時尚雙語:世界上最幸福的國家
"Taking all things together on a scale of one to 10, how happy would you say you are?"
“如果把一切因素考慮在內，從1到10劃爲十個等級，你會爲自己的幸福程度打幾分？”
With that question and global surveys, the folks at the World Database of Happiness have ranked the nations on a happiness scale.
The Netherlands is one of the world's rather happy countries, its industrial capital, Rotterdam, is home to the database, housed at Reassume University. Its director, Ruut Veenhoven, has made his life's work researching which nations are home to the happiest citizens.
荷蘭就是世界上相當幸福的國家之一，世界國民幸福水平數據庫就設在其工業中心鹿特丹的伊拉斯姆斯大學。數據庫主管魯特· 範荷文畢生都在研究哪個國家的人生活得最幸福。
Veenhoven's research shows that Scandinavian nations come out on top, making up five of the 13 happiest nations. Denmark tops the list as a whole——its citizens rank their average happiness as 8.2 on a 10-point scale. Switzerland's citizens closely trail the Danish, each reporting an average happiness level of 8.1, followed by Iceland （7.8）.
範荷文的研究顯示，北歐國家的人位居幸福前列，在13個最快樂的國家中，北歐就佔了5個。丹麥的排名位居榜首——在10分制的評分中，丹麥人平均給自己的幸福水平打了8.2分。瑞士人緊隨其後，給自己的幸福水平平均打到8.1分，接下來是冰島（7.8分）。
Inspired by Veenhoven's rankings, former foreign correspondent for National Public Radio （and self-proclaimed grouch） Eric Weiner embarked on a quest to visit the happiest places on earth. In his book The Geography of Bliss: One Grump's Search for the Happiest Places in the World, Weiner immerses himself in the cultural fabric of the world's happiest countries to pinpoint exactly why residents of some countries, like Iceland and Switzerland, are so downright satisfied with their lives.
受到範荷文這個排名的啓發，前美國國家公共廣播電臺駐外通訊記者埃裏克?韋納（他自稱是個愛發牢騷的人）決定出發去走訪世界上那些最快樂的地方。在他的書《天佑之地：一個牢騷鬼尋找世界上最快樂的地方》中，韋納每到一個最快樂的國家，都會把自己沉浸在當地的文化中，找出究竟爲什麼像冰島和瑞士這類國家的居民會對自己的生活如此心滿意足。
The Swiss, Weiner discovered, are efficient and punctual, comparatively wealthy and face hardly any unemployment. Their streets, air and tap water are squeaky clean and chocolate is a national obsession. But Weiner saw no joy in their faces, and reasoned that perhaps it's better to live in this middle range than to vacillate between gleeful moments of elation and gut-wrenching spates of despair. Swiss happiness, he writes, is "more than mere contentment, but less than full-on joy".
韋納發現，瑞士人做事很有效率、守時，比其他國家的人富裕，幾乎不會遭遇失業。他們的街道、空氣和自來水都乾淨得沒話說，而且人人都酷愛巧克力。不過韋納看不出瑞士人有任何喜形於色的表現，他覺得大概這種中庸平靜的生活要比大喜大悲、起落無常要好。在他筆下，瑞士人的幸福是“滿足卻不滿溢”。
Because the country is dark and cold, Weiner was initially skeptical about Iceland's ranking as one of the happiest nation in the world. He learned the small nation is quite literally a family; curiously, geneticists have found that all Icelandic citizens are related.
由於冰島陰暗寒冷，韋納先前對這個國家是世界上最快樂的國家之一感到很懷疑。他了解到這個小國家實際上是個大家族；奇怪的是，遺傳學家們發現所有的冰島人全都是親戚。
Certain phrases in the Icelandic language, Weiner writes, are even more telling . When people greet each other, the phrase they use roughly translates to "come happy", and when people part, they utter the equivalent of "go happy". The country is a favorite stamping ground of artists and cultivates a creative spirit; the government supports writers with generous subsidies.
韋納寫道，冰島語中的一些用語其實更能說明問題。冰島人互相問候的話可以大致翻譯成“高興地來”，道別的時候他們也用與之相對慶的說法：“高興地走”。藝術家們偏愛這個國家，也爲這裏培養出一種富於創造的精神，就連政府也爲這裏的作家提供豐厚的津貼。
Then just how does the United States fit into this picture? "Happiness is there for the taking in America," Weiner writes. "You just need the willpower to find it, and enough cash." The surprising fact, though, is that America is not as happy——scoring 7.3 and ranking 17th in the database——as it is wealthy. U.S. residents are three times richer than they were in 1950, but the happiness ratings haven't shifted in the past decade. After Sept. 11, researchers found no significant decrease in measured levels of happiness.
那麼美國的情形又是怎樣的呢？“在美國，快樂唾手可得，”韋納寫道，“你只要有決心和足夠多的錢就行了。”不過，讓人驚訝的是，美國人雖然富有，實際上卻並不那麼快樂——他們給自己的幸福水平只打了7.3分，在數據庫的排名中居第17位。美國人現在比1950年富裕了3倍，但在過去的十年中，他們的幸福指數卻沒有改變。在“9?11”事件以後，研究人員發現美國人的幸福水平也沒有明顯下降。
"Americans work longer hours and commute greater distances than virtually any other people in the world,“ Weiner writes, but "they remain profoundly optimistic." Two-thirds of Americans say they are hopeful about the future.
“美國人事實上比世界上任何其他國家的人都工作更長時間，花費在上下班途中的時間也更多，”韋納寫道，不過，“他們仍然由衷地感到樂觀。”三分之二的美國人說他們對未來充滿希望。
It's comforting, though, that most people in the world report being satisfied with their lives. "Virtually every country in the world scores somewhere between five and eight on a 10-point scale," Weiner writes. "There are a few exceptions ." So while, admittedly, those Scandinavians have it pretty good, the rest of us aren't too far behind. And that's something to be happy about.
而讓人欣慰的是，世界上絕大多數的人都表示對自己的生活滿意。“在10分制的評分系統中，世界上所有國家的人實際上打分都在5到8分之間，”韋納寫道，“只有很少數的例外。”所以，雖然無可否認的是那些北歐人生活得很好，但我們其他人過得也不錯，光是這樣就讓人挺開心的。
