Prime Minister Theresa May is to officially notify the European Union next Wednesday that the UK is leaving.

　　特蕾莎·梅首相将于下周三正式通知欧盟，英国将要离开。

　　Downing Street said she would write a letter to the European Council, adding that it hoped negotiations on the terms of exit and future relations could then begin as quickly as possible.

　　唐宁街表示，她将会给欧洲理事会写一封信，同时补充道，它希望脱欧程序和未来关系谈判随后能够尽快启动。

　　An EU spokesman said it was "ready and waiting" for the letter.

　　一名欧盟发言人称，欧盟“准备和等待”这封信。

　　Under the Article 50 process, talks on the terms of exit and future relations are not allowed until the UK formally tells the EU it is leaving.

　　在《里斯本条约》第50条下，直到英国正式告知欧盟将要脱欧才能允许进行脱欧和未来关系流程和谈判。

　　If all goes according to the two year negotiations allowed for in the official timetable, Brexit should happen in March 2019.

　　如果一切根据官方时间表允许的两年谈判展开，英国应该于2019年3月脱离欧盟。

　　A No 10 spokesman said the UK’s Ambassador to the EU, Sir Tim Barrow, informed the European Council, headed by President Donald Tusk, earlier on Monday of the date that Article 50 would be triggered.

　　唐宁街10号一名发言人说道，英国驻欧盟大使蒂姆·巴罗早于星期一就启动《里斯本条约》第50条通知了唐纳德·图斯克主席领导的欧洲理事会。

　　Mrs May is expected to make a statement to the House of Commons on Wednesday shortly after invoking Article 50, setting out her aims.

　　梅预计会在星期三启动第50条，不久后向下院发表声明，陈述她的目标。

　　A spokesman said the government wants negotiations to start as soon as possible.

　　一名发言人表示，政府希望尽快开始谈判。

　　The BBC’s Ben Wright said he expected the Article 50 letter to be short, possibly extending to two pages at most, and for Mrs May to use it to publicly reiterate her general objectives - such as leaving the single market but reaching a mutually beneficial agreement on trade and other issues.

　　BBC的本·赖特指出，他预计这封信会是简短的，可能最多两页，梅用此公开重述她的总体目标——例如，离开单一市场但会就贸易和其它问题达成互利协议。

（编辑：何莹莹）