A wit once said that Norway was a land for people with a taste for the unusual。
With its long distances，scattered population and outstanding natural beauty，this outpost on the edge of Europe is a land of contrasts-a heady mix of spectacular scenery and high technology。Visitors will find a country of dramatic landscapes，pure air，clean water and an abiding respect for tradition。But they also encounter up-to-date cities and an efficient network of air，rail and road connections。A country of contrasts。A country for those with a taste for the unusual。
The Climate
Not many nationalities have such an intense love-hate relationship with their weather as the Norwegians do。There are good reasons for this however。Arctic temperatures hold a large part of the country in their iron grip throughout the long winter months。In the northernmost parts of the country，winter is a seemingly endless night and in the summer，the sun barely touches the horizon before rising again to cast its rays over seas，mountains and the far northern tundra。
In the south the summers are warm with temperatures equaling those of southern Europe。In spring and autumn，the landscape also has a special charm-created by the way the light is reflected off the steep，rain-wet mountainsides，the clear crystal water of the lakes and fjords，or the high peaks with their mantles of eternal snow。
Urban Life
Norway is home to many interesting towns and cities。Its most famous，and more than likely the first stop for most tourists，is Oslo。
Oslo is Scandinavia's oldest capital。Its name derives from two Old Norse words meaning“god”and“meadow”。It has a thousand-year history and is host to some of the best museums in the country。The Viking Ship Museum，The Ski Museum and the extraordinary Vigeland Sculpture Park are a must-see for all visitors。
Although Oslo has in recent years acquired a reputation for being a fiery，self-confident and cosmopolitan capital，boasting exquisite restaurants and a huge variety of cultural attractions and nightlife，the town is most closely associated with its proximity to nature。Not far from the town center you can ski or walk by yourself in vast woodlands。You can swim in the many small lakes or off the beaches on the edge of the Oslofjord。The different districts also offer beautiful parks and outdoor cafes that are buzzing all year long。
The Tundra
One of the best ways to experience tundra life is to accompany Sami reindeer herders on their annual spring migration。Not only can visitors enjoy the magnificent scenery，but it is also a wonderful opportunity to experience the traditions of one of Europe's few remaining ancient peoples。The tundra in Hardangervidda is home to Europe's last remaining wild reindeer and if you are lucky enough you might get to see this fascinating and shy animal。
The Fjords
