在任仅45天，特拉斯为何黯然辞职

昨晚，英国首相伊丽莎白·特拉斯（Elizabeth Truss）在首相府唐宁街十号发表演说宣布辞职。

据了解，这距离她当选保守党党首只有45天，也让她成为了英国历史上任期最短的首相。

🤔️小作业：

A. Labour.

B. Conservative.

C. Liberal Democrat.

A. favourable.

B. devastating.

C. sympathetic.

无注释原文：

What Happened With Liz Truss in Britain? A Guide to the Basics.

The New York Times

The rapid political collapse of Liz Truss ended as she announced her resignation on Thursday, a little more than six weeks after she became Britain’s leader. Her agenda had floundered, her own party had turned on her and commentators widely speculated on whether she could outlast a head of lettuce. She couldn’t.

She had pledged to shoulder through the turmoil despite widespread calls for her resignation. But minute by minute the heat on her grew until there was no path out.

If you need to get caught up, here is a guide to the basics.

Who is Liz Truss and how did she become prime minister?

Ms. Truss was anointed on Sept. 6 to replace Boris Johnson, who was elected by voters in 2019 but who flamed out in spectacular fashion after a series of scandals, forcing him to step down in July.

The general public did not elect Ms. Truss — instead, she won a leadership contest among members of her Conservative Party. To replace Mr. Johnson, the party’s members of Parliament narrowed a field of candidates to two, who were then put up to a vote by about 160,000 dues-paying party members. (They’re an unrepresentative group of the nation’s 67 million residents, far more likely to be male, older, middle-class and white.)

Ms. Truss, 47, had been Mr. Johnson’s hawkish foreign secretary, a free-market champion and eventual supporter of Brexit (after she changed her mind), winning over the right flank of the party despite her more moderate past. (Before joining the Conservative Party, she was a member of the centrist Liberal Democrats when she was a student at Oxford University.)

How did it start to come undone?

She was never going to have it easy. As Ms. Truss entered office, the nation was staring down a calamitous economic picture, highlighted by energy bills that were predicted to jump 80 percent in October and jump again in January. It threatened to send millions of Britons, already reeling from inflation and other challenges, spiraling into destitution, unable to heat or power their homes.

So it was unwelcome news when her signature economic plans immediately made things worse.

The response left no doubt that her free-market ambitions were untenable. In a humiliating reversal, she was forced to reverse virtually all of the tax cuts this week, including a much-criticized one on high earners. She fired Kwasi Kwarteng, the chancellor of the Exchequer who was the architect of the plan and a close ally, and adopted economic policies favored by the opposition Labour party.

“You cannot engage in the sort of U-turn that she has engaged in and retain your political credibility,” said Jon Tonge, a professor of politics at the University of Liverpool.

What comes next?

Ms. Truss will remain prime minister until her successor is chosen. In her resignation remarks, Ms. Truss said a leadership election would be completed in the next week, bringing Britain its second unelected leader in a row.

The next general election — when the entire public can participate, and the next opportunity for Labour to take control — is not scheduled until January 2025 at the latest. A Conservative leader could call for one earlier, but they would have little reason to do so imminently since polls indicate the party would be wiped out by Labour.

Mr. Tonge said one advantage Conservatives have is time — the party could theoretically regain credibility if the economy recovers in the following years, he said.

“I don’t think that changing the leader will necessarily save the Conservatives,” he said. “But you can engage in damage limitation by doing so.”

- ◆ -

注：中文文本为纽约时报官方译文，仅供参考

含注释全文：

What Happened With Liz Truss in Britain? A Guide to the Basics.

The New York Times

The rapid political collapse of Liz Truss ended as she announced her resignation on Thursday, a little more than six weeks after she became Britain's leader. Her agenda had floundered, her own party had turned on her and commentators widely speculated on whether she could outlast a head of lettuce. She couldn't.

丽兹·特拉斯（Liz Truss）周四宣布辞职，结束了她这场快速的政治崩溃，此时距离她成为英国领导人刚过六周。她的议程陷入困境，她自己的政党开始攻击她，评论员们纷纷在猜测她的首相生涯能否比一颗球生菜存活得更久。她输了。

collapse /kəˈlæps/ 作名词，表示“（系统、组织、企业等的）崩溃，瓦解，失败”，英文解释为“the sudden failure of a system, organization, business, etc.”举个🌰：

I don't know what caused the collapse of her marriage.

