刚刚，英国首相特雷莎·梅宣布将辞职 强忍泪水转身离去

刚刚，英国首相特雷莎·梅发表讲话，宣布将于6月7日辞去保守党领导人一职，但将留任首相直至保守党新领导人产生。

Theresa May to resign as prime minister

Here's the full text of May's emotional address.

- ▣ -

Ever since I first stepped through the door behind me as Prime Minister, I have striven to make the United Kingdom a country that works not just for a privileged few, but for everyone. And to honor the result of the EU referendum.

Back in 2016, we gave the British people a choice. Against all predictions, the British people voted to leave the European Union. I feel as certain today as I did three years ago that in a democracy, if you give people a choice you have a duty to implement what they decide. I have done my best to do that.

I negotiated the terms of our exit and a new relationship with our closest neighbors that protects jobs, our security and our Union. I have done everything I can to convince MPs to back that deal. Sadly, I have not been able to do so. I tried three times.

referendum

referendum /ˌrɛfəˈrɛndəm/表示“公民投票；全民公决”，英文解释为“If a country holds a referendum on a particular policy, they ask the people to vote on the policy and show whether or not they agree with it.”

MP

国会议员，Member of Parliament的缩写。

A member of parliament (MP) is the representative of the voters to a parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this category includes specifically members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title. Member of Congress is an equivalent term in other jurisdictions.

- ▣ -

I believe it was right to persevere, even when the odds against success seemed high. But it is now clear to me that it is in the best interests of the country for a new Prime Minister to lead that effort.

So I am today announcing that I will resign as leader of the Conservative and Unionist Party on Friday 7 June so that a successor can be chosen.

I have agreed with the Party Chairman and with the Chairman of the 1922 Committee that the process for electing a new leader should begin in the following week.

I have kept Her Majesty the Queen fully informed of my intentions, and I will continue to serve as her Prime Minister until the process has concluded.

persevere

表示“锲而不舍，坚持不懈”，英文解释为“to continue trying to do something in a very determined way in spite of difficulties – use this to show approval”举个🌰：

He persevered in learning English.

他孜孜不倦地学英语。

the odds

注意，此处是the odds against success.

1) 表示“（事物发生的）可能性，概率，几率，机会”，英文解释为“the degree to which sth is likely to happen”举个🌰：

The odds are very much in our favour (= we are likely to succeed).

我方胜算的几率极大。

2) 表示“不利条件；掣肘的事情；逆境”，英文解释为“something that makes it seem impossible to do or achieve sth”举个🌰：

They secured a victory in the face of overwhelming odds.

尽管情况非常不利，他们仍得到了胜利。

- ▣ -

It is, and will always remain, a matter of deep regret to me that I have not been able to deliver Brexit. It will be for my successor to seek a way forward that honors the result of the referendum.

To succeed, he or she will have to find consensus in Parliament where I have not. Such a consensus can only be reached if those on all sides of the debate are willing to compromise.

For many years the great humanitarian Sir Nicholas Winton – who saved the lives of hundreds of children by arranging their evacuation from Nazi-occupied Czechoslovakia through the Kindertransport – was my constituent in Maidenhead.

At another time of political controversy, a few years before his death, he took me to one side at a local event and gave me a piece of advice. He said, ‘Never forget that compromise is not a dirty word. Life depends on compromise.’ He was right.

As we strive to find the compromises we need in our politics – whether to deliver Brexit, or to restore devolved government in Northern Ireland – we must remember what brought us here.

Because the referendum was not just a call to leave the EU but for profound change in our country. A call to make the United Kingdom a country that truly works for everyone. I am proud of the progress we have made over the last three years.

相关背景

· 儿童撤离行动（德语：Kindertransport）是一个为了拯救犹太儿童而进行的救援工作。在第二次世界大战爆发的九个月之前，将近一万名犹太儿童被安置在英国的寄养家庭、旅馆、学校和农场。他们大多来自德国、奥地利、捷克斯洛伐克（Czechoslovakia）、波兰和但泽自由市，绝大多数的孩童是他们家族中唯一的幸存者。The Kindertransport (German for "children's transport") was an organised rescue effort that took place during the nine months prior to the outbreak of the Second World War. The United Kingdom took in nearly 10,000 predominantly Jewish children from Germany, Austria, Czechoslovakia, Poland, and the Free City of Danzig. The children were placed in British foster homes, hostels, schools and farms. Often they were the only members of their families who survived the Holocaust.

