Week Eight : May’s vocabulary signals shift from ‘hard Brexit’

May’s vocabulary signals shift from ‘hard Brexit’

Reuters, LONDON

 

There is a recognizable repetition in British Prime Minister Theresa May’s speeches about the decision to leave the EU: “Brexit means Brexit,” making “a success of it” and getting “the best deal” for Britain are some of her stump phrases.
However, a closer look at her speeches suggests her position on key aspects of Brexit has evolved since she took office in the aftermath of the June 23 vote to leave.
Alongside comments by ministers in her Conservative government, the changes appear to suggest that May has shifted from favoring a “hard Brexit” — a clean break with the EU single market — to supporting continued membership.
May has declined to say whether she wants Britain to remain in the single market.
Her aides say she is considering all options.
Since July 13, when May made her first speech as prime minister, subtle changes have emerged in the way she describes her priorities for talks with the EU. Those talks will determine Britain’s future and that of the EU.
Early on in her tenure, May said little more than that she wanted “the right deal” or “best possible deal” on the trade of goods and services with the rest of Europe, which account for more than 50 percent of the British economy.
However, at the Conservative Party conference in October she unveiled a more specific phrase to describe her aims for Brexit.
“I want it to give British companies the maximum freedom to trade with and operate within the single market — and let European businesses do the same here,” May said.
Richard North, a former speechwriter for several euroskeptic lawmakers, says the phrase “operate within” is telling.
“She is very, very precise and there is no way that she is saying anything other than she’s going after the single market within a negotiated settlement,” said North, who wants Britain to remain a member of the broader European Economic Area trading zone after leaving the EU.
In her Oct. 2 speech to the Conservative Party, she dismissed the choice between a “soft Brexit” and “hard Brexit” as a “false dichotomy” and said Britain could regain control over immigration and its sovereignty while continuing cooperation on security and trade.

http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/world/archives/2016/11/19/2003659588

*Structure of the Lead：
WHO-British Prime Minister Theresa May  
WHEN-not given
WHAT- the decision to leave the EU
WHY-not given
WHERE- British  
HOW-not  given


 *Keywords：
1. shift from：從...移開
2. aide：【美】助手
3. unveil ：除去……的面紗（或覆蓋物）；揭開……的幕
    SYN：uncover, disclose, reveal, show；ANT：veil
4. aim ：目標，目的
5. regain ：取回，收回；收復，恢復

 

Week seven : Islamic State claims bombing that killed 70 in Iraq

Islamic State claims bombing that killed 70 in Iraq

AFP, HILLAH, Iraq

 

A suicide bombing claimed by the Islamic State group killed at least 70 people, mainly Shiite pilgrims, south of Baghdad on Thursday, as Iraqi forces battle to retake Mosul from the extremists.
The blast from the truck bomb ripped through a gas station, where packed buses returning from the Arbaeen commemoration in Karbala, Iraq, were parked, officials said.
Most of the dead were Iranians, the largest contingent of foreigners in the pilgrimage, which is one of the world’s largest religious events and culminated on Monday.
The attack took place near the Babylon Governorate village of Shomali, about 120km southeast of Baghdad.
The Islamic State, which is fighting to defend its Mosul stronghold in northern Iraq, claimed responsibility for the attack.
Babylon security committee head Falah al-Radhi said several buses were targeted.
“A large truck exploded among them. It was a suicide attack,” he told reporters. “There are at least 70 dead, fewer than 10 are Iraqis, the rest are Iranians.”
Videos circulating on social media showed debris scattered over a large area along the main highway linking Baghdad to the main Iraqi southern port city of Basra.
“There are completely charred corpses at the scene,” said Radhi, who added that at least 20 wounded were transferred to nearby hospitals.
As many as 20 million people visited Karbala, home to the mausoleum of Imam Hussein, for Arbaeen this year, about 3 million of whom were Iranians, Iraqi authorities said.
Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman Bahram Ghasemi condemned the “brutal and inhumane” attack, Iran’s Islamic Republic News Agency said.
US National Security Council spokesman Ned Price also strongly condemned the attack, saying it was “clearly intended to stoke sectarian tensions.”
“The United States remains steadfast in its partnership with the Iraqi people and government, and this attack only serves to strengthen our resolve in defeating ISIL,” he said, referring to the Islamic State by one of its many acronyms.
Iraq had deployed about 25,000 members of its security forces in and around the shrine city to protect pilgrims from a feared Islamic State attack.
The extremist group, which is losing ground in Mosul, has carried out a series of high-profile diversionary attacks since Iraqi forces launched a huge offensive against their northern stronghold last month.
Elite forces on Thursday battled extremists in eastern Mosul, looking for fresh momentum in their five-week-old offensive to retake Iraq’s second city.
Iraqi Counter-Terrorism Service commander Maan al-Saadi told reporters on the front line in Mosul that his forces were fighting the Islamic State in the neighborhood of al-Khadraa.
“They cannot flee. They have two choices — give up or die,” he said.
Over the past few days, Iraqi forces have cut off the main supply line running from Mosul to the western border with Syria, where the Islamic State still controls the city of al-Raqqah.
The US-led coalition also bombed bridges over the Tigris river that splits Mosul in two, reducing the extremists’ ability to resupply the eastern front.
“It is extraordinarily tough fighting, just brutal, but there is an inevitability to it. The Iraqis are going to beat them,” coalition spokesman Colonel John Dorrian told reporters.
Islamic State fighters moving in an intricate network of tunnels have used snipers, booby traps and a seemingly endless supply of suicide car bombers to stop Iraqi forces.

http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/world/archives/2016/11/26/2003660043


*Structure of the Lead：
WHO-the Islamic State group  
WHEN-on Thursday
WHAT- not given
WHY- Iraqi forces battle to retake Mosul from the extremists
WHERE- A suicide bombing 
HOW-not  given


*Keywords：
1. extremist：極端主義者；過激分子
2. blast：爆炸，爆破    
3. return from：從(由)...回來 
4. contingent：一組
5. pilgrimage：朝聖，朝覲