The national flag of Denmark is the oldest in the world. Its called “Dannebrog”， which means “Danish Cloth”. The look now is a white Scandinavian（斯堪的纳维亚的）cross on a red background. It looks pretty against the clear blue sky. It was first designed in 1625. Currently1， a lot of other European countries use similar looks for their flags.

Danes love their country and their national flags. In Denmark， the flag can be seen everywhere： streets， cakes， backpacks，on top of roofs， etc. The queen of Denmarks royal yacht2 has the same name “Dannebrog”. It was named after the flag. On special holidays， buses in Copenhagen fly little flags. When you see many little flags， maybe its royal members birthdays or weddings. And every family in Denmark also celebrates birthdays with flags too！ You can buy napkins3， paper plates， cups， and small flags. When its New Years Eve， people also decorate4 with the flag.

Maybe there is no other country that loves their flags as much as Denmark does. For local people， the bigger the flag flying over their houses， the better. For Danes， the flag is a statement of joy. No one ever says anything negative5 about the flag.

Danes carry their national flags with them even when they are abroad. The focus of their love， is not only the flag， but their country， and the pride of being Danish.

丹麥国旗是世界各国国旗中最古老的。“Dannebrog”意为“丹麦人的布”。国旗为红色背景，白色斯堪的纳维亚十字设计。在清澈蓝天的衬托下，它显得格外漂亮。丹麦国旗最早设计于1625年。目前，欧洲很多其他国家的国旗与丹麦国旗相似。

丹麦人热爱自己的国家，也热爱他们的国旗。在丹麦，国旗随处可见：街道、蛋糕、背包、屋顶……丹麦女王的皇家游艇也叫“Dannebrog”，正是以国旗命名的。有特别庆典时，哥本哈根的巴士上会悬挂小国旗。看到这些小国旗，你会知道要么是皇室成员的生日，要么是皇室婚礼。不仅如此，丹麦的每个家庭也会用国旗来庆祝生日。你可以买国旗纸巾、国旗纸盘、国旗杯子和小国旗。新年前夜，人们还会用国旗当作装饰品。

也许没有其他国家像丹麦那样，更热爱国旗。对当地人来说，屋顶上飞舞的国旗越大越好。在丹麦人心中，国旗代表欢乐，从不会有人说国旗的坏话。

即使出国，丹麦人也常常携带国旗。他们热爱的不仅是古老的国旗，更是他们的祖国和作为丹麦人的骄傲与自豪。

Tip

as much as：文中as much as表示两个事物之间程度的比较，翻译时可以处理成“和……一样（的程度）”“如同……一样（的程度）”，而不是大多数同学认为的表示数量“和……一样多”。如：We want to succeed and do well just as much as you want us to. 我们想获得成功，尽量表现得像你想要的那样好。

当然，as much as也可以表示数量，意为“……之多”“多达”。如：We walked as much as 10 kilometers that day. 那天我们走了10公里之多。在这个句子中，10 kilometers虽然是复数形式，但在意义上表示一个整体概念，所以用as much as。