| 簡介：◎「公投」的英語怎麼說？ ◎ at odds 是什麼意思？ ◎ 什麼是 honorable mention？ Bonnie Scotland: Ambivalent Borders
Prior to the June 23 referendum on whether the United Kingdom would leave the European Union, polls in Scotland, the U.K.'s northern constituent, showed overwhelming commitment to the EU. This immediately served to rehash talk of Scotland's independence in the event of "Brexit."
Scotland became part of the U.K. in 1707, though its insistence on legal, educational and religious establishments remaining separate from Britain has preserved its unique culture. A people proud of their national identity, Scots have steadily increased their support for the independence-oriented Scottish National Party since its appearance in 1934. Scotland perches on the northern third of the island of Great Britain and borders the North Sea. The discovery of rich offshore oil reserves in 1970 was seized by the SNP as a linchpin of the Scottish independence movement. However, the results of three referendums, held in 1979, 1997 and 2014, have thus far been limited to progressively devolving central power to the revived Scottish Parliament. In the May 5 parliamentary election, the SNP won their third ruling term but came short of a repeat majority by two seats.
Recent studies show that the falling global oil prices would have left an independent Scotland with a 9.4-percent deficit of GDP, in contrast to a 2.9-percent shortfall in the U.K. Perhaps Scotland and the U.K. really are "Better Together." Still, diverging views — from fiscal matters to military policy — continually put Scotland at odds with England.
蘇格蘭──矛盾的疆界
六月二十三日，英國是否要脫離歐盟的公投前夕，英國北部的組成國──蘇格蘭，在民調中展現了壓倒性的挺歐盟立場。這立即讓蘇格蘭獨立在「英國脫離歐盟」事件中被拿來當成冷飯新炒的話題。
蘇格蘭在 1707 年成為英國的一部分，但它對於法律、教育和宗教等體制都要維持和英國有所區隔的堅持，使其特有的文化得以保存了下來。以國家身分認同為傲的蘇格蘭人，對於自 1934 年成立且立場傾向獨立的蘇格蘭民族黨，穩定地增加他們的支持度。蘇格蘭是大不列顛群島北部的第三個島，與北海為鄰。1970 年在近海發現豐富的石油儲量，被蘇格蘭民族黨視為推動獨立的利器。然而，1979 年、1997 年和 2014 年三次舉辦的公投，結果僅侷限在逐步轉移中央權力至復甦的蘇格蘭國會。五月五日的國會選舉中，蘇格蘭民族黨贏得第三次的執政任期，但因差了兩個席次而無法繼續保持多數黨的身分。
最近的研究指出，不斷下跌的全球油價可能讓獨立的蘇格蘭背負國內生產毛額 9.4% 的赤字，與續留英國的 2.9% 跌幅形成對照。也許蘇格蘭與英國真的是「在一起比較好」。然而，從財政事務到軍事政策，仍存在的分歧看法持續讓蘇格蘭和英格蘭有所衝突。
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