2007年VOA标准英语-Assessing Tony Blair's 10 Years in Office

By Mandy Clark
London
30 April 2007
 

Prime Minister Tony Blair took office 10 years ago, and as leader of Britain's Labour Party fashioned a political marriage with America's top Democrat¹, U.S. President Bill Clinton. But when a less ideologically² compatible Republican assumed the American presidency³ in 2001, Mr. Blair did not spurn⁴ his special relationship with the White House. He found common ground on a number of issues, notably⁵ Iraq, with the more conservative George W. Bush. From London, Mandy Clark looks back at Tony Blair's decade in office.

Tony Blair (photo: November 2006

From election victory... to a Northern Ireland deal.

The Iraq war... and London bombings -- some of the iconic moments in Prime Minister Tony Blair's 10 years in office.

When he swept to power in 1997, the 43-year-old family man ditched the stuffy⁶ image of British reserve.

His style was 'call me Tony', and his new Labour Party -- dynamic, modern and efficient with a new approach on the economy, social issues and foreign policy.

But just months into office, came Tony Blair's first political crisis -- the death of Diana, Princess of Wales and the decidedly silent royal family. It was left to him to articulate the country's mood.

"We are today a nation, in Britain, in a state of shock, in mourning, in grief that is so deeply painful to us," he said at the time.

His first big success came in 1998 with the Good Friday Agreement --  bringing together the warring parties of Northern Ireland. "I think and I hope there is plenty of goodwill⁷ there,” he said, “provided we can agree on the principles and express them clearly."

It helped to create the conditions for peace that have since transformed the province.

But it was Kosovo's humanitarian⁸ crisis in 1999 that launched Mr. Blair as a powerful player on the world stage.

Comparing Slobodan Milosevic's attempt at ethnic⁹ cleansing¹⁰ to Nazism¹¹, he became a persuasive¹² voice, demanding the defeat of the Serbian leader.

The 2001 election was a mere¹³ formality as Mr. Blair won a second term in a landslide¹⁴. But the love affair with the electorate¹⁵ deteriorated¹⁶.

Kevin Maguire is associate political editor of the left-leaning Daily Mirror. He says that change was hard to avoid. "Ten years ago he talked about a new dawn over Britain and he could have walked on water, he could have done anything he wanted."

Prime Minister Blair and President Bush

It was September 11th, 2001 which, in the prime minister's own words, "changed everything."

"The full horror of what has happened in the United States earlier today is now becoming clearer. It is hard even to contemplate¹⁷ the utter carnage and terror which has engulfed¹⁸ so many innocent people.

Shoulder to shoulder with President Bush, Mr. Blair formed a coalition¹⁹ to confront al-Qaida in Afghanistan.  But his next move split both his party and the country. "Now is not the time to falter,” he said.

In 2003, there was strong public opposition²⁰ to the looming²¹ Iraq war. Although he won the grudging²² support of politicians, the public -- and the press -- were far from convinced.

He was vilified²³ as an American yes-man, and pop culture portrayed²⁴ him as Washington's pet poodle.  Mr. Blair's popularity deteriorated further as the war dragged on and weapons of mass destruction were never found.

George Jones is the political editor for the conservative Daily Telegraph. "Iraq will undoubtedly²⁵ be the moment he began to lose public support, public trust. If it had not been for Iraq, there is no doubt that Tony Blair would go down as one of the most successful prime ministers."

In 2005, he won his third term but his party took a pounding at the polls. Then in July came the terrorist attacks on London, amid claims that UK foreign policy had inspired the British bombers²⁶.

By 2006, talk of life after Tony -- once unthinkable -- became all-consuming. He told the public he was leaving, but he refused to set a date for his departure. A backstage power struggle ensued between him and his Chancellor²⁷ Gordon Brown.

"It is hard to let go. But it is also right to let go -- for the country and for you, the party,” said the prime minister.