· 梅登黑德（Maidenhead）是一个位于英国伯克郡的镇和非教区地，处在泰晤士河南岸。 Maidenhead is a large market town in Berkshire, England, on the south-western bank of the River Thames.

· 1997年，特蕾莎·梅当选英国梅登黑德（Maidenhead）选区下议院议员。

constituent

表示“选民”，英文解释为“A constituent is someone who lives in a particular constituency, especially someone who is able to vote in an election.”举个🌰：

He told his constituents that he would continue to represent them to the best of his ability.

他告诉他的选民们他会继续竭尽所能代表他们。

devolved

表示“已移交的；下放的；委任的”，英文解释为“if power or authority is devolved , it has been passed to sb who has less power”，如：devolved responsibility 已移交的责任；a system of devolved government 治理权力下放制。

- ▣ -

We have completed the work that David Cameron and George Osborne started: the deficit is almost eliminated, our national debt is falling and we are bringing an end to austerity.

My focus has been on ensuring that the good jobs of the future will be created in communities across the whole country, not just in London and the South East, through our Modern Industrial Strategy.

We have helped more people than ever enjoy the security of a job.

We are building more homes and helping first-time buyers onto the housing ladder - so young people can enjoy the opportunities their parents did.

And we are protecting the environment, eliminating plastic waste, tackling climate change and improving air quality.

austerity

表示“（经济的）紧缩；严格节制消费”，英文解释为“a situation when people do not have much money to spend because there are bad economic conditions”举个🌰：

War was followed by many years of austerity.

紧随战争的是多年的经济紧缩。

- ▣ -

This is what a decent, moderate and patriotic Conservative Government, on the common ground of British politics, can achieve - even as we tackle the biggest peacetime challenge any government has faced.

I know that the Conservative Party can renew itself in the years ahead. That we can deliver Brexit and serve the British people with policies inspired by our values. Security; freedom; opportunity. Those values have guided me throughout my career.

But the unique privilege of this office is to use this platform to give a voice to the voiceless, to fight the burning injustices that still scar our society.

That is why I put proper funding for mental health at the heart of our NHS long-term plan.

It is why I am ending the postcode lottery for survivors of domestic abuse. It is why the Race Disparity Audit and gender pay reporting are shining a light on inequality, so it has nowhere to hide.

And that is why I set up the independent public inquiry into the tragedy at Grenfell Tower – to search for the truth, so nothing like it can ever happen again, and so the people who lost their lives that night are never forgotten.

scar

1) 作名词，表示“伤疤；伤痕；瘢痕”，英文解释为“a mark that is left on the skin after a wound has healed”，如：a scar on his cheek 脸上的伤疤；

2) 作动词，表示“在…上结疤；给…留下瘢痕”，英文解释为“to leave a mark on the skin after it has healed”；也可以指“给…留下精神创伤”（to leave sb with a feeling of sadness or mental pain）举个🌰：

The experience left her scarred for life.

那段经历给她留下终生的创伤。

postcode lottery

表示“ 邮编幸运医疗，（医疗）服务的地域差异（指不同地区的医疗服务或地方政府等提供的物品或服务有所不同；含贬义）”，英文解释为“a situation in which different things or services are provided by the health service, local government etc in different parts of the country – used to show disapproval”举个🌰：

Some sufferers are denied treatment because of the postcode lottery.

一些患者由于地域差异的原因而被拒绝治疗。

- ▣ -

Because this country is a Union. Not just a family of four nations. But a union of people – all of us.

Whatever our background, the color of our skin, or who we love. We stand together. And together we have a great future.

Our politics may be under strain, but there is so much that is good about this country. So much to be proud of. So much to be optimistic about.

I will shortly leave the job that it has been the honor of my life to hold – the second female Prime Minister but certainly not the last.

I do so with no ill will, but with enormous and enduring gratitude to have had the opportunity to serve the country I love.

ill will

表示“敌意；恶意；憎恨”，英文解释为“bad feelings between people because of things that happened in the past”；

补充短语：bear sb ill will

表示“对（某人）怀有敌意；生（某人）的气”，英文解释为“to be angry with someone because of something they have done”，举个🌰：

I bear him no ill will. 我对他没有敌意。

- END -

「才思汇：持续行动第五年，LR是怎么做到的？」

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