英国又又又换首相了

当地时间7月4日，英国举行大选。基尔·斯塔默（Keir Starmer）领导的工党赢得议会下院过半数席位，将成为英国执政党。

2022年10月25日，第57任首相里希·苏纳克（Rishi Sunak）上任。

🤔️小作业：

1. What tone do the analysts and commentators in the articles adopt towards Labour's potential victory?

A) Optimistic and confident

B) Skeptical and cautious

C) Indifferent and neutral

D) Disappointed and pessimistic

无注释原文：

As Britain Votes, Change Is in the Air. Optimism, Not So Much.

From: The New York Times

Voters went to the polls in Britain on Thursday in a dyspeptic mood, many of them frustrated with the Conservative government and skeptical that any replacement can unravel the tangle of problems hobbling the country.

Their skepticism is warranted, according to analysts. Even if the Labour Party wins a robust majority in Parliament, as polls suggest, it will confront a raft of challenges, from a torpid economy to a corroded National Health Service, without having many tools to fix them.

The Labour leader, Keir Starmer, would inherit a “legacy of ashes,” said Robert Ford, a professor of political science at the University of Manchester. And voters, who less than five years ago elected the Conservatives in a landslide, are not likely to give Mr. Starmer much slack to turn things around.

“The message could not be clearer: You must deliver change — or you are toast,” Mr. Ford said. “People will not be patient.”

U.K.'s Labour Party Wins Landslide, Sunak Concedes Defeat

From: The Wall Street Journal

Britain's Labour Party has won a landslide election victory as voters look set to hand its leader Keir Starmer one of the biggest parliamentary majorities in British history and place a center-left government into Downing Street for the first time in 14 years.

Thursday's election marked a huge shift in Britain's political landscape and a heavy repudiation of Sunak's Conservative Party, which has been in power during a tumultuous decade in British politics that included Britain's departure from the European Union, political infighting and scandals that saw four prime ministers in five years, the pandemic, war in Ukraine and a cost-of-living crisis.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak early Friday conceded the election and apologized to his party for the scale of the defeat. “The British people have delivered a sobering verdict tonight…and I take responsibility for the loss,” he said.

- ◆ -

注：完整题目见本文开头；中文文本为官方译文，仅供参考

含注释全文：

As Britain Votes, Change Is in the Air. Optimism, Not So Much.

From: The New York Times

Voters went to the polls in Britain on Thursday in a dyspeptic mood, many of them frustrated with the Conservative government and skeptical that any replacement can unravel the tangle of problems hobbling the country.

周四，英国选民怀着悲观的情绪前往投票站，许多人对保守党政府感到失望，并怀疑任何替代者都无法解决困扰国家的一系列问题。

dyspeptic /dɪˈspep.tɪk/ 1）表示“消化不良的”，英文解释为“having problems with digesting food”

2）表示“易怒的，脾气坏的”，英文解释为“always angry or easily annoyed”

frustrated /frʌsˈtreɪ.tɪd/ 1）表示“灰心的，气馁的”，英文解释为“feeling annoyed or less confident because you cannot achieve what you want”举个🌰：Are you feeling frustrated in your present job? 你做现在这份工作感觉气馁吗？

2）表示“情感受挫的”，英文解释为“A frustrated emotion is one that you are not able to express.”如：her frustrated love for him 她对他的爱情受挫了。

2）表示“失意的；不成功的”，英文解释为“used to say that a person who has not succeeded in a particular type of job”举个🌰：Frustrated writers often end up in publishing. 失意的作家最后往往投身出版业。

conservative /kənˈsɜː.və.tɪv/ 作名词，表示“保守党，保守派”，作形容词，表示“保守的；守旧的”，英文解释为“not usually liking or trusting change, especially sudden change”如：a conservative society/outlook 保守的社会/观念。