我不知道她婚姻失败的原因是什么。

作动词，表示“崩溃，垮掉，失败”，英文解释为“to suddenly be unable to continue or work correctly”举个🌰：

Talks between management and unions have collapsed.

劳资谈判彻底破裂。

flounder /ˈflaʊn.dər/ 表示“困难重重；艰苦挣扎；不知所措”，英文解释为“to experience great difficulties or be completely unable to decide what to do or say next”举个🌰：

He lost the next page of his speech and floundered around/about for a few seconds.

他把演讲稿的下一页弄丢了，支支吾吾了几秒钟。

表示“突然袭击（某人）；突然批评（某人）”，英文解释为“to attack or criticize someone suddenly and unexpectedly”举个🌰：

Suddenly she just turned on me and accused me of undermining her.

她突然开始攻击我，指责我背后说她坏话。

commentator /ˈkɒm.ən.teɪ.tər/ 表示“（广播或电视的）解说员，评论员”，英文解释为“a reporter for radio or television who provides a spoken description of and remarks on an event, especially a sports competition, as it happens”如：a radio commentator 广播解说员。

outlast /ˌaʊtˈlɑːst/ 表示“比…活得长；比…持续时间长”，英文解释为“to live or exist, or to stay energetic and determined, longer than another person or thing”举个🌰：

The empress outlasted all her children.

女皇比她的子女们都活得长。

lettuce /ˈletɪs/ 表示“生菜；莴苣”，英文解释为“a plant with large, green leaves, eaten uncooked in salads”。

She had pledged to shoulder through the turmoil despite widespread calls for her resignation. But minute by minute the heat on her grew until there was no path out.

她曾誓称要挺过这场动荡，即使人们普遍要求她辞职。但她身上的压力每一分钟都在增加，直到没有出路。

1）作动词，表示“承诺，保证（做某事）；保证给予（某物）”，英文解释为“When someone pledges to do something, they promise in a serious way to do it. When they pledge something, they promise to give it.”举个🌰：

He pledges support and offers to help in any way that he can.

他承诺给予支持并提供力所能及的帮助。

2）表示“抵押”，英文解释为“If you pledge something such as a valuable possession or a sum of money, you leave it with someone as a guarantee that you will repay money that you have borrowed.”举个🌰：

He asked her to pledge the house as security for a loan.

他要她抵押房子作为贷款担保。

3）作名词，表示“誓言；诺言；保证”，英文解释为“When someone makes a pledge, they make a serious promise that they will do something.”举个🌰：

The meeting ended with a pledge to step up cooperation between the states of the region.

会议以加快该地区州之间合作的承诺结束。

turmoil /ˈtɜːmɔɪl/ 表示“混乱；骚乱；动乱”，英文解释为“Turmoil is a state of confusion, disorder, uncertainty, or great anxiety.”举个🌰：

She lived through the turmoil of the French Revolution.

If you need to get caught up, here is a guide to the basics.

如果你有点不太了解情况，以下是一些基本信息。

Who is Liz Truss and how did she become prime minister?

丽兹·特拉斯是谁，她是如何成为首相的？

Ms. Truss was anointed on Sept. 6 to replace Boris Johnson, who was elected by voters in 2019 but who flamed out in spectacular fashion after a series of scandals, forcing him to step down in July.

9月6日，特拉斯被任命接替鲍里斯·约翰逊（Boris Johnson）。后者于2019年通过民选获任，但在一系列丑闻之后以惊人的方式坠落，被迫在7月下台。

anoint /əˈnɔɪnt/ 表示“（通常由权威人士）选定，指定”，英文解释为“to choose someone to do a particular job, usually by a person in authority”举个🌰：

It remains to be seen whom the chairman will anoint as his successor.