Britons are divided on how he has served them. "He had a lot of good intentions but his major mistake was supporting the war," said one man in London. Another said, "I guess he has done the country proud, but time for someone new? Definitely."

How history ultimately will remember Tony Blair is anyone's guess, but for now his legacy²⁸ remains²⁹ shrouded³⁰ in the long shadows of the Iraq war.

1 democrat   

n.民主主义者，民主人士；民主党党员

参考例句：

• The Democrat and the Public criticized each other.民主党人和共和党人互相攻击。
• About two years later,he was defeated by Democrat Jimmy Carter.大约两年后，他被民主党人杰米卡特击败。

2 ideologically   

adv. 意识形态上地，思想上地

参考例句：

• Ideologically, they have many differences. 在思想意识上，他们之间有许多不同之处。
• He has slipped back ideologically. 他思想退步了。

3 presidency   

n.总统(校长，总经理)的职位(任期)

参考例句：

• Roosevelt was elected four times to the presidency of the United States.罗斯福连续当选四届美国总统。
• Two candidates are emerging as contestants for the presidency.两位候选人最终成为总统职位竞争者。

4 spurn   

v.拒绝，摈弃；n.轻视的拒绝；踢开

参考例句：

• They spurn all our offers of help.他们拒绝接受我们提出的一切援助。
• As an armyman,I spurn fearlessly at all danger and the enemy.作为一个军人，一切危险和敌人丝毫不在我的眼。

5 notably   

adv.值得注意地，显著地，尤其地，特别地

参考例句：

• Many students were absent,notably the monitor.许多学生缺席，特别是连班长也没来。
• A notably short,silver-haired man,he plays basketball with his staff several times a week.他个子明显较为矮小，一头银发，每周都会和他的员工一起打几次篮球。

6 stuffy   

adj.不透气的，闷热的

参考例句：

• It's really hot and stuffy in here.这里实在太热太闷了。
• It was so stuffy in the tent that we could sense the air was heavy with moisture.帐篷里很闷热，我们感到空气都是潮的。

7 goodwill   

n.善意，亲善，信誉，声誉

参考例句：

• His heart is full of goodwill to all men.他心里对所有人都充满着爱心。
• We paid ￡10,000 for the shop,and ￡2000 for its goodwill.我们用一万英镑买下了这家商店，两千英镑买下了它的信誉。

8 humanitarian   

n.人道主义者，博爱者，基督凡人论者

参考例句：

• She has many humanitarian interests and contributes a lot to them.她拥有很多慈善事业，并作了很大的贡献。
• The British government has now suspended humanitarian aid to the area.英国政府现已暂停对这一地区的人道主义援助。

9 ethnic   

adj.人种的，种族的，异教徒的

参考例句：

• This music would sound more ethnic if you played it in steel drums.如果你用钢鼓演奏，这首乐曲将更具民族特色。
• The plan is likely only to aggravate ethnic frictions.这一方案很有可能只会加剧种族冲突。

10 cleansing   

n. 净化(垃圾) adj. 清洁用的 动词cleanse的现在分词

参考例句：

• medicated cleansing pads for sensitive skin 敏感皮肤药物清洗棉
• Soap is not the only cleansing agent. 肥皂并不是唯一的清洁剂。

11 Nazism   

n. 纳粹主义

参考例句：

• His philosophical eyes were obviously shortsighted by the evil influence of Nazism. 显然，他那双哲学家般的深邃的眼睛也被纳粹的妖氛所眩惑。 来自中国文学部分
• Nazism suppressed all three movements as degenerate. 纳粹把所有三个运动都作为颓废艺术而加以镇压。

12 persuasive   

adj.有说服力的，能说得使人相信的

参考例句：

• His arguments in favour of a new school are very persuasive.他赞成办一座新学校的理由很有说服力。
• The evidence was not really persuasive enough.证据并不是太有说服力。

13 mere   

adj.纯粹的；仅仅，只不过

参考例句：

• That is a mere repetition of what you said before.那不过是重复了你以前讲的话。
• It's a mere waste of time waiting any longer.再等下去纯粹是浪费时间。