Conservative 表示“（英国）保守党的”，英文解释为“belonging to or supporting the British political party that traditionally supports business and opposes high taxes and government involvement in industry”如：the Conservative Party 保守党，Conservative policies 保守党奉行的政策。

skeptical /ˈskep.tɪ.kəl/ 表示“怀疑的，持怀疑态度的”，英文解释为“doubting that something is true or useful”举个🌰：Many experts remain skeptical about/of her claims. 很多专家对她的主张仍然持怀疑态度。

unravel /ʌnˈræv.əl/ 1）表示“揭开，弄清，阐明（谜团或复杂问题）；被澄清；被解决”，英文解释为“If you unravel a mysterious, unknown, or complicated subject, you make it known or understood, and if it unravels, it becomes known or understood.”举个🌰：We have a long way to go before we unravel the secrets of genetics. 在揭开遗传学之谜前，我们还有很长的路要走。

2）表示“（把布、结或线团）解开；拆散”，英文解释为“If a piece of knitted or woven cloth, a knot, or a mass of thread unravels, it separates into a single thread, and if you unravel it, you separate it into a single thread.”举个🌰：You'd better mend that hole before the whole sweater starts to unravel. 你最好把那个洞补上，免得整件毛衣脱线。

3）表示“破坏（成就等）；解体；崩溃；瓦解”，英文解释为“to start to fail or no longer stay together as a whole”举个🌰：As talks between them broke down, several months of careful diplomacy were unravelled. 由于他们之间的会谈破裂，几个月精心策划的外交努力付诸东流。

tangle /ˈtæŋ.ɡəl/ 表示“纠结的一团；纠结；混乱”，英文解释为“an untidy mass of things that are not in a state of order, or a state of confusion or difficulty”如：a tangle of wires 一团乱糟糟的电线。

hobble /ˈhɒb.əl/ 1）表示“约束，限制”，英文解释为“to limit something or control the freedom of someone”举个🌰：A long list of amendments have hobbled the new legislation. 一长串修正案限制了这项新立法。

2）表示“捆缚（动物，尤指马等的）两条腿”，英文解释为“If you hobble an animal, especially a horse, you tie two of its legs together so that it cannot run away.”

3）表示“一瘸一拐地行走，跛行”，英文解释为“to walk in an awkward way, usually because the feet or legs are injured”举个🌰：The last time I saw her she was hobbling around with a stick. 上次我见到她的时候，她拄着拐杖一瘸一拐的。

🎬电影《天地无限》（Open Range）中的台词提到：I see they hobbled you. 我看见他们给你带来了麻烦 It's been a while since I was in a fight. 我已经很久没和人交火了。

Their skepticism is warranted, according to analysts. Even if the Labour Party wins a robust majority in Parliament, as polls suggest, it will confront a raft of challenges, from a torpid economy to a corroded National Health Service, without having many tools to fix them.

分析人士认为，他们的这种疑虑不无道理。即便工党如民意调查显示的那样赢得议会的绝对多数席位，它也将面临着从经济低迷到国民健康服务体系退化的一系列挑战，而且没有太多手段来解决这些问题。

warranted /ˈwɒr.ən.tɪd/ 1）表示“有正当理由的；需要的”，英文解释为“If something is warranted, there is a good reason for it and it can be accepted.”举个🌰：For a severe cough that lasts more than three weeks, a chest X-ray may be warranted to rule out pneumonia. 对于持续三周以上的严重咳嗽，可能需要胸部X光检查以排除肺炎。

2）表示“得到授权的，经批准的”，英文解释为“having been given official authority to do something, or done with official permission”

warrant /ˈwɒr.ənt/ 作动词，1）作名词，表示“令状，搜查令；拘捕令”，英文解释为“A warrant is a legal document that allows someone to do something, especially one that is signed by a judge or magistrate and gives the police permission to arrest someone or search their house.”