董事长将指定何人作为其接班人，还需拭目以待。

在航空领域，指发动机熄火，英文解释为“(of a jet engine) lose power through the extinction of the flame in the combustion chamber.”此处指“彻底失败，惨败，显而易见的失败”（fail badly or conspicuously）

spectacular /spekˈtæk.jə.lər/ 1）表示“壮观的；精彩的；令人印象深刻的”，英文解释为“very impressive”，如：a mountainous area with spectacular scenery 景色壮丽的山区，a spectacular success 辉煌的成就；

2）表示“非常大的，巨大的；惊人的，突如其来的”，英文解释为“very sudden, unexpected, or extreme”举个🌰：

The news caused a spectacular fall in the stock market.

这一消息引起了股市的暴跌。

The general public did not elect Ms. Truss — instead, she won a leadership contest among members of her Conservative Party. To replace Mr. Johnson, the party's members of Parliament narrowed a field of candidates to two, who were then put up to a vote by about 160,000 dues-paying party members. (They're an unrepresentative group of the nation’s 67 million residents, far more likely to be male, older, middle-class and white.)

特拉斯并非民选，而是保守党内部的党魁之争中胜出。为了替换约翰逊，该党的议员将候选人范围缩小到两名，然后由大约16万名缴纳党费的党员进行投票。（在全国6700万居民中，他们是一个不具代表性的群体，其中大部分是男性、老年人、中产阶级和白人。）

narrow /ˈnær.əʊ/ 1）表示“（使）变窄，（使）缩窄”，英文解释为“to become less wide or to make something less wide”举个🌰：

The road narrows after the bridge.

过桥之后道路变窄了。

2）表示“（使）变少”，英文解释为“to become less”举个🌰：

The retailer's loss narrowed to $3 million from $10 million a year earlier.

这家零售商的亏损从前一年的1千万降至3百万。

表示“提出（观点）；推举，提名（某人）”，英文解释为“to suggest an idea, or to make a person available, to be considered”举个🌰：

It was L who originally put up the idea of the exhibition.

展览会的想法最初是鲍勃提出来的。

1）表示“缴纳会费的”，英文解释为“used to describe people who pay to belong to an organization”；

2）表示“历经磨难的；阅历增长的”，英文解释为“gaining experience, esp. by hard and often unpleasant or uncongenial work”

unrepresentative /ˌʌn.rep.rɪˈzen.tə.tɪv/ 表示“无代表性的，不典型的”，英文解释为“not typical of a larger group of people or things; not representative”

Ms. Truss, 47, had been Mr. Johnson’s hawkish foreign secretary, a free-market champion and eventual supporter of Brexit (after she changed her mind), winning over the right flank of the party despite her more moderate past. (Before joining the Conservative Party, she was a member of the centrist Liberal Democrats when she was a student at Oxford University.)

47岁的特拉斯曾是约翰逊政府的鹰派外交大臣、自由市场的拥护者，并最终（在改变主意后）成了英国脱欧的支持者。尽管有作为温和派的历史，她还是争取到了保守党右翼的支持。（在加入保守党之前，她在牛津大学读书时是中间派自由民主党成员。）

hawkish /ˈhɔː.kɪʃ/ 表示“（主张采取强硬政治路线的）鹰派的”，英文解释为“supporting the use of force in political relationships rather than discussion or other more peaceful solutions”举个🌰：

The president is hawkish on foreign policy.

总统在外交政策上十分强硬。

对比：

📍dovish /ˈdʌv.ɪʃ/ 表示“鸽派的；温和派的”，英文解释为“supporting discussion or other peaceful solutions in political relationships rather than the use of force”举个🌰：

He is a dovish politican.

他是一名鸽派政客。

flank /flæŋk/ 作名词，表示“（动物或人体的）胁腹”，英文解释为“the area of the body between the ribs and the hips of an animal or a person”，也可以表示“侧面”，英文解释为“the side of something”如：right/left flank 右/左侧，右/左翼。

📍（政党的）左翼右翼还常用：left wing/right wing.

flank作动词，表示“两侧有”，英文解释为“If something is flanked by things, it has them on both sides of it, or sometimes on one side of it.”举个🌰：

The altar was flanked by two Christmas trees. 

圣坛的两侧有两棵圣诞树。

🎬电影《危机13小时》（13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi）中的台词提到：We don't want to get flanked. 我们可不想被包抄。

centrist /ˈsen.trɪst/ 表示“中间派的；温和派的”，英文解释为“supporting the centre of the range of political opinions”

How did it start to come undone?

