经济学人:移民到苏格兰 希望你早先就已到达

 　　Immigration in Scotland

　　移民到苏格兰

　　Wish you were here

　　希望你早先就到这了

　　Immigration worries Scots less than other Britons, but that could change

　　相比英国其他地区，移民较少担心苏格兰人（排外），但这种情况可能变化

　　AT THE Polish Club in Glasgow, Scots and Poles socialise easily. Many of the customers in its restaurant are Scottish, eager to try Polish food before going there on holiday, says 16-year-old Maria, who moved to Scotland eight years ago and works in the club part-time as a waitress. She, by contrast, has no desire to return. Scotland's welcome has been warm. Its government wants it to be warmer still.

　　在格拉斯沃的“波兰俱乐部”中，苏格兰人和波兰人相处很愉快。16岁的玛丽娅说，这间饭馆的很多顾客都是苏格兰人。他们在去波兰度假之前，都很想先尝尝波兰的料理。八年前她移民来到苏格兰，并在这家俱乐部兼职做女侍。相比较苏格兰，她不愿意回波兰。苏格兰待客热情。其政府也希望苏格兰将来更加热情友好。

　　Scotland's leaders have long maintained that they need immigrants more than the rest of Britain does, both to boost the country's sparse² population and to alleviate³ skills shortages. Between 1981 and 2003 Scotland's population declined. Most of the population growth that Scotland has seen since then has been thanks to migrants, largely from outside Britain. Scots are having fewer children and ageing more rapidly than other Britons: on current trends the Scottish population will swell⁴ by just 4% by 2062 compared with 23% for Britain as a whole, according to the Institute for Fiscal⁵ Studies. The only cohort expected to grow is the oldest one.

　　长久以来，苏格兰地区领导人都认为相比英国其他地区其更需要移民。这既能增加该地区原本稀少的人口，又能够弥补技工短缺。从1981年到2003年，苏格兰人口下降。从那以后，苏格兰地区的人口增长大多都要归功于英国外来的移民。相比较其他地区，苏格兰的儿童越来越少，其人口老化也更迅速：据财政研究所估算，就目前苏格兰的人口趋势来看，到2062年为止，苏格兰人口将下降4%，而英国全国则减少23%。唯一增加的数据栏是老年人口一项。

　　If Scots vote for independence, a nationalist government promises to encourage immigration. It would offer incentives⁶ for migrants willing to move to far-flung spots. It would ease the nationwide requirement that immigrants must earn a particular salary to gain residency (currently set at ￡20,300, or $33,700) to reflect the lower cost of living there. Students would be able to stay after graduating and work for several years.

　　如果苏格兰人公投决定独立，这个民族政权也承诺继续鼓励移民。政府将会激励移民使其自愿到偏远地区安家。目前国家关于取得移民居住权的特定收入标准也将会放宽（目前设置的是20,300英镑或33,700美元），以表明居住在苏格兰成本低得多。学生在毕业后也能留得下，可以工作很多年。

　　Turning these aspirations⁷ into a workable immigration policy would be tricky⁸. Though anxious to join the EU, Scotland's government is less keen on the Schengen travel zone, which allows non-EU citizens to travel on a single visa. It wants to remain part of the Common Travel Area, like the Republic of Ireland, which imposes minimal⁹ border controls. Robert Wright, an economist¹⁰ at Strathclyde University who has advised the government on demography¹¹, is unconvinced this pick-and-mix approach to EU membership would work.

　　这些愿景若要成为一套行得通的移民政策也不现实。尽管渴望加入欧盟，苏格兰政府对加入申根区组织却没那么有兴趣。这个组织允许非欧盟公民可凭一个护照游遍全欧。苏格兰想继续遵守共同旅游区协议，就像爱尔兰共和国那样将边境控制降到最少。斯特拉思克莱德大学的经济学家罗伯特.赖特在人口政策上给政府提供咨询。他不相信用类似拼凑式的手段能取得欧盟的成员资格。

　　And this would be one of many strains on Scotland's relationship with the rest of Britain. Different immigration policies in two countries that share a land border could result in stricter controls, including passport checks between them. Humza Yousaf, Scotland's minister for external affairs and international development, denies they would be necessary. Scotland would have border management, he stresses, not border guards. But xenophobic English politicians may disagree.

