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听力文本
Johnson Refuses Call for Scottish Independence Vote
The British government has refused a call by Scotland's First Minister for a special election on Scottish independence.
The refusal came as a note written on the government's legislative agenda. It said that a new vote would be "damaging."
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson told Parliament Thursday that the Scottish government should not be concerned with "breaking up our United Kingdom."
The disagreement came as Queen Elizabeth II arrived at the Parliament in London to set out the policies of Johnson's new government.
Earlier in the day, First Minister Nicola Sturgeon demanded the British government give Scotland the power to hold a new vote for independence.
In general elections last week, Sturgeon's Scottish National Party won 80 percent of the seats representing Scotland. She says that majority gives her the right to make the demand.
Speaking in Edinburgh, Sturgeon said the message from the election was that Scotland "does not want a Tory government led by Boris Johnson, taking us out of the European Union (EU)."
Johnson has said the Scottish independence referendum in 2014 settled the question. More than half of those voting wanted to stay part of Britain.
The British will remove Scotland from the EU "against its will," Sturgeon said.
Scotland had the country's highest percentage of voters opposed to a British withdrawal from the EU, a move politicians are calling Brexit. Sixty-two percent of the voters want to remain part of the EU.
The Scottish parliament is devolved and needs British permission to hold a new independence referendum. However, Sturgeon said there are still paths to independence.
Legal action
The Scottish parliament was established under British legislation known as the Scotland Act 1998. It says "the Union of the Kingdoms of Scotland and England" is an issue to be decided by Britain's parliament.
This is understood to mean that any referendum on Scottish independence can only be approved with the permission of lawmakers in London.
However, the issue has never been tested in court. Some lawyers and experts have argued that the Scottish parliament could have the power to call a referendum.
Scotland's Constitutional Secretary Mike Russell did not rule out such a legal effort, saying "everything is on the table." But he added that such a move was "not an argument for this week."
Illegal action
Sturgeon has said she would only seek to separate from the United Kingdom through legal referendum. She is, however, under pressure from some nationalists to call for a vote without the British parliament's permission.
An unapproved referendum in Scotland could cause a lot of problems, as recent history suggests.
Two years ago, the Spanish state of Catalonia held an independence referendum that led to anger in the country. Spain's government considered the vote illegal.
Sturgeon's former adviser, Kevin Pringle, recently wrote that Scotland might hold an illegal referendum.
"The legality...of such a move has never been tested," he noted in a report in The Sunday Times newspaper.
However, an illegal vote might hurt Scotland's chances of joining the EU, which most Scots support.
Spain might veto admission by Scotland if its uses an illegal independence process -- fearful that Catalonia might do the same.
I'm Susan Shand.
重点解析
1.a lot of 很多
I think a lot of people still underestimate him.
我觉得很多人仍然低估了他 。
2.call for 呼吁;要求
The ceasefire resolution calls for the release of all prisoners of war.
停火决议要求释放所有战俘 。
3.illegal action 违法行为
They're talking about this like it's an illegal action.
他们说的好像这是非法行动 。
4.breaking up 破裂;分手
He must have been aware that my parents 'marriage was breaking up.
他一定已经知道我父母的婚姻即将破裂 。
5.Scotland's Constitutional Secretary Mike Russell did not rule out such a legal effort, saying "everything is on the table."
rule out 排除
A serious car accident in 1986 ruled out a permanent future for him in farming.
1986年一场严重的车祸让他永远不可能再务农了 。
Local detectives have ruled out foul play.
当地的侦探已经排除了他杀的可能性 。
6.Scotland's Constitutional Secretary Mike Russell did not rule out such a legal effort, saying "everything is on the table."
everything is on the table 一切都有待讨论
These days, everything is on the table: entire product lines, real estate, patent portfolios.
现在,所有事都有待讨论,例如,整条生产线、房地产,专利组合 。
Everything is on the table, and we will all be asked to sacrifice.
所有事情都是有计划的,我们都会做出牺牲 。
参考译文
约翰逊否决苏格兰独立公投的请求
英国政府否决了苏格兰首席大臣关于苏格兰独立举行公投的请求 。
这次否决是英国政府立法议程的正式文件 。文件称,新一轮公投将是“破坏性的 。”
英国首相约翰逊周四对议会表示,苏格兰政府不应该参与“分裂大不列颠联合王国 。”
这一分歧是在伊丽莎白二世女王抵达英国议会制定约翰逊新政府的政策时出现的 。
当天早些时候,苏格兰首席大臣尼古拉·斯特金要求英国政府授予苏格兰举行新一轮独立公投的权力 。
在上周的大选中,斯特金的苏格兰民族党赢得了代表苏格兰的80%的席位 。她说,这种多数优势让她有权提出这一要求 。
斯特金在爱丁堡表示,选举所传达出的信息是苏格兰“不希望约翰逊领导的保守党政府带我们脱离欧盟 。”
约翰逊表示,2014年的苏格兰独立公投已经解决了这个问题 。苏格兰超半数的选民希望留在英国 。
斯特金表示,英国人将“违背苏格兰的意愿”,带领其脱离欧盟 。
苏格兰反对退出欧盟的选民比例在英国是最高的,政界人士称此为“脱欧” 。苏格兰62%的选民希望留在欧盟 。
苏格兰议会被移交,需获得英国批准才能举行新一轮独立公投 。但是斯特金表示仍然有办法进行独立公投 。
法律诉讼
苏格兰议会是根据英国的《1998年苏格兰法案》建立的 。这项法律称,“苏格兰和英格兰联合王国”的问题需由英国议会决定 。
这意味着任何关于苏格兰独立公投都必须获得英国立法者的许可才能获得认可 。
然而,这个问题从未在法庭上讨论过 。一些律师和专家认为,苏格兰议会有权举行全民公投 。
苏格兰宪法大臣迈克·罗素并未排除发起法律诉讼的可能,称“一切都有待商榷 。”但是他补充说,这样的举动“不在本周的争论范围内 。”
非法举动
斯特金表示,她只会通过合法公投寻求从英国独立 。然而,一些民族主义者向其施压,他们要求不经英国议会许可举行公投 。
近代的历史表明,苏格兰未经批准举行公投可能会引发很多问题 。
两年前,西班牙加泰罗尼亚地区举行了独立公投,在西班牙国内引发了众怒 。西班牙政府认为这次公投是非法的 。
斯特金的前顾问凯文·普林格尔最近写道,苏格兰可能会举行非法公投 。
他在《星期日泰晤士报》的报道中指出:“这类行动的合法性从未经过法庭辩论 。”
然而,非法公投可能会损害苏格兰加入欧盟的机会,而大多数苏格兰人支持加入欧盟 。
如果苏格兰采用非法独立公投程序,西班牙可能会否决苏格兰加入欧盟,因为它担心加泰罗尼亚地区步后尘 。
苏珊·尚德为您播报 。
译文为可可英语翻译,未经授权请勿转载!
