EN： The verb 'vote' can take prepositional phrases to specify the timing and the topic. Here, 'vote on Thursday' indicates the time, and 'vote on [something]' specifies the issue or proposal being decided.
中文： 动词「vote」（投票/表决）后面可接介词短语来补充时间与投票主题。在此句中，第一个「on Thursday」表示时间（在周四），第二个「on an emergency loan...」则指所表决的具体事项（针对一笔紧急贷款）。
The committee will vote on Friday on the new budget proposal.
委员会将在周五就新的预算提案进行表决。
EN： Prepositional phrases with 'of' can be used sequentially for different relationships: 'Creditors of Thames Water' indicates possession/association (who holds the debt), while 'loan of 2.4 billion pounds' expresses specification or amount.
中文： 介词「of」引导的短语可用于表达不同关系：「Creditors of Thames Water」表示所属或关联（泰晤士水务的债权人）；「loan of 2.4 billion pounds」则用于表示数量、金额的具体内容（金额达24亿英镑的贷款）。
Residents of the city protested against a tax increase of ten percent.
该市的居民抗议调高百分之十的税率。
EN： Thames Water is the UK's largest water utility company, serving London and surrounding areas. Due to massive historical debts, aging infrastructure, and sewage pollution scandals, its financial instability has become a major national political and economic issue, often raising debates about the privatization of public utilities.
中文： 泰晤士水务（Thames Water）是英国最大的自来水与污水处理公用事业公司，服务伦敦及周边地区。由于庞大的历史债务、老旧管线与污水外泄争议，该公司的财务危机已成为英国全国关注的政治与经济焦点，并引发大众对公用事业私有化政策的激烈讨论。
EN： The phrasal verb 'run out of' means to deplete or completely use up a supply of something (e.g., money, time, patience). It is followed by a noun or noun phrase.
中文： 短语动词“run out of”意为“用完、耗尽”某种供应（例如金钱、时间或耐心），后面接名词或名词短语。
We need to stop at the gas station because the car is running out of fuel.
我们得去加油站停一下，因为车子的燃料快用完了。
EN： The preposition 'by' indicates a deadline or a point in time before or at which an action will happen. Here, 'by early 2027' means not later than the beginning of 2027.
中文： 介词“by”用来表示截止期限，意为“在……之前”或“不晚于……”。在此处，“by early 2027”表示不晚于 2027 年初。
Please submit your final report by next Monday.
请在下周一之前提交您的最終报告。
EN： In corporate finance and business journalism, saying a firm might 'run out of cash' is a common way to describe impending insolvency or a liquidity crisis without using overly dense legal jargon.
中文： 在商业新闻与公司财务报道中，用「run out of cash（耗尽现金）」来描述即将面临的破产或流动性危机，比直接使用晦涩的法律或财务专业术语更普遍且通俗易懂。
EN： The verb 'give' is a ditransitive verb that can take two objects: an indirect object (recipient, e.g., 'Thames Water') followed by a direct object (thing given, e.g., 'three billion pounds'). Pattern: give + indirect object + direct object.
中文： 动词「give」是双宾动词，可以接两个宾语：先接间接宾语（接收者，如「Thames Water」），后接直接宾语（所给予的事物，如「three billion pounds」）。句型结构为：give + 间接宾语 + 直接宾语。
The bank gave the startup a substantial loan.
该银行向这家初创公司提供了一笔巨额贷款。
EN： The preposition 'at' is used to express rates, prices, speeds, or degrees (e.g., 'at an interest rate of...').
中文： 介词「at」常用来表示比率、价格、速度或程度（例如：「以……的利率」）。
They borrowed funds at an interest rate of 5 percent.
他们以百分之五的利率借取了资金。
EN： Thames Water is the UK's largest water utility company, serving millions of customers in London and the Thames Valley. An interest rate of 9.75 percent for a regulated utility loan is unusually high, reflecting the severe financial distress and high credit risk facing the company.
中文： 泰晤士水务是英国最大的水务公用事业公司，为伦敦和泰晤士河谷数百万用户提供服务。对于公用事业而言，高达 9.75% 的借贷利率异常昂贵，这反映出该公司当时面临极为严峻的财务困境与高度的信用风险。
EN： First Conditional (Real Conditional): Used to express a realistic future condition and its likely result. The condition clause uses 'If' + present simple (passive here: 'is approved'), while the main clause typically uses modal verbs like 'will', 'should', or 'can' + base verb to show the predicted outcome.
中文： 第一条件句（真实条件句）：用于描述未来极有可能发生的条件及其预期结果。条件子句使用「If」加上现在简单式（此处为被动语态「is approved」），主要子句通常搭配「should」、「will」或「can」等情态助词加上原形动词来表示推测或结果。
If the proposal is accepted, we will start the project next month.
