Here the British are very much mimicking the Japanese: fewer and fewer are learning foreign languages, studying abroad, and following the old path of working in Hong Kong, Singapore, or Australia. So prevalent is this “little England” mood that Prime Minister David Cameron’s government is now tempted to hold a referendum to ask the British whether they want to remain within the European Union, a vote that even that arch euro-skeptic, Margaret Thatcher, never risked.
在这方面，英国像极了日本人：越来越少的年轻人学外语、出国留学，然后沿着传统老路去香港、新加坡和澳大利亚工作。这种“小英格兰”（little England）观念是如此普遍，以致于首相卡梅伦政府意欲举行公投，让英国人选择是否愿意留在欧盟。这种现象就连在欧元的主要质疑者撒切尔夫人时代都是绝不会发生的。