The Winter Olympics are as important as the Summer Olympics. They can be forgiven for this one. After all, it was the International Olympic Committee who in 1925 decided to grace what started as an 'International Winter Sports Week' with the name Winter Olympics. But let's face it, while the Summer Olympics are a test of man's strength that goes back to ancient Greece, the winter variety is just 48 types of skiing.
冬季奥运会跟夏季奥运会一样重要。关于这一点，我们可以原谅他们，毕竟是国际奥委会在1925年决定给“国际冬季运动周”增光而冠之以冬奥会的名义的。但是，让我们面对事实，夏季奥运会是对人类力量的考验，它的历史可以追溯到古希腊，而冬奥会则仅仅是48种滑雪运动。

It will be sunny on the weekend. Compared to their gloomier Swedish and Finnish neighbours, Norwegians are a chirpier lot. And nowhere is their optimism more obvious than when they're making plans for the weekend.
星期天肯定会是晴天。比起他们阴郁的瑞典和芬兰邻居，挪威人更加快活。当他们在做周末计划时，他们的乐观主义是最明显的。

Vinmonopolet saves them from themselves. When it comes to alcohol control, Norwegians are prisoners who love their prison. For them, it's a good thing that it's impossible to buy a bottle of wine on a Sunday, or that they can only buy wines and spirits at extortionate prices selected by a state agency.
挪威国家酒局能保护他们免受他们自己的伤害。当谈到酒精控制时，挪威人是喜欢监狱的囚徒。对他们来说，星期天不能买酒是一件好事，或者只能以很高的价格买葡萄酒或烈性酒，价格由国家机关设定。

That they have special skills at solving intractable conflicts. Ever since their mediation led to the Oslo Accords between Israel and the Palestinian territories in 1993, Norway has led the field in conflict resolution. Partly as a result of their can-do optimism, Norway has mediated peace deals in Guatemala, Sudan, and Nepal, among others. However, look at the Israeli-Palestinian conflict today, and you realize it doesn't always work out.
他们有解决复杂问题的特殊技巧。自从他们的调停导致了以色列和巴勒斯坦之间的奥斯陆协议，挪威就开始在冲突调节领域处于领先地位。一部分是因为他们的乐观主义精神，挪威参与了危地马拉、苏丹、尼泊尔和一些其它国家的调解。但是，现在看看巴以冲突，貌似没什么用。

Cheese is named by colour.
奶酪是根据颜色命名的。

Norwegian junk food is somehow better for you than foreign junk food. There are some very, very nasty pølse out there, and brunost apparently has the same nutritional value as milk chocolate. But Norwegians still largely view any sort of American junk food import with unalloyed horror, while turning a blind eye to the health credentials of their own national fare.
挪威垃圾食品比起外国垃圾食品对你更好。有一些非常恶心的香肠和芝士，它们的营养价值明显跟奶油巧克力一样，但很多挪威人仍然以恐怖的态度看待任何一种美国的进口垃圾食品，他们却不管他们自己国家食物是否健康。

That the Progress Party does not use far-right rhetoric. It's a peculiar Norwegian blind spot this one. In most European countries, the sort of rhetoric used by the likes of Per Sandberg could only come from a far-right party. Granted, Progress is a strange coalition, bringing such figures together with libertarian and free market figures. But you can't warn of a war for cultural survival between Islam and the West and claim to be a moderate.
进步党不使用极右主义的花言巧语。这是挪威人一个很奇怪的盲点，在大多数欧洲国家，像帕·斯安德伯这种人使用的花言巧语只可能来自于一个极右的党派。的确，进步党是个奇怪的党，他们将这种人物和自由派人士和自由市场者放在一起。但是，你总不能因为伊斯兰教和西方文明之间的文化生存问题而警告开战却宣称自己是温和的。

That alone among major oil exporting countries, they have not been corrupted by their wealth. Despite their carefulness with the oil fund, Norwegians are affected by oil. They take longer, more frequent holidays, long sick leave, and invent less than their neighbours. When Swedish TV discovered young Swedish workers peeling bananas in a factory in Norway, there was much hilarity at the expense of the country’s big brother. But critics sniffed out complacency amid the laughter.
在主要的石油出口国里，他们没有因财富而堕落。尽管他们对石油资金很谨慎，但他们实际上还是被石油所影响了。他们的假期更加频繁，时间也更长，比邻国的发明的东西少。当一家瑞典的电视台发现年轻的瑞典工人们在挪威的工厂剥香蕉皮时，瑞典人受到了很多取笑，但批评家们却在这嘲笑间看到了“洋洋自得”。

Blowing your nose is more impolite than swearing. Norwegians swear often. Indeed, outside of a few ultra-bourgeois districts of Oslo and Bergen, swearing in Norway is practically regarded as a human right.
擤鼻涕比骂人更加不礼貌。挪威人喜欢骂人。的确，除了少数奥斯陆和卑尔根市的富人区，骂人实际上已经被挪威人看做了一种人权。

It is only acceptable to eat sweets on Saturday. The tradition of 'lørdagsgodt' or Saturday sweets is how Norway teaches its children Lutheran restraint from an early age. But surely the odd toffee on a Thursday wouldn't do any harm.
只有星期六才能吃糖。周六吃糖的传统是挪威人教育孩子从小就要遵守路德宗禁令的方法。但当然在星期四吃太妃糖没什么坏处。

That drinking 20 litres of beer and 20 shots of Jaeger for a weekend is ok, but a glass of wine per day is an alcoholism problem.
周末可以喝20升啤酒和20杯Jaeger，但每天一杯葡萄酒就有酗酒问题了。

That Norway is 'Verdens Beste Land', the world's best place to live. Norway celebrates its National Day with a fervour rarely seen outside North Korea. Only in Norway the crowds marching in national dress are somehow heartening. Plus with their stunning landscapes, enlightened liberal democracy, and wealth, they might actually be right.
挪威是“世界上最好的国家”，世界上最宜居住的地方。挪威像朝鲜那样狂热的庆祝自己的国庆节。只有在挪威，人们穿着名族服装游行才是振奋人心的。还有他们极美的风景、开明的自由民主、还有他们的财富，这点他们可能是对的。