French forward Thierry Henry celebrates after scoring during the friendly football match France vs Denmark at the Bollaert stadium in Lens, 31 May 2006. Despite the historic antipathy between Britain and France, one in five Britons wish they were born on the other side of the English Channel, according to a poll. In a survey of 1,010 people, Britons were apparently charmed by the so-called "Thierry Factor" -- the rise of high-profile French celebrities here, such as Arsenal striker Thierry Henry. Meanwhile, just under a third, 32 percent, of Britons under 50 said they would prefer to live in France, with 23 percent choosing Britain as the ideal home. Jointly third in Europe were Italy and Spain, both receiving 19 percent of the vote for the best place to live. More than a third, 37 percent, would like to move to France after they retire, while 30 percent would like to continue living here. In addition, Britons seem better able to identify French landmarks and icons than their own -- while 93 percent of British people could identify the Eiffel Tower, 83 percent could point out the equivalent in Blackpool, northwest England. At the same time, while 69 percent of those polled could name Paris's Arc de Triomphe, only 40 percent could identify London's Marble Arch. Some 40 percent of Britons also thought wine was the best drink to accompany a meal, with just 5 percent choosing a glass of traditional British ale. (Agencies)

一項民意調查顯示，雖然英法兩國之間存在歷史宿怨，但五分之一的英國人覺得還是生在法國好。 這項有1010人參與的調查表明，英國人對所謂的“蒂埃里效應”很感興趣，“蒂埃里效應”指的是一些法國名人在英國的影響力越來越大，比如阿森納隊的前鋒蒂埃里·亨利。 此外，在50歲以下的英國人中，32％人的人說他們更想在法國生活，而23％的人表示還是愿意在英國生活。 除法國外，歐洲的意大利和西班牙也頗受英國人青睞，各有19％的調查對象認為它們是理想的居住地。 37％的人表示想在退休后移居法國，30％的人愿意繼續在英國生活。 此外，英國人在識別法國的象征性建筑和標志時比本國的還要強。93％的英國人可以認出埃菲爾鐵塔，而只有83％的英國人能認出英國西北部的布萊克浦塔。 另外，69％的調查對象能說出巴黎凱旋門的名字，而只有40％的人認得倫敦的大理石拱門。 約40％的英國人認為葡萄酒是最佳佐餐飲品，而只有5％的英國人青睞傳統的英國愛爾啤酒。 (英語點津姍姍編輯)