There are billions of people in the world, and all of them are individuals with their own unique identities.
世界坐拥数十亿人口，人人都是独具文化特色的个体。
With so many people to keep track of, and a much smaller corresponding number of cultures, humans invented stereotypes and other generalities as an attempt to understand large groups of people more easily.
相较于数不清的人来说，文化的种类少了许多，因此人类尝试用文化形态和其他归类法去了解某一群人。
Over the years, this has led to a lot of confusion, hilarity, and strife around the world.
过去，很多误解、笑料、甚至国际争斗都因此而生。
The truth is that most stereotypes started due to some misconception, or something that was lost in translation, and aren't really all that accurate for the individuals from the culture in question.
但很多文化定势的产生都基于误解和误译，对于所涉及文化中的人们来说，情况也不完全属实。
Often, what we think we know about another people is wildly inaccurate, and sometimes the truth is far more interesting.
我们对外族人的理解，往往并不准确，而真相会更有趣。

10.Australia Was Originally a Penal Colony for Hardened Criminals
10.澳大利亚曾是关押囚犯的殖民地
Most people know that Australia was originally a penal colony started by the United Kingdom – the British Empire at the time – which blossomed into the full blown country it is today.
大多人都知道，澳大利亚起初是大英联合王国（那时叫大英帝国）用来关押罪犯的一块殖民地，而后慢慢发展成现今这样一个繁盛的国家。
Many people have also heard of the famous Rum Rebellions, and how many of the prisoners, soldiers, and others on the island were originally paid largely in booze.
很多人也听说过著名的朗姆酒叛军，也听说过犯人、士兵和岛上其他人主要以酒当薪酬的事儿。
This has given an image of Australia as an island full of the descendants of shifty, nasty criminal types, the hardened people countries would consider so evil they sent them all the way across the globe.
这难免让人觉得澳大利亚人都是诡诈、令人心寒的罪犯后人，各国都觉得他们太可恶，把他们送到了世界另一头。

However, in recent years Australia has been trying to uncover its past instead of shamefacedly hide from it, and they have found that the truth is not nearly as embarrassing as they once thought.
然而，最近几年，澳大利亚不再羞愧躲藏，而是尝试揭开历史面纱，结果发现事实并不像想象中那么令人尴尬。
What Australians have quickly been discovering is that many of the people who were sent to Australia as criminals, were convicted for reasons that we would consider a miscarriage of justice today.
澳大利亚人很快发现，当初送到岛上的罪犯，现在看来，是由于当初的误判所致。
A large portion of them were children who stole small amounts of food, some of whom were condemned to hang for their crimes before they got the chance to be exiled to Australia instead.
当初，很多罪犯是偷了口食物的孩子，而有些孩子在被流放到澳大利亚前就被判处绞刑处死。
Even among the adults, many of those convicted had only been tried for what would be considered very petty crimes today, and others were also falsely accused.
被判处的成年犯中，很多在今天看来只是小犯罪事件，还有些是被诬告的。
The truth is that the British Empire at the time had a lot of poor citizens who ended up on the wrong side of the law mainly because living on the margins and stealing food was the only way for them to get by.
当时，大英帝国很多贫民犯法是因为食不果腹，而偷食物是他们生存的唯一希望。
So, they decided to get rid of these people by sending them to an island all the way across the world, instead of dealing with the actual poverty issue.
因此，大英帝国决定摆脱这群人，但不是从根本解决贫困问题，而是横渡大洋将他们送到岛上。

9.The Connection Between the Ancient and Current Egyptians
9.埃及人的古今情缘
Egypt is one of the most famous countries in the world, but the identity of its people is often a very confusing subject.
埃及享誉世界，但对其国民的身份问题众说纷纭。
Some people think of them as simply Egyptian, and others think of them as another Arabic state, but the truth is a fair bit more complicated.
有人认为他们就是埃及人，有人认为他们是另一个阿拉伯国度，但事实没这么简单。
Scholars have been studying the lineage of the Egyptian people in an attempt to understand how they relate to the ancient Egyptians, and have been unable to come up with concrete answers.
有学者为弄清现代埃及人和古埃及人间的关系，一直在研究埃及人的世系血统，但尚无定论。

They are certain that most Egyptians have DNA that seems to differ somewhat largely from other nearby countries, but they also cannot prove any direct connection to the ancient Egyptians.
他们确信大部分埃及人的DNA和周边大部分国家不同，但也不能证明他们和古埃及人属直系关系。
In practice, the situation on the ground can be even more confusing. Egypt is a member of the Arab League and most people in the country can speak Arabic.
而实际问题可能更复杂。埃及属阿盟国度，且大部分埃及人会讲阿拉伯语。
This has led to a certain amount of cultural ethos to slip into the national identity, but most Egyptians do not consider themselves Arab, regardless of their true genealogy.
这些文化风尚肯定会渗透到国家形态中，但不管他们族谱为何，大部分埃及人并不认为他们是阿拉伯人。
They consider themselves to be Egyptian, and wish to cultivate that identity more strongly – many Egyptians today would prefer to connect as much as possible with the old roots, and ignore the Arab influence.
他们自认为是埃及人，希望有更强的认同感——现在，很多埃及人更愿意相信自己和古埃及人有关系，而忽略阿拉伯的影响。
In some cases, Egyptians have reported feeling discriminated against while visiting or working in other countries within the Arab League.
据说，埃及人参观阿盟其他国家或在阿盟其他国家工作时会偶遭歧视。

8.Japan is Completely Nuts About Crazy Anime and Manga Series'
8.日本是漫画、动漫狂
When most people think of Japan, they think of weird adults obsessed with the oddest kind of manga and anime possible, but the truth is, they are producing most of that with the rest of the world in mind.
提起日本，大多数人会想起沉迷于漫画和动漫的古怪成年人，但事实上，日本动漫是面向全世界的。
When anime and manga began in Japan, they started out marketing toward children just like in the West, but as their audience got older they decided to start trying more mature themes.
漫画和动漫刚在日本兴起时，跟西方一样目标受众仅为儿童。但随着观众长大，他们便开始尝试一些适合成年人的主题。
This worked out well, and proved that animation is suitable for adults as well as children.
结果收效甚佳，也说明动漫不仅适合儿童，同样也适合成人。

As many adults matured, anime and manga have continued to have a steady following in Japan, but nothing like how people think, and nothing like how popular it is in the rest of the world.
和人们的预想不同，日本人成熟后，依然是漫画和动漫的追随者，这种情况在其他国家并不多见。
One executive in the industry believes that many people in Japan probably don't even realize how much other countries are into anime and manga.
动漫业一位高管认为，日本很多人其实都不清楚其他国家有多喜欢漫画和动漫。
The amount of money made selling anime and manga outside of the country is an industry worth billions of dollars a year.
日本每年的漫画和动漫出口产值高达数十亿美元。
While the international market is a hugely growing business, the Japanese demand for the same is actually slowly declining as the years pass by.
国际市场需求仍在继续增加，相对来说，日本本土对动漫的需求近年来反而逐渐下降。
This means that despite the claims of "those wacky Japanese", at this point, they are making those stories for our entertainment – it may not even be entirely their cup of tea.
这就意味着，尽管我们认为日本人在这方面很古怪，但是日本动漫在我们的娱乐生活中也占据了一定地位，哪怕算不上他们的心头之好。