Google’s “Year in Search” lists track the most popular search terms in the past 12 months. CFP
当你使用搜索引擎时，你或许并没有意识到什么。
But when everything that everyone has ever searched for is pieced together, they form a big picture that says a lot about us.
但把所有人的搜索内容放在一起，就形成了一个关于我们自身诸多事件的总体概貌。
This is why Google releases its “Year in Search” lists every year.
这便是谷歌每年都发布“年度热搜词”的原因。
The lists help us understand the past 12 months by tracking the most popular search terms – such as 2016’s “Pokemon Go” and last year’s “fidget spinner”.
通过追踪搜索热词，比如2016年的“精灵宝可梦GO”以及去年的“指尖陀螺”，这份榜单有助于我们了解过去的12个月间都发生了些什么。
The search terms also reflect people’s anxiety and fear – from 2016’s “Brexit” to last year’s “Las Vegas shooting”.
这些搜索词同时也反映出了人们的焦虑和恐惧 —— 从2016年的“英国退欧”到去年的“拉斯维加斯枪击案”。
But something is different about 2017’s list, which was released last month: More people than ever are asking Google “how” questions, an increase of 150 percent compared to 10 years ago.
但在上个月发布的2017年热搜榜单中，有些情况发生了变化：从未有这么多人在谷歌上搜索“如何”(how) 的问题，和10年前相比，这一人数上涨了150%。
Google actually made a video illustrating the ways that the word “how” helps to sum up our world in 2017.
事实上，谷歌制作了一个视频，用“如何”(how) 一词总结了世界的2017。
There are questions like “How far can North Korean missiles go?”, which became a popular search after the country carried out several missile tests this year.
去年，在朝鲜进行了几场导弹试验后，诸如“朝鲜导弹能飞多远？”等问题成为了热搜。
There was also “How much does the wall cost?”, which refers to US President Donald Trump’s plan to build a wall on the US-Mexico border to keep out illegal immigrants.
还有“修建隔离墙要多少钱？”这一问题，指的是美国总统唐纳德·特朗普计划在美墨边境修建隔离墙，阻止非法移民进入。
But the more important questions are the ones that not only try to discover, but also try to find help. These include questions such as “How to calm a dog during a storm?”, “How to help Las Vegas?” and “How to help refugees?”
但更重要的问题不仅仅在于发现问题，更在于找出解决之道。这些问题包括“如何在暴风雨期间让狗狗冷静下来？”，“如何帮助拉斯维加斯？”以及“如何帮助难民”？
“People aren’t only using Google Search to find information about the topics that matter to them. They’re also increasingly searching for ways to take action and find out how to do things – including how to donate or volunteer in moments of crisis,” Hannah Glenny, a Google Search trends expert told the BBC.
“人们不仅仅用谷歌搜索引擎找出自己关心的话题信息。他们也在搜索如何采取行动，找出处理事情的方式——比如，如何在危机到来时进行捐赠或者做志愿者，”谷歌搜索趋势专家汉娜·格兰尼在接受BBC采访时表示。
It may be true that 2017 has been an eventful year, and fear has been the driving force behind many of our searches.
2017年或许的确是个动荡之年，恐惧也成为了不少搜索背后的推动性力量。
But Google’s video managed to end with an optimistic tone. It concludes with two final questions: “How to be fearless?” and “How to move forward?”
但谷歌发布的视频试图以一种乐观的基调作总结。视频中包含了两大终极问题：“如何变得无所畏惧？”以及“如何向前迈进？”。
