2016年，英国人通过全民投票决定脱离欧盟。将近三年过去了，脱欧的事还没办好，而且看起来还要拖很长时间。那么，英国脱欧到底是怎么回事，为什么这么难呢？
What's Brexit?
by Doug Criss
The European Union is arguably the world's most powerful bloc. But it's about to lose the United Kingdom, one of its biggest members. Just how and when the UK leaves the EU will have implications that ripple around the globe.
the European Union 欧洲联盟
arguably /ˈɑːɡjuəbli/ adv. 有争议地
bloc /blɒk/ n. 政治集团
implication /ˌɪmplɪˈkeɪʃ(ə)n/ n. （对未来的）影响
ripple /ˈrɪp(ə)l/ v. 泛起涟漪
the globe /ɡləʊb/ 全世界
Britain + exit = Brexit. It's the idea (once unthinkable) that the Brits will leave the European Union. But in a stunning result the United Kingdom voted to do just that in a bitterly fought referendum in June 2016.
Brexit /ˈbreksɪt/ n. 指英国脱离欧盟
unthinkable /ʌnˈθɪŋkəb(ə)l/ adj. 无法想象的（由think加上后缀-able变成形容词，再加上表示否定的前缀un-）
Brit /brɪt/ n. 英国人
stunning /ˈstʌnɪŋ/ adj. 令人震惊的
bitterly /ˈbɪtəli/ adv. 痛苦地、苦涩地（由bitter加后缀-ly变成副词）
referendum /ˌrefəˈrendəm/ n. 全民投票、全民公决
Roots of the European Union date back to the period after World War II. After six years of fighting, Europe was decimated. Old enemies had to accept the fact they needed to live with each other. So, little by little, countries started forming partnerships. By the 1990s, we had the modern European Union. The idea is: If you're linked economically, you're less likely to bicker and fight.
root /ruːt/ n. 根源、起源
date back 追溯
decimate /ˈdesɪmeɪt/ v. 严重破坏
form /fɔːm/ v. 形成、建立
partnership /ˈpɑːtnəʃɪp/ n. 合作关系
link /lɪŋk/ v. 连接、联系
economically /ˌekəˈnɒmɪk(ə)li/ adv. 经济上（由economic加后缀-ally变成副词）
bicker /ˈbɪkə(r)/ v. 斗嘴、（为小事）争吵
It sounds like a happy marriage. But you know how that goes. When world events walk in, these countries all react differently. They fight over how to deal with refugees coming to their shores. They can't agree on financial matters. They're mad that some of them have to pony up more than others to bail out countries that are doing terribly. And this has given rise to anti-EU parties all across Europe.
react /rɪˈækt/ v. 做出反应
deal with 处理、应对
refugee /ˌrefjuˈdʒiː/ n. 难民
financial /faɪˈnænʃ(ə)l/ adj. 财政的
matter /ˈmætə(r)/ n. 事情
pony /ˈpəʊni/ up 付钱、出钱
bail /beɪl/ out 交钱保释某人（这里指出钱使某人摆脱困境）
terribly /ˈterəbli/ adv. 极差地
give rise to something 导致某事
anti- 前缀，意思是“反对”
The UK will be the first bona fide country to leave the EU. Think about the precedent that's about to be set. When the UK leaves, other EU countries might start eyeing the door too. That means the EU could slowly fall apart. And that could have huge consequences for the economy and stability.
bona /ˈbəʊnə/ fide /ˈfaɪdi/ 真正的（注：此前丹麦的格陵兰岛离开了欧盟，但它不算一个国家）
precedent /ˈpresɪd(ə)nt/ n. 先例
set /set/ v. 设定
eye /aɪ/ v. 注视、审视
fall apart 破碎、瓦解
consequence /ˈkɒnsɪkwəns/ n. 后果
economy /ɪˈkɒnəmi/ n. 经济
stability /stəˈbɪləti/ n. 稳定、安定
Since the UK soon will be outside of the EU trading block, they've been trying to hammer out a divorce deal. The thought of the UK tumbling out of the EU without a future trade deal scares the living daylights out of business people in Britain and all across Europe.
trading block 贸易区
hammer /ˈhæmə(r)/ out 推敲出、锤炼出
divorce /dɪˈvɔːs/ n. 离婚
deal /diːl/ n. 协议
tumble /ˈtʌmb(ə)l/ v. 摔倒
scare /skeə(r)/ the living daylights out of someone 吓坏某人
However, it doesn't look likely that the UK Parliament would pass any agreement. In theory, then, Britain would end up leaving on March 29 under the "no deal" scenario that businesses are fretting so much about.
parliament /ˈpɑːlɪmənt/ n. 国会
agreement /əˈɡriːmənt/ n. 协议（由agree加后缀-ment变成名词）
theory /ˈθɪəri/ n. 理论（in theory意思是理论上说）
end up 以…而告终
scenario /sɪˈnɑːriəʊ/ n. 场景、情况
fret /fret/ v. 焦急、苦恼
But Parliament might even block that from happening, and instead force Prime Minister Theresa May to extend Article 50 – essentially kicking the can down the road, and making that date circled in red on the Brexit calendar pretty irrelevant after all.
block /blɒk/ v. 阻止
force /fɔːs/ v. 迫使
Prime Minister 总理、首相
extend /ɪkˈstend/ v. 延长、延伸
article /ˈɑːtɪk(ə)l/ n. 条款（Article 50是欧盟相关条约中关于成员国退出欧盟的条款）
essentially /ɪˈsenʃ(ə)li/ adv. 基本上、本质上（由essential加后缀-ly变成副词）
can /kæn/ n. 易拉罐（kick the can down the road指延迟处理某事）
circle /ˈsɜːk(ə)l/ v. 画圈
calendar /ˈkæləndə(r)/ n. 日历
irrelevant /ɪˈreləv(ə)nt/ adj. 不重要的
That would give everyone more time to figure out a way forward – whether it's securing a dramatically new agreement or throwing it all back to the people, in the shape of a general election or second referendum.
figure out 弄清楚
secure /sɪˈkjʊə(r)/ v. （经过努力）获得
dramatically /drəˈmætɪk(ə)li/ adv. 显著地（由dramatic加后缀-ally变成副词）
in the shape of 以…的形式
general election 大选
（如果您使用的是火狐浏览器，可能会发现某些行的最后一个单词被分成两半了，这是简书系统的Bug，换成Chrome或其他浏览器就能正常显示了。）
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