　　而这只是苏格兰与英国其余地区诸多联系中的一个。如果毗邻的两个国家采用不同的移民政策，边境的控制将十分严格。其中就包括核查对方护照。苏格兰对外事务和国际发展部部长哈姆扎.尤萨夫否定这些关联不可或缺。他强调，苏格兰将来很可能实施的是边境管理而非边界警卫。但排外的英国政治家应该有不同意见。

　　If the nationalists lose the independence vote, London could be minded to devolve further powers to Scotland, perhaps including over immigration. Mr Wright argues there is scope for more regional diversity. In Canada, immigration requirements are eased if people agree to live in less popular provinces.

　　如果民族主义者在独立公投中失败，伦敦就有意进一步向苏格兰下放权力。当中可能包括移民方面。赖特认为地区多样性的操作空间会越来越大。在加拿大，如果移民同意居住在人口较稀少的省份，移民资格就会放宽一些。

　　Scots are somewhat less resistant¹² to immigration than other Britons. Some 58% want fewer migrants in Scotland. Fully¹³ 75% of English and Welsh people want fewer in their countries, says a report by the Migration¹ Observatory¹⁴ at the University of Oxford¹⁵. And Scots are more sanguine¹⁶. Just 21% identify immigration as one of the most important issues facing the country, lower than the British average of 33%, according to Ipsos MORI, a pollster.

　　牛津大学的移民观察站的一份报告称，某种程度上苏格兰人没有英国其他地区那般排斥移民。约58%的人希望苏格兰少点移民。而英国和威尔士则有75%的人希望自己的地区移民数量少点。苏格兰人更乐观一些。民意调查机构“莫里调查”发现，只有21%的人认为移民是本地区面临的至为关键的问题之一，比全英平均33%的比例要低的多。

　　That equanimity¹⁷ stems in part from the fact that migrants in Scotland are not especially common. More than half of its “foreign” residents come from other parts of Britain. Attitudes to immigrants tend to be softest where newcomers are scarce, as in Scotland, or very numerous, as in London. They harden in between those extremes. In eastern England, for example, where eastern Europeans are increasingly numerous, 38% fume¹⁸ about immigration. If Scotland manages to entice¹⁹ more foreigners, it will enter this difficult middle territory. The warm Scottish welcome could cool.

　　这份淡定部分是源于这样一个事实，即苏格兰的移民还没那么常见。约一半的“国外”移民来自英国的其他地区。国外新移民越少的地方，对移民的态度也就越温和，如苏格兰地区；而越多的地方，人们也是如此，比如伦敦。在这两个端点之间，民众就冷酷的多。比如英格兰东部地区东欧人口迅速增加，38%的人对移民有怨言。如果苏格兰成功吸引更多移民，其将陷入这个尴尬的中间区域。苏格兰人的温暖欢迎会变冷。

　　1.eager to 渴望

　　例句:This is what I am eager to do.

　　这就是我想要做的。

　　2.move to 移到, 迁往

　　例句:I want to move on with my life.

　　我还想继续我的生活。

　　3.more than 超过, 多于

　　例句:It has more than 100 years of history.

　　它有100多年的历史。

　　4.thanks to 由于, 多亏

　　例句:I don't know how to express my thanks.

　　我不知道该如何表达我的感谢。

1 migration   

n.迁移，移居，（鸟类等的）迁徙

参考例句：

• Swallows begin their migration south in autumn.燕子在秋季开始向南方迁移。
• He described the vernal migration of birds in detail.他详细地描述了鸟的春季移居。

2 sparse   

adj.稀疏的，稀稀落落的，薄的

参考例句：

• The teacher's house is in the suburb where the houses are sparse.老师的家在郊区，那里稀稀拉拉有几处房子。
• The sparse vegetation will only feed a small population of animals.稀疏的植物只够喂养少量的动物。

3 alleviate   

v.减轻，缓和，缓解(痛苦等)

参考例句：

• The doctor gave her an injection to alleviate the pain.医生给她注射以减轻疼痛。
• Nothing could alleviate his distress.什么都不能减轻他的痛苦。

