“2016年已如此艱難，2017年我們會好過點嗎？”美國《芝加哥論壇報》的提問代表了世界在這個新年到來之際的焦慮。英國脫歐公投和特朗普當選美國總統，使得2016年被稱為“共識瓦解的一年”，也讓人難免擔心2017年會不會有更多只黑天鵝降臨，帶給世界更多動蕩和不安。調查顯示，主要西方國家的民眾多數都擔心第三次世界大戰即將爆發。

World War Three is just around the corner and the planet is teetering on the brink of all-out conflict – according to people in major Western nations, at least.
第三次世界大戰即將爆發，世界即將面臨全面沖突——至少主要西方國家的民眾是這樣想的。

A new poll shows the public are somewhat gloomy about the future, fearing a “worldwide conflict” is looming.
一項最新調查顯示，公眾對未來有些悲觀，擔心 “全球沖突”即將來臨。

With superpowers backing different sides in the bloody conflict in Syria, Isis continuing to fight in the Middle East, a spate of terrorist attacks across the globe and Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump both talking a tough game, the YouGov survey of 9,000 people across nine countries found popular opinion thinks world peace has rarely been further away.
由于世界超級大國在敘利亞的血腥沖突中支持不同派別，“伊斯蘭國”繼續在中東作戰，全球各地發生了一系列恐怖襲擊，普京和特朗普態度都很強硬，輿觀調查公司對9個國家的9000人展開調查發現，公眾認為世界和平從未像目前這樣脆弱。

People in the US were most likely to predict a world war, while French, German and British people were also pessimistic.
美國人最傾向于認為將爆發世界大戰，法國人、德國人和英國人也很悲觀。

Some 64 percent of Americans think the world is close to a major war, compared to just 15 who think world peace is likely.
大約64%的美國人認為世界即將爆發大戰，只有15%的人認為有可能實現世界和平。

Britons are only slightly more hopeful: 19 percent believe peace is possible but 61 percent say war is a distinct possibility.
英國人也只略微樂觀一點：有19%的被調查者認為有可能實現和平，但61%的人認為明顯有可能發生戰爭。

In contrast, people in Nordic countries including Sweden, Finland and Norway were much less inclined to believe the world is on the brink of war. Denmark had the population most cheerful about the prospects of peace: 39 percent of Danes predicted world peace compared to 45 percent forecasting the opposite.
相比之下，北歐國家（包括瑞典、芬蘭和挪威）的民眾更不認為世界將面臨戰爭。丹麥民眾對和平前景最看好，39%的丹麥人認為世界將很和平，而45%的人意見相反。

Anthony Wells, YouGov’s director of political and social research, said: “Fear seems the highest in the US and France, but for different reasons.
輿觀調查公司政治社會調查部主任安東尼-威爾斯說：“美國人和法國人最感到恐懼，但原因不同。”

"American fears perhaps reflect some people’s uncertainly about the impending Trump Presidency.
“美國人的恐懼可能表明有些人對特朗普的任期感到有不確定性。”

“For France, I suspect fears are linked more to the threat of terrorism."
“就法國來說，我覺得恐懼更與恐怖主義威脅有關。”

The same survey revealed people in Europe and America tended to see Russia as a major military threat, with British people the most fearful of Moscow even though other countries polled, such as Finland and Germany, are much closer geographically to the former Soviet Union.
調查還顯示，歐洲人和美國人往往把俄羅斯視為主要軍事威脅；盡管受調查的芬蘭和德國等國家在地理上更靠近俄羅斯，但英國人最懼怕俄羅斯。”

Some 71 percent of Britons feel threatened by Russia, compared to 59 percent of Americans – the lowest of all the countries polled.
約有71%的英國人感覺受到俄羅斯的威脅，這一比例在美國人中為59%，是受調查國家中最低的。

In every nation except Finland, those surveyed thought a terrorist attack in their country was more likely than unlikely in the next year.
除了芬蘭，其他受訪國家的民眾都認為未來一年中本國受到恐怖襲擊的可能性大于50%。

French people were most concerned about terrorism, with 81 percent believing an attack would happen compared to just 11 percent predicting there would be none.
法國人最擔心恐怖主義，受訪者中有81%認為會發生恐怖襲擊，只有11%的人認為不會。

An attack was also predicted by a large majority of people in Britain, Germany and the US. In Finland, however, only 26 percent of people forecast a terrorist strike with 63 percent saying such an event was unlikely.
英國、德國、美國受訪民眾中的大多數也認為會發生恐怖襲擊。然而芬蘭受訪者中僅有26%認為未來將發生恐怖襲擊，63%的受訪者認為不會發生。

英文來源：獨立報
翻譯&編審：yaning