展望2011年 法国人全球最悲观

Cheer up, monsieur: One of Paris's famously sad mime artists seems to sum up the general mood in France as they look pessimistically towards 2011.

They'll probably meet the news with a typically Gallicshrug, but the French are the saddest nation on the planet.

It's not just their strings of onions that make our friends across the Channel cry - they top the charts for being the most pessimistic people looking ahead to 2011.

The World Cup humiliation, which saw players sent home in disgrace and the team fail to win a game, won't have helped and nor does the handling of the economy by the enigmaticPM Nicolas Sarkozy.

People in developing economies, by contrast, tend to view the coming year more positively.

Now that the fireworks have been put out and the New Year’s bubblydowned, Europeans are ringing in 2011 in a far more downbeatmood, with the French the most pessimistic of them all.

A BVA-Gallup poll of 53 countries found the French the world champions of scepticism, with 61 per cent of respondents saying 2011 will be 'a year of economic difficulty.'

Britons were not far behind on 52 per cent, Spaniards 48 per cent and Italians 41 per cent.

The poll found that 67 per cent of French respondents believed unemployment would rise over the next 12 months.

Employment was also a major concern in the UK, with 74 per cent of Britons believing unemployment would increase. Pakistan came a close second at 72 per cent.

The overall negative sentiment in Europe comes in stark contrast to the emerging economies in Asia, South America and Africa, where citizens are generally optimistic about the New Year.

In Brazil, India and China, 49 per cent of respondents said they believed 2011 would be economically prosperous, with only 14 per cent predicting hardship.

Vietnam topped the optimism rating with 70 per cent Vietnamese expressing confidence in the economic outlook for 2011.

Even in war-torn countries such as Afghanistan and Iraq, respondents appeared to look forward to a brighter future with only 14 per cent of Afghans and 12 per cent of Iraqis fearing a deterioration of their situation.

The poll was conducted from October 11 to December 13, 2010, in 53 countries. More than 63,000 people were interviewed by telephone, face-to-face or online.

法国人看到这则新闻后很可能会报之以一个法式耸肩：法国是全球最悲观的国家。

这并不是因为法国洋葱串的辛辣味道使英吉利海峡对岸的朋友掉眼泪，而是因为法国人对2011年的展望最悲观。

法国队在世界杯比赛上的丢脸表现——球员不光彩地被遣送回国，法国队一场未胜，以及神秘兮兮的法国总统尼古拉斯 萨科奇的经济策略都加重了这种悲观情绪。

相比之下，发展中国家的人们对来年的心态则更为积极。

新年的焰火已经熄灭，香槟酒也已喝光，欧洲人怀着沮丧的心情敲响了2011年的钟声，而法国人则是欧洲人中最悲观的。

一项由法国调查机构BVA和盖洛普民意测验中心联合进行的调查显示，法国人对前景所持的怀疑态度最强烈，61%的被调查者认为2011年法国经济会很困难。

紧随其后的是英国人，有52%的英国被调查者态度悲观。在西班牙和意大利，这一比例分别为48%和41%。

该调查还显示，67%的法国人认为未来12个月内失业率将会上升。

就业问题在英国也备受关注，74%的英国人认为失业率将会上升。巴基斯坦人紧随其后，比例为72%。

与欧洲整体的消极情绪形成鲜明对比的是亚洲、南美洲和非洲的新兴国家人民对新年普遍持有的乐观态度。

在巴西、印度和中国，49%的被调查者认为2011年的经济会很繁荣，只有14%的人认为经济会出现困难。

越南人最乐观，70%的被调查者对2011年的经济前景很有信心。

甚至在饱受战争蹂躏的阿富汗和伊拉克，受访者也预期会有一个更光明的未来，只有14%的阿富汗人和12%的伊拉克人担心形势会恶化。

这项跨国民调是于2010年10月11日至12月13日在53个国家进行的。共有6.3万余人通过电话访谈、面谈或是网上问答参与了调查。

Vocabulary:

Gallic: 法国的；法国人的

enigmatic: mysterious and difficult to understand（神秘的；费解的；令人困惑的）

bubbly: 香槟酒

downbeat: dull or depressing; not hopeful about the future（沉闷的；沮丧的；悲观的）