On the March: Europe's Year
① It is coming to a wobbly end.
② Catalonia's independence spasm remains unresolved, the European Union is struggling to respond to Poland's authoritarian turn, and Germany, working through an inconclusive election result, has forgotten how to form a government.
③ Yet 2017 was a better year than European governments had dared hope for 12 months ago.
④ Back then, reeling from the one-two blow of the Brexit referendum and Donald Trump's victory, they were trembling before a potential surge of anti-European populism, notably in France.
⑤ Instead they got Emmanuel Macron, defeat for nationalists in other elections, and a pacy, broad-based economic recovery.
⑥ That should run well into 2018, allowing for a gradual tightening of monetary policy and, perhaps, a fraught agreement to strengthen the euro zone's defences against financial shocks.
⑦ Politically the main event is a spring election in Italy, which the anti-establishment Five-Star Movement may win.
⑧ It wouldn't be the Christmas season without something to worry about.
▍生詞好句
on the march: 前進；獲得更多優(yōu)勢、支持
wobbly /?w?bli/: adj. 左右晃動的；搖擺不穩(wěn)的
spasm /?spaz(?)m/: n. 痙攣；爆發(fā)一陣……
authoritarian /???θ?r??t??r??n/: adj. 專制主義的
reel from /ri?l/: 因為某事感到惶恐不安、不知所措
one-two blow / punch: 左右猛擊 (本文特指“英國脫歐公投”和“川普當選總統(tǒng)”這兩件事)
tremble /?tr?mb(?)l/: vi. 顫抖；驚恐不安
surge /s??d?/: n. 急劇上升
pacy /?pe?si/: adj. 快速前進的
broad-based: adj. 全面的
fraught /fr??t/: adj. 令人擔憂的；給人帶來憂慮或壓力的
be fraught with: 充滿了…… (負面的事物)