4 swell   

vi.膨胀，肿胀；增长，增强

参考例句：

• The waves had taken on a deep swell.海浪汹涌。
• His injured wrist began to swell.他那受伤的手腕开始肿了。

5 fiscal   

adj.财政的，会计的，国库的，国库岁入的

参考例句：

• The increase of taxation is an important fiscal policy.增税是一项重要的财政政策。
• The government has two basic strategies of fiscal policy available.政府有两个可行的财政政策基本战略。

6 incentives   

激励某人做某事的事物( incentive的名词复数 )； 刺激； 诱因； 动机

参考例句：

• tax incentives to encourage savings 鼓励储蓄的税收措施
• Furthermore, subsidies provide incentives only for investments in equipment. 更有甚者，提供津贴仅是为鼓励增添设备的投资。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法

7 aspirations   

强烈的愿望( aspiration的名词复数 )； 志向； 发送气音； 发 h 音

参考例句：

• I didn't realize you had political aspirations. 我没有意识到你有政治上的抱负。
• The new treaty embodies the aspirations of most nonaligned countries. 新条约体现了大多数不结盟国家的愿望。

8 tricky   

adj.狡猾的，奸诈的；(工作等)棘手的，微妙的

参考例句：

• I'm in a rather tricky position.Can you help me out?我的处境很棘手，你能帮我吗？
• He avoided this tricky question and talked in generalities.他回避了这个非常微妙的问题，只做了个笼统的表述。

9 minimal   

adj.尽可能少的，最小的

参考例句：

• They referred to this kind of art as minimal art.他们把这种艺术叫微型艺术。
• I stayed with friends, so my expenses were minimal.我住在朋友家，所以我的花费很小。

10 economist   

n.经济学家，经济专家，节俭的人

参考例句：

• He cast a professional economist's eyes on the problem.他以经济学行家的眼光审视这个问题。
• He's an economist who thinks he knows all the answers.他是个经济学家，自以为什么都懂。

11 demography   

n.人口统计，人口学

参考例句：

• Demography is the analysis of population variables.人口学是对人口变量的分析。
• It was once a rule of demography that people have fewer children as their countries get richer.按人口统计学的一贯规律，一个国家里的人民越富有，他们所拥有的孩子就越少。

12 resistant   

adj.(to)抵抗的，有抵抗力的

参考例句：

• Many pests are resistant to the insecticide.许多害虫对这种杀虫剂有抵抗力。
• They imposed their government by force on the resistant population.他们以武力把自己的统治强加在持反抗态度的人民头上。

13 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。

14 observatory   

n.天文台，气象台，瞭望台，观测台

参考例句：

• Guy's house was close to the observatory.盖伊的房子离天文台很近。
• Officials from Greenwich Observatory have the clock checked twice a day.格林威治天文台的职员们每天对大钟检查两次。

15 Oxford   

n.牛津（英国城市）

参考例句：

• At present he has become a Professor of Chemistry at Oxford.他现在已是牛津大学的化学教授了。
• This is where the road to Oxford joins the road to London.这是去牛津的路与去伦敦的路的汇合处。

16 sanguine   

adj.充满希望的，乐观的，血红色的

参考例句：

• He has a sanguine attitude to life.他对于人生有乐观的看法。
• He is not very sanguine about our chances of success.他对我们成功的机会不太乐观。

17 equanimity   

n.沉着，镇定

参考例句：

• She went again,and in so doing temporarily recovered her equanimity.她又去看了戏，而且这样一来又暂时恢复了她的平静。
• The defeat was taken with equanimity by the leadership.领导层坦然地接受了失败。

18 fume   

n.(usu pl.)(浓烈或难闻的)烟，气，汽

参考例句：

• The pressure of fume in chimney increases slowly from top to bottom.烟道内压力自上而下逐渐增加，底层住户的排烟最为不利。
• Your harsh words put her in a fume.你那些难听的话使她生气了。

19 entice   

v.诱骗，引诱，怂恿

参考例句：

• Nothing will entice the children from television.没有任何东西能把孩子们从电视机前诱开。
• I don't see why the English should want to entice us away from our native land.我不明白，为什英国人要引诱我们离开自己的国土。