7.Canada is Completely Free, Independent, and Sovereign
7.加拿大是独立自由之邦
Most people think of Canada as an entirely free and sovereign nation with an advanced modern democratic system of government.
大多数人认为，加拿大主权完全自由，有先进的现代民主政府。
They have healthcare for all, a robustly running economy and a standing military that is certainly no joke.
该国给所有人提供医疗保险，经济稳健，军队不容小觑。
Most people may not take Canada particularly seriously, but most people would consider them very much their own country.
人们可能不太重视加拿大，但都会希望自己的国家发展成这样。
However, the truth is that Canada takes part in some very strange traditions hearkening back to the monarchies of old.
然而，加拿大有一些很奇怪的传统，让人回想起君主制时期。

The Queen of England is also considered the Queen of Canada – for whom she is considered to be a constitutional monarch, like she is in England.
英国女王也是加拿大的女王，她在加拿大和在英国一样，是个立宪君主。
She is Colonel in Chief of most of the armed forces, and visits the country more than any other.
她是大部分军队的名誉团长，并且访问加拿大的频率超过访问其他国家。
While, like in England, she always goes by ceremony and takes the recommendation of her government minister's choices, she still gets to choose the people who are in very high level government positions.
跟在英国一样，女王也会出席典礼，听取总督的建议，决定政府高层职位人选。
However, it goes beyond simply paying homage to old traditions.
然而，这并不仅仅是为了尊重传统。
Everything in the country, including elections, are still called in the Queen's name, and everyone must swear allegiance to the Queen, including all new citizens of Canada – who must accept the Queen as the living symbol of their country.
加拿大的所有事务，包括选举，仍然以女王的名义进行，所有人都要发誓效忠女王，即便加拿大的新移民也是如此，必须奉女王为国家元首。

6.British People Don't Care About Their Teeth
6.英国人不在意自己的牙齿
Around the world, apart from being known for drinking tea and trying to take over the world, the British are also famous, or rather infamous, for having some of the worst oral hygiene among all developed countries.
英国人以喜爱喝茶和企图称霸世界而闻名，除此之外，英国人口腔卫生也可谓举世皆知，或说声名狼藉，是所有发达国家中最糟的。
The claims are that the British have plenty of money to do so, have the proper health infrastructure, and just really don't care.
传言称英国人有足够多的钱，也有正规的卫生基础设施，但他们不在乎这些。
They let their teeth get misshapen, brown, and rotting, and would practically let the suckers fall out of their mouths if they didn't actually need them.
他们任由自己的牙齿扭曲变形、呈褐色并伴有口臭，如果他们愿意的话嘴里的菜叶也会掉出来。

Jokes about British teeth have been popularized by shows like The Simpsons – and almost everything else. However, the truth behind this claim is a bit more complicated.
关于英国人牙齿的笑话通过《辛普森一家》等剧广为流传，额，其实，随处可见。但是，这些说法背后的真相却更复杂。
While the average British teeth may appear misshapen to an American, they also have a different idea when it comes to teeth in general.
虽然美国人觉得英国人的牙齿畸形，但谈及牙齿这个问题，英国人还是持不同看法。
The British still care about oral hygiene – brushing teeth, and going in for annual tooth cleaning – but most of them prefer a more natural look and only go for minimal tooth straightening.
英国人觉得他们还是在意口腔卫生的——比如刷牙、定期清洁牙齿——但因为大多数英国人喜欢看起来更自然一些，所以只做一些牙齿微矫正。
Whereas Americans will spend countless thousands making sure all their chompers line up just right, many of our friends across the pond are fine as long as the teeth are healthy and line up fairly straight – enough to be mostly functional.
美国人为了使牙齿整齐花销无数，而英国人只要牙齿健康、差不多整齐（够用就行）就可以了。
However, even this stereotype is beginning to change. Due to exposure to American media and popular culture, it is becoming an increasing trend to go for extra teeth whitening and straightening, so as to mimic the look seen on television.
不过，这一文化定势也已经有所改变，由于美国媒体和大众文化的曝光，牙齿矫正和美白在英国也已成为潮流。

