In the issue of 20181117, the Economist dedicated two articles to outline the predicament of Brexit agenda. One article titled Into the endgame was featured in the Leaders, the other called Exit Music was included in the Britain section. According to the latest news, EU has passed the deal and emphasized that this was the best deal possible. Will Westminster buy it and make a responsible decision for the country next month?

1.After what had seemed an endless period of delay and crunches evaded, this week Theresa May at last presented a draft Brexit deal agreed by negotiators in Brussels. The prime minister steered it through a lengthy cabinet meeting on November 14th. Yet the following morning her own Brexit secretary, Dominic Raab, quit in protest. Others followed. As Conservative MPs condemned the deal, talk of a leadership challenge to the prime minister grew.
大意：在经历了无休止的延迟和畏缩后，本周特蕾莎·梅最后提出了谈判代表商定的英国脱欧协议草案。 11月14日，首相召开内阁会议希望获取支持。 然而第二天早上，她自己的脱欧大臣Dominic Raab辞职以示抗议。 其他人紧随。 由于保守党议员谴责这项协议，关于对总理的领导挑战的言论越来越多。

精读：
1)an endless period of delay 无休止的延迟
2)steer it through 用得很形象，我可能会用held, or called 但不足以表达完整的意思。格林斯双解对steer给出的释义: VERB 动词引导，指导(某人采取某种行动或态度) If you steer people towards a particular course of action or attitude, you try to lead them gently in that direction.
同义词：steer = direct, conduct, control, guide, handle, pilot
造句：Your proposal is so obsolete that there is no way for you to steer it through the meeting.

3)in protest 以示抗议，注意protest的发音，这里做名词。动词读作 /prə'test/，名词读作 /'prəʊtest/
做动词使用：protest 可以后接：
about, over：Many people ~ed over the tax increase.
against：They were ~ing against the proposed agreement.
at: Many people have ~ed at the cuts in state benefits.
to: We have ~ed to the government.

4)talk of …. grow
造句：As you become a parent, talk of parenting skills grow exponentially.

2.Many more dangers lie ahead. The deal requires the consent of all 27 EU countries, with a special summit of leaders booked for November 25th. The European Parliament must approve it. Hardest of all, the agreement must pass the Westminster Parliament. With Leaver and Remainer mps from all parties falling over each other to denounce the deal even before it was published, that hurdle looks very high.
大意：未来还有更多的危险。该协议需要征得所有27个欧盟国家的同意，并于11月25日举行特殊领导人峰会。欧洲议会必须批准它。最难的是，协议必须通过威斯敏斯特议会。随着各方的脱欧和留欧议员争先恐后地谴责这项草案，要想获得通过实在很难。（这个障碍看起来非常高）。

精读：
1)lie ahead if something lies ahead, it is going to happen to you in the future
造句：A grand future lies ahead of you.
这句比You will have a better future好多了。

2)Hardest of all 最艰难的地方，你会怎么说？The most difficult part, the most challenging task? How about hardest of all?

3)falling over each other 争先恐后
造句：
On Boxing Day, customers are falling over each other to grab the things they like to buy. It is usually a horrific scene in the department store.

4)denounce 谴责
同义词： condemn, accuse, attack, censure, denunciate
Denounce is used with these nouns as the object: massacre, slavery, violence
介词可以跟：
for： The government was bitterly ~d for the emergency measures. | to： Someone must have ~d them to the authorities.
造句：The

5)that hurdle looks very high 精彩之笔，在此引申为困难重重，极具挑战。建议直接背诵。
It's very difficult/challenging等类似的表达实在苍白无力。

3.Moreover, establishing a link between the two documents, on the basis that nothing is agreed until everything is agreed, will be difficult. That is a problem for those who believed payment of the exit bill would create useful bargaining leverage for a future trade agreement.
大意：
此外，在达成一致意见之前无法达成任何协议的前提下，在两项文件之间建立联系将很困难。对于那些认为脱欧账单的支付会为未来贸易协议创造有利的讨价还价空间的人来说，这是一个问题。

精读：
create useful bargaining leverage
leverage 是一个特别好用又高级的词，以前经常用，查了字典才发现其真正的含义（为自己之前的模糊学习感到十分尴尬和遗憾！！！）

柯林斯双解：N-UNCOUNT不可数名词（能够操控形势的）影响力，手段，优势 Leverage is the ability to influence situations or people so that you can control what happens.
例句：His function as a Mayor affords him the leverage to get things done through attending committee meetings.
他的市长身份使他有能力通过出席委员会会议来达成一些事情。
造句：His impeccable performance （无懈可击的表现）in the board meeting will give him leverage to steer through more future deals.

4.But Mrs May rejected the EU’s interpretation of the agreement, which was to keep Northern Ireland in a customs union and in regulatory alignment with its single market. The backstop in the withdrawal agreement is to keep the whole United Kingdom in a customs union with the EU until an alternative is found.
大意：
但是，梅首相拒绝了欧盟对该协议的解释，该协议旨在使北爱尔兰成为关税同盟，并与其单一市场保持一致。撤回协议中的backstop是让整个英国留在关税同盟，直到找到替代方案。

精读：
两个名词解释：customs union和single market

customs union 关税同盟：A customs union is a type of free-trade area. Two or more countries agree to abolish restrictions on mutual trade, and to set up a common system of tariffs and import quotas that apply to non-members. In the jargon, they have a “common external tariff” (CET).（参考经济学人的文章）

single market 单一市场：It is sometimes called the “internal market” and was once called the “common market”. This is another type of enhanced free-trade area, though for a different reason. Not only do goods move freely, but so do services, investment and people. To achieve this much more ambitious goal, the EU needs to get involved in harmonising regulations across the single market. （参考经济学人的文章）

简单说，英国脱欧之后将不会留在关税同盟，因为脱欧的主要目的之一是希望与他国建立贸易关系。英国也将离开单一市场，后续以何种形式与欧盟互动，我也不太清楚。

in alignment with 与。。。一致，很好用的表达
造句：
a. You'll count yourself lucky if your job is in alignment with your interest.
b. The values of government officials and party members are expected to be in alignment with the values of the Party and the country.

alternative 读到它，有没有很激动？无需多言，参考复习每日一词。

造句：Staying in the office and reading the Economist is such an enjoyable alternative to going out with friends.

今天就到这儿吧，引用经济学人关于脱欧最新文章里的一句话作为结束：Time to crack open the champagne, or at least the sparkling English white wine? Not quite. 再来一句：The whips are employing all their dark arts, dishing out favours and threats to undecided MPs. One unsure Brexiteer, John Hayes, has just been knighted. He may not be the last of the “Brexit knights”.

“Brexit knights” 简直让人笑翻，英国人的幽默真是无处不在，自嘲到登峰造极的地步。

感谢阅读，一起赏经济学人，学好的英文，学好英文。