Yes,Minister -- 1-2 lines

I beg your pardon?

The citizens of a democracy have a right to know.

No. They have a right to be ignorant. Knowledge only means complicity and guilt.

If people dont't know what you're doing,they don't know what you are doing wrong.

In politics you have to learn say things with tact,and when say nothing at all.

When a country is going downhill,it's time for someone to get into the driving seat,

put his foot on the accelerator.  (I think you mean the break?) 

Rome wasn't built in a day.

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First,he'll tell you there's lots of things to be going with.

Then,if you still persist,he'll say sth like "Ah,yes,minister,I quite appreciate the 

intention certainly sth ought to be done,but are you sure this is right way to achieve it?"

Now if you are still undeterred,he will shift his ground,he will shift from how to do it 

to when you should do it. "Now minister  ,this is not right time for all sorts of reasons."

And if you don't,he'll simply say the policy "has run into difficulties"

And you'll be at the final stage when he says "we're getting very close to the next general election,

are you sure you can get this policy through?"

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★bureaucratic 官僚主义的  

appalled 惊骇的，震惊的 

hypothetical 假设的

Approbation,elevation and castration招安，封爵，最后架空

Britain has had the same foreign policy objective for at least last 500 years:

To create a disunited Europe.  Divide and rule(分而治之),you see.

We had to break the whole things up,so we had to get inside.(我们得打进去，从内击破)Now 

we can make a complete pig's breakfast of the whole thing.

The more members it has,the more arguments it can stirup,

the more futile（无意义的） and impotent（虚弱的） it becomes.(群龙无首，人多嘴杂，它就越鸡毛蒜皮)

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Would you sack the army beacause there's no war?

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Unlike civil servants,are selected at random by prime ministerial whim,in recognition of dubious

services rendered, or to avoid appointing someone of real ability.

First law of political indiscretion:Always have a drink before you leak.

If you're pushed out of a window with railings underneath,try and land on your head.Quicker.

Shred it,no one must find it.

In that case,I think it's best I file it. (lol...)

Enviable intellectual suppleness(顺从) and moral manoeuvrability.(高度的思想服从以及精神的可操纵性)

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Suppression is the insrument of dictatorships. We take a democratic desision not to 

publish.

-Stage one,give your reasons in terms of the public interest.(从公众利益角度出发)The report

could put pressure on Government and be misinterpreted.

-In stage two,you go on to discredit the evidence you're not publishing.

-In stage three,you undermine recommendations(贬低报告中的建议).

-4,discredit the man who produced the report.Off the record(不能明说)

People are ignorant and misguided.(人民既..又盲目)

A week is a long time in politics. A year is a short time Government.

craven 没骨气 胆小的

Nobody wants to be chairman of nationalised industry,instant ruin(自取灭亡).They may as well 

accept the golden handshake(遣散费) the day they start.

I thought it was rather difficult to keep one's hands clean while climbing the greasy pole. 

I think bearing everything in mind and after due consideration...(综观多方面因素,全面考虑)

Considering all the implications and points of view...(言而总之,总而言之)

in other words ,I am bound to say...

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manufacture × manipulate

“I'm merely a humble vessel”

It could be argued that given the absurdity of the idea...

It's a game played for national interest: Why did we go in(加入)?

We went in to screw the French,by splitting them off from the Germans.

Why did the french go in with them? -To protect their inefficient farmers from 

commercial competition.

-And the Germans?-To clean themselves of genocide and apply for the re-admission to the human race.

Lexembourg is in it for the perks.

--very droll(很好笑)

The bureaucracy is a consequence of the internationalism.

A Common Market official has the organising ability of the Italians,the flexibility of the Germans,

the modesty(谦逊) of the french,the imagination of the Belgians,the generosity of the Dutch,and the 

intelligence of the Irish!

Compared to what his Secretary says that's a generous tribute.(比起他常任秘书的评价您这算赞歌了)

Whenever Corbett comes near me I feel stabbing pains in the back.

prey on your mind

ease out  免职 开除

Ministers with a grip on the job are a nuisance.(拿得起工作的大臣是个祸害/讨厌的东西) They argure.

There's a real danger that they'll might be right. One tells them something is impossible,they dig out 

an old paper in which one had said it was easy ,very tedious. 

-Once  they've gone,one can start with a new boy. Wonderful things,reshuffles.And Prime Minister like 

them too.

Fresh,decisive,keeps everyone on the hop.

Wouldn't it be interesting if Ministers were fixed and Permanent Secretaries were shuffled around.

(lol...)

-That Bernard,would strike at the vary heart of the system that has made Britain what she is 

today. Power goes with permanence. Impermanence is impotence.Rotation(轮流上台) is castration.

successor （接班人）

There's no shortage of useless non-jobs(挂名闲差多的是)

Elbows, the most important weapon in a politician's armoury.Other than integrity(正直)

Politicians get taken in by their own speeches.

He keeps falling asleep in Cabinet. -I thought they all did.

- Yes, but not while they're actually talking.

To be on the safe side(为稳妥起见)

alas: used when mentioning a fact that you wish was not true

We can't stab our partners in the back and spit in their face.

I suppose(猜想) we have got fond of one another.In a way. 

-Like a terrorist and his hostage.(hhhhhh)

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Unfortunately,among the many extraordinary qualities politicians possess,resonableness 

isn't the first that springs to mind.

Ministers are like small children: they want sth desperately and next day forget they asked 

for it.

Snouts in the trough(猪嘴刨食/"以quan谋si")

The Minister was referring to(指的是) this site.

Put in your formal application(申请) (by all means 尽一切办法).

Any document transferring decision-making power from ministers to us is important.It helps 

take government out of politics. It's Britain's only chance of survival.

When we want Ministers to sign without asking questions,we have to wait until they're in a 

hurry.That's when their concentration is weakest. That's why we keep them on the go(忙着).

livestock 家畜     run out 用完 耗尽 到期

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A Minister's absence is a god send.No silly questions,no bright ideas,

no fussing(对...小题大做) about the papers(报纸)

cutting bureaucracy to the bone.(彻底削减guanliao主yi)

A good speech isn't one where we can prove he's telling the truth.It's one in which nobody

can prove he's lying.

Ministers' speeches aren't written for the audience. Delivering a speech is just a 

formality to get into the papers(上报纸).

Once something goes wrong, the minister's first instinct is to rat on his department.

allegation 辩词          conspiracy 阴谋 共谋 

Blurring the issue is one of the basic ministerial skills. And the others?

Delaying decisions,dodging(回避) questions,juggling figures(玩弄数据),bending facts

and concealing errors.