For new countries joining the European Union,and older, ones getting used to their dark red passports,becoming “Europeans” is a bit like marrying into a large, eccentric (古怪的) family. Europeans have a lot in common but it is their differences, not similarities, that attract the attention of sociologists (社会学家) and market researchers , and are more interesting.
35% of Germans live alone, but only, 9% of Spaniards. Perhaps this explains why Spaniards lead Europe in the habit of going out for a drink.
The British attend more adult evening classes than anyone else in Europe,and the Belgians least. So it can’t just be the dark evenings. There are no figures on how many Britons go for a drink afterwards. If there were, they might be up at the top with Spain!
The British think black cats are lucky. Every other,European country regards them unlucky.
The Dutch and Germans are greatest caravanners (活动房居住者) , but the Germans like bigger beds in their caravans.
The French are the most athletic Europeans. Next come the Dutch. But the Belgians,just over the border, play fewest sports.
Tlle Germans spend twice as much on heating as the Spaniards. Well, of course they do, it’s colder.
Dutch husbands do the household shopping a lot more often than Italians or Spaniards.
The French are the champion public transport commuters () of Europe. If you hate commuting, go and live in the Netherlands, where journeys to work are shorter than anywhere else.
Amount of direct eye-contact between strangers is three times greater among Spaniards than it is among the British or Swedes. Sharing a life is torture for both the British and the Swedish.
No European countries really agree with any other about how to make good coffee. All of them are different.
There are exceptions (经常往返者) to all these rules. Deal with them in the spirit of my 8-year-old daughter. “If you don’t understand each other’s languages you just laugh a lot, and point at things.”
参考资料:自己翻译的