金融时报:1975解雇澳洲总理事件
1975解雇澳洲总理事件
澳大利亚前总理惠特拉姆近日去世，关于他的最著名的一个故事，恐怕就是他在1975年的“双11”被女王代表、本应是橡皮图章的总督戏剧性的解雇。这个事件是怎么回事？
测试中可能遇到的词汇和知识：
resonance ['rez(ə)nəns] 共鸣
vice-regal[vaɪs'riːg(ə)l] 总督的，王室代表的
quixotic[kwɪk'sɒtɪk] 堂吉诃德式的，空想的
cur [kɜː] 坏蛋，杂种
prerogative [prɪ'rɒgətɪv] 特权
trounce [traʊns] 痛打，大败
inebriated [ɪ'niːbrɪeɪtɪd] 醉酒的
whiff of farce 闹剧的味道
Dismissal Of The Australian Government, 1975 （374 words）
By Andrew Mueller, June 7, 2008
The footage shot on the steps of Parliament House, Canberra, on November 11 1975 comes close to having the resonance for Australians that the film of John F. Kennedy's assassination has for Americans.
The sacking of the Gough Whitlam Labor government by the governor-general (the Crown's representative in Australia) still fuels books, films and conspiracy theories. It also inspired the most famous speech in Australian history.
After governor-general Sir John Kerr's secretary, the diminutive David Smith, concluded Whitlam's firing with the vice-regal sign-off “God save the Queen”, Whitlam bustled his silver-haired, 6ft 6in frame to the microphone. “Well may we say 'God save the Queen',” thundered the decommissioned PM, “because nothing will save the governor-general.”
Whitlam, personally brilliant and charismatic, politically naive and quixotic, had been elected in 1972 after 23 years of Liberal (ie conservative) rule. But though re-elected in 1974, Labor lost its majority. This gave the Liberals, led by Malcolm Fraser - “Kerr's cur” as Whitlam later called him - the ability to block funds to the government. Whitlam refused to call an election. Fraser wouldn't let the government govern. After weeks of stand-off, Kerr exercised his prerogative to dissolve the administration. Fraser was installed as prime minister.
“Maintain the rage,” Whitlam urged his supporters. They didn't. At the election held a month later, Labor was trounced, though this ended neither the argument nor the consequences. The Dismissal (in Australia, it warrants capitalisation) made a martyr-saint of Whitlam, now 91 (Editor's note: this article was written 6 years ago), even if much of his premiership had a whiff of farce about it.
Fraser, three years younger, served as prime minister until 1983. The widely loathed Kerr, who died in 1991, made another lasting contribution to Australian folklore with a sensationally inebriated performance presenting the 1977 Melbourne Cup.
The Dismissal remains a bedrock of modern republicanism - a movement that may finally win the day during the rule of Australia's new Labor prime minister, Kevin Rudd.
Rudd has some powerful allies. In the 1999 referendum on republic versus constitutional monarchy, Whitlam and Fraser, by all accounts now good mates, campaigned together for the “yes” vote. (The voters rejected it.)
请根据你所读到的文章内容，完成以下自测题目：
1.Why was Prime Minister Whitlam sacked by the governor general?
A.The Queen instructed him to do so.
B.He was resented by the governor general.
C.He lost the election but refused to leave.
D.The two parties lead the government to a standstill.
答案(1)
2.What was the consequence of The Dismissal?
A.It fueled Australian Republicanism.
B.It started Australia's film and publishing industry.
C.Whitlam took back the premiership.
Kerr was immediately dismiss as well.
答案(2)
3.The deposed PM Whitlam made peace with whom in the end?
A.The Governor General Kerr.
B.His opponent Fraser.
C.Queen Elithzbeth II.
答案(3)
* * *
(1)答案：D.The two parties lead the government to a standstill.
解释：文中并没有解释这背后的原因，但另外三项都是错误的。Whitlam refused to call an election. Fraser wouldn't let the government govern. 由于谁都没有国会绝对多数，并且都不肯就政府拨款法案妥协，在联邦政府即将耗尽资金关门的面前，总督科尔做出了这个极其富有争议和不寻常的解雇总理和国会、重新大选的行动。
(2)答案：A.It fueled Australian Republicanism.
解释：文章第一段说，这个戏剧性的事件对澳大利亚的影响，像是肯尼迪遇刺对美国的影响，直到今天还催生着大量的电影、书籍和阴谋论。这还成了今天共和制运动的一个基石。
(3)答案：B.His opponent Fraser.
解释：最后一段中说，1999, Whitlam and Fraser, by all accounts now good mates…… 两位老对手成了老朋友，在公投中为改制澳大利亚为共和国一起竞选。
