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自7月末鲍里斯·约翰逊接任英国首相以来，无论是政坛还是民间都争议不断。英国民众似乎并不太喜欢他们的新领袖，甚至有媒体撰稿称鲍里斯“从第一天开始就是倒计时”。最近，又有谣言称鲍里斯·约翰逊或将遭到英国女王的解雇。这究竟是怎么一回事？女王真的会罢黜政府首脑吗？一起来听Mat老师的讲解。
本篇课程首发于2019年8月26日
文本难度：
话题难度：
Queen Could Give Boris His Marching Orders
① Rumours are growing that Boris Johnson is likely to face an attempt to oust him from office when parliament reconvenes in September, after the summer recess. A plot is brewing to drag the Queen into the Brexit crisis, by demanding that she sack Boris Johnson if he refuses to step down should he lose a confidence vote in Parliament.
② Theoretically, the Queen could fire Boris Johnson if he loses this vote, but it's unlikely she would. Her Majesty would seek counsel from her so-called "Golden Triangle", three of Britain’s most senior civil servants: the Queen's Private Secretary, the Cabinet Secretary and the Principal Private Secretary to The Prime Minister.
③ There hasn’t been a royal intervention in British politics since 1834, when King William IV dismissed the government and appointed his own prime minister, ignoring the standard political process.
④ The problem with the current state of affairs is that whatever the Queen does it looks political. Not firing Boris and firing Boris could both be interpreted as a royal intervention.
⑤ A more likely scenario is that if Boris loses the vote and refuses to step down, those close to him, and the Golden Triangle will persuade him to go, so he doesn't embarrass the Queen.
1.give sb. their marching orders : if you give someone their marching orders, you ask that person to leave a job or a position, because they have done something wrong or they have performed badly
She was called into the boss's office and given her marching orders (She was fired).
她被叫进老板的办公室，被老板开除了。
She was totally unreliable, so she was given her marching orders (She was fired).
她完全不靠谱，所以她被开除了。
The coach knows that if his team loses another match, he will be given his marching orders (He will be fired).
教练知道，如果他的队伍再输一场比赛，他就要被开除了。
2.oust /aʊst/ vt. if you oust someone, you force them to quit their job or position
3.reconvene /ˌriːkənˈviːn/ vi. when a group of people come back to do something together; if a meeting, parliament, etc. reconvenes or if sb. reconvenes it, it meets again after a break
Negotiations will reconvene soon.
谈判将很快重启。
The meeting will reconvene at four o'clock.
会议将在四点重新召开。
The finance committee decided to reconvene later in the afternoon.
金融委员会决定下午晚些时候再开会。
4.the summer recess: when parliament takes a holiday, the holiday can last for 6 weeks
5.brew a plot: if you brew a plot, you make a secret plan to do sth.
Students are brewing a plot to give the teacher a birthday surprise.
学生们正秘密计划给老师一个生日惊喜。
6.sack /sæk/ vt. to dismiss sb. from a job
7.seek counsel from: if you seek counsel from someone you ask for advice, usually a person in a very important or powerful position
