這十項體育運動 巴西全球無敵手

One of the world's most spirited lands, Brazil has made its mark on soccer fields and Carnival extravaganzas, but what it really leads the planet in are exuberance and passion for living.

作爲世界上最具活力的地方之一，巴西以足球場和狂歡節而聞名。但它真正引領全球的，是其滿滿的活力和對生活的熱情。

As the world descends on Rio de Janeiro for the XXXI Olympiad, Brazilians are ready to help the world take a load off and experience something missing for a while: fun.

當世界的目光投向在里約熱內盧舉辦的第31屆奧運會，巴西人民已準備好讓世界放鬆一下，體驗早已缺失的那份快樂。

Here are 10 things Brazil does better than anywhere else:

以下十樣東西，巴西全球無敵手。

Playfulness – Brazil's citizens know how to have fun, and it's infectious. From sports to celebrations, Brazilians play hard.

玩鬧——巴西人民深諳玩樂之道，這一天性還頗具感染力。從運動項目到狂歡慶典，巴西人總能嗨到飛起。

Research shows that playfulness creates a kind of charisma that others want in on.

研究表明，玩鬧營造出一種魔力，會讓其他人想參與進來。

It's a key part of the Brazilian personality: a willingness to laugh at themselves, their predicaments and political absurdities and to welcome others in on the joke.

巴西人性格里的重要一面，就是樂於取笑自己，取笑自身窘境和政治上的荒謬，並且歡迎別人一起來取笑。

A few years back, Brazilians voted a clown into Congress. What was unusual was that he was a real clown by profession. Francisco Everardo Oliveira Silva, known by his stage name of "Grumpy" in Portuguese, won on a slogan, "It can't get any worse."

幾年前，巴西人投票選舉了一位小丑當國會議員。不同尋常的是，這位名爲佛朗西斯科•席爾瓦的議員真的是位職業小丑演員，藝名在葡萄牙語意爲“壞脾氣的人”。他贏得競選的口號是“最糟糕也就是這樣了”。

It did. Despite their problems, Brazilians can put them aside and live in the moment, something the rest of the world could learn from.

確實如此。就算面臨難題，巴西人還是能把它們放在一邊，活在當下。這是其他國家可以學習的一點。

Brazil is a music universe unto itself, unrivaled in diversity of musical styles, instruments and rhythms.

巴西本身就是一個音樂國度，在音樂風格、樂器和節奏的多元上全無敵手。

The world knows samba, a mix of European marches and African drumming; and bossa nova, a slower samba infused with French impressionism and American jazz.

聞名世界的桑巴是歐洲進行曲和非洲鼓點的混合。而波薩諾瓦是慢節奏的桑巴，融合了法國印象主義與美國爵士風格。

But Brazil's diverse population moves to the beat of many different drummers.

但巴西人口的多元帶來了多種不同風格的鼓點。

Instruments such as the comical cuíca -- a drum that sounds like a dog in heat -- are found only in Brazil.

一些樂器只在巴西才能見到，比如名爲comical cuíca的鼓，它發出的聲音好像小狗在發情。

Satisfying lunches – Lunch is not a dainty affair in Brazil. It's advisable to go easy on breakfast, as the midday meal may put most visitors close to capacity.

令人滿足的午餐——巴西的午餐不是量少精細型。建議早餐少吃點，因爲大多數人會在中午這餐吃到撐。

Brazilian portions can be gigantic, often larger than even the standard American plateful. It's not a miscommunication when your waiter brings you enough food for twice your number.

巴西的菜餚是巨量的，甚至常常比標準的美式一整盤的份量還多。服務生給你端來雙倍量的食物並不是由於理解錯誤。

A light breakfast is advised, since you'll consume a lot more than you thought for lunch.

鑑於午餐時你會比預想的吃更多，建議早餐少吃點。

Brazilians don't bury their cuisine in fiery sauces that kill flavor. In fact, aside from Bahians, they steer clear of hot sauces in favor of flavorful seasonings.

巴西人不給菜餚澆滿辣醬，那會蓋住美味。實際上，除了東北部的巴伊亞州人，巴西人會避免使用辣醬而更愛口味豐富的調味料。

They specialize in supertender thin strips of beef and other carnivorous delights, served with rice, beans and fried bananas, washed down with a beer or guaraná soda.

