There is always something oddly unreal(不真实的) about party conference season(政党会议季). In theory, everyone is getting away from Westminster to better reflect on(反思、思考) the state of the nation. In practice, the whole circus(马戏团；闹剧) just briefly relocate(搬迁、转移)s to the coast, to live off(靠……生活) warm white wine and gossip for three days, before coming back with a streaming(流着的；严重的) cold. But this year, reality seems more elusive(难以捉摸的) than usual.
政党会议季总有一种古怪的不真实感。理论上，大家离开威斯敏斯特，是为了更好地思考国家现状。实际上，整个马戏团只是短暂地搬到海边，靠温吞的白葡萄酒和八卦过上三天，然后带着重感冒回来。但今年，现实似乎比往常更加难以捉摸。
Everyone knows hard choices(艰难的选择) loom(逼近、隐现), but everyone is frightened to make them. Every serious party needs billions of pounds to fund their promises, and everyone knows there’s an obvious place to find the money, but nobody wants to be the first to say so. And so a deferential(恭敬的) silence shroud(笼罩、遮蔽)s the pension triple lock, whose future will be vigorously debated on the fringes(在边缘场合) and in private conversation this autumn, but less so on the stage(在正式舞台上).
人人都知道艰难的选择迫在眉睫，但人人都害怕做出选择。每个严肃的政党都需要数十亿英镑来兑现承诺，人人都知道有一个显而易见的地方可以找到钱，但没人愿意第一个说出来。于是，一种恭敬的沉默笼罩着养老金三重锁——今年秋天，它的未来将在边缘场合和私下交谈中被激烈讨论，但在正式舞台上却少有人提。
George Osborne(乔治·奥斯本)’s shameless(无耻的) 2011 bid for(争取、竞逐) pensioner votes – under which the state pension rises, come rain or shine(无论晴雨、风雨无阻), by whichever is the highest of inflation(通货膨胀), average earnings growth(平均工资增长) for working people, or 2.5% – has already cost around three times as much as the Treasury originally expected.
乔治·奥斯本2011年无耻地争取养老金领取者选票的举措——根据该政策，国家养老金无论晴雨都会按通胀、劳动者平均工资增长或2.5%三者中的最高值上调——其成本已经是财政部最初预期的约三倍。