The citizens of the United States of America like to consider themselves one of the freest countries in the world. However, the truth is actually a lot more complicated than that. The United States enjoy some of the most lax laws in the world when it comes to saying whatever you please, but that doesn't necessarily equate to being free to do what you want to do. In many countries around the world, it is perfectly legal to do many things people wish they could do in the States.
美国公民普遍认为自己生活在世界上最自由的国家里。但事实远没有这么简单。无论你想干什么，美国都有世界上最宽松的法律，但这不等于你可以为所欲为。有些在美国只能想想的事情，在其他国家却可以光明正大地做。
10. In The Czech Republic You Can Use Magic Mushrooms
10. 在捷克，你可以使用致幻蘑菇
Magic mushrooms are the common given nickname for a class of mushroom that has an active compound called psilocybin that can have very strong psychedelic effects when ingested. Of course, most people who find this mushroom intriguing will need to accept that it is beyond their reach, as it remains in the realm of the black market of illegal drugs. That is, unless they are willing to live in the right, very specific country.
致幻蘑菇通常是指含有活性物——磷酰羟基二甲色胺的一种蘑菇，这种活性物能够产生非常强烈的致幻作用。当然，大部分对这种蘑菇感兴趣的人不得不面对一个现实，这种东西很难搞到，普遍存在于毒品交易的黑市中。也就是说，除非他们愿意生活在某些特殊国家里。
In the European country of the Czech Republic, mushrooms are actually mostly decriminalized, making it fairly easy to use them or get your hands on them. While it is not legal to sell mushrooms, import them into the country, or buy them, it is perfectly okay to own small amounts and grow them yourself. The law was likely set up this way so that their citizens could have their own freedom, without too strongly encouraging tourists to come to their country just to get a chance to go on a drug trip. Also, in the country of Brazil psilocybin is mostly legal, but only because of a technicality and the fact that no law has yet been written to correct it – this is mainly because it isn't really a problem there in the first place.
在欧洲的捷克共和国，大部分蘑菇竟然都合法，因此要使用或得到它们非常容易。虽然法律不允许买卖或者向国内进口这种蘑菇，但你自己留一点或者自己种植都没问题。法律希望通过这种方式赋予国民一定的自由，避免旅行者来到他们的国家只是为了进行一次毒品之旅。在巴西，磷酰羟基二甲色胺也基本合法，但这仅出于技术原因，且目前尚没有法律予以纠正——主要因为它尚未构成问题。
9. In Mainland China People Often Allow Their Young Children To Pee In Public
9. 在中国大陆，小孩子可以在公共场所小便
China is known for being overpopulated despite having had a one child policy for a long time. Their major cities are also especially known for being overcrowded, and as such they have to deal with certain cultural situations in different ways. Not long ago, a Chinese couple from the mainland caused a stir because they were visiting Hong Kong, and allowed their small boy to pee into a diaper in a public space. This was quite controversial to do in Hong Kong, but in mainland China, their actions would have been perfectly normal.
众所周知，虽然中国早就出台了独生子女政策，但这个国家仍然人口过多。特别是一些大城市过度拥挤，人们不得不面对不同方面的文化问题。前不久，一对来自中国大陆的夫妻引发轰动，他们在香港旅游时让自己的小儿子当众在尿布上小便。这在香港引发了极大的争议，但在大陆，他们的行为非常正常。
Parents in mainland China often allow their children to pee in public if they are having trouble finding anywhere else for them to go in time – this has likely cropped up over time as a solution to the overcrowding issue. Of course some people may find the very idea repulsive, but those parents who do so claim that their child would have had to go anyway, and they usually find a corner as out of the way as possible.
如果一时找不到其他地方小便，中国大陆的父母经常会让孩子在公共场所解决问题——由于过度拥挤，这种情况可能早晚会蹦出来。当然一些人觉得这种做法非常令人厌恶，但那些父母声称孩子实在憋不住，而且他们也会尽可能找一个路边的角落。
8. In North Korea It Is Both Legal And Commonplace To Smoke Weed
8. 在朝鲜，抽大麻合法而且普遍
North Korea is known for being a strict, fascist dictatorship that rules everyone inside with an iron fist. Most areas of the country are extremely poor and hardly anyone enjoys anything that can be called a quality of life. Even those who tow the party line and get to live in the major cities don't exactly live in the lap of luxury. However, on one particular front, the North Koreans tend to be incredibly lax. They are totally okay with the growing, and smoking of marijuana and make regular use of the drug.
