万花筒 Kaleidoscope 2007-05-12&13, 布莱尔今宣布“让位”时间

A change at the top in Britain. After ten years, Prime Minister Tony Blair is stepping down. CBS News correspondent Sheila MacVicar is live in London with the latest, Sheila, good morning.

Good morning, Harry¹, well, it's a big day for Tony Blair and a big day for Britain. Tony Blair announcing just a few moments ago that he will stand down as Labor² Party leader, and thus the country's Prime Minister on the 27th of June, about 7 weeks from now. Today marks the beginning of what will be a long good-bye.

Today I announce my decision to stand down from the leadership of the Labor Party. The Party will now select a new leader. On the 27th of June, I will tender my resignation from the office of Prime Minister to the Queen.

Britain's Prime Minister traveled to his northern constituency this morning to make the long-awaited announcement. What a difference a decade makes! When Tony Blair became Prime Minister ten years ago, he was elected with a huge popular mandate³, (we are now today, the people's party.) What began with such promise is ending under the shadow of the deeply unpopular war in Iraq.

He was incredibly popular at first. He had a 93% approval rating. It is very different now, the feeling he's had his day. It's been long enough, and Iraq was a big, big misjudgment.

He ends his career as Prime Minister with 63% of voters thinking he was mediocre⁵ to disastrous⁶. In interviews, it is on Iraq that he takes a hammering.

Given the number of people who have died since the conflict, you never seem to be sorry about it.

Hang on a minute, of course I'm, I am devastated⁷ by the numbers of people who have died in Iraq.

It is now a fixture⁸ of parliamentary life that Blair marked the death of every British service person killed in Iraq or Afghanistan. What has added to the damage is a close relationship between Blair and President Bush.

He is a friend of mine. I trust his judgment⁴, and I appreciate his wisdom.

But at home, Blair has been labeled Bush's poodle, a too willing ally who led his country into Iraq.

It is Iraq that is really going to be his legacy⁹, you know the information, the intelligence, it was all gussied up, it was all tweaked. We were misled, frankly¹⁰.

Iraq threatens to overshadow everything else the Blair government accomplished¹¹. He helped make peace in Northern Ireland. He leaves behind a thriving economy.

This is the government of the living dead. This is a government that has run the strongest economy this country has seen in 10 years. Come a general election, it is policy that counts, and on policy we win and he loses.

Blair with his young family and high-flying lawyer wife brought new energy to Downing Street. Although he was allegedly not the queen's favorite prime minister of the 10 she has dealt with, he has been the second longest serving.

In the next seven weeks, the Labor Party will choose a new leader, very likely going to be Golden Brown who most handily lives right next door at No.11 and he will become Britain's next Prime Minister. Harry.

Sheila MacVicar, live in London this morning, thank you very much

1 harry   

vt.掠夺，蹂躏，使苦恼

参考例句：

• Today,people feel more hurried and harried.今天，人们感到更加忙碌和苦恼。
• Obama harried business by Healthcare Reform plan.奥巴马用医改掠夺了商界。

2 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。

3 mandate   

n.托管地；命令，指示

参考例句：

• The President had a clear mandate to end the war.总统得到明确的授权结束那场战争。
• The General Election gave him no such mandate.大选并未授予他这种权力。

4 judgment   

n.审判；判断力，识别力，看法，意见

参考例句：

• The chairman flatters himself on his judgment of people.主席自认为他审视人比别人高明。
• He's a man of excellent judgment.他眼力过人。

5 mediocre   

adj.平常的，普通的

参考例句：

• The student tried hard,but his work is mediocre. 该生学习刻苦，但学业平庸。
• Only lazybones and mediocre persons could hanker after the days of messing together.只有懒汉庸才才会留恋那大锅饭的年代。

6 disastrous   

adj.灾难性的，造成灾害的；极坏的，很糟的

参考例句：

• The heavy rainstorm caused a disastrous flood.暴雨成灾。
• Her investment had disastrous consequences.She lost everything she owned.她的投资结果很惨，血本无归。

7 devastated   

v.彻底破坏( devastate的过去式和过去分词)；摧毁；毁灭；在感情上（精神上、财务上等）压垮adj.毁坏的；极为震惊的

参考例句：

• The bomb devastated much of the old part of the city. 这颗炸弹炸毁了旧城的一大片地方。
• His family is absolutely devastated. 他的一家感到极为震惊。

8 fixture   

n.固定设备；预定日期；比赛时间；定期存款

参考例句：

• Lighting fixture must be installed at once.必须立即安装照明设备。
• The cordless kettle may now be a fixture in most kitchens.无绳电热水壶现在可能是多数厨房的固定设备。

9 legacy   

n.遗产，遗赠；先人(或过去)留下的东西

参考例句：

• They are the most precious cultural legacy our forefathers left.它们是我们祖先留下来的最宝贵的文化遗产。
• He thinks the legacy is a gift from the Gods.他认为这笔遗产是天赐之物。

10 frankly   

adv.坦白地，直率地；坦率地说

参考例句：

• To speak frankly, I don't like the idea at all.老实说，我一点也不赞成这个主意。
• Frankly speaking, I'm not opposed to reform.坦率地说，我不反对改革。

11 accomplished   

adj.有才艺的；有造诣的；达到了的

参考例句：

• Thanks to your help,we accomplished the task ahead of schedule.亏得你们帮忙,我们才提前完成了任务。
• Removal of excess heat is accomplished by means of a radiator.通过散热器完成多余热量的排出。