谁是世界上最幸福的人

谁是世界上最幸福的人 只有傻瓜才不考虑别人的利益。抛弃自己国家的传统来创造更好的社会是一种错误的方式。一个民族失去了自己的神话，就失去了自我。1they live on a windswept island surrounded by glaciers 冰川；冰河and volcanoes火山. what makes them so content满足的；甘心的?1他们生活在海风吹拂的小岛上，被冰川和火山所环绕着。是什么使他们如此满足？2in a poll民意调查of 18 nations, the gallup organization discovered that icelanders are the happiest people alive. all 267,809 of them. eighty-two percent are satisfied with their personal lives. the united states ranked位居；名列fifth at 72 percent; japan came in seventh with 42 percent.2美国的盖洛普民意测验组织对世界上18个国家的民意测验表明：冰岛人是世界上最快乐的人。参加测试的人数为26.78万人。82%的冰岛人表示满意自己的生活；美国表示满意自己生活的人数为72，排列第五位；日本排列第七位，人数比率为42。3some people would say that happy iceland is a statistical fluke侥幸. this is a country so small, an ordinary citizen can make an appointment to see the president.3有人会说：快乐的冰岛仅仅是统计上的巧合。这个国家如此之小，普通的公民也能受到总统的接见。4true, iceland is no utopia. icelanders are big boozers 酒徒, with a fishing tradition of binge狂欢作乐drinking. almost a third of the births are out of wedlock私生的. but thats what makes the gallup study so interesting. icelanders have problems like the rest of us, yet they are happy with their lot命运；运气. so what gives?4确实，冰岛并非天堂，冰岛有传统的打鱼豪饮的习惯，酒鬼很多，近三分之一的孩子没有父亲。然而，正因为如此，盖洛普的这项研究才显得更加有趣。因为，像我们一样，冰岛人有许多问题，但是，他们却安命乐天。这究竟是为什么呢？5consider thorir hlynur thorisson, 28. for his vacation, he spent a month working 16-hour days, seven days a week, as a fishing guide. it was “heaven on earth,” he says. then after a single night off, he was back at his regular jobon a fishing boat, working six hours on, six hours off, around the clock.5让我们来看一看，一个名叫索赫赫利纳索雷逊的28岁的冰岛人是怎样看待生活的。索雷逊在一个月的假期中，为自己找了一份捕渔向导的工作，他一周工作7天，每天工作16个小时,他把这种生活称作“人间的天堂”。假期结束后，他只休息了一个晚上，又接着正常工作起来在一艘轮船上，每天6小时工作、6小时休息地轮流当班。6we would call hlynur a workaholic工作狂, but so are most of his compatriots同胞. it pays off. with a per-capita gross domestic product of $19,905 (the u.s. figure is $27,541), icelanders are among the wealthiest people on earth. their tax dollars buy them excellent education and medical care. iceland has the lowest infant mortality rate婴儿死亡率in the world, and almost the highest longevity长寿；长命.6我们可以把赫利纳称为“工作狂”，但是，冰岛人也大多和他一样。当然，他们劳有所得，冰岛国内人均生产总值为1.99万美元（美国是2.75万美元）。他们上缴的利税换来了良好的教育和医疗保障。冰岛的婴儿死亡率位于世界之末，而寿命位于世界之首。7the dour抑郁的；闷闷不乐的swiss have a well-run state and all their material needs met, too, yet no one could accuse them of a cheerful outlook.7瑞士是一个秩序井然的国家，人民丰衣足食，生活富裕。可是，瑞士人却郁郁寡欢，闷闷不乐。8sociologist thorolfur thorlindsson of the university of iceland believes the secret lies not in his countrys comforts, but in its age-old 长期的；古老的discomforts. they have taught icelanders to enjoy what they have.8冰岛大学社会学家索罗尔非索林德森认为：冰岛人安命乐天的秘诀在于这个国家长期处于艰难困苦之中，而不在于它的舒适。这些艰难困苦教会了冰岛人“知足常乐”。9isolated与外界隔绝的；孤立的in the cold north atlantic, buffeted冲击；打击by a hostile敌对的；有敌意的sea, condemned责备；责怪to 20 hours of darkness each day in winter, the people have for centuries lived on the vagaries难以预测的情况of the fish catch. “our culture is colored影响by the harshness严酷；艰苦of nature,” says thorlindsson. “thats why icelanders have a tolerant宽容；容忍attitude to the problems of life. they dont expect the same sort of stability安定；稳定often expected in other nations.”9冰岛位于寒冷的北大西洋，常年遭受着海水的无情冲击，冬天有20个小时是黑夜，人民世代以艰苦的捕鱼业为生。“我们的文化带着自然严酷的特色，”索林德森说，“这就是为什么冰岛人对生活中的问题宽容的原因。