璃兒的正妹資訊站

They say you can’t buy happiness - and it’s something Bhutan is finding out the hard way.

俗話說金錢難買幸福，而不丹現在正痛苦地學到這個教訓。

The tiny, mostly-Buddhist Himalayan kingdom won a world voice for adopting a happiness index to measure its economy. But its prime minister says it promptly forgot its own lesson, and let a sudden rush of prosperity go to its head.

這個坐落在喜馬拉雅山區、居民多為佛教徒的蕞爾小國，因為採取幸福指數來衡量經濟發展，在世界取得發聲權。但不丹總理表示，不丹很快就忘記了自己的訓誡，讓突如其來的經濟發展沖昏了頭。

"Wealth creates increased desire," said Prime Minister Jigmi Thinley. "There are families with four or five cars. There are luxury vehicles being imported that can hardly drive on our roads and are made for far better roads than we have here."

「財富帶來慾望的增加，」總理廷里說。「有些家庭現在有4、5輛車。但這些進口豪華轎車卻很難在我們國家的道路上行駛，因為它們是為了路況更好的道路所製造。」

A country that was closed to foreigners until 1974 and only recently opened up to the forces of globalisation lacked the tools to cope with new-found economic growth and the wealth it brought.

不丹遲至1974年才開放外國人入境，最近才向全球化勢力開放，卻缺乏因應經濟迅速成長及其所衍生財富的工具。

The government has cut expenditure and is considering raising taxes on imported vehicles. Youth unemployment is over 9 percent and people are drifting away from the countryside, and traditional values, to the towns.

政府已開始刪減支出，並考慮提高進口車輛關稅。年輕人失業率已超過9%，民眾正紛紛遠離鄉村與傳統價值，湧向都市。

Worst of all, Bhutan’s most recent Gross National Happiness （GNH） index, in 2010, found only 41 percent qualified as "happy".

更糟的是，不丹最近一年，也就是2010年的國民幸福指數（GNH）發現，只有41%的國民夠格稱為「幸福」。

"We have been moving away from GNH values and, like many countries, becoming more materialist," said Thinley. （Reuters）

新聞辭典

count the cost：片語，指開始理解為某事付出的代價，如I didn’t read the contract fully before I signed it but I’m counting the cost now.（我在簽約前並未仔細閱讀合約內容，現在正為此付出慘痛代價。）

learn/find out （something）the hard way：片語，指透過艱難困苦才學到教訓，如I found out the hard way that it’s difficult to work and go to school at the same time.（我歷經艱辛才發現要同時兼顧工作與學業很困難。）

go to someone’s head：片語，指被成功、名利等沖昏了頭，驕傲自滿，如Don’t let all this praise go to your head.（別讓這些讚美沖昏了頭。）