Who Are the Happiest People?
誰是世界上最幸福的人
只有傻瓜才不考慮別人的利益。
拋棄自己國家的傳統來創造更好的社會是一種錯誤的方式。
一個民族失去了自己的神話，就失去了自我。
They live on a windswept island surrounded by glaciers 『冰川;冰河』and volcanoes『火山』. What makes them so content『滿足的;甘心的』?
他們生活在海風吹拂的小島上，被冰川和火山所環繞著。是什麼使他們如此滿足?
In a poll『民意調查』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.
美國的蓋洛普民意測驗組織對世界上18個國家的民意測驗表明：冰島人是世界上最快樂的人。參加測試的人數為26.78萬人。82%的冰島人表示滿意自己的生活;美國表示滿意自己生活的人數為72%，排列第五位;日本排列第七位，人數比率為42%。
Some people would say that happy Iceland is a statistical fluke『僥倖』. This is a country so small, an ordinary citizen can make an appointment to see the president.
有人會說：快樂的冰島僅僅是統計上的巧合。這個國家如此之小，普通的公民也能受到總統的接見。
True, Iceland is no utopia. Icelanders are big boozers 『酒徒』, with a fishing tradition of binge『狂歡作樂』drinking. Almost a third of the births are out of wedlock『私生的』. But that’s what makes the Gallup study so interesting. Icelanders have problems like the rest of us, yet they are happy with their lot『命運;運氣』. So what gives?
確實，冰島並非天堂，冰島有傳統的打魚豪飲的習慣，酒鬼很多，近三分之一的孩子沒有父親。然而，正因為如此，蓋洛普的這項研究才顯得更加有趣。因為，像我們一樣，冰島人有許多問題，但是，他們卻安命樂天。這究竟是為什麼呢?
Consider 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 job—on a fishing boat, working six hours on, six hours off, around the clock.
讓我們來看一看，一個名叫索赫·赫利納·索雷遜的28歲的冰島人是怎樣看待生活的。索雷遜在一個月的假期中，為自己找了一份捕漁嚮導的工作，他一周工作7 天，每天工作16個小時,他把這種生活稱作「人間的天堂」。假期結束後，他只休息了一個晚上，又接著正常工作起來——在一艘輪船上，每天6小時工作、6小時休息地輪流當班。
We 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『嬰兒死亡率』in the world, and almost the highest longevity『長壽;長命』.
我們可以把赫利納稱為「工作狂」，但是，冰島人也大多和他一樣。當然，他們勞有所得，冰島國內人均生產總值為1.99萬美元(美國是2.75萬美元)。他們上繳的利稅換來了良好的教育和醫療保障。冰島的嬰兒死亡率位於世界之末，而壽命位於世界之首。
The dour『抑鬱的;悶悶不樂的』Swiss have a well-run state and all their material needs met, too, yet no one could accuse them of a cheerful outlook.
瑞士是一個秩序井然的國家，人民豐衣足食，生活富裕。可是，瑞士人卻鬱鬱寡歡，悶悶不樂。
Sociologist Thorolfur Thorlindsson of the University of Iceland believes the secret lies not in his country’s comforts, but in its age-old 『長期的;古老的』discomforts. They have taught Icelanders to enjoy what they have.
冰島大學社會學家索羅爾非·索林德森認為：冰島人安命樂天的秘訣在於這個國家長期處於艱難困苦之中，而不在於它的舒適。這些艱難困苦教會了冰島人「知足常樂」。
Isolated『與外界隔絕的;孤立的』in the cold North Atlantic, buffeted『衝擊;打擊』by a hostile『敵對的;有敵意的』sea, condemned『責備;責怪』to 20 hours of darkness each day in winter, the people have for centuries lived on the vagaries『難以預測的情況』of the fish catch. 「Our culture is colored『影響』by the harshness『嚴酷;艱苦』of nature,」 says Thorlindsson. 「That’s why Icelanders have a tolerant『寬容;容忍』attitude to the problems of life. They don’t expect the same sort of stability『安定;穩定』often expected in other nations.」
冰島位於寒冷的北大西洋，常年遭受著海水的無情衝擊，冬天有20個小時是黑夜，人民世代以艱苦的捕魚業為生。「我們的文化帶著自然嚴酷的特色，」索林德森說，「這就是為什麼冰島人對生活中的問題寬容的原因。冰島人並不像其他國家人民一樣，希望得到常有的穩定。」
And so it seems. Americans are considerably better off『更為富有/富裕』by material standards than ever before. Yet we seem less happy, less contented with our lot.