VOA常速英语2019--鲍里斯在脱欧事宜上接连遭遇重创

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson suffered yet another blow Thursday when his brother announced his resignation as a junior minister and a member of Parliament.

This comes after another setback¹ for the prime minister - the House of Commons voted in favor of a measure forcing the government to ask the EU to delay Brexit another three months if there is no exit deal by the October 31st deadline.

英国首相鲍里斯·约翰逊周四遭遇了又一重创，因为他的兄弟宣布自己将辞去作为大臣和议员的职位.

在此之前，鲍里斯遭遇的另一重创是——下议院投票支持一项举措，该举措迫使英国政府要向欧盟再申请3个月的延期，除非能在10月31日的截止日期之前达成脱欧协议。

The measure now goes to Parliament's upper chamber², the House of Lords, where we'll see a vote tomorrow.

该提案已移交英国上议院审批，明天将得知投票结果。

Meanwhile, the news has set the British pound back up after an early week low.

与此同时，在本周初英镑跌至最低后，今天又有了一些起色。

AP correspondent Charles De Ledesma has more.

下面请听美联社记者查尔斯发回的详细报道。

Britain's currency took a hammering early this week, falling below $1.20 to the pound - its lowest since 1985 excluding a brief two-minute crash in 2016. Investors³ were concerned that Prime Minister Boris Johnson will be able to suspend parliament and bring the country out of the EU, with or without a deal. A no-deal exit is widely considered a worst-case scenario⁴ for businesses.

英镑本周初大跌至1.2美元以下——这是自1985年以来的史上最低。除此之外，2016年，英镑还经历过短暂2分钟的大跌。投资者担心，首相鲍里斯是否有能力让议会休假并带英国脱欧（不管是有协议脱欧也好，无协议脱欧也罢）。外界普遍认为，无协议脱欧对商界来说是最差的情况。

But the pound has rallied as British lawmakers this week wrested⁵ control over the Brexit timetable away from Johnson. A bill blocking a no-deal Brexit is on course to pass into law before Parliament is suspended next week.

虽然英镑有起色，但本周英国议员们还是从鲍里斯手中抢走了对脱欧时间表的控制权。阻止无协议脱欧的法案即将成为法律，而在那之后，英国议会才会在下周开始休假。

1 setback   

n.退步，挫折，挫败

参考例句：

• Since that time there has never been any setback in his career.从那时起他在事业上一直没有遇到周折。
• She views every minor setback as a disaster.她把每个较小的挫折都看成重大灾难。

2 chamber   

n.房间，寝室；会议厅；议院；会所

参考例句：

• For many,the dentist's surgery remains a torture chamber.对许多人来说，牙医的治疗室一直是间受刑室。
• The chamber was ablaze with light.会议厅里灯火辉煌。

3 investors   

n.投资者，出资者( investor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• a con man who bilked investors out of millions of dollars 诈取投资者几百万元的骗子
• a cash bonanza for investors 投资者的赚钱机会

4 scenario   

n.剧本，脚本；概要

参考例句：

• But the birth scenario is not completely accurate.然而分娩脚本并非完全准确的。
• This is a totally different scenario.这是完全不同的剧本。

5 wrested   

（用力）拧( wrest的过去式和过去分词 )； 费力取得； （从…）攫取； （ 从… ） 强行取去…

参考例句：

• The usurper wrested the power from the king. 篡位者从国王手里夺取了权力。
• But now it was all wrested from him. 可是现在，他却被剥夺了这一切。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