众所周知，朝鲜是一个严格的法西斯专政国家，以铁拳统治国民。国内的大部分地区非常贫穷，几乎所有人都享受不到所谓的生活品质。即使是牵动着政治命脉、住在大城市中的人也过不上奢侈的生活。但是，从某一方面来说，朝鲜却十分宽松。朝鲜人民可以种大麻抽大麻，还可以光明正大使用这种东西。
Those who have managed to sneak around enough in North Korea to find out have discovered that it can even be found on the roadsides, that people grow it for personal use and that it enjoys incredible popularity. Weed can grow fairly easily in North Korea, and cigarettes and alcohol can be expensive to import in, so weed is usually the major drug of choice for most North Koreans. Tour guides discourage visitors from looking for weed, mainly because they don't want to be known only for drugs. For those stoners who are interested in visiting North Korea and trying some of their weed, it likely isn't worth the effort. Those who have tried it claim it is fairly poor quality as far as the drug goes.
有些人溜到朝鲜找寻大麻，结果发现这东西几乎满大街都是，人们自己就会种植大麻来用，一点都不稀奇。在朝鲜，种植大麻非常容易，而香烟和酒则需要花高价进口，因此大麻成了多数朝鲜人的首选药物。导游会阻止游客找大麻，主要是因为他们不希望本国只靠这个东西出名。对于那些想造访朝鲜并试试大麻的瘾君子，我劝他们还是不要白费力气。因为一些先行者表示，这个国家连大麻的质量都很糟糕。
7. In Japan It Is Considered Strange If You Don't Slurp Your Noodles Loudly And Proudly
7. 在日本，吃面要大声猛吸
There are some particular cultural traditions out there that happen to be completely the opposite in another part of the world, and this is one of them. In the United States, and most Western countries, making a lot of noise while eating is generally frowned upon. Even while eating foods like noodles, we have come up with many different techniques to eat our food as noiselessly as possible. However, in Japan, eating noodles is a completely different experience.
世界上有些地方之间的文化传统完全相反，这就是其中之一。在美国和多数西方国家，吃东西时发出很大的声响往往会引发别人的不悦。甚至是吃面条这类食物时，我们也得用各种技巧尽可能不声不响地把它吃完。但在日本吃面条则完全是另一种体验。
In Japan, they believe that noodles should be eaten when they are still piping hot in order to fully enjoy them. And to eat them piping hot essentially requires the mouth movements that create that distinctive slurping sound. No one in Japan minds because it is simply considered a sound that is necessary in order to properly eat noodles – in fact, if a Japanese person does not hear you slurping, they may make the mistake of thinking that you do not like your food.
日本人认为，面条就要趁热吃，这样才能充分享用其美味。要趁热吃就需要发动嘴巴，制造出极有特色的呼噜声。在日本，没人会介意这种声音。他们认为，要好好吃面，就得发出这种声响——实际上，如果一个日本人没听到呼噜呼噜吃东西的声音，他们会误以为你不喜欢他们的食物。
6. In The UK And Much Of Europe It Is Legal To Jaywalk As Much As You Wish
6. 在英国及欧洲多数国家，你可以随便横穿马路
In the United States, nearly everyone has a car, and roads have become very serious business indeed. Places like New York are the exception instead of the rule, and even in places with a decent public transportation infrastructure, most people still find it more convenient to have their own method of transportation. This means we often have very congested roads full of very peeved drivers, and have thus made very rigid rules on where and when pedestrians should cross the street in order to ensure public safety. There is also a legal element involved, as it helps deal with liability in a country with a lot of lawsuits, if there are well laid out places and ways that people are supposed to safely cross the street.
在美国，几乎人人都有车，路上的确车水马龙。像纽约这样的地方更是如此，即便是有完善公共交通设施的地方，大部分人仍然觉得有自己的交通工具更加方便。这意味着我们的马路上到处都是焦躁的司机，因此需要对行人可能横穿马路的地方和时间制定非常严格的规则，以确保公共安全。此外，这其中还涉及法律因素，因为立法有助于明确大量诉讼中的责任，即使在那种井然有序可以让人安全横穿马路的地方。
However, in the United Kingdom, where they are a little less sue happy and have a lot less cars on the road, the rules are much different. Some visitors from across the pond have even found themselves arrested in the United States because they crossed the road randomly in a very busy place without using a proper crosswalk. While it is not always enforced, jaywalking is against the law in the United States, but there is no law against it at all in the United Kingdom. Instead, in most European countries, people are simply expected to cross responsibly, wherever and whenever it is safest.
但是在英国，诉讼很少，路上的车辆也少得多，因此规则也大不相同。一些大洋彼岸的游客来到美国，因为在繁忙路段不走人行横道却随意乱穿马路而被逮捕。虽然不一定是强制性的，但乱穿马路违反美国法律。在英国境内就没有这样的规定。不过，在欧洲大多数国家，人们只会选择在最安全的时间和地点穿过马路。
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