2）作动词时，表示“使...有必要，使…显得适当”，英文解释为“If something warrants a particular action, it makes the action seem necessary or appropriate for the circumstances.”举个🌰：Obviously what she did was wrong, but I don't think it warranted such a severe punishment. 显然她做得不对，但我认为她不应该受到如此严厉的惩罚。

3）还有一个用法是表示“担保，保证；许诺”，英文解释为“used to say that you are certain about something”举个🌰：I'll warrant (you). 我（向你）保证。

🎬电影《美丽心灵》（A Beautiful Mind）中的台词提到：Your record doesn't warrant any placement at all. 你的履历压根不足以保证你能胜任任何职位。

robust /rəʊˈbʌst/ 表示“（人或动物）强壮的，茁壮的；（东西或系统）坚固的，耐用的，结实的；强劲的；富有活力的；强健的；强壮的”，英文解释为“(of a person or animal) strong and healthy, or (of an object or system) strong and unlikely to break or fail”举个🌰：He looks robust and healthy enough. 他看起来非常强壮健康。

📍这个词来自拉丁语“robustus”，意味着“强壮的”。用来形容结构“坚固”的或系统“强健”的。想象新软件更加“强健”，出现问题更少。近义词：sturdy（结实的），同根词：robustness（强健），常用短语：robust system（强健的系统）

parliament /ˈpɑː.lɪ.mənt/ 表示“议会”，英文解释为“in some countries, the group of (usually) elected politicians or other people who make the laws for their country”

confront /kənˈfrʌnt/ 1）表示“面临（问题、任务、困难等）”，英文解释为“If you are confronted with a problem, task, or difficulty, you have to deal with it.”举个🌰：She was confronted with severe money problems. 她面临严重的资金问题。

2）表示“正视（困难局面或问题）”，英文解释为“If you confront a difficult situation or issue, you accept the fact that it exists and try to deal with it.”举个🌰：We are learning how to confront death. 我们在学习如何正视死亡。

raft /rɑːft/ 表示“许多，大量”，英文解释为“a large number or range; a lot”如：a raft of data 大量资料，举个🌰：We have designed a whole raft of measures to improve the transport system. 我们已经制定了一整套措施来完善交通系统。

torpid /ˈtɔː.pɪd/ 表示“不活泼的；（尤指因懒惰或困倦）迟钝的，呆滞的”，英文解释为“not active; moving or thinking slowly, especially as a result of being lazy or feeling that you want to sleep”举个🌰：If you have a sudden loss of cabin pressure at 20,000 feet, passengers will become torpid and then lose consciousness. 如果在两万英尺的高空突然失去舱压，乘客会变得有气无力，继而失去知觉。

corrode /kəˈrəʊd/ 表示“（使）腐蚀；侵蚀”，英文解释为“If metal corrodes, or if something corrodes it, it is slowly damaged by something such as rain or water.”举个🌰：Steel tends to corrode faster in a salty atmosphere. 在盐分高的环境里，钢往往腐蚀得更快。

The Labour leader, Keir Starmer, would inherit a “legacy of ashes,” said Robert Ford, a professor of political science at the University of Manchester. And voters, who less than five years ago elected the Conservatives in a landslide, are not likely to give Mr. Starmer much slack to turn things around.

曼彻斯特大学政治学教授罗伯特·福特表示，工党领袖基尔·斯塔默将继承是一堆“灰烬”。不到五年前，选民以压倒性优势选举出了保守党，他们不太可能给斯塔默太多机会来扭转局面。

inherit /ɪnˈher.ɪt/ 1）表示“经遗传得到（父母的性格、外貌、品质、特征）”，英文解释为：to have the same character or appearance as your parents，举个🌰：I inherited my mother's curly hair. 我遗传了母亲的鬈发。

2）表示“继承（财产）”，英文解释：If you inherit money or property, you receive it from someone who has died. 举个🌰：He has no son to inherit his land. 他没有儿子来继承他的土地。

legacy /ˈleɡ.ə.si/ 1）表示“遗产，遗赠”，英文解释为“money or property that you receive from someone after they die”举个🌰：An elderly cousin had left her a small legacy. 一位堂兄留给她一小笔遗产。

2）表示“历史遗产，遗留物”，英文解释为“something that is a part of your history or that remains from an earlier time”举个🌰：The Greeks have a rich legacy of literature. 希腊人有丰富的文学遗产。

📍2022年政府工作报告Part 18中提到了这个词：用好北京冬奥会遗产。We will make the most of the legacy of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics.

