手表、军刀、银行、滑雪场……提到这些，你会想到哪个国家？没错，就是瑞士！可是，关于瑞士有一些真真假假的“流言蜚语”，其中的故事你知道多少呢？
Known as an earthly paradise (just look at those glistening white 4000m-plus Alpine peaks and glittering lakes), Switzerland is attractive and intriguing2). The list of enchanting3) things about Switzerland is endless.... Read our list and you'll find Switzerland a chocolate box bursting with4) unexpected flavors.
瑞士素有人间天堂之称，只要看看海拔四千多米的阿尔卑斯山山巅晶莹的白雪，以及瑞士境内那些波光粼粼的湖泊，就可以知道瑞士多么有魅力、多么吸引人了。瑞士吸引人的东西真是数不胜数，而读了下面的单子，你会发现，瑞士就像是一盒巧克力，充满出人意料的味道。
The Swiss Army actually does use Swiss Army knives
瑞士军队真的用瑞士军刀
"I think they do," agrees Ursula, at the Swiss Embassy's press office5), "but I'll let you know for sure tomorrow, when the defence attaché6) gets in." Not to worry, Ursula. Google tells me that Victorinox7) started providing the Swiss Army with the offiziersmesser (officer's knife) in 1897. After 1945 huge numbers of them were shipped to the US Army. Lazy GIs8) couldn't pronounce the word, so the term "Swiss Army knife" was born.
“我认为的确如此，”在瑞士大使馆的新闻处，乌苏拉对这一说法表示赞同，“不过我要到明天才能给你们确切答案，得等国防部的武官过来。”不用费心了，乌苏拉。谷歌已经告诉我们了，维氏公司从1897年就开始为瑞士军队提供军官专用刀了。1945年之后，大量军刀被运往美国部队。生性懒惰的美国大兵不会offiziersmesser这个瑞士词语的发音，“瑞士军刀”这个说法由此诞生。
Swiss banks really are very, very rich
瑞士银行真的非常非常有钱
It has been estimated that one third of the world's private fortune is sitting in Swiss banks—somewhere in the region of9) $2500 billion. As the embassy's press office is keen to point out, Swiss banking practices are much tighter today than your average airport novel might lead you to conclude. The banks are now obliged to10) co-operate with overseas governments if there is suspicion that the money is connected to a crime.
据估计，世界上有大约三分之一的私人财产被存在瑞士银行——总数大约有2.5万亿美元。然而大使馆的新闻处却急切地向我们表明，如今瑞士银行的业务办理程序一般来说要比你在机场读的那些小说所描绘的情形严格得多。现在，如果某笔资金与犯罪有所牵连，瑞士银行就必须与外国政府合作。
Cuckoo clocks aren't really from Switzerland
布谷钟并非真的源于瑞士
That said, a great way of infuriating11) the Swiss is by suggesting that they are. "It isn't true!" fumes the embassy press office's Ursula, who is on a bit of a roll12) by this point. "We blame Orson Welles13)." Welles, should you forget, famously had Harry Lime in The Third Man14) pronounce: "They had 500 years of democracy and peace. And what did that produce? The cuckoo clock." Gross15) slander16). Actually, cuckoo clocks come from the Black Forest region17) in Germany.
据说要惹恼一个瑞士人，最好的办法就是说布谷钟是产自瑞士的。“这不是真的！”大使馆新闻处的乌苏拉怒气冲冲地说。提起这事来她有点滔滔不绝。“都怪奥森·威尔斯。”威尔斯，你还记得么，在《第三人》中他扮演的哈里·利姆有句著名台词：“他们有500年的民主与和平，但他们做出了什么东西？只有布谷钟而已。”这真是令人不快的诽谤。事实上，布谷钟的原产地是德国的黑森林地区。
Milk chocolate, however, is
但牛奶巧克力的确是源自瑞士
It was invented in the 1870s by a candle-maker called Daniel Peter, who, when not candle-making, had spent almost a decade trying to find a way to remove milk's water content and prevent mildewing18). His breakthrough came when he teamed up with19) the baby food manufacturer next door, Henri Nestlé20).
牛奶巧克力发明于19世纪70年代，发明者是一位名为丹尼尔·彼得的蜡烛制造商。利用工作闲暇，他花了将近十年的工夫钻研如何除掉牛奶中的水分，以避免发霉。最后通过与隔壁制造婴儿食品的商人亨利·内斯特莱合作，他终于取得了突破。
William Tell was Switzerland's answer to William Wallace21)
威廉·泰尔是瑞士的威廉·华莱士
Back in 1300-ish22), Switzerland was ruled by the Austrians. One day, a chap23) called Gessler, governor of a town called Uri, decided to test the loyalty of the citizens by getting hold of24) a hat in Austrian colors, and putting it on a pole in the town square. Citizens were expected to salute25) it. Tell didn't. Gessler decided to punish Tell by making him shoot an apple from his son's head with a crossbow26). Tell did. Later he shot Gessler as well. And the Swiss never had to salute a hat on a stick again. Hurrah.
