The distinct smell of animal feces and soil fills the air. A slender figure, barely illuminated by a white ceiling lamp, bends down and strokes the head of a large sow. 'You are a good pig, aren't you?' Jan Thomas Jenssen, 17, says softly.
动物粪便和泥土的特有味道弥漫在空气中。在白色吊灯的昏暗灯光中，一个修长的身影弯下腰，抚摸着一头大母猪的脑袋。17岁的扬·托马斯·延森(Jan Thomas Jenssen)对这只猪轻声说，你真是头好乖猪，是不是？
Then he straightens up, pulls down his gray woolen sweater, and heads off to train for cross-country skiing. 'My plan is to become a farmer, like my dad and his dad before him. But first things first.'
然后，他直起身，脱下灰色的羊毛衫，开始了越野滑雪的训练。扬·托马斯说，我的愿望是当一名农场主，就像我父亲和爷爷那样；不过，眼下还是先做重要的事情。
Though too young for the Sochi Games, Jan Thomas is considered a strong prospect for future Olympic glory. His most impressive credential may not be his technique or recent competitive success, but his birth certificate. He was born in the region of Trondelag, a place with short summers of potato farming and long winters of trudging through snow-filled valleys and ice-covered fiords, and where Olympic gold is produced at a remarkable rate.
由于年龄太小，扬·托马斯未能参加索契冬奥会。但他被认为很有希望在未来的奥林匹克赛场上获得殊荣。他最令人印象深刻的东西可能不是他的技巧和最近在比赛中取得的成功，而是他的出生地。扬·托马斯出生在特伦德拉格(Trondelag)，当地适于人们种植马铃薯的夏季很短，而需要人们在大雪覆盖的山谷与冰封的峡湾中跋涉的冬季却很漫长。正是这样一个地方以非凡的速度产生了一枚又一枚奥运金牌。
In all, Trondelag natives have produced more than a fifth of Norway's medals over the history of the Winter Games -- even though the region accounts for only 8% of the country's total population. At the 2010 Vancouver Olympics, they contributed to eight of the country's nine gold medals.
在冬奥会历史上，特伦德拉格人获得的奖牌占挪威奖牌总数的五分之一多，尽管当地人口只占全国总人口的8%。在2010年的温哥华冬奥会上，挪威获得的九枚金牌中有八枚是特伦德拉格人获得的。
'How is it possible that an area of about 400, 000 people can be responsible for eight out of nine gold medals?' said Stig Arve Saether, a researcher at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology.
挪威科技大学(Norwegian University of Science and Technology)的研究人员塞特(Stig Arve Saether)说，一个约40万人口的地方为国家贡献了九枚金牌中的八枚，这怎么可能呢？
Norway itself is a Winter Olympics marvel: With only five million people, it has won 303 Winter Olympic medals, far more than any other country on the planet. To find a country smaller than world-leading Norway on the all-time Winter Olympics medal table, you have to travel down to Croatia, which ranks 24th with 11 medals.
事实上，挪威本身就是冬奥会的奇迹：虽然只有500万人口，挪威却已赢得了303块冬奥会奖牌，远多于世界上任何其他国家。在挪威居首的历届冬奥会总奖牌榜上，要找一个比挪威更小的国家，就要往下数到以11块奖牌位居第24位的克罗地亚。
And this month, Norway is fielding one of its strongest teams in almost two generations, with some experts considering it the favorite to win both the highest gold and total medal count, a feat that it last achieved in 1968.
本月挪威派出的代表团是近两代人中的最强阵容之一。一些专家认为，挪威有望在本届冬奥会的金牌和奖牌榜上同时登顶，而挪威上一次获此殊荣是在1968年。
Other countries long ago took to shrugging off Norway's Winter Olympics medal haul as the unsurprising inheritance of a people whose young are born with skis on their feet, as an old Nordic adage goes. But skiing is also fundamental to the culture of other Scandinavian countries, including Sweden, which has about twice the population but, with 132 total, not even half the medals.