ash /æʃ/ 表示“（尤指烟草、煤、木头燃烧后的）灰，灰烬”，英文解释为“the soft grey or black powder that is left after a substance, especially tobacco, coal, or wood, has burned”如：cigarette ash 烟灰。

landslide /ˈlænd.slaɪd/ 1）表示“（山坡或悬崖的）崩塌，塌方，滑坡，地滑”，英文解释为“a mass of earth, rock, etc. that falls down the slope of a mountain or a cliff”；

📍landslip等同于landslide，通常为小规模的。（a mass of rock and earth that falls down a slope, usually smaller than a landslide）

2）表示“（选举中）一方选票占压倒性多数，大胜”，英文解释为“the winning of an election with an extremely large number of votes”如：a landslide victory 压倒性胜利。

slack /slæk/ 作形容词，1）表示“萧条的，不景气的；冷清的；懈怠的”，英文解释为“showing little activity; not busy or happening in a positive way”举个🌰：Business is always slack at this time of year. 每年的这个时候生意都很清淡。

2）表示“不紧的，松的”，英文解释为“not tight; loose”举个🌰：These tent ropes are too slack - they need tightening. 这些帐篷绳太松了——需要把它们紧一紧。

slack /slæk/ 作名词，1）表示“松弛，不紧”，英文解释为“the fact that something is too loose”举个🌰：There's too much slack in these ropes. 这些绳子有太多的地方很松弛。

2）表示“（组织中人员、资金或地方的）富余部分，闲置部分”，英文解释为“people, money or space that should be used more fully in an organization”举个🌰：There's very little slack in the budget.预算中没有多少剩余款项。

📍slacker /ˈslæk.ər/ 表示“偷懒的人；磨洋工的人”，英文解释为“a person who does not work hard enough”举个🌰：Those slackers have gone home early again. 那些懒家伙又提前回家了。

📍cut sb some slack 表示“给…方便；对…网开一面”，英文解释为“to not judge someone as severely as you usually would because they are having problems at the present time”

“The message could not be clearer: You must deliver change — or you are toast,” Mr. Ford said. “People will not be patient.”

“信息再清楚不过了：你必须能带来改变——否则你就完蛋了，”福特说。“人们不会有耐心的。”

toast /təʊst/ 1）作名词，表示“烤面包片，吐司”，英文解释为“sliced bread made warm, crisp (= hard enough to break), and brown by being put near a high heat”如：a slice of toast 一块烤面包片；

2）the toast of ……表示“（在某领域）广受赞誉的人，有口皆碑的人”，英文解释为“a person who is praised by a lot of people in a particular place because of sth that they have done well”举个🌰：The performance made her the toast of the festival. 她的演出使她在艺术节中备受推崇。

3）作名词，表示“祝酒；干杯”，英文解释为“an expression of good wishes or respect for someone that involves holding up and then drinking from a glass of alcohol, especially wine, after a short speech”举个🌰：Champagne corks popped and the guests drank a toast to the happy couple. 香槟酒瓶砰地打开了，客人们举杯为这对幸福的伉俪干杯。

🍸比如，G20杭州峰会欢迎宴会上致辞最后提到：Now, please join me in a toast: 现在我提议，大家共同举杯，

🎬电影《爱你，罗茜》（Love, Rosie）中的台词提到：So , please ,everybody , join me in a toast, to the bride and groom. 所以，各位，请和我举起这杯酒，敬我们的新娘和新郎。

4）当然toast也可以直接作动词，举个🌰：We toasted the happy couple. 我们为这对幸福的伉俪干杯。

📍be toast 表示“完蛋，遭殃”，英文解释为“to be likely to be unsuccessful, destroyed, or dead”举个🌰：If I don't agree to do what they ask, I'm toast. 如果我不同意按他们的要求做，我就完蛋了。

U.K.'s Labour Party Wins Landslide, Sunak Concedes Defeat

From: The Wall Street Journal

Britain's Labour Party has won a landslide election victory as voters look set to hand its leader Keir Starmer one of the biggest parliamentary majorities in British history and place a center-left government into Downing Street for the first time in 14 years.