大约14世纪时，瑞士仍然处于奥地利的统治之下。有一个年轻人名叫盖斯勒，他是一个叫乌里的小镇的地方官。有一天，他决定要检验一下市民的忠诚度，于是弄来一顶帽子，帽子是奥地利国旗的颜色，然后将它挂在小镇广场的一根杆子上，要求市民向这顶帽子敬礼。但泰尔却没有这样做。盖斯勒决定惩罚泰尔，他让泰尔的儿子头顶一颗苹果，命令泰尔用石弓向苹果射击。泰尔照办了。但后来泰尔又射死了盖斯勒。瑞士人再也不用向一顶挂在杆子上的帽子敬礼了。万岁！
The Swiss are very keen on27) beach volleyball
瑞士人非常喜欢沙滩排球
The Swiss love beach volleyball even though they don't, for very obvious reasons, have much in the way of28) beaches. The Swiss Volleyball Open started in Gstaad29) and despite being 1000 meters above sea level, and in the shadow of several Alps30), the contest featured a beach party and a concert to "bring back memories of holidays under palm trees".
瑞士人非常喜欢沙滩排球，虽然(由于显而易见的原因)瑞士并没有多少海滩。瑞士排球公开赛在格施塔德开幕了。虽然主办地的海拔超过一千米，处在阿尔卑斯山几座山峰的阴影之下，但这次的比赛包括一场沙滩上的聚会和一场音乐会，让人“回想起在棕榈树下度过的假日”。
James Bond was Swiss
詹姆斯·邦德是瑞士人
Or, at least, half Swiss. According to Ian Fleming's You Only Live Twice, Bond was the son of a Scottish father, Andrew Bond, and a Swiss mother, Monique Delacroix, both of whom died in a climbing accident. To mix fact and fiction for a moment, Bond's one time squeeze31), Ursula Andress, is also Swiss. And, no doubt, a witch at beach volleyball.
至少可以说詹姆斯·邦德有一半瑞士血统。根据伊恩·弗莱明的作品《人只有两次生命》所述，邦德的父亲是苏格兰人，名叫安德鲁·邦德；他的母亲则是瑞士人莫妮克·德拉克鲁瓦。在一次登山事故中，两人双双丧生。我们不妨将故事与现实结合起来看，与邦德在首部007影片中搭档的女郎乌苏拉·安德丝也是瑞士人。不用说，她打沙滩排球的技术就像女巫一样棒。
1. cuckoo clock: 布谷鸟钟(报时似布谷鸟叫声的钟，有的会有布谷鸟木偶弹出来)
2. intriguing [In5tri:^IN] adj. 引起好奇心(或兴趣)的；有迷惑力的
3. enchanting [In5tFB:ntIN] adj. 使人着魔的；迷惑人的
4. burst with: 充满
5. press office: 新闻处
6. attaché [a:ta:5FeI] n. <法> (外交使团的)专员
7. Victorinox: 维氏，著名瑞士军刀品牌
8. GI [5dVi: 5aI] n. (复数为GIs)美国兵
9. in the region of: 在……左右；接近
10. be obliged to: 不得不
11. infuriate [In5fjuErIeIt] vt. 激怒
12. on a roll: 滔滔不绝
13. Orson Welles: 奥森·威尔斯(1915~1985)，美国电影导演、编剧和演员。1999年，他在美国电影学会评选的“百年来最伟大的男演员”中位列第16名。
14. The Third Man:《第三人》，是一部1949年的英国电影，由卡罗尔·里得执导，约瑟夫·科滕、阿莉达·瓦利和奥森·威尔斯主演，曾在英国电影学院所评选的“百大英国影片”中名列第一。
15. gross [^rEus] adj. 令人不快的
16. slander [5slB:ndE(r)] n. 诽谤
17. Black Forest region: 黑森林地区，位于德国西南部莱茵河沿岸，与瑞士交界。
18. mildew [5mIldju:] vi. 发霉，长霉
19. team up with: 与合作，与协作
20. Henri Nestlé: 亨利·内斯特(1814~1890)，德国人，雀巢公司创始人
21. William Wallace: 威廉·华莱士(1272?~1305)，苏格兰民族英雄，其故事被拍摄成电影《勇敢的心》。
22. -ish [IF] suf. 大约
23. chap [tFAp] n. <口>小伙子
24. get hold of: 抓住，得到
25. salute [sE5lu:t, -5lju:t] vt. 行礼致敬，敬礼
26. crossbow [5krRsbEJ] n. 弩，石弓(一种中世纪武器)
27. be keen on: 喜爱
28. in the way of: 关于……方面
29. Gstaad [gE5Fta:t] n. 格施塔德(瑞士滑雪胜地)
30. Alps [Alps] n. 阿尔卑斯山脉[欧洲中南部](西起法国东南部的尼斯，经瑞士南部、意大利北部，东到奥地利的维也纳)
31. squeeze [skwi:z] n. 男朋友；女朋友