其他国家很久以前就对挪威在冬奥会奖牌榜上的突出表现不以为然，认为这不过是一个民族不足为奇的遗传。就像一句古老的北欧谚语所说，那里的孩子一出生脚上就套着滑雪板。但滑雪也是其他斯堪的纳维亚国家文化的重要内容，其中包括瑞典。瑞典的人口大约是挪威的两倍，而冬奥会奖牌总数为132枚，还不到挪威的一半。
Instead, many experts think the answer lies in the culture and lifestyle of the country, where an extraordinary egalitarianism runs through youth sports. Before age 6, Norwegian kids can only train but not formally compete in sports, and before age 11, all children participating in a competition must be awarded the same prize.
许多专家认为，其中的奥妙在于挪威的文化和生活方式，挪威的青少年体育奉行极度平等主义。在6岁前，挪威儿童只能进行训练，而不能参加正式的体育比赛。在11岁之前，所有参加比赛的儿童必须被颁发同样的奖项。
'We have an unusually open and inclusive environment when it comes to children's' sports, ' says Inge Andersen, General Secretary of the Norwegian Sports Federation and Olympic and Paralympic Committee. Sports, meanwhile, continues to take a back seat to education in the country. Although Norway has government-run sports schools, admissions is based on stiff academic standards, not athletic ability.
挪威体育联合会和奥运及残奥委员会(Norwegian Sports Federation and Olympic and Paralympic Committee)秘书长安德森(Inge Andersen)说，在儿童体育方面，我们拥有一个异常开放和包容的环境。另外，在挪威，体育的地位仍在教育之下。挪威拥有政府开办的体育学校，但招生都以严格的学业成绩为依据，而不是运动能力。
'General education has to come first. Sports second, ' said Kjell Lundemo, the principal of Meraker, a government-run sports school with the same name as the town.
以莫拉克镇的名字命名的公办体育学校的校长伦德莫(Kjell Lundemo)说，必须把通识教育放在首位，体育在第二位。
To some degree, Norway's dominance isn't surprising. Although its athletes generally don't get huge endorsement dollars, they do benefit from the largess of the country's main organization for elite Olympic sports, which has a relatively large annual budget of $23 million.
从某种程度上说，挪威能够占据支配地位并不出人意料。挪威的运动员一般不会得到巨额赞助，但却受益于国内主要奥林匹克运动精英团体的捐赠。这些组织每年的预算达到2,300万美元，相对而言属于比较多的范畴。
Norway also boasts an economy that provides high-paying jobs. Thanks largely to its rich oil fields, Norway has a per capita GDP of $99, 558 -- the fourth-highest in the world behind Qatar, Luxembourg and Singapore. That enables its citizenry to enjoy extraordinary amounts of leisure time and spending money.
挪威同样引以为傲的还有其能提供高薪工作的经济。得益于丰富的石油资源，挪威的人均国内生产总值(GDP)为99,558美元（约合人民币60万元），在全球位居第四，仅次于卡塔尔、卢森堡和新加坡。这使得挪威民众能享有极多的休闲时间和零用钱。
It is also clear that Norway has skated to Olympic stardom on a type of ski that doesn't generate as much interest or competition. Of Norway's 303 Winter Olympics medals, 125 have come in cross-country or its cousin, biathlon, which combines cross-country skiing and sharpshooting. Together, these two disciplines are the Games' medal-richest sports, awarding 66 medals in Sochi.
还有一点很清楚，挪威之所以能成为冬奥会上的明星国家，是因为有一种滑雪运动没有引起太多人的兴趣或太多人参与竞争。在挪威获得的303枚冬奥会奖牌中，有125枚来自越野滑雪或与之类似的冬季两项（冬季两项结合了越野滑雪和射击两种竞赛）。这两个大项的奖牌数在冬奥会奖牌中所占比例最大，在索契冬奥会设有66枚奖牌。
They are also among the least competitive. Throughout the history of the Winter Games, Norway and Germany have won nearly half the medals in biathlon. In cross-country skiing, Norway and four other countries have won 82% of the medals. A 2011 survey (conducted for Norway's biggest newspaper Aftenposten) showed that 60% of Norwegians say they are interested in watching cross-country skiing, while 56% say they are interested in biathlon and 43% say they are interested in soccer.
