【视频讲解】

British Prime Minister Theresa May made a surprise announcement today calling for early elections in the U.K. this June. She said it was a necessary move as the country heads into negotiations around Brexit, Britain's exit from the European Union. Here she is outside No. 10 Downing St.


THERESA MAY: At this moment of enormous national significance, there should be unity here in Westminster, but instead there is division. The country is coming together, but Westminster is not.
今天，英国首相特蕾莎•梅突然宣布英国将在今年6月提前举行大选。她表示，英国将同欧盟展开脱欧谈判，即英国退出欧盟的谈判，提前举行大选是一项必要举措。以下是她在唐宁街10号首相官邸前发表的讲话。
在这个对国家来说意义重大的时刻，英国议会本应团结一致，可是如今却产生了分裂。国家正在走向团结，但议会却不是。

call for 需要
- The problem calls for action.
Brexit n.英国退欧
No.10 Downing ST. 唐宁街10号英国首相府
enormous adj.巨大的
- massive, grand, tremendous, immense
significance n.重要性
Westminster 英国政治中心
division n.分裂
- divide v.分裂，分离

Westminster, meaning Parliament. For more on May's announcement and how Parliament might respond, we're joined now by George Parker, political editor of the Financial Times. Welcome back to the program.
National elections in the U.K. were not expected to take place until the year 2020. Theresa May has herself said multiple times she wouldn't call elections before then. What changed her mind?

威斯敏斯特指的是英国议会。现在我们连线《金融时报》政治编辑乔治•帕克，了解梅的声明以及英国议会的反应。欢迎再次做客节目。
英国大选原定在2020年举行。特蕾莎•梅曾多次表示她不会要求提前举行大选。她为什么会改变主意？
Parliament n.议会
change someone’s mind 改变想法

Well, it all comes down to Brexit, I think. And I think she'd come to the conclusion sort of reluctantly I think over a number of months that really she needed to take back control of Brexit, coupled with which of course there was the tempting matter of the opinion polls which suggest if she does have an early election, that she'd crush the Labour opposition. So I think in the end, it just proved too much of an opportunity to resist.
我认为一切都是为了英国脱欧。这几个月以来她不情愿地得出结论，她要夺回英国脱欧的控制权，当然民调的结果极具诱惑性，民调显示，如果她提前举行大选，那她会大胜反对党工党。我认为，这一切都证明了她不愿错过这一机会。

sort of (口语）有点儿
reluctantly adv.不情愿地
- reluctant adj.不情愿的
be coupled with 联合
tempting adj.诱惑的
- temptation n.诱惑
opinion poll 民意调查
crush v.粉碎

Now it used to be that the prime minister could call an early election, a snap election, one very quickly. But thanks to a fairly new law, she needs to get approval from the House of Commons. Does she have the votes she needs for this general election to go forward?
以前英国首相可以要求提前举行大选，可以非常迅速地提前举行大选。但是由于一项新法律，她需要在英国下议院得到足够的支持票才能提前举行大选。她那得到推动提前大选的足够票数了吗？

snap v. 突然快速做某事
- snap a picture
fairly adv.非常地
House of Commons 下议院
general election 普选

Well, we'll find out on Wednesday when Parliament votes on whether there should be early election. And the answer to the question appears to be yes, that the opposition parties will vote for that early election.
我们得知，英国议会周三就是否应该提前举行大选进行了投票表决。投票结果是支持提前大选，各反对党将参加提前大选的投票。

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