The highlight of a traveling in Norway has to be the Fjords。Norway's long coastline is indented by large and small fjord arms，creating huge difficulties for the road and rail authorities but providing the visitor with some of the most breathtaking scenery in the world。The exciting mountain train journey to Flam，on the Aurlandsfjorden，is highly recommended。
Hardanger Fjord
Hardanger is one of Norway's most popular fjords。It offers a wide range of activities all year round。Boating and water sports are popular in the summer。Winter visitors can enjoy the slalom slopes and cross-country ski trails。Winter or summer，you will be amazed at this region's foaming waterfalls and stunning fjord scenery。
Folk Dress
Many Norwegians will don bunads，formal dress with traditional local origins，on May 17th，Norway's national day，and for weddings and festive occasions。These costumes are inspired by the clothes worn in rural areas in pre-industrial Norway and differ in style and colour from region to region。The details on the costumes will indicate certain information about the wearer，for example，if they are single or married。
As far as possible bunads are made of natural materials：linen or cotton for shirts，silk for kerchiefs，vests and bodices，and wool for skirts，jackets，trousers and stockings。
Traditional Music and Dance
Folk dancing is a popular recreational activity in Norway today。While many people practice folk dancing for their own pleasure，there are also professional dancers all over the country。They compete throughout the year at contests，watched by large audiences。
Trolls
For generations，Norwegian children have been fed images of make-believe characters such as trolls，sirens and goblins。The stories and legends have been passed from family to family，from generation to generation。Norway's imposing mountains，deep fjords，vast forests and dark winter nights provide plenty of inspiration for these tales of the supernatural。But these stories are not just employed to entertain children。In the past，they provided valuable national symbols that helped unite the country。
一个诙谐的人曾经说过，挪威就是那些品位奇特的人的天地。
这个位于欧洲边缘地带的前哨之国地域狭长、人口稀松、天然美景出众，是一片充满反差的土地——把壮丽风光和高科技融为一体的醉人之地。游客会发现，这个国家所具有的是动人的风景、纯净的空气、清澈的水质和对传统的不倦遵循。但他们也会看到现代化的都市和高效的航空、铁路和公路交通网。这是一个反差之国，一个适合品位奇特的人的国家。
气候
像挪威人那样，对气候的爱恨交加程度如此强烈的民族并不多。不过，出现这种状况是有其充分的理由的。在漫长的冬季月份里，该国的大部分地区完全是北极的温度特征。在该国最北部的地区，冬季就是看似没有尽头的夜晚，而在夏天，太阳刚刚落到地平线的位置后，就会再次升起，照耀着大海、群山和遥远的北部苔原。
在南部，夏日是晴暖的，温度与南欧一样。在春秋两季的时候，景色别有一番风情——被雨水打湿的陡峭山腹、湖泊和峡湾中如水晶般透彻的流水，或者是常年积雪的挺拔峰顶会使光线出现反射现象。
都市生活
挪威拥有许多有趣的城镇和都市，其中最著名并极有可能成为大多数游客停留的第一站的便是奥斯陆。
奥斯陆是斯堪的纳维亚半岛上最为古老的都会城市。其名称来源于两个意思，分别为“神”和“草地”的古斯堪的纳维亚语汇。此城拥有1000年的历史，该国一些最好的博物馆均坐落于此。维京船博物馆、滑雪博物馆以及非凡的维格兰雕塑园都是所有游客不容错过的观光地。
虽然近年来，奥斯陆凭借其热情、自信和国际化的首都形象赢得了声望，并以拥有幽雅的饭馆和繁多的文化魅力和夜生活为荣，但该城被提及最多的地方还是其毗邻大自然的特点。距市中心不远的地方就是可以独自滑雪或漫步的林地区域。你可以在许多小湖泊中，或者在奥斯陆峡湾边的海滩沿岸游泳。不同的城区还有漂亮的公园和户外咖啡馆，这些地方终年门庭若市。
苔原
要体验苔原生态的最好方式之一就是跟随萨米族驯鹿放牧人一起踏上其一年一度的春季迁徙之旅。游客不仅可以享受壮丽的风光，而且还可以把这当成一个绝佳的机会，来体验这个作为欧洲仅存的少数古老民族之一的人群的传统。哈当厄高原的苔原是欧洲仅存的野生驯鹿栖息地，如果你足够幸运的话，你可能就会看到这种迷人的、害羞的动物。
峡湾地区
在挪威观光的重头戏肯定就在峡湾地区。挪威漫长的海岸线被大大小小的峡湾分割成了锯齿状，这为规划公路与铁路的当局提出了巨大的难题，但却为游客提供了全球最叹为观止的一些景观。极力推荐你乘火车穿山越岭前往奥兰峡湾弗兰市，来一次兴奋之旅。
