Gustaf is walking uphill; I can tell because he’s out of breath. We’ve been speaking for a while and I worry for his health—he lives in a remote cabin near the Norwegian border, and his voice sounds like that of an older man. What if he collapses while we’re on the phone? Who will I tell? Other than his name and his extraordinary job, all I know about Gustaf is this: He’s from Sweden.

古斯塔夫正在费力地走路，我会这么说因为他上气不接下气的。我们聊了有一会儿了，我担心他的健康——他住在挪威边境的一个遥远的小屋里，他的声音听起来像是一个老年人。要是他在我们打电话的时候病倒了该怎么办？我要告诉谁？除了他的名字和他特殊的工作，关于他，我所知道的一切只有这一点：他来自瑞典。

Sweden now has a phone number. It’s 46 771 793 336. And when I called it, Gustaf was one of the people who picked up.

如今瑞典有一个电话号码，是 46 771 793 336。当我拨这个电话的时候，古斯塔夫是其中一个会接这个电话的人。

When you dial Sweden’s new number, you first hear a recorded message: “Calling Sweden. You will soon be connected to a random Swede, somewhere in Sweden. This call may be recorded.”

当你拨打瑞典的新号码的时候，首先你会听到一段预先录制的留言：“呼叫瑞典。你很快会被连接到瑞典某个地方的任意的一位瑞典人。这通电话可能会被录音。”

The answerers are a self-selected, unvetted group of Swedes. Each has downloaded an app that makes them available to receive redirected calls from around the world.

接电话的人是一群自我选择、未被审查的瑞典人。他们每个人都下载了一个应用软件，可以使他们能够接到来自世界各地的被重新定向的电话。

The Swedish Number is a full-on publicity gimmick by the Swedish Tourist Association. But gimmick or not, it works, bringing together two strangers for what can become a sudden moment of connection. And that, as I found during an afternoon of speaking to random Swedes, can feel magical.

瑞典的电话号码是瑞典旅游协会的一个不折不扣的宣传噱头。但无论是不是噱头，都起作用了，因为能通过一次意外的联络使两个陌生人会聚在一起。而且，在一个下午同任意的一个瑞典人聊天的时候，我发现这种感觉很不可思议。