【口译培训】在听录音前，请先查找下列词汇、短语，并了解其各种可能的用法和意义：
1.constituency
2.political journey
3.stand down from the
4.leadership of
5.tender the resignation
6.conquer the pull of power
7.open-minded about
8.averse to
9.acknowledge the need for
10.sweeping away of all the
11.detritus of the past
12.the hospital waiting list
13.in our innermost thoughts
14.fall short
以下是英国首相布莱尔(Tony Blair)在2007年的辞职演说节选，请听录音。
A part of Tony Blair's resignation speech
I have come back here to Sedgefield，to my constituency, where my political journey began and where it is fitting that it should end.
Today I announce my decision to stand down from the leadership of the Labour Party. The party will now select a new leader. On 27 June I will tender my resignation from the office of Prime Minister to the Queen.
I have been Prime Minister of this country for just over 10 years. In this job in the world of today I think that’s long enough，for me and more especially for the country. And sometimes the only way you can conquer the pull of power is to set it down.
People today are open-minded about race and sexuality, they are averse to prejudice，yet deeply，rightly，conservative with a small ‘c’ about good manners， respect for others，treating people courteously. They acknowledge the need for the state and the responsibility of the individual. And they know spending money on our public services matters, and they know it is not enough. How they are run and organized matters too.
So 1997 was a moment for a new beginning. The sweeping away of all the detritus of the past. And expectations were so high. Too high, probably. Too high in a way for either of us. And now in 2007 you can easily point to the challenges, or the things that were wrong, or the grievances that fester. But go back to 1997. Think back. No, really think back. Think about your own living standards, then, in 1997, and now. Visit your local school, any of them round here, or anywhere in modern Britain. Ask when you last had to wait more than a year on a hospital waiting list, or heard of pensioners freezing to death in the winter unable to heat their homes.
Actually, I have been very lucky and very blessed.
And this country is a blessed nation. The British are special. The world knows it. In our innermost thoughts we know it.
I his is the greatest nation on earth. So it has been an honour to serve it. I give my thanks to you, the British people, for the times that I have succeeded, and my apologies to you for the times I have fallen short. But good luck.
【口译培训】录音下载地址：http://pan.baidu.com/s/1hqoY4cs
【口译培训】重点词汇：
1.constituency: 指某位竞选人被选为议会代表的选区，也可指该选区的全体 选民。
2.stand down: 指政治语言中的“从某个岗位上下台、辞职”，同义词为resign from.
3.the Labour Party: 工党，英国的主要政党之一。该党派创立于20世纪初，自20 世纪20年代以来就是英格兰、苏格兰和威尔士的主要左翼政党。现任工党领 袖是戈登?布朗(Gordon Brown)。
4.the pull of power: 此处的pull指的是权力对人的诱惑和吸引，是引申意义。
5.averse: 指“对……表现出强烈的反感、厌恶”，常用搭配是be averse to something。
6.detritus: 原意是岩石因风化形成的碎屑，这里指过去发生的事对现在所造成的 影响。
7.pensioner: pension的种类很多，有退休金、伤残补助金、抚恤金等等。这里的 pensioner，我们可以笼统地译作“靠补助生活的人”。
【口译培训】参考译文：
我回到了塞奇菲尔徳，我的选区，我政治生涯的开端所在。因此，它也应该是见证我政治生涯结束的地方。
今天，我决定辞去工党主席职务。工党将会选出新的领导者。在6月27日， 我将向女王陛下提交辞呈,辞去英国首相职务。
我担任首相职务刚好十年多一点，就当今世界而言，这个任期对于我、特别是对于整个国家都已经够长了。有时候，征服权力诱惑的唯一途径就是放弃它。
今天的人们对于种族和性别更加开明，也反对偏见，尽管还有些许根深蒂固， 但也应该有点守旧。他们相互尊重，举止得体，礼貌待人。他们意识到了国家的需要和个人的责任，知道有必要将金钱投入到公共服务中，而且还远远不够。他们知 道，如何经营和组织公共服务也同样重要。
因此，1997年成了一个崭新的开始，它把过去的碎片一扫而空。民众的期待空前高涨，甚至过于高涨。从某种意义上说，你们和我本人的期望也太高了。到了2007年，你们可以轻易地指出各种困难、错误和民众的不满。然而回头认真想想， 认真对比一下1997年和现在的生活水平，到当地学校或者现代英国的任何地方走访一下，有什么变化?问问自己，上一次需要排队一年才轮到医疗机会是什么时 候?上一次听说靠补助生活的人因无力供暖而冻死是什么时候?
事实上，我已经非常幸运，非常受上天的眷顾了。
这个国家也受到了上天的眷顾。她是独一无二的，世所共知。
她是世界上最伟大的国家。能为英国服务是我的无上荣耀。我要感谢你们， 英国人民!我的成功离不开你们。同时希望大家原谅我的不足之处!祝大家 好运!
【口译培训】文章点评：
此文节选自英国前首相托尼?布莱尔(Tony Blair)于2007年发表的辞职演说。通过这篇演说，我们可以感受到英式英语和美式英语的差别。我们也可以在听力过程中，逐步加强对英式发音的认识,同时理解一些英式表达法。
⑴第三段的pull of power很值得我们回味。这里的pull指的是权力对人的 诱惑和吸引。因此，全句的意思是:“有时，征服权力诱惑的唯一途径就是 放弃它。”
(2) 第四段 conservative with a small‘c’about.中 small “c”是个翻译难点。 毫无疑问，这里的c源自 conservative,small “c”意指“对……没那么保守 了”。但如何在汉语中也体现这种文字上的联系呢?可将其处理或:“有点儿守旧”。
(3) 第五段的the sweeping away of all the detritus of...依旧需要我们采用词 性转换策略，将名词sweeping away译成“将……一扫而空”。