哈丹哥峡湾
哈丹哥峡湾是挪威最受人欢迎的峡湾之一。该地区全年都会举办大量活动。划船和水上运动在夏季颇为流行。而在冬季观光的游客则可以享受斜坡障碍滑雪和小道越野滑雪运动带来的乐趣。无论是在冬天还是在夏天，你都会被这一地区泡沫横飞的瀑布和惊人的峡湾风光所震撼。
民族服饰
在5月17日挪威国庆节、婚礼和其它节日场合上，许多挪威人会穿上一种名叫“bunad”、体现着当地传统渊源的正式服装。这类服装是受到挪威前工业时期的乡村服饰启发而发展出来的，但各地区在风格和用色上均有差别。服装上的细节特征会揭示穿着者的某类信息，如，他们是未婚还是已婚。
“bunad”服饰尽可能会由天然材料制成：用亚麻或棉布来制衬衣，用丝绸来制头巾、背心和紧身胸衣，用羊毛来制衬衣、夹克、裤子和长袜。
传统音乐和舞蹈
民族舞蹈是当今挪威的一项流行休闲活动。虽然许多人跳民族舞蹈是自得其乐，但全国各地也有职业的舞蹈演员。他们全年都会在许多拥有大量观众群的比赛中竞技。
洞穴巨人
一代代的挪威儿童都会听说到一些虚构的人物形象，如洞穴巨人、海上女妖和小妖精。这些故事和传说在各家各户之间世代流传着。挪威那壮丽的山峦、深邃的峡湾、巨大的森林和漆黑的冬夜为这些神奇的故事提供了丰富的想象空间。但这些故事的作用并非只是为了哄小孩。在过去，它们还提供了宝贵的国家象征，而这些象征帮助这个国家走向了统一。
Scatter v。使散开，散布adj。分散的，稀疏的
Dramatic adj。戏剧性的；激动人心的；给人深刻印象的
Abiding adj。由来已久的
Fiery adj。似火的，味道强烈的，充满激情的
Cosmopolitan adj。大都市的
Tundra n。苔原
Breathtaking v。激动人心的
Slalom n。障碍滑雪赛
Linen n。亚麻布
Recreational adj。休闲的
Make-believe adj。假扮的
Imposing adj。令人印象深刻的
美丽的极光和午夜阳光
由于挪威的领土一直延伸到了北极圈以内，因此，挪威进入北极圈的北部地区成为观赏午夜太阳和美丽极光的最佳地点。在挪威最北部的三个郡，太阳自五月中旬开始到七月下旬终日不落，这里也就成为了全世界唯一能够在午夜阳光下打高尔夫球的地方。极光在斯堪的纳维亚地区终年可见，挪威也是最佳观测点之一。白天可以游览城市景观，夜晚还可以欣赏到美丽的极光。
印度的婚嫁习俗Dating in India
I always find it interesting to see how others solve problems that seem so prevalent here in the states。Three simple ideas from Europe come to mind。
Cart coins
Honestly，this is such a simple solution，I have no idea why it hasn't caught on here in the States。When we were in Italy，more often than not the shopping carts were linked together with chains and interlocking tabs。To get one to use，we were required to insert a coin in a slot which we then pushed in/pulled back to release the lock and take our cart inside the store。When we were finished unloading our purchases in the car，we simply took the cart back，inserted the piece again（I may be getting the actual procedure wrong，but is was super simple，nonetheless），and got our coin back。
It took no time at all to develop the habit of keeping a couple of coins in the dash，and for those that really couldn't be bothered there were always teenagers or other financially strapped individuals around who would take the cart off your hands and re-park it for you in exchange for getting to keep the coin。
What we didn't have to deal with？Carts slamming into our vehicle from blowing winds，or taking up parking spaces after they rolled around the parking lot a time or two。Additional bonus？The cost of goods inside the stores was more under control because no staff members needed to be hired to chase down and organize runaway grocery carts。
Bag tax/surcharge
It's great that some stores want to give you a discount for every bag you bring in that they don't have to provide。But the fact is，some people just won't do it。Just like some people don't bother to clip coupons。When we lived on the other side of the ocean，there was an extra charge for every bag you needed。Some stores were good enough to save left over stocking boxes，but not all。
