Ireland's Green Party withdraws from coalition government

    DUBLIN, Jan. 23 (Xinhua) -- Ireland's Green Party announced Sunday it can no longer remain in the coalition¹ government(联合政府) led by Prime Minister Brian Cowen.
    "For a very long time we in the Green Party have stood back in the hope that Fianna Fail (Republican Party) could resolve persistent² doubts about their party leadership. A definitive³ resolution of this has not yet been possible. And our patience has reached an end," said Green Party leader John Gormley in a statement.
    "Because of these continuing doubts, the lack of communication and the breakdown（故障） in trust, we have decided⁴ that we can no longer continue in government," he said.
    But Gormley promised to ensure passage of the Finance Bill before the March 11 election.
    "We will remain true to our promise to support the Finance Bill from the Opposition⁵ benches, with the promised cooperation of the opposition parties," he said.
    He told reporters that he had resigned as a minister with immediate⁶ effect as have other Green Party members.
    At present, Gormley is environment minister in the coalition government.
    He said he did not regret entering government with Fianna Fail and was happy that the party had made a valued contribution.
    Meanwhile, Prime Minister Cowen said he will arrange for the resignations of the Green Party ministers to be forwarded to the president and as soon as they are accepted by the president he will reassign the portfolios⁷.
    Cowen said in Portlaoise, County Laois that he does not accept that the Finance Bill can be progressed through the Dail (lower house of parliament) in the next seven days and it is now the government's priority to proceed with the bill.
    He also said he has no intention of resigning as prime minister.
    Cowen said Finance Minister Brian Lenihan will meet with other parties' spokespersons on finance on Monday to consider a timeframe for the progress of the Finance Bill through the Dail.
    In a related development, the Labor⁸ Party, one of Ireland's major opposition parties, said it will hold off on its motion of no confidence in the government if it commits to bringing forward the Finance Bill and has it enacted⁹ by Friday next week. The party also wants the government to dissolve the Dail and call an election on Friday.(本文由在线英语听力室整理编辑)

1 coalition   

n.结合体，同盟，结合，联合

参考例句：

• The several parties formed a coalition.这几个政党组成了政治联盟。
• Coalition forces take great care to avoid civilian casualties.联盟军队竭尽全力避免造成平民伤亡。

2 persistent   

adj.坚持不懈的，执意的；持续的

参考例句：

• Albert had a persistent headache that lasted for three days.艾伯特连续头痛了三天。
• She felt embarrassed by his persistent attentions.他不时地向她大献殷勤，使她很难为情。

3 definitive   

adj.确切的，权威性的；最后的，决定性的

参考例句：

• This book is the definitive guide to world cuisine.这本书是世界美食的权威指南。
• No one has come up with a definitive answer as to why this should be so.至于为什么该这样，还没有人给出明确的答复。

4 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

5 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

6 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。

7 portfolios   

n.投资组合( portfolio的名词复数 )；（保险）业务量；（公司或机构提供的）系列产品；纸夹

参考例句：

• Price risk arises in non-trading portfolios, as well as in trading portfolios. 价格风险中出现的非贸易投资，以及在贸易投资组合。 来自互联网
• How do we fatten our portfolios and stay financially healthy? 我们怎样育肥我们的投资结构和维持财政健康呢？ 来自互联网

8 labor   

n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦

参考例句：

• We are never late in satisfying him for his labor.我们从不延误付给他劳动报酬。
• He was completely spent after two weeks of hard labor.艰苦劳动两周后，他已经疲惫不堪了。

9 enacted   

制定（法律），通过（法案）( enact的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• legislation enacted by parliament 由议会通过的法律
• Outside in the little lobby another scene was begin enacted. 外面的小休息室里又是另一番景象。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