14 landslide   

n.(竞选中)压倒多数的选票；一面倒的胜利

参考例句：

• Our candidate is predicated to win by a landslide.我们的候选人被预言将以绝对优势取胜。
• An electoral landslide put the Labour Party into power in 1945.1945年工党以压倒多数的胜利当选执政。

15 electorate   

n.全体选民；选区

参考例句：

• The government was responsible to the electorate.政府对全体选民负责。
• He has the backing of almost a quarter of the electorate.他得到了几乎1/4选民的支持。

16 deteriorated   

恶化，变坏( deteriorate的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Her health deteriorated rapidly, and she died shortly afterwards. 她的健康状况急剧恶化，不久便去世了。
• His condition steadily deteriorated. 他的病情恶化，日甚一日。

17 contemplate   

vt.盘算，计议；周密考虑；注视，凝视

参考例句：

• The possibility of war is too horrifying to contemplate.战争的可能性太可怕了，真不堪细想。
• The consequences would be too ghastly to contemplate.后果不堪设想。

18 engulfed   

v.吞没，包住( engulf的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He was engulfed by a crowd of reporters. 他被一群记者团团围住。
• The little boat was engulfed by the waves. 小船被波浪吞没了。 来自《简明英汉词典》

19 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。

20 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。

21 looming   

n.上现蜃景（光通过低层大气发生异常折射形成的一种海市蜃楼）v.隐约出现，阴森地逼近( loom的现在分词 )；隐约出现，阴森地逼近

参考例句：

• The foothills were looming ahead through the haze. 丘陵地带透过薄雾朦胧地出现在眼前。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Then they looked up. Looming above them was Mount Proteome. 接着他们往上看，在其上隐约看到的是蛋白质组山。 来自英汉非文学 - 生命科学 - 回顾与展望

22 grudging   

adj.勉强的，吝啬的

参考例句：

• He felt a grudging respect for her talents as an organizer.他勉强地对她的组织才能表示尊重。
• After a pause he added"sir."in a dilatory,grudging way.停了一会他才慢吞吞地、勉勉强强地加了一声“先生”。

23 vilified   

v.中伤，诽谤( vilify的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He was vilified in newspapers. 他在报纸上受到了诽谤。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• She was vilified by the press for her controversial views. 因她持有异议，新闻界对她横加挞伐。 来自互联网

24 portrayed   

v.画像( portray的过去式和过去分词 )；描述；描绘；描画

参考例句：

• Throughout the trial, he portrayed himself as the victim. 在审讯过程中，他始终把自己说成是受害者。
• The author portrayed his father as a vicious drunkard. 作者把他父亲描绘成一个可恶的酒鬼。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

25 undoubtedly   

adv.确实地，无疑地

参考例句：

• It is undoubtedly she who has said that.这话明明是她说的。
• He is undoubtedly the pride of China.毫无疑问他是中国的骄傲。

26 bombers   

n.轰炸机( bomber的名词复数 )；投弹手；安非他明胶囊；大麻叶香烟

参考例句：

• Enemy bombers carried out a blitz on the city. 敌军轰炸机对这座城市进行了突袭。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The Royal Airforce sill remained dangerously short of bombers. 英国皇家空军仍未脱离极为缺乏轰炸机的危境。 来自《简明英汉词典》

27 chancellor   

n.(英)大臣；法官；(德、奥)总理；大学校长

参考例句：

• They submitted their reports to the Chancellor yesterday.他们昨天向财政大臣递交了报告。
• He was regarded as the most successful Chancellor of modern times.他被认为是现代最成功的财政大臣。

28 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。

29 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

30 shrouded   

v.隐瞒( shroud的过去式和过去分词 )；保密

参考例句：

• The hills were shrouded in mist . 这些小山被笼罩在薄雾之中。
• The towers were shrouded in mist. 城楼被蒙上薄雾。 来自《简明英汉词典》