新奇事件簿 欧盟称直布罗陀为英属殖民地

The United Kingdom has objected to the European Union's use of the word "colony" to describe the island of Gibraltar. The European Council, a body that defines the EU's political direction produced a document regarding UK nationals travelling to the EU after Brexit. It says in a footnote: "Gibraltar is a colony of the British Crown. There is a controversy¹ between Spain and the UK concerning the sovereignty over Gibraltar, a territory for which a solution has to be reached." A UK government spokesperson said: "Gibraltar is not a colony and it is completely inappropriate to describe it in this way. She added: "Gibraltar is a full part of the UK family....This will not change due to our exit from the EU."

英国拒绝欧盟使用‘殖民地’一词描述直布罗陀岛。英国脱欧后，为欧盟制定政治方向的欧洲理事会公布了一份关于英国公民前往欧盟旅游的文件。其注释中写道：“直布罗陀是英国王室的殖民地。西班牙和英国在直布罗陀主权问题上存在争议，必须解决这一领土问题。”英国政府发言人表示：“直布罗陀岛不是殖民地，用这种方式描述完全不合适。她会说到：“直布罗陀是属于英国大家庭的一部分... 这一点不会因为英国脱欧而有所改变。

Gibraltar is a British Overseas Territory located in the Mediterranean² Sea between Spain and Morocco. It is home to over 30,000 people. In 1704, Anglo-Dutch forces captured it from Spain during a war. Spain handed Gibraltar to Great Britain in a 1713 treaty. However, Spain still asserts a claim to the territory. It wants Gibraltar excluded from all post-Brexit agreements between the UK and the EU. Gibraltar rejected proposals for shared UK-Spanish sovereignty by 99% to 1% in a 2002 referendum. Gibraltar's Chief Minister has accused Spain of bullying³. He said: "No one will be surprised to hear the Spanish government making provocative⁴ statements in respect of Gibraltar."

直布罗陀是介于西班牙和摩洛哥之间地中海海域的英属海外领土。这里居住着三万多人。1704年，英荷军队在一次战争中从西班牙手中夺得该地。在一份1713年条约中，西班牙将直布罗陀交给英国。但西班牙仍主张对该领土的所有权。其希望能在英国和欧盟的脱欧后协议中将直布罗陀排除在外。在2002年的一次公投中，直布罗陀以99%对1%的票数否决了英西共享主权的提议。直布罗陀首席部长指责西班牙恃强凌弱。他说道：“没人会惊讶听到西班牙政府就直布罗陀问题发表挑衅声明。”

1 controversy   

n.争论，辩论，争吵

参考例句：

• That is a fact beyond controversy.那是一个无可争论的事实。
• We ran the risk of becoming the butt of every controversy.我们要冒使自己在所有的纷争中都成为众矢之的的风险。

2 Mediterranean   

adj.地中海的；地中海沿岸的

参考例句：

• The houses are Mediterranean in character.这些房子都属地中海风格。
• Gibraltar is the key to the Mediterranean.直布罗陀是地中海的要冲。

3 bullying   

v.恐吓，威逼( bully的现在分词 )；豪；跋扈

参考例句：

• Many cases of bullying go unreported . 很多恐吓案件都没有人告发。
• All cases of bullying will be severely dealt with. 所有以大欺小的情况都将受到严肃处理。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 provocative   

adj.挑衅的，煽动的，刺激的，挑逗的

参考例句：

• She wore a very provocative dress.她穿了一件非常性感的裙子。
• His provocative words only fueled the argument further.他的挑衅性讲话只能使争论进一步激化。