而这两个大项也属于竞争最不激烈的项目。从冬奥会的历史来看，挪威和德国获得了近一半的冬季两项奖牌。在越野滑雪项目上，挪威和另外四个国家摘走了82%的奖牌。挪威第一大报纸《晚邮报》(Aftenposten)在2011年进行的一项调查显示，60%的挪威人称自己对观看越野滑雪有兴趣，56%的挪威人称自己对冬季两项有兴趣，43%的挪威人称自己对足球有兴趣。
In America, where Winter Olympics marketing invariably features daredevil sports like alpine skiing and snowboarding, little interest exists in watching or participating in cross-country skiing. The U.S. hasn't won a cross-country skiing medal since 1976. Not even four million Americans engaged in cross-country skiing last year, fewer than half the number that skied downhill.
在美洲，冬奥会宣传总是以高山滑雪和单板滑雪等较为惊险的运动来吸引眼球，几乎没人有兴趣观看或参与越野滑雪运动。自1976年来，美国没能获得一块越野滑雪奖牌。去年，只有不到四百万美国人曾接触过越野滑雪运动，人数还不到速降滑雪人数的一半。
For that reason, Norway's projected success in Sochi doesn't surprise Aksel Lund Svindal, a Norwegian Alpine skiing world champion. 'When the best talent goes into sports that the U.S. doesn't hear about, ' he said, 'it makes sense' that Norway would do well.
出于这个原因，挪威在索契奥运会上取得预料中的成就并不令挪威高山滑雪名将史文道尔(Aksel Lund Svindal)感到意外。他说，挪威最优秀的人才去从事很多美国人都没听说过的运动，那么挪威取得好成绩就可以理解了。
Olympic history is rich with the medal-winning feats of one-time slacker nations that decided to get serious about the Games. A dramatic recent example is China, a longtime laggard that won the gold medal count at the Beijing Summer Games in 2008. Similar improvements in the Winter Olympics were achieved by Canada and America.
在奥运会历史上，不乏有一些体育事业较为落后的国家决定在奥运会上有所作为，并成就了一番夺牌壮举。最近的一个鲜明例子就是中国。在很长的一段时间里，中国在奥运会上表现落后，但到了2008年的北京夏季奥运会，中国却夺取了金牌榜首位。在冬季奥运会上，加拿大和美国也有类似的历史。
But from the beginning, Norway ruled the Winter Games. At the inaugural Winter Olympics in France in 1924 -- only 19 years after Norway gained its independence from Sweden -- the relatively young nation won 17 of 44 total medals, including five medals in cross-country skiing. In five of the following six Winter Games, Norway won both the gold and overall medal counts.
但从一开始，挪威就在冬奥会上占据了统治地位。在1924年于法国举行的首届冬奥会上，挪威获得了44枚奖牌中的17枚，其中包括五枚越野滑雪奖牌，而此时距挪威从瑞典赢得独立只有19年。在之后的六届冬奥会中，挪威有五次同时占据了金牌榜和奖牌榜首位。
But by the late 1980s, flush with oil money, Norway established Olympiatoppen, an organization with responsibility for the country's elite sports. In the six Winter Games since 1988, with the Soviet Union fading, Norway has won 53 gold medals, second only to Germany.
1956年苏联(Soviet Union)加入冬奥会导致挪威取得成就的步伐放慢。但到了上世纪80年代末，手握石油财富的挪威组建了Olympiatoppen组织，负责该国的竞技运动事宜。随着苏联逐渐退出历史舞台，自1988年以来的六次冬奥会上，挪威摘取了53枚金牌，数量仅次于德国。
Still, most experts say the biggest reason behind Norway's success is the culture that propelled it atop the medal table from the outset. Norway's cities are relatively close to the wilderness, and children are encouraged to play outdoors even on the coldest days.
