referendum
n
(pl ~s) [C, U]
referring of a political issue to a general vote by all the people of a country for a decision; vote thus taken 全民投票(以表决某政治问题); 全民投的票
hold a referendum on ending conscription 就结束徵兵问题举行全民投票
settle a national issue by referendum 以全民投票来解决一项国家大事. Cf 参看 plebiscite.
Shortly after this the famous H. M. S. Challenger expedition established the study of the sea-floor as a subject worthy of the most qualified physicists and geologists.