It was a perfect photo opportunity--one foot in Sweden, theother in Norway. I stood on the Svinesund Bridge, straddling theboundary between two Scandinavian countries. The flags ofSweden and Norway, on their respective sides, waved cheerfullyin the breeze.
　　I looked down from the bridge across the Ide Fjord. Therewas no corresponding demarcation of nations in the water.Identical aqueous molecules flew freely from one country to theother. The same types of plants grew on either side. If there werefish and other aquatic organisms swimming underneath, I wassure they did not collide with some boundary wall.
　　Neither of my legs felt different from the other, even thoughan official national line bisected my body. And that set me towondering: What does a boundary make? The Oxford Dictionaryof Current English defines it as "a line marking the limits of anarea".
　　What, then, I asked myself, defines a limit? According to thesame dictionary, it is "a point beyond which something does notor may not pass". At least not without careful scrutiny, Iparenthetically added, which many a traveler, waiting in longimmigration lines, can affirm.
　　这是一个难得的摄影机会——(我的)一只脚踏在瑞典的国土上，而另一只脚踩着挪威的国土。(此时)我站在斯维讷松德桥上，横跨着两个北欧国家的边界。瑞典和挪威的国旗分别在各自的土地上迎风招展。
　　我从跨越爱得海湾的斯维讷松德桥向下望去，水中并没有相应的国界划分。相同的水分子自由地在两个国家之间流动；相同的植物在桥两端郁郁葱葱。如果有鱼和其他水生物在水下畅游，我相信它们也不会撞到什么分界墙上。
　　即使一条官方的国界线将我的身体“一分为二”，可是我并没有感觉自己的两条腿有什么不同。我忍不住想：边界的意义何在?《当代牛津英语词典》将边界定义为“标出一个地区界限的线”。
　　那么，我接着问自己，界限是什么?还是依据这本词典的释义，界限就是“无法或者不能超越的点”。我附带补充一句：至少没有经过仔细审查是不允许通过的。众多排着长队等着检查后入境的游客可以证明这一点。
　　Several years before, I was crossing another !international boundary, from Canada to the UnitedStates. At the border, I was closely questioned as tothe length of my stay in Canada and the purpose ofmy visit. The trunk of my car was searched. Despitemy innocence, I began to feel potentially guilty.Finally I was cleared to proceed.
　　Meanwhile, above my head, monarch butterflieswere nonchalantly3 flitting their way southward,without stopping. Boundaries presented no limitsfor them.
　　In some areas of the globe, guards with gunspreserve their country's boundaries, and refugeesrisk their lives crossing borders to a safer place. Yetavian travelers freely traverse international lineswithout passports, IDs, or official permission.
　　In skies above the perpetually war-threatenedMiddle East, an average of half a billion birds travelback and forth twice every year. Between summersites and winter grounds, their biannual migrationflyways pass through Turkey, Jordan, . Syria,Lebanon, Israel, and Egypt. Storks and pelicansbrazenly swoop over border patrols' heads.
　　几年前，我曾通过另一条国界，从加拿大到美国去。在边境，我被仔细询问了在加拿大呆过多久和我这次美国之行的目的。我的汽车后备箱被搜查了一遍。尽管我是清白的，我还是开始感到隐隐的罪恶感。最后，我被获准通行。
　　与此同时，就在我头上，几只黑脉金斑蝶自由自在地向南翩翩飞去，一刻都没有停留——边界对于它们没有任何限制。
　　在世界上的一些地区，荷枪实弹的警卫们守卫着自己国家的边界，难民们冒着生命危险越过边界逃到安全的地方。可是禽类“游客”不需要护照、身份证，或者官方许可，就可以自由穿越国界线。
　　在长期笼罩于战争阴云下的中东地区的上空， 每年平均有5亿只鸟在其间往返两次。每年它们会在夏季和冬季栖息地之间迁徒两次，其路线经过土耳其、约旦、叙利亚、黎巴嫩、以色列和埃及。鹤和鹈鹕公然地从边境巡逻者的头上扑拉拉飞过去。
　　Even in peaceful places, boundaries abound, albeitof the natural kind. Geological and aquatic formationspresent potential limits "beyond which something doesnot pass".
　　Yet man has found ways to cross many of thosebarriers with boats, planes, and trains. We buildbridges over water and make tunnels through rock. Yet,when constructed by human disharmony, man-madelimits loom large and insurmountable.
　　Boundaries can bring beauty. I remember achildhood friend's collection of foreign dolls, eachdressed in the unique costume of the country fromwhich it came. Over and over my friend and I wonderedabout the exotic languages and lives of people of suchdiverse cultures so very different from our own, somuch more interesting, we thought.
　　And so it was during that trip to Scandinavia,when I marveled at the rich history and traditionseach country called its own. Norway and Sweden,peacefully adjacent to each other the point at whichone began and the other ended was clearly marked onthe Svinesund Bridge. But as was proven there beneathmy feet, boundaries need not make limits.
　　即使在和平的地方，虽然有自然形成的界限，可是人为的限制也比比皆是。地域和水域的边界都成了潜在的“不能逾越的”界限。
　　但是人类已经找到了用船只、飞机和火车穿越这些界限的办法。我们在水上搭建桥梁；在岩石中开凿隧道。然而，当这些限制是由人类的不和谐造成的时候，人为的界限就变得无法超越了。
　　界限可以带来美感。我记得儿时的一个朋友收集的外国娃娃，每个洋娃娃身上都穿着所属国家特有的服装。我和这个朋友一次又一次地对那些异国的语言和来源于不同文化的人民生活感到惊讶——在我们看来，那些东西与我们自己的太不一样了，充满吸引力。
　　同样，在北欧旅行期间，每个国家所拥有的丰富历史和传统也让我惊叹。挪威和瑞典毗邻，彼此和平相处——斯维讷松德桥上清晰的标出了这个国家开始那个国家结束的地点。可是我脚下的事实证明，国界并不意味着界线。