铺开；延伸”，英文解释为“to spread over a large area or distance”举个🌰：A huge cloud of dense smoke stretched across the horizon. 一大团浓烟在地平线上蔓延开来。

4）表示“延续”，英文解释为“to spread over a long period of time”举个🌰：The dispute stretches back over many years. 这场争论可追溯到许多年以前。

Ministers will reveal on Tuesday how much they will set aside for compensation payment to victims and their families: 30,000 people were infected and 3,000 died. “Whatever it costs to deliver this scheme, we will pay it,” Sunak promised on Monday.

大臣们将于周二公布他们将为受害者及其家属支付的赔偿金额：3万人受到感染，3000人死亡。苏纳克周一承诺：“无论实施这项计划需要多少费用，我们都会承担。”

1）表示“把…搁在一边；暂缓处理”，英文解释为“to ignore or not think about a particular fact or situation while considering a matter”举个🌰：Setting aside the question of cost, what do you think of the idea in principle? 先把成本问题搁在一边，理论上讲你觉得这个意见怎样？

2）表示“拨出，留出（金钱或时间）”，英文解释为“to save something, usually money or time, for a special purpose”举个🌰：I set aside half an hour every evening to learn Japanese. 我每天晚上都留出半个小时学日语。He had some money in an account that he'd set aside for his kids. 他为孩子们存了一笔钱。

📍纽约时报（The New York Times）一篇讲述我们需要感恩，但不一定在感恩节的文章中提到：After all, if there's a day on which the benefits of gratitude are maximized, surely it's the national holiday set aside for the purpose of expressing that emotion. 毕竟，如果某一天感恩的好处被最大化，那这一天一定会是为了表达这种感情而专门设置的国家节日。

3）表示“撤销，驳回（判决）”，英文解释为“If a judge or court sets aside a previous decision or judgment, they state that it does not now have any legal effect, usually because they consider it to have been wrong.”举个🌰：The Court of Appeal set aside his conviction. 上诉法院撤销了对他的判决。

📍还是纽约时报（The New York Times）一篇讲述孙杨禁赛八年裁决被撤销的文章中提到：The global antidoping body said in an emailed statement that it was aware of the Swiss federal court's decision to set aside Sun's ban. 全球反兴奋剂机构在一份电子邮件声明中表示，它已悉知瑞士联邦法院撤销孙杨禁赛令的决定。

Langstaff unveiled the findings of his 2,500-page report. The report found much of the damage done by the scandal could have been avoided, but that successive governments “did not put patient safety first”.

兰斯塔夫公布了长达2500页的报告结果。该报告发现，丑闻造成的许多伤害本可以避免，但历届英国政府“没有把患者安全放在首位”。

unveil /ʌnˈveɪl/ 1）表示“ 为…揭幕；揭开…上的覆盖物；拉开…的帷幔”，英文解释为“to remove a cover or curtain from a painting, statue, etc. so that it can be seen in public for the first time”举个🌰：She unveiled a plaque to mark the official opening of the hospital. 她主持揭幕式，标志着医院正式启用。

2）表示“（首次）展示，介绍，推出；将…公之于众”，英文解释为“to show or introduce a new plan, product, etc. to the public for the first time”举个🌰：They will be unveiling their new models at the Motor Show. 他们将在汽车大展上首次推出自己的新型汽车。

🎬电影《复仇者联盟1》（The Avengers）中的台词提到：We look beyond the Earth to the greater worlds the Tesseract will unveil. 而我们则放眼地球之外 那些将被宇宙魔方开启的更广博的世界。

🎬电影《超人高校》（Sky High）中的台词提到：We can't unveil the Stronghold Three without Will. 我们不能在威尔（Will）不在场时 向大家介绍斯特朗霍德三侠（Stronghold Three）。

📍词根“-veil”表示"面纱"，前缀“un-”表示“不”。联想宫殿：在宫殿的一个房间，你看到一个被面纱覆盖的新产品即将被“揭露”。近义词：reveal（揭示） 同根词：veil（面纱），常用短语：unveil a plan（公布计划）

Sunak's address to the Commons followed in a line of prime ministerial apologies on behalf of the British state, including those by David Cameron for the Bloody Sunday massacre and the Hillsborough tragedy.

