絳

How Britain will appear to its friends

In the run-up to -在准备阶段

In the run-up to Brexit, will 2018 turn out to be the year it is widely viewed as Uncool Britannia?

Clothing, shoes and sunglasses can be cool; songs, plays, films and meals sometimes qualify too, as can people’s attitudes.

was always something of a marketing gimmick(暗机关；骗人的玩意)

slick-圆滑的, 油滑的

were naturally happy to cultivate

But it did capture a period of increased pride in British culture and leadership

seemed to feel that things in the country were going refreshingly well.

This came as a striking contrast with the painful 1970s

seemed happy to pick a fight,however necessary this might be in order to recover from that sickness

appear in a sharply contrasting light,but for the wrong reasons.

won a landslide victory

called a snap election,certain she would triumph. She lost her majority, and her party, facing the daunting task of managing Brexit, has clearly lost its way.

opened like this: 

looked forward dreamily to his new politics of

“After 18 long years of opposition, of frustration and despair, I am proud, privileged, to stand before you as the new Labour prime minister of our country. I believe in Britain. I believe in the British people. One cross on the ballot paper. One nation is reborn.”

the new approach is perceived by young supporters as

published a special edition on

has a better chance of remaining relevant in culture

Such things do not change overnight. 

split up

The competition is hotting up.

There are signs that some of the cultural energy could start to flow to other places.

have ...to look forward to and invest in

heap glory on

street fashion

Gone was the idea that

heralding the era of

will start to add up to harder evidence.

that most risks losing its shine.

cutting-edge

is just a geographical concept.

Uncool is different. It is being brave enough to stand alone against enemies in the 20th century, and clumsy(笨拙的, 笨重的) enough to find oneself alone among friends in the 21st.