英国工党在选举中取得压倒性胜利，该党领导人斯塔默(Keir Starmer)获得英国历史上领先差距最大的议会多数席位之一，14年来首次将一届中左翼政府送入唐宁街。

表示“即将要；看起来有可能会发生，似乎注定要发生：指某种情况或事件看起来很有可能会发生，似乎注定要发生”，英文解释为“To seem like one is ready or about to do something.”

Thursday's election marked a huge shift in Britain's political landscape and a heavy repudiation of Sunak's Conservative Party, which has been in power during a tumultuous decade in British politics that included Britain's departure from the European Union, political infighting and scandals that saw four prime ministers in five years, the pandemic, war in Ukraine and a cost-of-living crisis.

周四的选举是对首相苏纳克(Rishi Sunak)领导的保守党的一次特别严重的否定，保守党在英国政坛动荡的十年中一直执政，这十年经历了英国脱欧、政治内讧和丑闻（正因如此五年内经历了四任首相）、新冠疫情、乌克兰战争和生活费用危机。

landscape /ˈlænd.skeɪp/ 表示“乡间，野外；（尤指乡村的）风景，景色”，英文解释为“a large area of countryside, especially in relation to its appearance”如：a rural/barren landscape 乡村/荒原；也可以表示“局面”，英文解释为“A landscape is all the features that are important in a particular situation.”

repudiation /rɪˌpjuː.diˈeɪ.ʃən/ 表示“拒绝，不接受；否认；批驳”，英文解释为“the act of refusing to accept something or someone as true, good, or reasonable”举个🌰：They were surprised by his sudden repudiation of all his former beliefs. 他们对他突然否定自己以前的所有信仰感到惊讶。

tumultuous /tjuːˈmʌltjʊəs/ 1）表示“动荡的；狂暴的”，英文解释为“involving a lot of change and confusion and/or violence”，如：the tumultuous years 动乱年代；

2）表示“嘈杂的；喧嚣的；热烈的；欢腾的”，英文解释为“very loud; involving strong feelings, especially feelings of approval”如：tumultuous applause 热烈的欢呼声，a tumultuous reception/welcome 热情的接待/热烈的欢迎。

infighting /ˈɪnˌfaɪ.tɪŋ/ 表示“（集团内部的）暗斗”，英文解释为“competition between people within a group, especially to improve their own position or to get agreement for their ideas”

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak early Friday conceded the election and apologized to his party for the scale of the defeat. “The British people have delivered a sobering verdict tonight…and I take responsibility for the loss,” he said.

苏纳克周五早些时候承认失败，并向他的政党道歉。他说：“英国人民今晚做出了让人清醒过来的裁决……我为这次失利负责。”

concede /kənˈsiːd/ 1）表示“（常指不情愿地）承认”，英文解释为“to admit, often unwillingly, that something is true”举个🌰："Well okay, perhaps I was a little hard on her," he conceded. “好吧，也许我对她是有点苛刻，”他承认道。

2）表示“认输；承认（失败）”，英文解释为“to admit that you have lost in a competition”举个🌰：He kept on arguing and wouldn't concede defeat. 他一直争论个不停，不愿认输。

补充：

📍败选演讲 concession speech

sobering /ˈsəʊ.bər.ɪŋ/ 表示“令人警醒的，使人冷静的”，英文解释为“making you feel serious or think about serious matters”如：a sobering thought 发人深省的思想。

verdict /ˈvɜː.dɪkt/ 1）表示“（经过检验或认真考虑后的）决定，结论，意见”，英文解释为“a decision that you make or an opinion that you give about sth, after you have tested it or considered it carefully”举个🌰：The doctor's verdict was that he was entirely healthy. 这名医生的判断是他完全是健康的。

2）另一个常用含义，表示“裁定，裁决，裁断”（In a court of law, the verdict is the decision that is given by the jury or judge at the end of a trial.）

🎬电影《真实故事》（True Story）中的台词提到：And the verdict was you're a liar. 而判决是，你是个骗子。

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