出国留学首选一诺留学

　　另一些议员因为不同原因离开了议会。对于舒适的大多数议员，国际旅行和媒体事业吸引着他们。一名议员笑道：“我从来没有这么多时间来写作。”一些其他有副业的议员也过着充实的日子，例如下议院领袖安德鲁·兰斯利(Andrew Lansley)。据说他已经提醒大家，他们最重要的任务就是对选民负责。而苏格兰议员们却并不轻松，他们还需要关注这一问题：在九月开始独立公投之前拉选票。

　　Those left in Westminster spend their time on three main things. One is scrutiny. Since 2010select committees have been elected by MPs rather than by party bosses. That has enlivenedthem. They are busy holding the government to account and, in the case of the ConsolidationBills committee, tidying up outdated legislation. One recent victim was a series of 19th-century laws governing the railways in Imperial India. “The romantic in me was rather sad tosee them go,” says Robert Buckland, one of its members.

　　留在议会大厦的议员们主要进行三项工作。一是选票复查工作。自2010年，特别委员会由议员选举，而不是党魁。这使得他们生机勃勃。特别委员会忙于令政府负责，至于合并法案委员会，他们正整理过时的立法法案。近期，一系列19世纪的印度帝国银行铁路法律遭到废除。特委会成员罗伯特·巴克兰德(Robert Buckland)称，“看着他们被废除，我很难过。”

　　Others pursue idiosyncratic political campaigns. Peter Bone, an outspoken Tory, is trying torename the August Bank Holiday after Margaret Thatcher. Other campaigns concern bread-and-butter matters like household bills and consumer rights. Robert Halfon, the Conservative MP forHarlow, a blue-collar town in Essex, is especially prolific. His Additional Charges for Utility BillsNot Paid by Direct Debit (Limits) Bill awaits its second reading. In the lobbies and tearoomsthese campaigning MPs seek their colleagues' support for such private members' bills, Early DayMotions (short written declarations) and backbench debates.

　　其他议员追求特殊政治运动。心直口快的保守党议员彼得·伯恩(Peter Bone)继玛格丽特·撒切尔之后，正试图重新命名八月公共假日。其他运动关注民生问题，如家庭支出和消费者权利。罗伯特·阿尔丰(RobertHalfon)是埃塞克斯蓝领镇哈洛的保守党成员，他在这一运动中硕果累累。他提出的《不额外收取水电费由直接借记支付(限制)法案》正等着第二次阅读。在大厅和茶室里，这些运动的议员都就类似的私有法案、早一天运动以及后座议员辩论寻求同事们的支持，

　　Other parliamentarians are busy agitating within their parties. Pressure groups of MPs arebecoming more vocal, and new ones like Renewal (a campaign for working-class Conservatism)and One Nation (a gang of young Labour MPs) have sprung up. Some of these publish reportsand papers, others host guest speakers. “Every five minutes there is another bloody supperclub,” groans one MP in a marginal seat. These gatherings mostly serve as networkingopportunities. More troublingly, for party leaders, they are also perfect places for idle hands tomake trouble: for leadership pretenders to peacock and for disgruntled MPs to plot andscheme. Tory backbenchers have taken to gathering signatures on letters grousing aboutgovernment policy.

　　其他议员正忙于在其党派内鼓吹信息。议会施压小组变得更加有力，新的运动不断涌现，如“复兴”(一项为保守党工薪阶层而掀起的运动)和“单一民族党”(一群年轻的工党议员)。有些运动发布了报告和文件，有些则客串嘉宾主持人。一位在边缘席位的议员呻吟道：“每五分钟就有一场血雨腥风。”这些聚会主要是作为联系机会而存在的。更麻烦的是，对于党魁来说，这里也是一个闲杂人等闹事的好地方：对于假装领导人的人来说，是个炫耀的好地方，对于心存不满的议员来说，是个密谋和计划的好地方。保守党后座议员已经开始收集签名，抱怨政府政策。

　　The depth of Westminster's legislative lull may be unusual, but it is not entirely new. In the1850s the Spectator, a news magazine, reported that Parliament was so quiet “you may hear abill drop.” In the 18th century MPs could talk for as long as they liked—and often did—as theircolleagues ate oranges and cracked nuts. Something for MPs to ponder, in between doing notvery much.

　　议会大厦立法间歇的深度可能非同寻常，但也并非全新。19世纪50年代的《旁观者》杂志报道，议会安静得“听得到法案落地的声音”。18世纪，议员们可以想说多久说多久—事实上他们的确经常这样做—而他们的同事吃着橘子和坚果。有些东西需要议员思考，其中很多事情他们做得并不好。

　　重点讲解

　　1.visit to 易于;倾向于

　　例句:He's prone to flit between subjects withamazing ease.

　　他往往会轻松自如地转换话题。

　　2.tend to 倾向于;趋向

　　例句:We tend to meet up for lunch once a week.

　　我们往往每周共进一次午餐。

　　3.seem to 似乎

　　例句:I seem to fritter my time away at coffee mornings.

　　我似乎把时间全都浪费在咖啡早茶会上了。

　　4.prone to 易于;倾向于

　　例句:As they shorten, cells become more prone to disease and death.

　　细胞变小后就会更容易感染疾病，也更容易死亡。

　　更多热点资讯欢迎关注：

　　新浪官方微博：@北京诚品一诺教育咨询

　　http://weibo.com/yinuoedu

　　微信订阅号：留学圈 (微信帐号：yinuoliuxue )