Greenland, the self-ruling territory of Denmark, told the United States Friday, "We are open for business, not for sale."
丹麦自治领地格陵兰岛周五告知美国：“欢迎投资，出售免谈。”
Greenland's foreign minister dismissed the idea of Denmark selling the territory. One day earlier, The Wall Street Journal reported that U.S. President Donald Trump had spoken with his advisers about possibly buying the world's biggest island.
格陵兰岛外交部长否认丹麦有意出售该领地。《华尔街日报》一天前报道称，川普总统曾跟他的助手讨论过购买这个全球最大岛屿的可能性。
The newspaper reported that Trump repeatedly expressed interest in buying Greenland. He even asked the White House counsel to explore the idea.
该报报道称，川普一再表达了对购买格陵兰岛的兴趣。他甚至要求白宫顾问深入研究一下这个想法。
The report surfaced ahead of Trump's planned visit to Denmark in September. He is set to meet with the prime minsters of Denmark and Greenland. The Journal said that the planned visit is unrelated to the idea of buying Greenland.
这篇报道在川普计划于9月访问丹麦之前公之于众。川普将跟丹麦和格陵兰岛的首相会面。《华尔街日报》称，川普的计划行程跟购买格陵兰岛的想法无关。
Some Danish politicians have laughed at the idea.
一些丹麦政客对此嗤之以鼻。
"It has to be an April Fool's joke," wrote former prime minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen. His comments appeared on Twitter.
丹麦前首相拉斯穆森在推特上写道：“这肯定是个愚人节笑话吧。”
Another politician, Soren Espersen, told Danish broadcaster DR, "If he is truly contemplating this, then this is final proof, that he has gone mad." Espersen added, "The thought of Denmark selling 50,000 citizens to the United States is completely ridiculous."
另一位丹麦政客索伦·埃斯佩森对丹麦广播公司表示：“如果他真的这么想，那他肯定是疯了。”埃斯佩森还说：“要丹麦将5万多国民卖给美国的想法太荒谬了。”
But in 1917, Denmark did sell a group of islands in the Caribbean to the U.S. government for $25 million. The islands are now known as the U.S. Virgin Islands.
但是在1917年，丹麦确实将加勒比海的一些岛屿以2500万美元的价格卖给了美国政府。这些岛屿也就是现在的美属维尔京群岛。
As for Greenland, U.S. President Harry Truman offered to buy the resource-rich island in 1946 for $100 million. Denmark refused the offer. The U.S. government also had no success in trying to buy Greenland and neighboring Iceland back in 1867.
至于格陵兰岛，美国总统杜鲁门在1946年提出以1亿美元的价格购买这个资源丰富的岛屿。丹麦拒绝了这一出价。1867年，美国试图收购格陵兰岛及其附近的冰岛也没有成功。
Why Greenland?
为何看上格陵兰岛？
The United States and other world powers are showing increasing interest in Greenland because of its location near the Arctic Circle. Last May, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo warned that Russia's and China's actions in the Arctic had to be watched closely.
因为位于北极圈附近，美国和其它世界大国对格陵兰岛的兴趣越来越大。去年5月，美国国务卿蓬佩奥警告说，必须密切关注俄罗斯和中国在北极的动作。
Eighty percent of Greenland's 2.2 million square kilometers is covered by ice. The island is home to about 57,000 people. They live along the coast. The economy depends largely on exports of shrimp and fish and aid from the government of Denmark.
面积220万平方公里的格陵兰岛有80%被冰覆盖。岛上大约有5.7万人。他们都住在海边。这里的经济主要依靠鱼虾出口以及丹麦政府援助。
Under a 1951 defense treaty with the United States and Denmark, the U.S. military operates Thule Air Base in Greenland. The base houses a radar station that is part of a missile defense system.
根据1951年美国和丹麦签订的一项国防条约，美国军方在格陵兰岛运营图勒空军基地。这个基地设有一个雷达站，它是美国导弹防御系统的一部分。
Last year, Denmark decided to help build two new airports in Greenland to prevent China from investing in the island.
去年，丹麦决定帮助在格陵兰岛修建两个新机场，以防止中国对该岛屿投资。
Martin Lidegaard is a former Danish foreign minister. He told the Reuters news agency, "what we can take seriously is that the U.S. stakes and interest in the Arctic is significantly on the rise and they want a much bigger influence."
马丁·利德加德是丹麦前外交部长。他对路透社表示：“我们可以认真对待的是，美国在北极的利害关系和利益正在显著上升，他们希望获得更大的影响。”
I'm Ashley Thompson.
我是阿什利·汤普森。(51VOA.COM原创翻译，禁止转载，违者必究！)
