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(单词翻译:双击或拖选)
The Queen has pleaded with voters in Scotland to “think carefully” before breaking apart the 300-year-old union with England.
日前，英国女王表示希望苏格兰独立公投的选民们一定要“认真考虑”之后，再决定是否愿意与在一起联合了300多年的英格兰分开。
In a dramatic intervention1 just days before the independence vote, Her Majesty2 spoke3 to crowds outside Crathie Kirk near Balmoral.
女王是在位于苏格兰巴尔莫拉尔庄园附近的教堂外对群众讲话时发表此看法的。目前距离苏格兰公投还有三天时间。
She told one well-wisher who had joked about the referendum: “I hope everybody thinks very carefully about the future.”
当时人群中有人提起公投并开玩笑，女王便对他说：“我希望每个人都能认真地考虑一下未来。”
The intervention is significant as the Queen has refused to make any formal statement about Thursday’s historic vote, despite reports she is deeply worried.
虽然有报道称女王对苏格兰的独立前景非常担忧，但之前女王并未对将在本周四举行的这一历史性公投发表任何正式声明，因此女王此时提出这样的看法意义重大。
最新的调查显示，反对苏格兰独立的阵营以微弱优势领先，反对与支持的比例分别为51%与49%。
But with up to half a million voters yet to decide, both sides accept the outcome is too close to call.
但是由于还有近50万的选民没有做出决定，所以双方都明白最终结果如何，现在仍无法断定。
A royal source said yesterday: “The Queen respects the will of the Scottish people and she will work with them whatever the result.
昨天来自皇室的消息称：“女王尊重苏格兰人民的意愿，无论结果如何她都将继续和他们一起合作。”
“But she wants to make sure people have thought about the long-term repercussions5 of breaking up the union.”
“她只是想要确保人民对分裂英国的长期影响有所考虑。”
The source added: “The Queen remains constitutionally impartial6 and she’s not coming down on either side of the argument.”
消息还称：“女王依然是保持政治中立的，她不会斥责或反对任何一方。”
But Labour MPs said it was clear the Queen did not want her country ripped apart.
但是工党议员称很明显女王并不想她的国家被分裂。
“This shows her preference is for us to stay together,” said Rochdale MP Simon Danczuk.
“这表明女王是希望我们在一起、不分开的。”工党议员西蒙说。
And one royal expert said: “I’m sure that privately7 the Queen is horrified8 at the prospect9 of the union breaking up.
一位皇室专家称：“我确定女王在私底下一定对国家分裂的前景感到恐惧。”
"In the most subtle way possible she has put her view across and she’s clearly very worried about the thought of independence.”
“她可能在以最不经意的方式表达她的看法，显然她对独立感到担心。”
Prince Harry10 was also caught up in the debate when he said he hoped the Invictus Games could be held in the UK next year – possibly in Glasgow.
哈里王子同样被卷入了争论之中，他曾表示希望Invictus游戏明年能在英国举行，最好是在格拉斯哥市（该市位于苏格兰）。
“I personally would love to keep it in the UK,” he said.
他说：“我个人希望苏格兰能留在英国。”
The royal interventions11 came as former England football captain David Beckham gave his backing to the No campaign.
在皇室成员表达看法的同时，前英国足球队队长大卫·贝克汉姆也曾表示支持苏格兰留在英国。
In an open letter to voters in Scotland, Beckham wrote of his “pride and passion” at representing the UK on the London Olympics bid.
在一封致苏格兰选民的公开信中，贝克汉姆提到他在代表英国申请伦敦奥运会主办权时的“骄傲与激情”。
“I took as much satisfaction in seeing Sir Chris Hoy or Andy Murray win gold as I did watching Jess Ennis and Mo Farah do the same in the Olympic Stadium,” he wrote.
“看到克里斯·霍伊爵士和安迪·穆雷夺得金牌，和在奥林匹克体育场看到杰斯·埃尼斯和法拉赫夺冠时，我感受到的是同样的满足与兴奋。”
As the campaign enters its final days, both sides are now focusing on the 500,000 voters who have yet to make up their minds.
在这场独立与否的战役进行到最后几天的时候，双方目前都把关注点放在了那还未决定该如何选择的50万选民身上。
But former Labour Home Secretary John Reid dropped a clanger when he said those who have not yet made up their minds should not vote.
前工党内政大臣约翰·里德之前曾当众失言，声称无法做出决定的人就不应该去投票。
“If you don’t know, genuinely, don’t vote,” he said.
“如果你不知道该投给哪边，那就不要投票。”他说。
“There are a thousand ways to make a protest vote. Gambling12 with the future of your country and future generations is not the most sensible one of those to choose.”
“有很多种方法来表示抗议，但拿你自己国家和人民的将来做赌注并不是最理智的一种。”
Better Together sources later said that Lord Reid meant to say “if you don’t know, vote No”.
“在一起更好”组织随后称里德的话意思是“如果你不知道该投什么，那就投反对票”。
Meanwhile, new polling by Survation for the Daily Mirror shows most voters in Scotland are not swayed by politicians’ arguments around issues such as the currency, security or the NHS.
与此同时，根据《每日镜报》所做的调查，苏格兰的大多数选民并未受到政客们有关货币、安全或健康保险制度等言论的影响。
The majority of those asked – 53% – gave non-specific reasons for their choice, such as “I just think we’re better together” or “I just think we should go it alone”.
其中，有53%的被调查者对自己的选择无法给出具体的原因，而只是表示“我觉得我们在一起更好”或是“我只是觉得我们应该独立”。
Scottish separatist leader Alex Salmond confirmed he would break Britain apart even if he wins Thursday’s poll by just a single vote.
苏格兰支持独立派的先锋、民族党领袖艾利克斯·萨蒙德证实，在即将进行的公投中，哪怕以一票优势获胜，也能使苏格兰独立。
But he would not push for a second referendum if Scotland votes to stay in the UK.
但是如果苏格兰公投结果是留在英国，他也不会推动进行第二次公投。
There were also warnings that Mr Salmond hopes to asset-strip Britain’s armed forces if he wins.
也有消息称萨蒙德如果取得胜利希望剥除英国武装部队。
The separatists say they are due a share of the UK’s aircraft carriers, tanks and frigates13 as Scotland is one-twelfth of the UK population.
独立派人士表示他们应该享有英国的航空母舰、坦克和护卫舰，因为苏格兰人口占英国人口的十二分之一。
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1
intervention
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| n.介入，干涉，干预 | |
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2
majesty
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| n.雄伟，壮丽，庄严，威严；最高权威，王权 | |
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3
spoke
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| n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说 | |
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remains
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| n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹 | |
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5
repercussions
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| n.后果，反响( repercussion的名词复数 )；余波 | |
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impartial
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| adj.(in,to)公正的，无偏见的 | |
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privately
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| adv.以私人的身份，悄悄地，私下地 | |
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8
horrified
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| a.(表现出)恐惧的 | |
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prospect
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| n.前景，前途；景色，视野 | |
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10
harry
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| vt.掠夺，蹂躏，使苦恼 | |
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11
interventions
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| n.介入，干涉，干预( intervention的名词复数 ) | |
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12
gambling
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| n.赌博；投机 | |
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frigates
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| n.快速军舰( frigate的名词复数 ) | |
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