介绍:
The Brexit delusion
David Cameron will struggle to win a referendum on Britain’s EU membership. If he loses, the result will be messy at best and at worst disastrous
THE referendum on Britain’s membership of the European Union that David Cameron has called for June 23rd will be not only the most crucial event in this parliament but the most important in Europe in years. It will determine the prime minister’s future, for a start: it is hard to see him staying in office if he fails to win his campaign to remain in the EU. It may be decisive for the future of the United Kingdom, as Scottish Nationalists have said a Brexit would trigger another vote on Scottish independence. And the departure of one of the heavyweight members would have a huge impact on the future of the EU.
1 British exit or Britain exiting from the EU.The terms Brexit and Brixit first appeared in June 2012, the latter allegedly coined by a columnist in The Economist, and the former by nationalist organization The British Resistance.
2 delusion [dɪˈlu:ʒn] 错觉;谬见;误会; 妄想;幻想 3referendum 公民投票；全民公决 4 messy 混乱的;肮脏的;凌乱的 5disastrous 极糟糕的;灾难性的 6 crucial 至关重要的;关键性的 7 parliament 议会国会
8 for a start 首先 9 decisive 决定性的;关键的;明确的 10 Nationalist 国家主义者
The referendum was called after Mr Cameron completed his promised renegotiation of the terms of Britain’s membership at a marathon EU summit in Brussels that ended late on February 19th. In all four areas where he demanded change, he won concessions that could prove useful, even if they do little to swing the result of the referendum (see article).
1 marathon [ˈmærəθən] 马拉松式的活动（或工作） 2 Brussels ['brʌslz] 布鲁塞尔,比利时首都 3 concession 让步，迁就; （尤指由政府或雇主给予的）特许权; 租借地; 承认或允许;swing (意见、态度或感情的)改变;(尤指)突变，巨变
Yet it is hard to portray these relatively small reforms as the fundamental change in Britain’s relationship with Europe that Mr Cameron once promised. Nor did he secure the “full-on” treaty change he once said he needed. As a result, his deal suffered a predictable trashing in Britain’s Eurosceptic press and from many backbench Tory MPs. This was a blow to Mr Cameron. But the referendum will be decided not on the details of his deal but on the far bigger issue of whether voters believe that Britain is better off in or out of the EU.
1 portray [pɔ:ˈtreɪ] 描绘；描画；描写 2 full-on 具有一应特征的；完全的；彻底的；绝对的; 3 treaty（国家之间的）条约协定 4 trash 抨击；谴责 5 Eurosceptic [ˌjʊərəʊ'skeptɪk] 欧洲统一怀疑论者；反对英国亲近欧盟的人 6 backbench ['bækbentʃ] 后座议员席位
7 Tory MPs 保守党议员 Tory |ˈtɔ:ri| 英国保守党党员（或支持者）Member of Parliament 8 blow 打击；挫折
On this, a heavier blow for the prime minister came when six of his 29 senior ministers confirmed, after a special cabinet meeting on February 20th, that they would campaign to leave. Besides such usual suspects as Iain Duncan Smith, the work and pensions secretary, their number included Michael Gove, the justice secretary and a close friend of the prime minister. And on February 21st came the biggest setback to Mr Cameron, when Boris Johnson, the popular mayor of London and aspirant to the Tory leadership, announced that he too would campaign to leave (see article).
senior ministers 高级部长， cabinet meeting 内阁会议 work and pensions secretary 就业及养老金部部长 aspirant [əˈspaɪərənt] 有抱负的有雄心壮志的 justice secretary 司法大臣，律政部部长 setback 挫折;障碍 Tory 保守党 卡梅伦保守党
Even before these leading Tories had come out, opinion polls suggested the outcome of the referendum would be close. Since Mr Cameron first promised an in/out referendum in a speech at the London office of the Bloomberg news agency in January 2013, there has usually been a clear lead for staying in (see chart 1). As worries have grown over Europe’s economic woes and its migration crisis, the gap has narrowed. The adverse reception of Mr Cameron’s Brussels deal and the decision of Mr Johnson to throw his weight behind the leave campaign may shift opinion further.
Bloomberg news agency 彭博通讯社 woe麻烦;问题;困难 不利的；adverse 有害的；反面的 reception （正式的）招待，接待，欢迎
Belatedly business and the financial markets have woken up to the rising danger of Brexit. This week sterling slid to its lowest level against the dollar in eight years. Bosses of many of the biggest companies in Britain have come out strongly in favour of remaining in. Yet the chances that Brexit may happen look greater than at any time in the past five years. And that makes it worth dwelling on what Brexit would entail—and how it measures up to the promises of would-be leavers.
belated |bɪˈleɪtɪd| 迟来的；延误的；姗姗来迟的 silde (货币)贬值;(物价)下跌 dwell on 细看；凝视 dwell 居住；栖身 entail 使…必然发生;势必造成；使…成为必需. measures up 达到预期的要求；符合标准
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