如果该提案获得接纳，我们将在下个月启动这项专案。
EN： Modal 'should' + 'be able to': 'Should' expresses high probability or expectation ('is expected to'), while 'be able to' indicates capability. Together, 'should be able to' means 'is reasonably expected to have the ability or capacity to do something'.
中文： 情态助词「should」加上「be able to」：「should」在此表合理推测或期待（按理应该……），「be able to」表具备能力或条件。两者结合表示「照理应当能够……」或「预计将具备能力去做某事」。
With this new software, the team should be able to finish the report faster.
有了这款新软件，团队照理应该能够更快完成这份报告。
EN： British English commonly uses the word 'autumn', whereas American English typically prefers 'fall'. In corporate and financial reporting, seasons (e.g., 'autumn 2027') or financial quarters are often used instead of exact dates to indicate target deadlines or funding runway periods.
中文： 英式英语通常使用「autumn」，而美式英语更常用「fall」来指称秋天。在英国企业与财经新闻中，常以季节（如「autumn 2027」）或会计季度来指称资金可维持运作的时间（runway）或预定时程，而非精确的某月某日。
EN： Past participle phrases (e.g., 'called We Own It') can act as reduced relative clauses, modifying the preceding noun without using a relative pronoun and auxiliary verb (short for 'which is called...').
中文： 过去分词短语（如 'called We Own It'）可作为简化关系子句，修饰前面的名词，相当于省略了关系代名词与 be 动词（即 'which is called...' 的简化）。
A novel written by the young author won the annual prize.
由那位年轻作家写的小说赢得了年度大奖。
EN： The modal verb 'could' is used here to express a tentative possibility in the future, meaning it is possible that the loan will add extra costs.
中文： 情态助动词 'could' 在此用于表达对未来的假设性或可能情况（表示这笔贷款「有可能」会增加额外费用）。
The unexpected tax changes could affect small businesses next year.
意料之外的税制变动可能会在明年影响小型企业。
EN： We Own It is a prominent UK-based campaign organization that advocates against the privatization of public services, such as water, railways, and energy, pushing to return them to public ownership.
中文： 「我们拥有它」（We Own It）是英国知名的倡议团体，致力于反对水务、铁路和能源等公用事业的私有化，积极推动让这些公用服务重回公有体系。
EN： Non-defining relative clause: 'who are known as...' is set off by commas to add extra, non-essential information about the subject 'the creditors'. It does not restrict which creditors are being talked about.
中文： 非限定性关系从句：由关系代词 'who' 引导并以逗号隔开（, who are known as... ,），用来补充说明主语 'the creditors'（债权人）的额外信息，省略后不影响句子的主要意义。
The manager, who joined the company last year, announced the new policy.
去年加入公司的经理宣布了新政策。
EN： Reporting verb + noun clause: The verb 'insist' is followed by a 'that'-clause functioning as its direct object, expressing the statement or claim being firmly made.
中文： 转述动词引导名词从句：动词 'insist'（坚持表示、坚称）后接以 'that' 引导的名词从句作为宾语，用来说明所坚持的主张或立场。
The scientists have insisted that the experiment is completely safe.
科学家们坚持表示该实验完全安全。
EN： In UK public utility debates, especially regarding Thames Water, there is widespread public anger over high executive bonuses and poor infrastructure management. When creditors form consortiums (such as 'London and Valley Water') and claim that 'customers will not pay', it reflects sensitive political pressure regarding water bill increases.
中文： 在英国公共公用事业（特别是泰晤士水务）的争议中，民众对高额高层奖金以及基础设施老化维护不力相当不满。当债权人组成财团（如「伦敦与山谷水务」）并坚称「用户不会为此买单」时，反映出调涨水费在英国社会极具政治敏感性与争议性。
重要单词附有 IPA 发音、定义、例句和互动式测验。
在本文中： 債權人（借錢給他人或機構的人或實體）
在本文中： 緊急的、應急的
在本文中： 貸款、借款
在本文中： 貸方、出借人（提供借貸資金的機構或個人）
在本文中： 批准、認可
在本文中： 運作、營運
在本文中： 運動、倡議活動
在本文中： 家庭、戶
在本文中： 堅持認為、堅稱
片语包含类型标示、双语定义、用法说明和例句。
to finish, exhaust, or use up the supply of something
耗尽、用完
the percentage of an amount of money that is charged by a bank or other financial institution for lending it
利率
to provide the money needed for something, or to suffer bad consequences of an action
为……支付费用；承受代价