不过，多数专家认为挪威成功背后的一大原因是文化，是这个因素推动挪威从一开始就在奖牌竞争中跑在了前面。挪威的城市距离野外相对较近，而且即便在最寒冷的日子里，儿童也被鼓励在户外玩耍。
Neighboring Sweden, by contrast, has its major population centers farther from the wilderness, and the Swedes are more inclined to play indoor sports in the winter, such as tennis or hockey, rather than bundle up and go skiing.
相比之下，挪威邻国瑞典的主要人口集中地距离野外都较远，瑞典人在冬天更倾向于进行室内运动，比如网球或冰球，而不是穿上厚厚的衣服去滑雪。
Norway remains a largely agrarian society that places a large premium on being outside. A Norwegian concept called friluftsliv -- enjoying outdoor life -- has been studied in books and represents whole areas of study at universities.
挪威基本上仍是一个农村社会，对户外活动的关注较多。挪威语中有这样一个概念：“享受户外生活”(friluftsliv)，很多书专门研究这一概念，各个大学也在这个领域做研究。
Nowhere is this concept more valued than in Trondelag, a region still dominated by farming and logging. Here, work comes first, but sport builds out of it. The hardship and solitude imposed by farming represents good training for cross-country skiing, an endurance sport that requires an extraordinary ability to withstand pain. 'In childhood, I had to participate in physical work, ' said Petter Northug, a 28-year-old cross-country skier and a Trondelag native who won four medals, including two gold, at the 2010 Games and who could reach the podium five times at the Sochi Games.
没有其他地方比特伦德拉格更看重这种观念了。在这个地区，农耕和伐木仍占有重要的行业地位，尽管工作被放在第一位，但运动是工作的延伸。对越野滑雪来说，农耕活动的艰苦和孤独也是一种不错的训练，因为越野滑雪是一种耐力运动，要求运动员有超乎寻常的克服痛苦的能力。来自特伦德拉格的28岁挪威越野滑雪运动员诺萨格(Petter Northug)说，在儿童时代，他就必须参加体力劳动。在2010年冬奥会上，诺萨格摘取了四枚奖牌，其中包括两枚金牌。在索契冬奥会上，他有望在五个项目上的夺得奖牌
Scholars who have studied Trondelag cite its long tradition of outdoor work and play. 'I don't think people in Trondelag have special genes or anything, but they have used skis for transportation and labor for ages, ' said Sverker Sorlin, a Swedish professor who wrote 'The Genius Body, ' a book about the region's legacy in winter sports. 'Nothing is as prestigious as being a great skier. People are so rich in this country; they can do whatever they want. But they still end up skiing.'
曾经研究过特伦德拉格的多位学者认为，该地区在户外工作和娱乐的长期传统是一个原因。瑞典教授瑟林(Sverker Sorlin)说，他不认为特伦德拉格人有特殊基因或者其他任何天赋，但是在很久以前，他们就已经通过滑雪开展运输和劳动。他还说，没有任何事比成为一个伟大的滑雪运动员更值得骄傲；这个国家的人们非常富有，他们能做任何自己想做的事，但他们最终仍会去滑雪。瑟林是《有天赋的身体》(The Genius Body)一书的作者，这本书探讨了特伦德拉格人在冬季运动上的传统。
The tightknit nature of the community also helps. Researchers working at the regional university, NTNU, found that almost all the Olympic winners from Trondelag have been raised in towns with very few inhabitants who avidly root for their offspring. Small towns can force kids to embrace solitude. 'I learned how to thrive in my own company and thus I still love to go on long training rides on my own, ' says Mr. Northug, who was raised on a farm in a town of fewer than 200 people.
特伦德拉格社区的紧密性也起到了帮助作用。挪威科技大学的研究人员发现，几乎所有来自特伦德拉格的优秀奥运选手都是在人口极少的小镇上长大的，这些故乡也非常热衷于为他们提供支持。而小镇的环境可能迫使孩子们学会享受孤独。诺萨格说，他学会了如何在独处的环境中长大，因此他仍会喜欢自己一个人做长途训练。诺萨格在一个农场上长大，农场所在的小镇人口不足200。
Like small-town denizens everywhere, athletes in Trondelag face limited competition in their native towns. 'You may call it a 'big-fish, little-pond effect' -- individuals are more likely to develop positive self-assessment in small communities, ' said Mr. Saether, the NTNU researcher.
