Liz Truss is Britain’s shortest-serving prime minister

A chaotic six weeks ends in humiliating defeat.

cet6考试文章阅读练习。

short-serving prime minister 任职时间最短的首相
the longest-reigning monarch 在位时间最长的君主
end in defeat 以失败告终
humiliating <- humiliate adj. [耻辱的,丢脸的]

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Liz Truss is eligible for a taxpayer-funded allowance of $129,000 a year for life.
利兹 · 特拉斯有资格享受由英国纳税人出资的每年12.9万美元的终身津贴

The departing British leader would be the sixth prime minister to receive the reimbursement for her expenses after leaving office.
这位即将离任的英国首相将成为第六位卸任后收到津贴的首相

be eligible for sth/ be eligible to do sth [有资格做某事,符合…条件]
eligible [合适的,中意的]
took it for granted 认为这是理所当然的
state-funded [公立的]由国家出资的
daily expenses 日常开销
depart [离开][离职]
reimbursement <- reimburse n.[赔偿,赔付]
incurred by 由……产生
leave office 辞职

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Conservatives Scramble to Replace Liz Truss as U.K. Leader

保守党迫切开启党首角逐,接替利兹 · 特拉斯成为英国新首相

Ms. Truss announced her resignation after six weeks in office, as virtually all her signature tax cuts were being reversed, a stark repudiation of her leadership.

上任六周后,特拉斯宣布辞职,其标志性的减税政策几乎均被推翻,执政能力遭到严重否定。

scramble for sth / scramble to do sth 指「争抢某物,争先恐后做某事」
scramble 也作名词,指「争抢,争夺」。惯用搭配是the scramble for sth, the scramble to do sth。
resignation为名词,作不可数名词时,指「辞职」这个行为,作可数名词,指「辞职信」。
virtually 为副词,指「几乎,差不多」,这个词大家要学会使用,在写作里可以替换almost, nearly 等词。
signature 「签名」->「明显特征,鲜明特色」
tax cuts 指「减税」。
cut 作名词,指「削减,减少」。比如:job cuts 裁员 price cuts 减价。
stark 为形容词,这里指「完全的,十足的」( complete and total)。
repudiation 为repudiate的名词形式,指「否认,驳斥」。stark repudiation便表示「严重否定」

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①After less than two months in the job, Liz Truss resigned as Britain’s prime minister.

上任不到两个月,利兹 · 特拉斯辞去英国首相一职。

resign [rɪˈzaɪn] 指「辞职」,这个词儿比quit更加正式。resign as sth 指「辞去某职务」。
与我们前面讲过的depart as sth互为同义替换

  • resign oneself to sth 表示「屈从于某事,勉强接受某事」(to accept sth unpleasant that cannot be changed or avoided)
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②She made the announcement after an increasing number of her own Conservative Party MPs demanded that she step down following a series of chaotic political missteps, starting with the disastrous “mini-budget” of September 23rd. 
自9月23日推出灾难性的“迷你预算”以来,特拉斯政府在政策上屡犯失误,引发一系列混乱,保守党内部要求她下台的呼声越来越高,随后特拉斯宣布辞职。
  • She made the announcement after an increasing number of her own Conservative Party MPs demanded that she step down following a series of chaotic political missteps, starting with the disastrous “mini-budget” of September 23rd.

  • 细心的同学会发现,为什么这里主语是she,谓语动词step down却没有用第三人称单数呢?

  • 这是因为demand作「要求」讲时,后面跟的宾语从句需要用虚拟语气should do sth,should可以省略,因此这里作者就直接用了step down。
    misstep [mɪsˈstep] 为可数名词,指「错误,失策」(a mistake; a wrong action)。
    an increasing number of sth 指「越来越多的」,可以替换我们熟悉的more and more。
    MP是Member of Parliament的简称,指「议员」。
    step down 走下来,指「辞职,下台」。

  • 总结一下到目前为止我们学过的关于「辞职,卸任」的表达:

  • resign (as sth), resignation

  • depart (as sth), departure

  • leave office

  • step down

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③She will stay in office until the party chooses a new leader next week. ④Her successor will be Britain’s third prime minister of the year (so far).  ⑤Opposition parties demanded an immediate general election.
下周保守党将选出新任首相,在这期间她将继续任职。其继任者将是今年(到目前为止)第三任英国首相。反对党要求即刻举办大选。

stay in office 指「继续任职」。

successor 为名词,这里指「 接替者,继任者」,也可指「接替的事物」。反义词为predecessor。
succeed 为其动词形式,这个词除了指「成功」,还可指「接替,继任」。
succession 为不可数名词,指「继承,继任」。
考研英语2011年 Text 2里就考过这个词:
As boards scrutinize succession plans in response to shareholder pressure, executives who don’t get the nod also may wish to move on. 当董事会迫于股东的压力仔细审查继任计划时,那些没有得到认可的高管们可能也想离开。
opposition parties 指「在野党,反对党」。
opposition 单独使用时,指强烈的「反对,反抗」,为不可数名词,来自动词oppose。介词搭配为opposition to sb / sth。