这一切是如何崩溃的？

She was never going to have it easy. As Ms. Truss entered office, the nation was staring down a calamitous economic picture, highlighted by energy bills that were predicted to jump 80 percent in October and jump again in January. It threatened to send millions of Britons, already reeling from inflation and other challenges, spiraling into destitution, unable to heat or power their homes.

她的首相生涯本来就不可能轻松。上任之时，这个国家正面临着灾难性的经济形势，尤其突出的是能源价格预计在10月份将上涨80%，明年1月将再次上涨。这使本就因通货膨胀和其他挑战而步履艰难的数百万英国人面临陷入贫困、无法维持家宅供暖或供电的威胁。

calamitous /kəˈlæm.ɪ.təs/ 表示“灾难的，悲惨的；不幸的”，英文解释为“causing great damage or suffering”，相当于disastrous.

表示“使引起注意，强调”，英文解释为“to attract attention to or emphasize something important”举个🌰：

The report highlights the need for improved safety.

那份报告强调了加大安全力度的重要性。

表示“英国人”，英文解释为“a person from Britain”

表示“发蒙；感到眩晕；感到震惊；感觉心烦意乱”，英文解释为“If you reel, or your mind or brain reels, you feel very confused or shocked and unable to act.”举个🌰：

We were reeling (in amazement/shock/delight) from/with the news that we had won all that money.

得知赢了那么多钱，我们都（惊愕得/震惊得/高兴得）发蒙了。

I was still reeling from the shock.

我吓得依然昏头转向。

spiral /ˈspaɪr.əl/ 作动词，1）表示“呈螺旋式上升（或下降）；盘旋上升（或下降）”，英文解释为“to move in a spiral”举个🌰：

With one wing damaged, the model airplane spiralled downwards.

模型飞机的一个机翼坏了，盘旋着下坠。

2）表示“（费用、价格等）急剧增长，急速上升”，英文解释为“If costs, prices, etc. spiral, they increase faster and faster.”举个🌰：

Spiralling costs have squeezed profits.

急剧上升的成本压缩了利润空间。

3）表示“（形势）急剧恶化”，英文解释为“If a situation spirals, it quickly gets worse in a way that becomes more and more difficult to control.”

作名词，表示“逐渐加速上升（或下降）”，英文解释为“a continuous harmful increase or decrease in sth, that gradually gets faster and faster”如：measures to control the inflationary spiral 控制日益恶化的通货膨胀的措施。

destitution /ˌdes.tɪˈtʃuː.ʃən/ 表示“贫困；赤贫；匮乏”，英文解释为“the state of being without money, food, a home, or possessions”举个🌰：

Destitution has become a major problem in the capital.

贫困成了这个都市的主要问题。

So it was unwelcome news when her signature economic plans immediately made things worse.

因此，当她的标志性经济计划使情况立即恶化时，民众很难接受。

The response left no doubt that her free-market ambitions were untenable. In a humiliating reversal, she was forced to reverse virtually all of the tax cuts this week, including a much-criticized one on high earners. She fired Kwasi Kwarteng, the chancellor of the Exchequer who was the architect of the plan and a close ally, and adopted economic policies favored by the opposition Labour party.

这些回应毫无疑问地表明她的自由市场雄心是站不住脚的。本周，她不得不取消几乎所有的减税措施，包括一项备受批评的针对高收入者的减税，这是耻辱性的挫败。她解雇了该计划的设计者、她的亲密盟友、财政大臣夸西·克瓦滕，并转向反对党工党支持的经济政策。

1）表示“（理论或论点）难以捍卫的，站不住脚的”，英文解释为“If a theory or argument is untenable, it cannot be supported or defended against criticism.”

2）表示“（局面）难以继续的，难维持的”，英文解释为“An untenable situation cannot continue as it is.”举个🌰：

If three people in four no longer support her, isn't this an untenable situation?

如果四分之三的人不再支持她，这样的局面就难以为继了吧？

humiliating /hjuːˈmɪl.i.eɪ.tɪŋ/ 表示“令人感到耻辱的，丢脸的”，英文解释为“making you feel ashamed or stupid”举个🌰：

Losing my job was the most humiliating thing that ever happened to me.