和所有地方的小镇居民一样，特伦德拉格的运动员在家乡的小镇里感受不到什么竞争压力。挪威科技大学研究员塞特将这形容为“小塘大鱼”效应，即小规模社会中的个体更容易产生正面的自我评价。
The small-town vibe is threaded through daily life at Meraker, the sports school with 250 high school and college students in the heart of Trondelag. When one of its students is off competing in races, teachers take a break from the regular curriculum so no one falls behind, helping keep the dropout rate below 1%. While winning has come to be expected, race results aren't the focal point.
在位于特伦德拉格中心的莫拉克体校中，日常生活的点点滴滴都散发着小镇气息。这所学校有250名高中生和本科生。每当校内一名学生请假参加比赛，老师们就会暂停必修课程，以确保每个人都不会落下教学内容，这是当地辍学率低于1%的原因之一。尽管人们期待听到获胜的喜讯，但比赛成绩并非学校关注的焦点。
'It's good to come back after a race after you've won because no one makes a fuss out of it, ' said Lotte Lie, 18, a biathlete who has won the Norwegian Cup. She spends between 10 and 18 hours a week on physical workouts, including lying on her stomach in the snow with skis on her feet and a rifle in her hands, aiming at targets about 55 yards away. 'I'm trying to think that not winning is OK, ' she said. Still she remains focused on the long term. 'I have a very clear goal of winning the Olympics.'
曾赢得挪威杯(Norwegian Cup)的18岁冬季两项选手洛特•利(Lotte Lie)说：如果你先前赢过比赛，之后参加比赛回到学校就会好很多，因为不会再有人大张旗鼓地为你庆祝了。她每周要花上10到18个小时做身体训练，包括趴在雪地上脚穿滑雪板、手握步枪瞄准50.27米（55码）以外的射击目标。她说：我试着告诉自己失利也没有关系。不过她放眼长远，说赢得奥运会比赛是我非常明确的目标。
Mr. Lundemo, the principal, says the school's emphasis on academic prowess only makes sense, given the odds of Olympic glory for any one student. 'When these kids start at our school, we know that very many want to become world champions, ' he said. 'But we also know that very few-maybe none of them-will make it.'
学校校长伦德莫说，考虑到每个学生摘得奥运会奖牌的可能性，就会明白学校要求学生具备学术能力是有道理的。他说，我们知道这些孩子来学校上学，当中有很多人是冲着世界冠军的目标去的，但我们也知道只有很少的人，甚至可能没有人能实现这一理想。
At the Sochi Olympics, athletes from Trøndelag are favored to win as many as 30 medals in five different sports: cross-country, biathlon, nordic combined, ski jump and snowboard.
人们预测，在索契冬奥会上，来自特伦德拉格地区的运动员有望在越野滑雪、冬季两项、北欧两项、跳台滑雪和单板滑雪这五项赛事中斩获不下30枚奖牌。
In those disciplines, attaining world-class status typically takes years of training. This is one reason that the Meråker school accepts students whose passion for sport may outshine their performances. In the long run, desire and perseverance will play the greatest roles in shaping future Olympians. The school's coaches say the main lesson they teach is the importance of training relentlessly for years beyond high school.
要想成为这些项目的世界级选手通常需要数年的训练。这也是莫拉克学校招生时更看重学生热情而非体育成绩的一个原因。从长远看，对荣誉的渴望和坚韧的态度是决定运动员将来能否成为奥运选手的最重要因素。学校的教练说，他们教给学生的主要内容是让他们懂得高中毕业后继续多年刻苦训练的重要性。
'Endurance sports take years to become good at, ' said Frode Estil, a Trøndelag native and former Olympian who won two gold medals in cross-country at the Salt Lake City Games and two silver medals at the Turin Games. Having coached at Meråker after retiring as an Olympian, Mr. Estil adds, 'You know, we can't tell who's going to become a World Champion when they're this young.'