What was interesting to me at the time（it was several years ago，now）was how many more people I saw bringing in their own bags than I ever noticed back home。Not sure what the psychological difference was between saving a nickel and getting charged a nickel，but apparently it did the trick for some。Just an observation。
Highly prevalent small space and vertical urban gardens。
This blew me away。I couldn't believe how many people were so talented with using every nook and cranny of their limited urban living space to grow food。Shrubs growing on the sides of an entry walk planted with rosemary，climbing vines of grapes rather than flowers，narrow strips along the sides of buildings planted with fruit trees pruned to grow flat against the wall and along wires strung for stability。
Tiny back yard areas loaded with tomatoes，basil and aubergine literally every small space and vertical opening in our little neighborhood in Northern Italy was brimming with edible plants。Of course，it didn't hurt that there was a fairly long growing season，but still。
How much could a single，apartment or town home dwelling family reduce their monthly grocery budget with these skills？Bonus？Lots of trees and plants growing up alley walls means less room for graffiti。
I don't mean to reduce all the wonderful things I experienced there to such a sort post。It's just that these things struck me recently as things we could easily do something about in America。On a selfish note，I vote we start with tackling the runaway grocery carts。
我总觉得看外国人如何解决我们美国普遍存在的一些问题很有趣。突然想到在欧洲看到的三个简单的例子。
投币手推车
老实说，解决这个问题真的很容易，可我不知道为什么这没有在美国推行开呢。在意大利，那些购物手推车通常被链子和卡式锁连在一起的。当我们要用手推车时，我们只需要投一枚硬币到卡式锁的狭槽里面，然后一推一拉把锁打开了，就可以把手推车推到商场里面了。当我们把买的东西放到自己车里面后，就可以很轻松的把手推车推回去了。把硬币一插（也许这步骤我说的不对，但是这超级简单），然后硬币就退还回来了。
养成留两枚硬币的习惯并不要花多少时间，但对那些怕麻烦的人来说也不成什么问题。因为总有一些青少年或者一些手头紧的人愿意帮你把手推车退回去，以赚取那两枚硬币的小费。
这省了哪些事呢？刮大风的时候，那些手推车会撞上我们的车，他们被推到停车场里有时会占用太多的车位。还有其他的好处吗：商店的内部成本降低了，因为他们不需要雇佣人来寻找和管理那些被推得到处都是的购物车。
购物袋征税/附加费
如果你自带塑料袋的话，有些商场会因不用提供塑料袋而给你打折，这样做很好。但事实上，有些人就是不愿带塑料袋。就像有些人懒得去拿优惠券一样。而如果我们生活在大西洋对岸，我们得为用的每一个塑料袋支付额外的费用。有些商场作的很好，会把回收丢弃的塑料袋，但不是所有的商场都会这么做。
当时（这是几年前的事了），我觉得很有趣的是，我发现，在那边自带塑料袋的人比我们多多了。我不太清楚省一个硬币和花一个硬币心理上的差别，但是很显然，他们这么做很成功——这只是我所观察到的。
小面积的垂直城市菜园很流行
这让我很震撼。我简直无法相信有这么多如此天才的人们在他们城市中有限的生活空间里，利用每一个隐避处和小缝隙来种植。在入口出种植着各种各样的灌木，迷迭香，那些藤蔓上的葡萄——而不是花，街道旁狭窄的过道上靠墙种着修剪整齐的果树。
小块的后院种满了番茄、罗勒和茄子。在意大利北部，我们邻居们在每一小块空间和垂直的空隙里都种满了可食用的植物。当然，它们的生长周期也很长。
一个单人间，一套公寓或者一个家庭每个月可以通过这个手艺在食品预算上省多少钱呢？可以带来多少利润呢？大量的树木和攀附在墙上的植物就意味着没有多少空间留给墙上涂鸦。
我的意思并不是我在那里所经历的美好的东西仅仅就只有这篇小文所说的这么多。只是这些事情最近震撼了我，而这些我们在美国很容易效仿的。出于个人私心，我建议我们从解决散落四处的购物车的问题做起。
Prevalent adj。普遍存在的；普遍发生的；盛行的；流行的
Cart n。两轮或四轮的大车
Slam v。猛力地放、推、扔或敲（某物）
Surcharge n。增付的费用；增收费；附加费
Nickel n。（美国或加拿大的）5分镍币
Blow sb。Away 使震撼，使印象深刻
Every nook and cranny（口）某地方的各处；到处brim
Tackle v。处理，对付英语畅谈世界文化亚洲
印度的婚嫁观念
印度还流行着盲婚哑嫁，阶级与阶级对等，一夫多妻。印度女人认为婚姻才会使她们的人生得以圆满，嫁出去的女儿就算死也要死在夫家。在印度，结婚的所有费用都是由女方家出支的；新娘还要携带大量的嫁妆，就像中国所说的“嫁女倒贴大床”。嫁妆少的姑娘甚至会有杀身之祸。所以，在印度每年都会有由于嫁妆少而导致姑娘死于非命的事情的发生。就算知道凶手，他也只需坐区区的几年监，出来后又可以娶更富有的女人。寡妇被视为不祥人，想再婚，简直就像是天荒夜谈。她们会被送到一个寡妇村，余生都得在那里渡过。就算是参加庆典，也要自备食物。