Britain's new Prime Minister David Cameron on Thursday banned the use of mobile phones at cabinet meetings in a bid to ensure his top team stay focused on the challenges facing them, his spokeswoman said.

英國新任首相大衛(wèi)卡梅倫的一位女發(fā)言人日前稱，卡梅倫于本周四提出禁止內(nèi)閣成員在開內(nèi)閣會議時使用手機，以確保新政府集中精力應對當前挑戰(zhàn)。

Chairing his first meeting of the cabinet, Cameron told senior ministers from his Conservative party and their coalition partners, the Liberal Democrats, that the distraction of mobiles would not be welcome.

當天，卡梅倫在主持召開首次內(nèi)閣會議時向他所領(lǐng)導的保守黨及其聯(lián)盟自由民主黨的高級內(nèi)閣大臣們表示，今后在開會時禁止使用手機。

The new team faces the daunting task of implementing public spending cuts to reduce a record budget deficit, while ensuring Britain stays on the road to recovery following a deep recession.

目前，新一屆政府正面臨削減公共開支以減少巨額財政赤字的艱巨任務，同時還要確保英國在嚴重的經(jīng)濟衰退后保持復蘇勢頭。

Politicians here have come to rely on mobile technology such as BlackBerrys so much that parliamentary authorities now allow their use in the House of Commons main debating chamber, albeit silently.

英國的政壇人物十分依賴黑莓等移動科技，因此議會機關(guān)目前允許在下院主辯論廳使用手機，不過要調(diào)為靜音。

Newly-installed Justice Secretary Kenneth Clarke became the first to break the rule, drawing a rebuke from Cameron at the inaugural meeting of top ministers.

新任司法大臣肯尼斯?克拉克在部長大臣就職會議上首破新規(guī)，受到卡梅倫的批評。

To laughter from the rest of the cabinet, the prime minister ordered him to cut short a telephone conversation so he could get down to the business of running the country.

卡梅倫要求他縮短通話，集中精力考慮國家大事。其他內(nèi)閣成員則笑了起來。

Cameron has not spared himself from the ban, added his spokeswoman.

卡梅倫的女發(fā)言人稱，手機禁令對首相自己也不例外。

He brought his cabinet together for the first time Thursday, after forming a coalition government earlier in the week by striking a deal with the Lib Dems following polls on May 6 that failed to produce a clear winner.

卡梅倫于本周四召開了上任后的首次內(nèi)閣會議。因本月6日的大選未能決出勝負，本周早些時候，卡梅倫領(lǐng)導的保守黨與自民黨達成協(xié)議，組建了新一屆的聯(lián)合政府。


Vocabulary:
albeit：although; even if（盡管，雖然）
cut short：to end abruptly; terminate（打斷，縮短）
strike a deal：達成協(xié)議