Level 5-Day 22.Margaret Thatcher 'Against European Unity' (3)

詞匯提示

1.intolerance 不容忍的

2.bureaucracy 官僚主義

3.ironic 諷刺的

4.parliamentary 議會的

原文

Margaret Thatcher: 'Against European Unity' (3)

Some of the founding fathers of the Community thought that the United States of America might be its model.

But the whole history of America is quite different from Europe.

People went there to get away from the intolerance and constraints of life in Europe.

They sought liberty and opportunity; and their strong sense of purpose has, over two centuries, helped create a new unity and pride in being American - just as our pride lies in being British or Belgian or Dutch or German.

I am the first to say that on many great issues the countries of Europe should try to speak with a single voice.

I want to see us work more closely on the things we can do better together than alone.

Europe is stronger when we do so, whether it be in trade, in defence, or in our relations with the rest of the world.

But working more closely together does not require power to be centralized in Brussels or decisions to be taken by an appointed bureaucracy.

Indeed,it is ironic that just when those countries such as the Soviet Union, which have tried to run everything from the center, are learning that success depends on dispersing power and decisions away from the center, some in the Community seem to want to move in the opposite direction.

We have not successfully rolled back the frontiers of the State in Britain only to see them reimposed at a European level, with a European super-State exercising anew dominance from Brussels.

Certainly we want to see Europe more united and with a greater sense of common purpose.

But it must be in a way which preserves the different traditions, parliamentary powers and sense of national pride in one's own country; for these have been the source of Europe's vitality through the centuries.

翻譯

瑪格麗特·撒切爾:“反對歐洲統一”(3)


共同體的一些締造者認為，美利堅合眾國可能是它的典范。
但是，美國的整個歷史與歐洲的歷史大不相同。
人們去那里是為了擺脫歐洲生活的不寬容和限制。
他們尋求自由和機會;兩個多世紀以來，他們強烈的使命感幫助創造了作為美國人的一種新的團結和自豪感——就像我們作為英國人、比利時人、荷蘭人或德國人的自豪感一樣。
我首先指出，在許多重大問題上，歐洲各國應該努力用一個聲音說話。
我希望看到我們在合作比單獨做得更好的事情上更緊密地合作。
當我們這樣做的時候，歐洲會變得更強大，無論是在貿易、國防，還是在我們與世界其他國家的關系上。
但是，更緊密地合作并不需要權力集中在布魯塞爾，也不需要由指定的官僚機構做出決定。
的確，具有諷刺意味的是，就在蘇聯等試圖從中央管理一切的國家認識到成功取決于將權力和決策分散到遠離中心的地方時，共同體中的一些國家似乎想要走向相反的方向。
我們沒有成功地縮小英國的國家邊界，只是看到它們在歐洲一級重新被強加，一個歐洲超級國家從布魯塞爾行使新的統治。
當然，我們希望看到歐洲更加團結，有更強烈的共同目標感。
但必須保留不同的傳統，議會權力和國家自豪感;因為它們是幾個世紀以來歐洲活力的源泉。