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Scotland will break away from the United Kingdom within 20 years, the defeated leader of the Scots nationalists predicted on Sunday, after a poll showed a majority of voters would back independence if another referendum were held today.

一份民調顯示，倘若今天舉辦另一場公投，多數選民將支持獨立後，挫敗的蘇格蘭民族主義領袖週日預測，蘇格蘭將在20年內脫離聯合王國。

In September, 55 percent of Scots voted to reject independence in a historic referendum after Britain’s three main UK-wide parties promised to grant greater devolution to Scotland in the event of a "No" vote.

9月間，聯合王國3大主要政黨承諾，倘若蘇格蘭不獨，將下放更多權力給蘇格蘭後，55％的蘇格蘭人在歷史性的公投中拒絕獨立。

But in a surprise poll on Saturday, 52 percent of those asked said they would now vote for a breakaway.

但在週六一份令人驚訝的民調中，52％受訪者表示，現在他們支持脫離（聯合王國）。

Disagreements over how much more power Scotland will get and over separate proposals to stop non-English lawmakers voting on matters that concern England in the British parliament have clouded the referendum’s aftermath, with the Scottish Nationalist Party (SNP) accusing other parties of backsliding.

對於蘇格蘭可再獲得多少權力，以及在英國國會中阻止非英格蘭籍議員對英格蘭事務有投票權的個別方案意見分歧，使公投的後果籠罩陰霾，蘇格蘭民族黨（SNP）指控其他政黨背棄承諾。

Alex Salmond, the SNP’s outgoing leader who unsuccessfully spearheaded the independence campaign, said on Sunday the desire for change was so strong, even among those who voted no, that independence was now inevitable.

未能成功帶領這場獨立運動的SNP將去職的黨魁薩蒙德週日說，改變的渴望如此強烈，甚至在那些投票反獨的選民中也是如此，獨立現在已是必然。

Asked if he thought Scotland would become independent in the next 10 or 20 years, Salmond said "Yes". "The destination is set. But the number of stops along the way and the exact timetable I think that’s to be determined," he said. "It will actually be determined by the Scottish people." (Reuters)

當被問到是否認為蘇格蘭將在未來10或20年獨立時，薩蒙德說「是的」。「終站已定。但沿途的站牌數以及確切的時間表，我認為還有待確定，」他說，「這實際上將由蘇格蘭人決定。」（路透）

新聞辭典

in the event of：如果…發生，萬一。例句：In the event of rain, the party will be held indoors.（如果下雨，派對將在室內舉行。）

backslide：可當動詞與名詞，倒退、故態復萌、墮落。例如，backslide on one’s promise（背棄承諾）

outgoing：形容詞，即將離職的、友好的、直率的。例句：She is outgoing.（她為人直率。）

宏浩翻譯引用 http://iservice.ltn.com.tw/Service/english/english.php?engno=833627&day=2014-11-26