曾在盐湖城冬奥会越野滑雪项目中赢得两枚金牌、都灵冬奥会上赢得两枚银牌的特伦德拉格本地人埃斯蒂尔(Frode Estil)说：从事耐力运动需要几年时间才能有不错的成绩。退役后他在莫拉克学校担任教练。他补充说，我们不可能在学生这么年轻的时候就看得出谁能成为世界冠军。
For his part, Jan Thomas Jenssen, the 17-year-old cross-country skier, is a Meråker student regarded as a potential future star. In January, he took first place in a junior cross-country skiing competition at the Norwegian Cup. Growing up in the tiny town of Hommelvika in Trøndelag, Jan Thomas worked and skied on the family farm and in the forest, under the tutelage of his father.
17岁的该校学生扬·托马斯·延森是人们眼中有潜力成为明日之星的滑雪运动员。1月份他赢得了挪威杯青年越野滑雪比赛的冠军。在特伦德拉格小镇Hommelvika长大的扬·托马斯曾在父亲的指导下在自家农场和森林里干活、滑雪。
In addition to physical work on the farm in the afternoons, weekends and holidays, he was regularly charged with what his father refers to as 'incredibly boring stuff, ' like picking stones from a field, just to improve his psyche.
除了下午、周末和假日在农场干体力活外，扬•托马斯还要做一些被他父亲称之为“无聊透顶”的事情，例如在田地里搬弄石头以锻炼心智。
Every time he hurt himself, his father would tease him until he stopped crying. Eventually, he came to believe pain is cool. 'My father taught me at an early age to tackle pain-I think that's my strength. I can go for hours in pain without giving up, ' he said.
每次扬•托马斯弄伤自己，他的父亲都会笑话他，直到他停止哭泣。最终扬•托马斯意识到疼痛是件小事。他说，父亲在我小时候就教育我应对伤痛，我认为这是我的优势。我可以忍着疼痛运动好几个小时都不放弃。
His childhood mentor, a star skier turned coach named John Thomas Rena, agrees. 'I think a big part of Jenssen's talent comes from the way he grew up, ' he said.
前滑雪健将、现任教练雷纳(John Thomas Rena)同意他的观点。作为扬•托马斯童年时的导师，他说，我觉得他的运动天赋很大程度上来源于他的成长经历。
In Hommelvika, the local ski club is thriving. Here, no pursuit is more honorable than cross-country skiing. Nearly everyone in the community volunteers at local ski clubs. Coaches often are parents or grandparents or local tradesmen who also happen to be former Olympic stars. A local saying has it that you'll meet a world champion on every street corner in Trøndelag. 'To ski in the same tracks as Olympic winners of course has a big impact on us, ' said Ms. Lie, the biathlon athlete. 'It makes us believe that it's possible to reach our goals.'
滑雪俱乐部在Hommelvika当地十分兴盛。在这里，越野滑雪被视为最光荣的运动。社区中几乎每个人都志愿为当地的滑雪俱乐部打工。俱乐部里的教练通常是某人家里的父母、祖父母或当地的商人，而他们又可能恰巧是曾经的奥运明星。当地有句老话：你在特伦德拉格每个街角都能撞见一位世界冠军。冬季两项运动员列说：能和奥运冠军在同一条滑道上滑雪对我们有着很深的影响，这让我们相信我们有可能实现自己的目标。
The Meråker sports school accepts students from all over Norway, but a third of them are born and bred here in Trøndelag. And that third is disproportionately represented in the school's athletic bona fides. Of the 14 Winter Olympics medals won by Meråker graduates, natives of Trøndelag have accounted for eight.
莫拉克体校招收来自挪威各地的学生，但其中有三分之一是土生土长的特伦德拉格人，学校各个体育项目的优秀运动员中都或多或少有着这部份人的身影。在莫拉克校友摘得的14枚冬奥会奖牌中，有8枚来自特伦德拉格当地人。
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