5.Spanish People are Extremely Lazy
5.西班牙人懒惰至极
One of the most popular stereotypes around the world is that Spanish people are lazy.
世界上有一条广为流传的误解：西班牙人很懒。
This stereotype has evolved from Spanish people being lazy, to anyone who speaks Spanish also being lazy, and is often misapplied by racists to anyone vaguely Hispanic looking who is working within the United States.
该文化定势从"西班牙人很懒"发展为"讲西班牙语的人也很懒"，种族主义者又将其扩展为"在美国工作的任何西班牙长相的人都很懒"。
This stereotype originally began because in Spain, due to a long held tradition in the country of napping during the middle of the day – or siesta.
其实这最初是因为，西班牙有午间打个小盹或者午睡的传统。
If you ask most people, they will tell you that in the early afternoon Spaniards take three hours off to go take a break and nap to get some rest, before going back to work.
如果你询问一些人，他们会告诉你，在午后，西班牙人会休息三个小时再继续工作。
This has created a reputation as a people who really don't care about hard work, and would rather spend their time resting.
这就给西班牙人带来了"不认真工作，宁愿花时间来休息"的名声。

However, the truth is that the traditional siesta is not only becoming less and less of a reality, but that Spaniards may still be running themselves into the ground harder and faster than the people of most nations.
但真相是，坚持这个午睡传统的人越来越少了，西班牙人可能比其它任何国家的人工作都要卖力。
The siesta was originally designed to give people some respite during the hottest hours of the day, but now it is rarely used to actually get any sleep.
最初午睡的目的是为了让人们能够在一天最热的时候得到一些休息，但是现在真正睡上一觉的人是少之又少。
And, due to the three hour break during the day, Spaniards tend to get up much earlier for work, and leave work much later than those in other countries.
而且由于西班牙人每一天中午要休息三个小时，所以他们比其他国家的人上班更早、下班更晚。
This has led many in Spain to seek reform in recent years, as some believe that an incredibly long work day with long, fragmented breaks in between is not really good for anyone.
因此，近年来很多西班牙人希望对此加以改革，他们认为每天长时间工作、中途长时间休息是无益于任何人的。
It may be a long time before there is change though, as the siesta and the long work day are an entrenched part of Spanish culture.
不过这种情况可能需要很长时间才会有所改变，毕竟午睡和工作时间长早已是西班牙文化中根深蒂固的一部分。

4.Black People and Their Alleged Love of Fried Chicken
4.黑人和他们"热爱"的炸鸡
If most people ask you what kind of foods black people like, you will get a lot of answers that generally describe Southern comfort food.
如果有人问黑人喜欢什么样的食物，可能会得到很多答案，而这些答案通常提到南方爽心食物。
This should not be surprising, as the majority of the black people who were brought to this country spent much of their time in the South as slaves, and even after being freed, money would have been tight so the majority of people would have settled nearby.
这不足为奇，因为黑人被带到这个国家之后，大多数时间都在南方做奴隶，甚至在被释放后，因为资金缺乏，大多数人会选择在附近定居。
However, if you asked for two specific foods the most common you'll always hear are fried chicken and watermelon.
但是，如果要说两种特色食品，你通常会听到炸鸡和西瓜。

This has led some people to wonder over the years if there is actually any truth to this stereotype at all, or if it is just a Southern myth.
这就让人好奇，这种文化定势到底是事实还是只是一个南方谬传。
Back in the early 1900s race relations in this country were not so good (we'll take that "Understatement of the Year Award" anytime).
回溯到20世纪初，这个国家的种族关系不太理想(我们将获得"轻描淡写奖")。
One of the earliest and most controversial films – Birth of a Nation – was released by the notoriously racist D.W. Griffith.
《一个国家的诞生》是美国最早和最具争议的电影之一，由臭名昭著的种族主义者D.W.格里菲斯执导。
The film depicted what Griffith considered the consequences of black people being freed and having power.
这部电影描述了格里菲斯眼中黑人解放并掌握权力的后果。
In one scene in the film, black lawmakers are shown generally behaving badly in an assembly, and one of them is chomping on a piece of fried chicken while his feet are up on the desk. Some believe this was the birth of the stereotype, and really entrenched the idea in popular culture.
在其中一场戏中，一群黑人议员行为粗鲁，其中一个还把腿翘在桌上，嚼着一块炸鸡，人们认为该刻板印象由此诞生，从此在流行文化中根深蒂固。
It also is likely that foods like fried chicken and watermelon were chosen to represent black people because they are foods you have to eat with your hands, and hence can be considered "dirty foods".
不过，人们之所以选择炸鸡和西瓜之类的食物代表黑人，也有可能是因为这些食物必须用手吃，因此可以被认为是"肮脏的食物"。