冰岛人并不像其他国家人民一样，希望得到常有的稳定。”10and so it seems. americans are considerably better off更为富有/富裕by material standards than ever before. yet we seem less happy, less contented with our lot.10与此相比，我们美国人今天的物质生活条件比以往任何时候都好，但是却没有以往的快乐和满足。11like icelanders, americans are individualists个人主义者. where we seem to differ is in our sense of community群体；团体. iceland, known as the land of “fire and ice,” is about living with opposing forces. it is one of the most active volcanic countries on earth, but has 4536 square miles of glacierheat and cold, co-existing. no surprise them that its society can reconcile使调和；使并存another set of opposing forces: individualism and the needs of the community.11美国人和冰岛人都是个人主义者，所不同的是各自的群体意识。冰岛以“火和冰”而闻名遐迩，人民生活在逆境之中。冰岛是世界上活火山最多的国家之一，还有4536平方英里的冰川，堪称冷热并存。无怪乎这个国家能很好地协调个人主义和群体需要这两种对立的观念，使之共存共容。12anyone who thinks americans invented rugged粗鲁的；粗俗的individualism has only to visit iceland. this nation has an ancient古代的；远古的 respect for independence. way back in the tenth century, iceland was a commonwealth共和国；联邦; today icelanders still place high value on their freedom.12那些认为是美国人发明了个人主义的人应该到冰岛去看看，这个国家在远古就崇尚独立，早在10世纪就建立了联邦共和国。今天的冰岛人仍然看重自由的价值。13but heres the paradox矛盾；似是而非: this individualism exists with a sense of community. for years i have known an icelandic family that embraces包括；接受a family drunk and an illegitimate私生的；非法的child. this family never let them drift, like human flotsam流浪者；流离失所者, to be beached庇护；安顿at some government institution. “icelanders have strong systems of support,” says thorlindsson.13然而，这里的个人主义置于群体意识之中。在冰岛，家庭中的酒鬼和私生子不会被抛弃，这是因为冰岛有强有力的社会救济制度。14tolerance is not hollow 表面的；虚伪的 phrase in iceland. the word for “stupid”is heimskur, which roughly means “comes from home” or as we would say, provincial乡下气的；偏狭的or narrow-minded. icelanders believe only a dolt笨蛋；傻瓜is unable to see the other fellows position. in this sense, they might find some of what passes for political debate讨论；辩论in the united states absolutely heimskur.14在冰岛，忍耐并不是一句空话。冰岛话中“愚蠢”的同义词是“乡巴佬”或“心胸狭隘”。冰岛人认为只有傻瓜才不考虑别人的利益。以此观点，冰岛人可能会发现美国某些提交政府讨论的东西是非常愚蠢的。15most icelanders travel out into the world as young adults. they learn that theirs is not the only way of doing things. yet this doesnt translate into contempt蔑视；轻视for their own land and its history.15大多数冰岛人年轻时都要到国外去旅行。于是，他们知道自己的生活方式并非是唯一的，但是，并不会因此看不起自己的国家和历史。16the 12th-century icelandic sagas英雄传说, studied at universities the world over, are revered尊重；崇拜at home. turn on the radio and at the top of the charts节目播出单；节目安排表is bubbi morthens, a troubadour吟游诗人.16在世界上各大学中讲授的冰岛12世纪的传说在国内颇受重视。广播中到处都是吟游诗人巴比莫森斯的节目。17last summer in the lava 火山熔岩fields of icelands interior 内地；内陆, accountant sigmar bjornsson pointed out to me a cave where thieves had hidden. he showed me where they stored their weapons, where the villagers attacked, told me how one of the thieves, who had only one leg, walked on his hands to the glacier on the horizon地平线；水平线.17去年夏天，在岛内溶岩区，一个叫乔恩森的会计师指给我看一个岩洞，告诉我这岩洞曾是小偷的住所，指给我看他们藏匿武器、伏击村民的地方，并讲述了一个独腿贼是怎样以手代脚爬到地平线上的冰川去的。18“when did they hole up躲藏；藏匿here?” i asked.18“他们何时藏身于此？”我问。19 “about 900 years ago” was the answer. nearly a millennium1000年, and the myth is still alive存在；保留.19“大约900年前。”将近1000年过去了，可这个故事却依然在传诵。20how many americans have that kind of familiarity with