莎士比亞人氣最高的國家居然不是英國!

On the 400th anniversary of his death, Shakespeare is more popular abroad than in Britain and makes a significant contribution to the UK's prosperity and influence, according to a survey published on last Tuesday.

根據上週二的一項調查顯示，在莎士比亞逝世400週年之際，他在英國之外獲得了比在本土更高的人氣，這也對提升英國的繁榮及影響力作出了巨大貢獻。

The British Council, which commissioned the YouGov survey of 18,000 people from 15 countries, said the results showed that internationally Shakespeare is widely known, liked and understood.

英國文化委員會委託YouGov對來自十五個國家的一萬八千人進行了調查，結果顯示莎士比亞爲全球人知曉和喜愛。

"Four hundred years after his death, Shakespeare's work continues to play a vital role in educating and entertaining people around the world," said the Council's Rosemary Hilhorst in a statement.

該委員會的羅斯瑪麗·希爾霍斯特在聲明中表示：“在莎翁去世四百年之後，他的作品仍舊在人們的教育、娛樂方面發揮着重要作用。”

The Council, which fosters cultural relations between Britain and other countries, said Shakespeare's influence internationally helps generate a positive attitude towards the UK.

英國文化委員會旨在促進英國和其他國家間的文化交流。該委員會表示，莎士比亞的國際影響力爲英國塑造正面的國際形象提供了莫大幫助。

Over a third of people questioned said Shakespeare made them feel more positive about Britain in general, with the greatest number of respondents holding this view in Brazil (57 percent) and India (62 percent).

超過三分之一的受訪者表示，莎士比亞讓他們對英國有更好的印象，而在巴西（57%）和印度（62%）有更多人持相同觀點。

The survey also found Shakespeare was more popular (65 percent) in terms of being liked, understood and still regarded as relevant today overseas than in his home country (59 percent). But his popularity in other English-speaking countries such as Australia and the United States was significantly lower than in the non-English speaking countries polled including China, Turkey and Mexico.

這項調查還發現，莎士比亞在英國之外更爲人熟知和喜愛。其中海外比例達到了65%，而在英國本土這一比例只有59%。但是，他在澳大利亞、美國這樣的英語國家中卻沒有向非英語國家（中國、土耳其、墨西哥）中這樣高的人氣。

The British Council said his popularity had a direct influence on Britain's economy, not just in terms of attracting visitors to Shakespeare's theaters but also contributing to the country's standing in the world which had the knock-on effect of attracting tourists.

英國文化委員會表示，莎士比亞的高人氣對英國經濟有直接影響。並不僅僅因爲他的戲劇作品吸引着觀衆們，還因爲他給這個國家帶來的文化效應吸引着旅客們到英國觀光。