Some EU countries, particularly those with large diasporas, dish out the burgundy like a wine wholesaler at Christmas. Ireland allows anyone with an Irish grandparent to claim Irish citizenship. Given Irish enthusiasm for emigration, this leaves an uncountable number of potential Irish abroad. In Britain alone, an estimated 6m people would qualify for an Irish passport. That is about 20% more than live in Ireland, and thanks to Brexit, many have good cause to apply for one. Italy is even more generous to its diaspora. Anyone with a male Italian ancestor has a shot at an Italian passport. Along the patrilineal line, there is no upper limit, so the right goes back to 1861 and the creation of Italy. (The rights of descendents of women only start in 1948.) Between 1998 and 2010, 1m people obtained an Italian passport in this way. According to one estimate, 60m potential Italian citizens lurk around the globe. (However, many have settled in even richer places, such as America, and are unlikely to return.)
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一些欧盟国家，尤其是那些有大量海外侨胞的国家，就像是圣诞节时的葡萄酒批发商一样，大量签发护照。爱尔兰允许所有祖父母是爱尔兰人的人申请爱尔兰国籍。鉴于爱尔兰人对移民的热情，在海外的潜在爱尔兰人不可胜数。仅在英国，估计就有600万人有资格申请爱尔兰护照。这比居住在爱尔兰的人还要多20%，而且由于英国脱欧，许多人有充分的理由申请爱尔兰护照。意大利对海外侨民更加慷慨。任何有意大利男性祖先的人都有权申请意大利护照。沿着父系的关系，没有上限，这一权利可追溯到1861年以及意大利建国。（女性后代有权申请意大利护照始于1948年。）1998年至2010年间，有100万人通过这种方式获得了意大利护照。据估计，有6000万潜在意大利公民潜藏在全球各地。（然而，很多人已经定居在更加富裕的地方，比如美国，他们不太可能回到意大利了。）

Passports can be given out for political purposes. Hungary’s prime minister, Viktor Orban, has been the most cunning in this regard. After the first world war redrew eastern Europe’s borders, ethnic Hungarians were left scattered across neighbouring countries, such as Serbia and Romania. Mr Orban’s government has eased citizenship rules in an attempt to naturalise and enfranchise 1m of them. Between 2011 and 2016, 180,000 new Hungarians were created every year—more than the number of naturalisations in France and Germany, according to Yossi Harpaz in “Citizenship 2.0”, a book on dual nationality. Anyone who can trace lineage back to the right part of the Austro-Hungarian empire and is willing to learn Hungarian—a notoriously difficult language—can claim a passport. (Predictably, Hungarian language schools have popped up across Serbia.) The strategy has worked: when these new Hungarian citizens vote, they overwhelmingly support Mr Orban.
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护照的发放还可以出于政治目的。匈牙利总统维克托·欧尔班曾经最精于这一方面。在第一次世界大战重新划定了东欧的边界后，匈牙利人分散在邻国，比如塞尔维亚和罗马尼亚。欧尔班政府放宽了公民身份的规定，试图让其中的100万人入籍并授予特权。据约西·哈帕兹在一本关于双重国籍的书《公民身份2.0》中称，2011年至2016年间，匈牙利每年新增18万匈牙利人，入籍人数超过法国和德国。任何人只要能溯源到曾经属于奥匈帝国的正面部分，并且乐意学习匈牙利语（一种众所周知的难学语言），就可以申请护照。（可以预见的是，匈牙利语学校在塞尔维亚遍地开花。）这一策略奏效了：当这些匈牙利新公民参与投票时，他们以压倒性多数支持欧尔班。

注释

1.upper limit 上限

Consider how much you can afford to pay for a course, and what is your upper limit.
考虑一下你能承受花多少钱修一门课，上限是多少。

2.in this regard 在这方面

In this regard nothing has changed.
在这方面没什么变化。