苏纳克在下议院的讲话，延续了历任英国首相为政府失职公开道歉的惯例，之前戴维·卡梅伦（David Cameron）曾为“血腥星期天”大屠杀和希尔斯堡惨案道歉。

massacre /'mæsəkɚ/ 1）作动词也可以作名词，表示“屠杀；杀戮”，英文解释为“the killing of a large number of people especially in a cruel way”

2）作名词，还可以表示“（在比赛或竞争中的）惨败”，英文解释为：a very bad defeat in a game or competition，举个🌰：United lost in a 5-0 massacre. 联队以0比5惨败。

对比：

📍表示“大屠杀”的名词 carnage“（尤指战争中的）大屠杀，残杀”，英文解释为“when a lot of people are killed and injured, especially in a war”，如：a scene of terrible carnage 可怕的大屠杀场面。

John Glen, the paymaster general, will give full details of the compensation scheme on Tuesday. Sunak is reported to have authorised payments worth about £10bn, which will be funded by extra borrowing and counted as capital spending to avoid breaching the government's borrowing targets.

财政部主计长约翰·格伦（John Glen）将于周二公布具体赔偿计划。据报道，苏纳克已批准约100亿英镑的赔偿，这笔资金将通过额外借贷筹集，并计入资本支出，以避免违反政府的借贷目标。

表示“〈英〉财政部主计长”，英文解释为“in the UK, the member of the government who is officially responsible for making government payments”

authorise /ˈɔːθəraɪz/ 表示“批准，准许；授权，委托”，英文解释为“to give official permission for something to happen, or to give someone official permission to do something”举个🌰：I authorised my bank to pay her ￥1,000. 我授权我的开户银行支付她1000元。

breach /briːtʃ/ 可以作动词，也可以作名词，表示“违反”，英文解释为“A breach of an agreement, a law, or a promise is an act of breaking it.”举个🌰：He was accused of a breach of secrecy rules. 他被指控违反保密条例。

Labour is expected to back the scheme and promise to keep it in place should it come to power later this year.

预计工党将支持该计划，并承诺如果今年晚些时候上台执政，将继续实施该计划。

Keir Starmer, the Labour leader, said: “Politics itself failed you. That failure applies to all parties including my own. There is only one word: sorry.

工党领袖基尔·斯塔默（Keir Starmer）说：“政治本身辜负了你们。包括我所在党派在内的所有党派都失职了。只有一个词：对不起。”

“And by that apology, I acknowledge that this suffering was caused by wrongdoing, delay and systemic failure across the board, compounded by institutional defensiveness.”

“通过这次道歉，我承认这一苦难是由普遍存在的不当行为、拖延和系统性失职造成的，并因机构的防御性反应（即组织在面对错误或批评时倾向于自我保护和拒绝承认错误的态度）而加剧。”

wrongdoing /ˈrɒŋˌduː.ɪŋ/ 表示“违法行为；不道德行为；做坏事；违法犯罪”，英文解释为“Wrongdoing is behaviour that is illegal or immoral.”举个🌰：The city attorney's office hasn't found any evidence of criminal wrongdoing. 市律师事务所还没有发现任何犯罪行为的证据。

compound /ˈkɒm.paʊnd/ 作名词，1）表示“化合物，复合物，混合物”，英文解释为“a chemical that combines two or more elements”举个🌰：Salt is a compound of sodium and chlorine. 盐是钠和氯的化合物。

2）表示“（围起来的）场地，楼群，院落”，英文解释为“an area surrounded by fences or walls that contains a group of buildings”举个🌰：They marched into the compound. 他们进入大院。

