美国有线新闻 CNN 英国脱欧陷入僵局 爱尔兰边界问题成棘手难题

 

First to international event we're explaining today concerns a breakup. The European Union is composed of 28 European countries. They have an economic and political partnership¹, but in June of 2016, voters in the United Kingdom decided² their country would leave the European Union. This became known as the Brexit, as in British exit from the E.U. It is a very complicated³ process. For instance⁴, European Union countries trade with each other without tariffs⁵ on goods. When Britain leaves the E.U., will it have those taxes reinstated when trading with the rest of Europe?

Immigration, legal decisions, relationships with other countries, all of this has to be worked out, and the deadline for an agreement between Britain and the European Union has been set for March 29. If one is reached, it could mean a smoother transition⁶ for Britain in Europe if everyone knows what to expect.

But it has some sticking points. One of them is Northern Ireland. It's part of the United Kingdom and it would leave the E.U. with the rest of Britain while the Republic of Ireland would stay in the E.U. Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland are on the same island. Would a hard or controlled border need to be rebuilt between these two sides? There used to be one when there were decades of conflict between them.

A peace deal in 1998 called the Good Friday Agreement led to the open border that you're about to see.

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC⁷ EDITOR: This right here is the border between the North of Ireland on this side of the road and the South of Ireland on this side of the road. The road here is quite literally⁸ the border. There's no razor wire, there's no checkpoints, there's no customs post here. There is in total between North and South about 310 miles of border and it is crisscrossed by about 300 to 400 different roads.

But Brexit could bring a change to all of that because Theresa May, the British prime⁹ minister, has said that Brexit means leaving the European Union, leaving a single market, which throws open the question of what happens to this border?

Twenty years ago, this used to be an army base here. The border just along the road there, and it was one of many army bases that control the border.

A lot of those little lanes¹⁰ that we're looking at there, they were blown off, couldn't be used. That building over there, the army used to that for checking the vehicles, a sort of customs post if you like.

But now, since the Good Friday Peace Agreement that ended the violence, ended the need for the army, this road here, it's opened up again — in fact, to business, if you will. And there's a real economic benefit going on here. This town was beginning to thrive¹¹ again.

Today, border crossings like this one on the main highway have never been so busy. More than a million vehicles a month crossing over all these borders. One and a half billion dollars worth of trade between Britain and the Republic of Ireland.

No one wants to lose this economic benefit of an open border. The Irish government says that the border should not become hard. The British government, with this negotiation¹², is in a very difficult position right now. The European Union supports the Irish government, the borders, they want them open for trade.

1 partnership   

n.合作关系，伙伴关系

参考例句：

• The company has gone into partnership with Swiss Bank Corporation.这家公司已经和瑞士银行公司建立合作关系。
• Martin has taken him into general partnership in his company.马丁已让他成为公司的普通合伙人。

2 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。

3 complicated   

adj.错综复杂的，麻烦的，结构复杂的

参考例句：

• The poem is so complicated that I cannot make out its meaning.这首诗太复杂，我理解不了它的意思。
• This is the most complicated case I have ever handled.这是我所处理过的最为复杂的案子。

4 instance   

n.例，例证，实例

参考例句：

• Can you quote me a recent instance?你能给我举一个最近的例子吗？
• He's a greedy boy,yesterday,for instance,he ate all our biscuits!他是个贪吃的孩子――比如，他昨天把我们的饼干都吃了！

5 tariffs   

关税制度； 关税( tariff的名词复数 )； 关税表； （旅馆或饭店等的）收费表； 量刑标准

参考例句：

• British industry was sheltered from foreign competition by protective tariffs. 保护性关税使英国工业免受国际竞争影响。
• The new tariffs have put a stranglehold on trade. 新的关税制对开展贸易极为不利。

6 transition   

n.转变，变迁，过渡

参考例句：

• Adolescence is the period of transition between childhood and adulthood.青春期是童年与成年之间的过渡时期。
• They all support a peaceful transition.他们全部都支持和平过渡。

7 diplomatic   

adj.外交的，从事外交的，策略的，有手腕的

参考例句：

• There are certain forms that must be followed in diplomatic circles.在外交界有一些礼节是必须遵守的。
• You must be more diplomatic in handling the situation.你在处理这一情况时，必须圆滑。

8 literally   

adv.照字面意义，逐字地；确实

参考例句：

• He translated the passage literally.他逐字逐句地翻译这段文字。
• Sometimes she would not sit down till she was literally faint.有时候，她不走到真正要昏厥了，决不肯坐下来。

9 prime   

adj.首要的，主要的；最好的，第一流的

参考例句：

• The prime minister spoke of the general insecurity in the country.总理谈到了全国普遍存在的不安全。
• He met with the Prime Minister of Japan for an hour.他和日本首相会见了一个小时。

10 lanes   

n.小路( lane的名词复数 )；车道；航道；分道

参考例句：

• A headless rider haunts the country lanes. 一个无头骑士常出没于乡间的小路上。
• He made a kamikaze run across three lanes of traffic. 他不要命地冲过了三条车道。

11 thrive   

v.兴旺，繁荣，茁壮成长

参考例句：

• These animals thrive on the leaves of certain trees.这些动物靠吃某些树的叶子长壮。
• This flowering plant will thrive and bloom wherever you plant it.这种花随便你种在哪儿都能活。

12 negotiation   

n.谈判，协商

参考例句：

• They closed the deal in sugar after a week of negotiation.经过一星期的谈判，他们的食糖生意成交了。
• The negotiation dragged on until July.谈判一直拖到7月份。