欧洲－英国大选稳步前进

 

British Election Campaign Hits Stride

 

Campaigning is under way on the British Isles¹, as the ruling Labor² Party fights for a third term against its primary opponent, the Conservative Party. There are 646 seats to be chosen in the House of Commons. Labor, under Prime Minister Tony Blair, currently holds a 160-seat majority.

 

No one predicts that Labor will retain such a big advantage, but most opinion polls point toward a Labor victory on May 5.

 

Political scientists will watch to see how many seats Labor loses, and what impact it will have on Mr. Blair's power base. There is a dedicated³ group of 30 to 40 Labor lawmakers who have voted against Blair initiatives, ranging from college tuition fees to anti-terrorism laws, and they could upset the government's agenda, if the Labor majority is sharply reduced.

 

A political scientist at the London School of Economics, Patrick Dunleavy, says he has been discussing the matter with fellow experts.

 

Patrick Dunleavy: Some people suggest that, if the Labor majority falls below about 40, life would be not very easy for Tony Blair. I know very respected parliamentary colleagues who think a Labor majority of less than 40 would be unworkable.

 

Voters tell pollsters that domestic issues, such as health care, taxes and crime are their main concerns. But some Blair opponents also want to make an issue of the Iraq war, especially the controversy⁴ over government documents based on false intelligence that claimed Iraq had weapons of mass destruction.

 

A Conservative Party spokesman, George Osborne, says that, while his party also supported the war, it believes the way Mr. Blair handled it has undermined his credibility.

 

George Osborne: The trust people have in him has collapsed⁵. So, the Iraq war has had an impact on this election, but I think the impact is primarily on the trust people have in the prime minister.

 

The Labor Party wants to keep the focus of the campaign on the British economy, the strongest among major European countries.

 

Finance Minister Gordon Brown says the party's manifesto⁶ emphasizes the need for steady stewardship⁷.

 

Gordon Brown: Stability is the foundation of our economic success. We will never take any risks with the hard won economic stability of this country. Our commitment to investment in our priorities is based on detailed⁸ published plans and meeting all our fiscal⁹ rules.

 

Mr. Brown has assumed a major role in the Labor Party campaign, a tacit concession¹⁰ to the controversy surrounding Mr. Blair. Prime Minister Blair has already announced that, if Labor is re-elected, he will step down sometime during the next parliament, and Mr. Brown is widely seen as his most likely successor.

 

Michael Drudge¹¹, VOA news, London.

 

注释：

Conservative Party 保守党

initiative [i5niFiEtiv] n. 立法提案权

tuition fee 学费

agenda [E5dVendE] n. 议程

unworkable [5Qn5wE:kEbl] adj. 难运转，不能实行的

pollster [5pEulstE] n. 整理民意测验结果的人

credibility [7kredi5biliti] n. 可信性

manifesto [7mAni5festEu] n. 宣言，声明

fiscal [5fiskEl] adj. 财政的，国库的

tacit [5tAsit] adj. 默许的

1 isles   

岛( isle的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• the geology of the British Isles 不列颠群岛的地质
• The boat left for the isles. 小船驶向那些小岛。

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 dedicated   

adj.一心一意的；献身的；热诚的

参考例句：

• He dedicated his life to the cause of education.他献身于教育事业。
• His whole energies are dedicated to improve the design.他的全部精力都放在改进这项设计上了。

4 controversy   

n.争论，辩论，争吵

参考例句：

• That is a fact beyond controversy.那是一个无可争论的事实。
• We ran the risk of becoming the butt of every controversy.我们要冒使自己在所有的纷争中都成为众矢之的的风险。

5 collapsed   

adj.倒塌的

参考例句：

• Jack collapsed in agony on the floor. 杰克十分痛苦地瘫倒在地板上。
• The roof collapsed under the weight of snow. 房顶在雪的重压下突然坍塌下来。

6 manifesto   

n.宣言，声明

参考例句：

• I was involved in the preparation of Labour's manifesto.我参与了工党宣言的起草工作。
• His manifesto promised measures to protect them.他在宣言里保证要为他们采取保护措施。

7 stewardship   

n. n. 管理工作；管事人的职位及职责

参考例句：

• The organization certainly prospered under his stewardship. 不可否认，这个组织在他的管理下兴旺了起来。
• Last, but certainly not least, are the issues of stewardship and ethics. 最后，但当然不是微不足道的，是工作和道德规范的问题。

8 detailed   

adj.详细的，详尽的，极注意细节的，完全的

参考例句：

• He had made a detailed study of the terrain.他对地形作了缜密的研究。
• A detailed list of our publications is available on request.我们的出版物有一份详细的目录备索。

9 fiscal   

adj.财政的，会计的，国库的，国库岁入的

参考例句：

• The increase of taxation is an important fiscal policy.增税是一项重要的财政政策。
• The government has two basic strategies of fiscal policy available.政府有两个可行的财政政策基本战略。

10 concession   

n.让步，妥协；特许(权)

参考例句：

• We can not make heavy concession to the matter.我们在这个问题上不能过于让步。
• That is a great concession.这是很大的让步。

11 drudge   

n.劳碌的人；v.做苦工，操劳

参考例句：

• I feel like a real drudge--I've done nothing but clean all day!我觉得自己像个做苦工的--整天都在做清洁工作！
• I'm a poor,miserable,forlorn drudge;I shall only drag you down with me.我是一个贫穷，倒运，走投无路的苦力，只会拖累你。