作动词，表示“使加重，使加剧，使恶化”，英文解释为“to make a problem or difficult situation worse”举个🌰：Her terror was compounded by the feeling that she was being watched. 她有种被人监视的感觉，这加剧了她的恐惧感。

🎬电影《盗梦空间》（Inception）中的台词提到：And when you enter a dream within that dream, the effect is compounded. 当你进入梦中梦，效果会更强。

作形容词，表示“复合的”，英文解释为“consisting of two or more parts”或者表示“（利息）以复利计算的”，英文解释为“used to refer to a system of paying interest in which interest is paid both on the original amount of money invested (= given to companies hoping to get more back) or borrowed and on the interest that has collected over a period of time”如：compound interest 复利。

institutional /ˌɪn.stɪˈtʃuː.ʃən.əl/ 表示“机构的，慈善机构的；制度的，惯例的；根深蒂固的”，英文解释为“Institutional means relating to a large organization, such as a university, bank, or church. An institutional value or quality is considered an important and typical feature of a particular society or group, usually because it has existed for a long time.”举个🌰：The hospital provides typically awful institutional food. 医院供应的是公共机构常见的那种难吃的食物。

Theresa May, who commissioned Langstaff's report when she was prime minister, said there had been “a devastating and abject failure of the British state – medical professionals, civil servants, politicians – all of whom felt their job was to protect their own reputation rather than to serve and look after the public who they were there to serve”.

特蕾莎·梅在担任首相期间委托兰斯塔夫撰写了这份报告，她表示“英国国家——医疗专业人员、公职人员、政客——都出现了毁灭性的、可悲的失职，他们都认为自己的工作是保护自己的声誉，而不是服务和关照他们应该服务的公众”。

commission /kəˈmɪʃ.ən/ 1）作名词，表示“（负责调查问题真相或原因的）委员会”，英文解释为“a group of people who have been formally chosen to discover information about a problem or examine the reasons why the problem exists”如：a commission on alcohol abuse/racial tension 酗酒问题/种族间紧张关系调查委员会。

2）作动词，表示“委任（或任命）…为军官”，英文解释为“to give someone the official authority to be an officer in the armed forces”举个🌰：She was commissioned in 2024. 她于2024年被任命为军官。

3）作动词，表示“（正式地）安排…做，委托…做”，英文解释为“to formally choose someone to do a special piece of work, or to formally ask for a special piece of work from someone”举个🌰：She's commissioned an artist to paint her portrait. 她请了一位艺术家为她画肖像。

4）in commission表示“（机器、军舰等）在使用中的，在服役的”，英文解释为“If something, such as a machine or a military ship, is in commission it is working and ready for use.”这个含义也可以直接将commission当作动词用，相当于to put (a ship) in commission. 举个🌰：The ship was commissioned in 2024. 该舰于2024年服役。

5）out of commission 表示“（机器、军舰等）坏了的，不可使用的，退役的”，英文解释为“If something, such as a machine or a military ship, is out of commission it is broken or not available to be used.”

abject /ˈæb.dʒekt/ 1）表示“糟糕透顶的；悲惨绝望的；凄惨的”，英文解释为“You use abject to emphasize that a situation or quality is extremely bad.”有点像extreme ...，通常用法：abject misery, poverty, failure 赤贫，凄惨，惨败；

2）表示“卑躬屈膝的；下贱的；奴性的”，英文解释为“showing no pride or respect for yourself”如：an abject apology 低声下气的道歉，举个🌰：He is almost abject in his respect for his boss. 他对老板毕恭毕敬，近乎低三下四。

🎬电影《我与梦露的一周》（My Week with Marilyn）中的台词提到：I've spent half of my professional life in abject bloody terror! 我大半职业生涯都在极度恐惧中度过。

- 词汇盘点 -

- 词汇助记 By ChatGPT -

LearnAndRecord

2015年2月8日

2024年5月23日

第3393天

每天持续行动学外语