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自从近代以来，随着国门被西洋人的坚船利炮轰开，以及欧风美雨的侵袭，中国人普遍将欧洲看做是文明、富裕、民主的典范，甚至是全世界最美好的地方。
但事实上，论气候和地理条件的宜居程度，欧洲是远不如东亚的——我们中国人是身在福中不知福！
不知大家在看世界地图的时候，有没有注意过，欧洲大陆在纬度上，整体要比东亚大陆高出一个层级？
举一个例子来说，我们中国最北方的城市，是黑龙江省的漠河市，位于北纬53度。
此地年平均气温约为－5.5℃，各月平均气温在0℃以下的月份长达8个月之久。所以常年寒冷如冬，夏季只有半个月左右，最高温度也不过20℃，夜里只有10℃左右，素有“中国北极城”之称。
而更令人烦恼的，则是由于这里的纬度太高，使得昼夜长短变化剧烈。在夏至日的时候，漠河的气温虽然清凉，白昼却达19小时以上。到了白昼最短的冬至日，又只能看到四五个小时的太阳，而且光线很弱。
位于北纬53度的“中国北极城”，已经是如此的令人望而生畏，怎么看都不是宜居的好地方。那么欧洲的那些闻名遐迩的历史名城，纬度又该有多高呢？
在这里列举一些数据：俄国莫斯科，北纬56度；德国柏林，北纬52.5度；英国伦敦，北纬51.5度；法国巴黎，北纬49度。而中国黑龙江省的哈尔滨市，则位于北纬45度——我们印象之中风光旖旎的花都巴黎，原来比哈尔滨还要靠北啊！而英国的大部分土地，更是跟西伯利亚一个纬度了！
再往南看，意大利的罗马，北纬42度；西班牙的马德里，北纬40.5度。而北京的纬度是北纬39度。这些在我们印象中到处都是沙滩和比基尼的南欧国家，其实也就跟吉林、辽宁位于差不多的纬度。
继续南下，渡过地中海，一直来到沙漠中央的尼罗河畔，我们印象中已经是酷热地狱的埃及，它的纬度又是多少呢？埃及开罗的纬度是北纬30度，基本上跟上海差不多——最近我在电视上看到一则对开罗市民的采访，这位开罗人抱怨说革命之后城里老是停电，冬天没有暖气，冻得他患上了风湿病……
总的来说，欧洲大陆在纬度上，整体要比东亚大陆高出一个层级。英、法、德为核心的西欧地区，与东北地区处在同一纬度；而北欧和英国北部的纬度，则已经和西伯利亚拉平了。就连地中海畔的西班牙、意大利、希腊这些南欧地区，也只是和华北地区的纬度差不多而已。
把欧洲形容成是一个寒冷的地方，对于我们中国人来说丝毫不为过。
虽然得益于大西洋暖流的滋润，欧洲地区在冬天要比同一纬度的东亚地区温暖一些，可是一旦这道暖流出现什么异常（真的有过好几次），大半个欧洲在冬天就会瞬间掉落到零下40度的地狱冰窟！
更要命的是，在地球上，相同纬度的不同地区，由于海拔和季风、暖流的影响，温度不一定相同，这与具体的地理环境相关。但纬度越高，昼夜长短变化越大，却是绝对的真理——因为这是太阳的事。
在北纬53度的黑龙江漠河，冬天已经只能看到四五个小时的太阳，想来差不多同一纬度的德国柏林和英国伦敦，也应该是类似的状况。而更北方的莫斯科，则已经快要是终日黑夜不见亮了。
所以说，大家应该明白现代的欧洲人，为什么会那么热衷于跑到地中海边去晒太阳了吧。
而到了夏天，情况却又反了过来，太阳每天在头上晃悠17、18个小时不下山，大半夜都要照样晒太阳，把人晒得头脑发昏——在德国，夏天气温通常一到30度就遍地有人中暑了，不是欧洲人体质娇弱，实在是要连续不断地晒上18个小时，再怎么健康的人也吃不消啊！
虽然在冬天和夏天各有各的烦恼，但对于古代的欧洲人来说，黑暗总是比光明来得可怕——白昼太长，对于古代人来说，最多就是想办法找个阴暗地方睡觉的问题，实在没办法，晒着太阳也不是睡不着；而黑夜太长的话，古代的欧洲地广人稀，到处都有要人命的毒虫猛兽出没，在黑夜里实在是不敢随意外出，否则万一遇到狗熊豺狼什么的可就惨了。而那年头的照明条件又落后，天黑之后在家里也做不了什么事，只能在黑暗中发抖和祈祷，同时胡思乱想一些可怕的幻想神话故事啦！
正因为冬季和夏季的白昼长短变化如此剧烈，西方人才尤其觉得冬日可贵。
说到这里，我不得不又一次提起西方奇幻小说《冰与火之歌》，里面那位红袍女巫梅丽珊卓的口头禅“长夜漫漫，处处险恶；白昼光明，勃勃兴旺。”从某种意义上，这也确实反应了西欧人的季节观。
总之，在进入工业化年代之前，欧洲就是一个寒冷、愚昧、落后，文明之光摇摇欲熄的黑暗世界。
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About the game:
USA as a world power? In E-Sim it is possible!
In E-Sim we have a huge, living world, which is a mirror copy of the Earth. Well, maybe not completely mirrored, because the balance of power in this virtual world looks a bit different than in real life. In E-Sim, USA does not have to be a world superpower, It can be efficiently managed as a much smaller country that has entrepreneurial citizens that support it's foundation. Everything depends on the players themselves and how they decide to shape the political map of the game.
Work for the good of your country and see it rise to an empire.
Activities in this game are divided into several modules. First is the economy as a citizen in a country of your choice you must work to earn money, which you will get to spend for example, on food or purchase of weapons which are critical for your progress as a fighter. You will work in either private companies which are owned by players or government companies which are owned by the state. After progressing in the game you will finally get the opportunity to set up your own business and hire other players. If it prospers, we can even change it into a joint-stock company and enter the stock market and get even more money in this way.
In E-Sim, international wars are nothing out of the ordinary.
Become an influential politician.
The second module is a politics. Just like in real life politics in E-Sim are an extremely powerful tool that can be used for your own purposes. From time to time there are elections in the game in which you will not only vote, but also have the ability to run for the head of the party you're in. You can also apply for congress, where once elected you will be given the right to vote on laws proposed by your fellow congress members or your president and propose laws yourself. Voting on laws is important for your country as it can shape the lives of those around you. You can also try to become the head of a given party, and even take part in presidential elections and decide on the shape of the foreign policy of a given state (for example, who to declare war on). Career in politics is obviously not easy and in order to succeed in it, you have to have a good plan and compete for the votes of voters.
You can go bankrupt or become a rich man while playing the stock market.
The international war.
The last and probably the most important module is military. In E-Sim, countries are constantly fighting each other for control over territories which in return grant them access to more valuable raw materials. For this purpose, they form alliances, they fight international wars, but they also have to deal with, for example, uprisings in conquered countries or civil wars, which may explode on their territory. You can also take part in these clashes, although you are also given the opportunity to lead a life as a pacifist who focuses on other activities in the game (for example, running a successful newspaper or selling products).
At the auction you can sell or buy your dream inventory.
E-Sim is a unique browser game. It's creators ensured realistic representation of the mechanisms present in the real world and gave all power to the players who shape the image of the virtual Earth according to their own. So come and join them and help your country achieve its full potential.
Invest, produce and sell - be an entrepreneur in E-Sim.
Take part in numerous events for the E-Sim community.