失去工作是我碰到过的最丢脸的事。

reversal /rɪˈvɜː.səl/ 1）表示“反向；倒转；倒退；推翻”，英文解释为“the act of changing or making something change to its opposite”举个🌰：

He demanded a reversal of the previous decision/policy.

他要求撤销原来的决定/废弃原先的政策。

2）表示“挫折；失败”，英文解释为“a problem or failure”举个🌰：

We have suffered a couple of minor/temporary reversals.

我们遭遇了几次小/暂时的挫折。

chancellor /ˈtʃɑːn.səl.ər/ 表示“（政府）大臣，总理，大法官；（大学）校长”，英文解释为“a person in a position of the highest or high rank, especially in a government or university”举个🌰：

He became the first Chancellor of a united Germany in 1990.

他于1990年成为德国统一后的首任总理。

“You cannot engage in the sort of U-turn that she has engaged in and retain your political credibility,” said Jon Tonge, a professor of politics at the University of Liverpool.

利物浦大学政治学教授乔恩·汤格（Jon Tonge）说：“像她这样的180度大转弯，一旦转了你的政治信誉就完了。”

1）表示“（观念或行为上的）彻底转变”，英文解释为“a complete change from one opinion or plan of action to an opposite one”举个🌰：

He did/made a quick U-turn in response to all the adverse publicity.

面对所有这些不利宣传，他的态度来了个180度的大转弯。

2）表示“U 型转弯，180度转弯”，英文解释为“a turn made by a car in order to go back in the direction from which it has come”举个🌰：

It is illegal to do/make a U-turn on a motorway.

在高速路上掉头是违章的。

表示“可信性；可靠性”，英文解释为“If someone or something has credibility, people believe in them and trust them.”举个🌰：

He complained that we had tried to undermine his credibility within the company.

他抱怨说我们企图损害他在公司的威信。The police

What comes next?

接下来会发生什么？

Ms. Truss will remain prime minister until her successor is chosen. In her resignation remarks, Ms. Truss said a leadership election would be completed in the next week, bringing Britain its second unelected leader in a row.

在选出继任者之前，特拉斯将继续担任首相。在她的辞职讲话中，特拉斯表示，党魁选举将在下周完成，英国将迎来第二位非选举产生的领导人。

表示“继任者，接替者；继承人；接替的事物”，英文解释为“someone or something that comes after another person or thing”举个🌰：

This range of computers is very fast, but their successors will be even faster.

这个系列的电脑速度很快，但它的换代产品速度会更快。

📍predecessor表示“前任，前辈；原有事物，前身”，英文解释为“someone who had a job or a position before someone else, or something that comes before another thing in time or in a series”。

The next general election — when the entire public can participate, and the next opportunity for Labour to take control — is not scheduled until January 2025 at the latest. A Conservative leader could call for one earlier, but they would have little reason to do so imminently since polls indicate the party would be wiped out by Labour.

下一次全体国民参与的大选最迟要到2025年1月才能进行，那也是工党夺权的下一个机会。保守党领导人可以提出提前选举，但短时间内他们没有理由这样做，因为民意调查显示保守党将被工党全面碾压。

表示“紧急地，迫切地”，英文解释为“in a way that is likely to happen very soon”

Mr. Tonge said one advantage Conservatives have is time — the party could theoretically regain credibility if the economy recovers in the following years, he said.

汤格说，保守党的一个优势是时间——他说如果经济在接下来的几年中复苏，该党理论上可以重获信誉。

“I don’t think that changing the leader will necessarily save the Conservatives,” he said. “But you can engage in damage limitation by doing so.”

“我认为更换领导人不一定能拯救保守党，”他说。“但你可以通过这样做来止损。”

表示“控制损失；（战争中的）减少伤亡”，英文解释为“the process of limiting the damaging effects of an action or mistake, or the attempt in war to use careful planning to avoid unnecessary death”举个🌰：

The government is involved in a damage-limitation exercise to minimize the effects of the scandal.

政府已经出面与其他各方一起行动，以尽量降低这桩丑闻所造成的影响。

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