他們特別喜歡極其嫩滑的薄牛肉條和其他肉類，配以米飯、豆子和炸香蕉，連同啤酒或瓜拉納汽水一起食用。

It's often said that if Brazilians could channel the creativity and industry they put into their annual Carnival blowout into economic endeavors, the country would be unstoppable.

常有人說，如果巴西人把每年用於狂歡節的創造力和勤奮勁兒投向經濟事業，他們的國家將勢不可擋。

Celebrating is a priority for Brazilians, whether it's on a colossal scale or just a backyard barbecue.

不管是大型盛典還是後院燒烤，舉辦慶祝活動是巴西人的第一要務。

And the festivities don't stop. A profusion of regional celebrations, great support for the arts and an abundance of religious holidays keep celebrations on the calendar year-round.

而歡慶從不停止。大量的地方慶典、爲支持藝術而舉行的大型活動，還有無數宗教節日，慶祝活動全年無休。

Plastic surgery – Brazil passed the United States in 2014 as the top country for several cosmetic surgery procedures. Medical tourists flock to the country in pursuit of body modifications.

整形手術——2014年，巴西在多類整形手術項目上超越美國，成爲整形第一大國。追求外形修整的醫療遊客蜂擁而至。

Brazil passed the United States in 2014 as the top country for several cosmetic surgery operations, according to the International Society of Aesthetic Plastic Surgery.

國際美容整形外科學會稱，2014年，巴西在多類整形手術上超越美國，成爲整形第一大國。

Brazilian plastic surgeons racked up more than 161,000 eyelid operations, 515,000 breast procedures, 129,000 bellies, 380,000 faces and 63,000 butt augmentations (a rapidly growing segment, no pun intended). Brazil's contributions amounted to almost 13% of the world's plastic surgery operations.

巴西累計進行了超過16.1萬例眼皮手術，51.5萬例胸部手術，12.9萬例腹部手術，38萬例臉部手術和6.3萬例豐臀手術（這是飛速增長的新領域，並非雙關）。巴西幾乎貢獻了世界整形外科手術總量的13%。

There's no stigma to plastic surgery in Brazil and people talk openly about their procedures and recommended doctors.

在巴西，做整形手術並非恥辱，人們公開談論手術流程並推薦醫生。

The quality of surgeons is high and the prices lower than in the United States. The combination attracts medical tourists from around the world.

那裏的外科醫生水平很高，且收費低於美國，這兩點吸引了來自全球的醫療遊客。

Exotic fruit – A tremendous array of fresh fruit keeps the beverages flowing at Brazil's many thirst-quenching juice bars.

奇異水果——巴西衆多果汁店裏，有超多種新鮮水果製成的飲料爲你解渴。

Brazil has the world's widest collection of homegrown exotic fruits, many of which you have never heard of.

巴西國內出產世界上最多種類的奇異水果，很多你可能都沒聽說過。

Some, like açaí and acerola, both from the Amazon region, have started to become popular outside Brazil for their health properties, but many of the exotic fruits you can experience only in Brazil, either fresh at the market or from one of the many juice bars.

比如來自亞馬遜地區的阿薩依果和針葉櫻桃等水果，因爲有益健康而開始在巴西以外流行起來。但許多奇特水果你只能在巴西體驗到。可在市場上購買新鮮水果，或者在衆多果汁店裏找一家品嚐。

And it's not just in rare fruits that Brazil excels. The country is the No. 1 producer of citrus fruit in the world.

巴西不僅在珍奇水果方面一騎絕塵，它還是世界第一大柑橘類水果產地。

Brazilians are experts in especially tasty fruit drinks, or sucos. Just about every other street in Rio has a juice bar.

巴西人是製作美味果汁飲料（sucos）的專家，里約每隔一條街就有一家果汁店。

It can be awkward meeting strangers and edging into their personal space, so Brazilians like to get past the preliminaries and go straight to greeting like a longtime friend.

見到陌生人並擠入他們的私人空間會很尷尬，於是巴西人喜歡跳過初始步驟，直接像老朋友一樣打招呼。

A kiss on both cheeks is customary for a male introduced to an adult female, with another pair of kisses delivered on leaving.

男士結識成年女性時，習慣上要在對方的兩頰親吻，離別時還要再親兩下。

Of course, there's no holding back for people who are more than friends, and you will see passionate kisses exchanged openly in public as if no one else was looking.

