新冠疫情重創經濟
As the coronavirus pandemic is sweeping across the world and has caused a global economic recession, Hutt River, a self-declared tiny principality which used to thrive on tourism, recently announced its final “return” to Australia due to a drop in its tourism revenue and a huge tax bill.
當新冠肺炎疫情橫掃全球，造成全球經濟蕭條，位於澳洲、過去曾靠觀光業生財的赫特河公國如今也因為不敵觀光收入銳減及鉅額欠稅，於近期宣布「重回」澳洲。
sweep across橫掃recession(n.)衰退self-declared自我宣稱的principality(n.)公國、封邑thrive on sth.在某種情形下很興盛
As a micronation, Hutt River claimed to be a sovereign state but was not widely considered independent, as opposed to microstates such as Vatican City, whose sovereignty has been acknowledged by other countries.
赫特河公國不像梵蒂岡等「微型國家」，雖然自稱主權獨立，但並沒有被廣泛承認。
claim(v.)宣稱、號稱sovereign state主權國家as opposed to…相對於…=in contrast toVatican City梵諦岡sovereignty(n.)主權acknowledge(v.)認可、承認=recognize
Located 500 kilometers north of Perth, the capital of the state of Western Australia, Hutt River was more than twice the size of Macau and had a tiny population of only 26 residents.
公國位於西澳首府伯斯以北500公里處，面積較澳門兩倍還大，人口卻只有26人。
Perth伯斯state of Western Australia西澳大利亞省be twice the size of sth.某物的兩倍大Macau澳門
The micronation issued its own flag, driver’s license, currency, passport and postal system, although the Australian government never recognized the country. The micronation used to be a bizarre yet famous tourist spot. Any tourist paying US$2.5 would be granted a visa and access to the “country.”
雖然澳洲政府從未承認赫特河公國，公國仍自行印製國旗、發行駕照、貨幣、護照，並擁有自己的郵政系統。赫特河公國是個怪異但知名的景點，遊客只要支付美金2.5元，就可以獲得簽證並入境這個「國家」。
recognize(v.)認可=acknowledgebizarre(adj.)怪異的、奇特的grant(v.)授予
As Hutt River accumulated its tourism revenue and failed to pay any tax, WA Supreme Court ruled in 2017 that the principality should pay the Australian Taxation Office the owed tax. The court decision, however, was met with a fierce objection from the then-Prince Leonard, the father of Prince Graeme Casley.
隨著公國賺取觀光財但不付稅，西澳高等法院最終於2017年裁定公國需支付澳洲稅務局欠稅。然而當時的雷納親王強烈抵制法院判決，他是葛雷姆親王的父親。
accumulate(v.)累積=garnerfail to V沒有…、無法…owed(adj.)欠(債、錢財)的be met with面臨(不愉快的情況)=be faced with
When Prince Leonard died in February 2019, he left behind a US$2.15 million tax bill, which forced Prince Graeme Casley to announce that the micronation would sell its land to pay the debt since its tourism business had slumped thanks to the pandemic.
雷納親王於2019年2月過世，留下美金215萬欠稅，而今赫特河公國的觀光生意受疫情重創已無法帶來任何收入，葛雷姆親王不得不宣佈出售公國土地來償還欠款。
leave behind sth.遺留tax bill稅單force sb. to V迫使某人…slump(v.)(n.)(價格)猛跌
Hutt River was founded in 1970 by a group of farmers, who had a clash with Australia’s federal government over wheat production quotas. In the end, the leader of the group, Leonard Casley, “seceded” his farm from Australia.
1970年時，一群農夫不滿小麥生產額度受政府管制，隨後帶頭的雷納遂將自己的農場「脫離」澳洲，自立成國。
a clash with sb. over sth.與某人因某事衝突federal government聯邦政府secede from…脫離(某政權)獨立
In fact, other than Hutt River, there had been around 30 micronations within Australia, such as the Gay and Lesbian Kingdom of the Coral Sea Islands, which were founded in 2004 by an LGBT group, Murrawarri Republic, established by aboriginal Australians in 2013, and the Principality of Wy, which was built by local residents in Sydney to protest the city council’s disapproval of the driveway reconstruction in the community.
事實上，澳洲約曾有過30個迷你公國，例如由LGBT人士成立於2004的「珊瑚海島同性戀者王國」、2013年由澳洲原住民創立的「默拉瓦里共和國」以及由雪梨社區居民為了抗議市議會拒絕社區改建車道而成立的「瓦伊公國」。
other than在…之外=in addition toLGBT=同志及跨性別團體=lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgenderaboriginal Australian澳洲原住民