VOA今日美国2023 苏格兰奥克尼群岛想要"脱英入北欧"

Officials on the Orkney Islands, a part of Scotland, recently voted to explore ways of seeking more self-governance — or even independence — from United Kingdom governments.

苏格兰奥克尼群岛的官员最近投票决定探索从英国政府手中寻求更多自治权——甚至独立——的方法。

Reporters from around the world watched remotely as Orkney Islands Council voted to study other "models of governance" for the island group, which has a population of 22,000 people.

来自世界各地的记者远程观看了奥克尼群岛议会投票决定为这个拥有2.2万人口的岛屿研究其他“治理模式”的过程。

The proposal from local government leader James Stockan got international attention with its mention of possibly restoring Orkney's "Nordic connections."

当地政府领导人詹姆斯·斯托坎的提议引起了国际社会的关注，因为该项提议提到了可能恢复奥克尼群岛的“北欧联系”。

Orkney was under Norwegian and Danish control for centuries until 1472.

在1472年之前，奥克尼群岛一直被挪威和丹麦控制了几个世纪。

In that year, the islands were taken by the Scottish crown as part of Margaret of Denmark's wedding gift, or dowry, to King James III of Scotland.

在那一年，奥克尼群岛被苏格兰皇室占有，当时丹麦将其作为玛格丽特与苏格兰国王詹姆斯三世的结婚礼物（即嫁妆）的一部分送给苏格兰。

Stockan said his proposal "is not about us joining Norway," but about dealing¹ with the "discrimination that we've had against this community" from the Scottish and U.K. governments.

斯托坎说，他的提议“不是要我们加入挪威”，而是要处理苏格兰和英国政府“对这个社区的歧视”。

"I say, 'Enough,'" Stockan said.

“我认为，‘够了，’”斯托坎说。

He added, "I say it is time for government to take us seriously, and it is time for us to look at all the options we've got."

他补充说，“我认为，现在是政府认真对待我们的时候了，也是我们考虑所有选择的时候了。”

Long a poor area that depends on the unpredictable fishing industry, Orkney became wealthier after large reserves of oil were discovered offshore² in the 1960s.

奥克尼群岛长期以来一直是一个依赖不可预测的渔业的贫困地区，20世纪60年代在近海发现了大量石油储备后，奥克尼群岛变得更加富裕。

The islands, about 16 kilometers north of mainland Scotland, also have a growing wind-power industry and a growing tourism business.

奥克尼群岛位于苏格兰大陆以北约16公里处，风力发电产业和旅游业也在不断发展。

But Stockan said Orkney gets less support from the Scottish government than other island communities in Shetland or the Hebrides.

但斯托坎说，与设得兰或赫布里底群岛的其他岛屿社区相比，奥克尼群岛从苏格兰政府那里得到的支持较少。

He said that Orkney needs new boats to keep its many islands connected.

他说，奥克尼群岛需要新船来保持许多岛屿之间的联系。

Duncan Tullock, another local leader, said Orkney was "living off crumbs³."

另一位当地领导人邓肯·图洛克说，奥克尼群岛“靠面包屑过日子”。

Living off crumbs means getting or earning very little.

Living off crumbs的意思是挣得很少。

Tullock added, "I've never been more disillusioned⁴ in my life with both the Scottish and the U.K. governments... We have had promise upon promise upon promise, every single one of them empty."

图洛克补充道：“我一生中从未像现在这样对苏格兰和英国政府感到失望……它们向我们许下的一个个诺言都没有兑现。”

A report that went with Stockan's motion suggested Orkney should investigate choices including a situation like the Faeroe Islands.

斯托坎动议报告建议奥克尼群岛应该考虑包括法罗群岛的情况在内的选择。

It is a self-governing dependency of Denmark that lies between Scotland and Iceland.

它位于苏格兰和冰岛之间，是丹麦的一个自治属地。

Another choice is to copy Britain's Crown Dependencies such as the Channel Islands of Jersey⁵ and Guernsey.

另一个选择是复制英国的王权属地，如泽西岛和根西岛的海峡群岛。

Any major constitutional change will be difficult, likely requiring voting and lawmaking by the Scottish and British governments.

任何重大的宪法修改都将是困难的，可能需要苏格兰和英国政府的投票和立法。

The two governments themselves disagree over Scotland's desire for independence after Brexit.

两个政府在对苏格兰在英国脱欧后争取独立的愿望上存在分歧。

The British government said there was "no mechanism⁶" to change the status of Orkney.

英国政府表示，没有任何机制可以改变奥克尼群岛的地位。

And the Norwegian government said the debate was "a domestic and constitutional British matter" on which it had no view.

挪威政府表示，这场辩论是“英国国内和宪法事务”，挪威对此不予置评。

David Dawson, a member of Orkney's local government, also criticized some of the ideas being proposed for the island as "daydreams⁷."

奥克尼群岛地方政府成员大卫·道森也批评了一些为该岛提出的想法，称其是“白日做梦”。

He said Britain's rocky departure from the European Union served as a warning about the risks of going alone.

他说，英国艰难地脱离欧盟是对单独行动风险的警告。

"Let me caution you with one word," he said. "Brexit."

“让我用一个词警告你，”他说。“英国退欧。”

I'm John Russell.

约翰·拉塞尔为您播报。

1 dealing   

n.经商方法，待人态度

参考例句：

• This store has an excellent reputation for fair dealing.该商店因买卖公道而享有极高的声誉。
• His fair dealing earned our confidence.他的诚实的行为获得我们的信任。

2 offshore   

adj.海面的，吹向海面的；adv.向海面

参考例句：

• A big program of oil exploration has begun offshore.一个大规模的石油勘探计划正在近海展开。
• A gentle current carried them slowly offshore.和缓的潮流慢慢地把他们带离了海岸。

3 crumbs   

int. (表示惊讶)哎呀 n. 碎屑 名词crumb的复数形式

参考例句：

• She stood up and brushed the crumbs from her sweater. 她站起身掸掉了毛衣上的面包屑。
• Oh crumbs! Is that the time? 啊，天哪！都这会儿啦？

4 disillusioned   

a.不再抱幻想的，大失所望的，幻想破灭的

参考例句：

• I soon became disillusioned with the job. 我不久便对这个工作不再抱幻想了。
• Many people who are disillusioned in reality assimilate life to a dream. 许多对现实失望的人把人生比作一场梦。

5 jersey   

n.运动衫

参考例句：

• He wears a cotton jersey when he plays football.他穿运动衫踢足球。
• They were dressed alike in blue jersey and knickers.他们穿着一致，都是蓝色的运动衫和灯笼短裤。

6 mechanism   

n.机械装置；机构，结构

参考例句：

• The bones and muscles are parts of the mechanism of the body.骨骼和肌肉是人体的组成部件。
• The mechanism of the machine is very complicated.这台机器的结构是非常复杂的。

7 daydreams   

n.白日梦( daydream的名词复数 )v.想入非非，空想( daydream的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• Often they gave themselves up to daydreams of escape. 他们常沉溺进这种逃避现实的白日梦。 来自英汉文学
• I would become disgusted with my futile daydreams. 我就讨厌自己那种虚无的梦想。 来自辞典例句