當然，比朋友更親密的人之間就更加不必拘束了。你會在公共場合看到他們旁若無人地熱吻。

Bakeries – Baked goods come in many shapes and sizes in Brazil. The art of the bakery thrives in Brazil in the form of the padaria.

麪包店——巴西的烘焙食品多種多樣。這裏的烘焙藝術在麪包房裏蓬勃發展。

The art of the bakery thrives in Brazil in the form of the padaria.

巴西的烘焙藝術在麪包房裏蓬勃發展。

These neighborhood temples to the sweet tooth offer a dizzying variety of cakes, or bolo -- moist and dense that melt in your mouth -- plus an array of tarts, cheesecakes, cookies, brownies, fruit-topped tortes, flans, mousses and the potent mini-coffees known as cafezinhos.

這些面向甜食愛好者的鄰家店鋪出售令人眼花繚亂的各種蛋糕（或稱bolo）——它們柔潤綿密，在你口中融化，還有一系列蛋撻、奶酪蛋糕、餅乾、布朗尼、點綴水果的大蛋糕、果餡餅、奶油凍，以及濃濃的小杯咖啡cafezinho。

Local padarias keep your budget under control and the palate delighted.

當地的麪包店會讓你的預算可控又大飽口福。

Paderias also offer a wide assortment of fresh-baked bread and croissants and many have deli fare for lunch and dinner, from sandwiches to empanadas to pastels. Some padarias have soups, crepes and fresh juices.

它們還供應多種新出爐的麪包和牛角包，許多店也爲午餐和晚餐提供熟食，三明治、肉餡捲餅、炸餃子等一應俱全。還有一些店出售湯類、可麗餅和鮮果汁。

There's only one thing wrong with these one-stop shops for the taste buds: They're in Brazil and not on your block.

這些滿足味蕾的一站式店鋪只有一點不好：它們在巴西而不在你住的街區。

Trees? They got 'em here. The Amazon has some 390 billion trees, which adds up to half the total of the world's surviving rainforests and 16,000 different species of trees.

樹木？巴西可多了。亞馬遜雨林有約3900億棵樹，面積佔全球現存熱帶雨林的一半，包括了16000種不同種類的樹木。

More than half the Amazon Basin's 1.4 billion acres are in Brazil, including thousands of miles of the Amazon River, the world's largest river by volume.

總面積14億英畝的亞馬遜流域有超過一半在巴西境內，其中的亞馬遜河綿延數千英里，流量爲世界最大。

The Amazon is home to 1 in 10 of the world's known species, 20% of the world's bird species, 40,000 plant species and trees crucial to limiting greenhouse gases.

亞馬遜雨林中的物種佔世界已知物種的十分之一，包括世界上20%的鳥類和對限制溫室氣體至關重要的40000種植物和樹木。

Brazil is a realm of the senses, where everything is felt, smelled and tasted more intensely. That goes for one of the country's favorite menu items, churrasco, meaty delights pulled off the barbecue grill.

巴西號稱感官王國，在這裏，感覺、嗅覺和味覺的體驗總會更加強烈。對巴西烤肉的感受也是如此。這是該國菜單上最受喜愛的食物之一，從烤架上取下烤肉簡直是人生樂事。

Churrasco involves spearing slabs of beef, pork, chicken and sausage with skewers. When they're seared just right, the skewers are pulled out and the meat is sliced off in thin sections with surgical precision, unlike the jumbo hunk portions of American steaks.

巴西烤肉是將牛肉、豬肉、雞肉和香腸切成厚片，串在烤肉叉子上烤。烤到剛剛好時，抽出叉子，把肉精準切成薄片而不是美式牛排那樣的大塊。

At the big steakhouses, called churrascarias, servers go table to table, wielding skewers sizzling with meat and carving knives like something out of ancient Chinese swordplay. One has beef, another pork, another chicken.

在大型烤肉店（churrascarias），服務生挨桌走過，舉着串着烤肉的“滋滋”作響的叉子和切肉刀，揮舞刀叉的架勢仿若古代中國的劍術比試。一人手中是牛肉，另一人手中是豬肉，還有的是雞肉。

The choices are tempting, but the diner's goal should be to stand upright afterward and walk out under their own power.

各種選擇都十分誘人。但用餐者的目標則是吃完能站直了腰，自己走出去。