2015考研英语阅读苏格兰独立_大学英语阅读

2015考研英语阅读苏格兰独立

　　But Scotland s relative economic decline is the result not of southern neglect but of the shiftof manufacturing and shipping to Asia. If Westminster has not reversed all the deleteriouseffects of globalisation and technology, that is because to do so is impossible. The nationalistsknow this, which is why, sotto voce, they would continue many of Westminster s policies.Instead they make much of minor adjustments, such as abolishing the bedroom tax, a recentmeasure designed to nudge people out of too-large social housing. To break up a countryover such small, recent annoyances would be nuts.

　　但苏格兰经济衰退，其罪魁并非英国政府，而是制造业和运输业向亚洲转移的结果。英国政府也无法阻挡全球化和科技发展所带来的负面效应。偷偷滴说一句，苏格兰民族党也明白这一点，所以他们仍会保留英国政府制定的诸多政策。目前他们只是做出了一些小改变，如废除近期英国颁布的针对空置房屋的卧室税。但为了近期发生的这么点小不满就要分裂一个国家也太不明智了。

　　The nationalists economics are also flawed. Scotland would not, in fact, be richer alone. Thetaxes that would flow to it from the North Sea would roughly compensate for the extra cost ofits lavish state, which would no longer be funded by Westminster . But oil revenues areerratic. They would have earned Scotland 11.5 billion in 2008-09 but only 5.5 billion in 2012-13. If an independent state were to smooth these fluctuations by setting up an oil fund, itwould have less cash to spend now. In any case, the oil is gradually running out. In order tomaintain state spending after it is gone, taxes would have to rise. And a crunch might comemuch sooner. Foreign investors and big businesses that mostly serve English customers couldwell move south.