电视剧《欲望都市》里有这样的一幕:女主角凯莉问她的男友——来自俄罗斯的艺术家亚历山大,为什么选择纽约为自己的定居地。亚历山大狡黠地一笑,说道:“因为纽约痛苦又黑暗。”——这是我听过的“为什么喜欢一个城市”最为诡异的理由。
纽约,这个世界上最繁华的都市,吸引了一批又一批怀着“淘金梦”、“自由梦”甚至“爱情梦”的人踏足这片“天堂”。你在这里可以看见意气风发的生意人,打扮低调的明星,或是行色匆匆的平凡人。而在金融危机的肆虐下,纽约也呈现出“天堂”以外的底色——不景气的经济和大批的失业人士。因此有人放眼于纽约以外的天地,甚至是美国以外的。但是,无论是亚历山大口中“痛苦又黑暗”的纽约还是其他人眼中不变的“伊甸园”,纽约都以一种冷冷的姿态,目送着离去的旧人,迎接到来的新人。 ——Mac
文字难度：★★★
A baseball game was on television, the 1)mechanical bull was waiting to 2)thrash and dozens of women in business suits and heels were 3)partaking 4)liberally of after-work drink 5)specials at Johnny Utah’s, a bar in midtown Manhattan.
On another night, Michael Chow might have 6)swaggered over to the 7)cluster of women doing 8)tequila shots in the corner, sat down and bought them another round. But on this particular Monday evening, Mr. Chow, 30, a commercial real estate broker, was looking to get out of there. In fact, he was looking to get out of Manhattan, out of New York, indeed, out of the country.
With a nametag on his 9)lapel and hope in his handshake, Mr. Chow plunged into the crowd, exchanging business cards during the Chinese-themed happy hour, eager to try out his Mandarin as he prepared to move to Shanghai next year. “I’m learning the basic language now so I don’t feel totally lost when I get there,” he said.
The gathering was organized by Golden Networking, an event-planning company that has been mining the city’s 10)kaleidoscopic ethnic 11)niches by organizing business receptions and after-work mixers in Manhattan. The events, started last year by an unemployed 12)Peruvian-born bank executive, 13)are geared toward Chinese, Chileans, Brazilians, Mexicans and those whose homelands were once part of the former Soviet Union.
At a time when New York’s economy is14)teetering, Golden Networking is trying to exploit growing interest and opportunities in some of the world’s emerging economies. Many immigrants are 15)leveraging relationships back in their native lands, while Americans are immersing themselves in languages they ignored in high school in the hope that the streets of Beijing, Sao Paulo or Moscow might be paved with gold, or at least a currency 16)faring better than the dollar.
在曼哈顿城中区一家叫“强尼犹他”的酒吧里,电视机正放着一场进行得如火如荼的棒球赛;机械公牛正在一旁静静等待,好来一场“颠簸”的游戏;而几十位身穿职业套装,脚踩高跟鞋的女士全情投入到下班后酒吧内的饮料特价时段。
要是在别的晚上,迈克尔·周可能会大摇大摆地走向角落里正喝龙舌兰酒的女人们当中,坐下来,好请她们再喝一杯。可在这个不同寻常的周一夜晚,周先生,这位30岁的商业房地产经纪人想的可是离开那里。事实上,他想远离曼哈顿,远离纽约,甚至,远离美国。
胸前贴着姓名牌的周先生加入到人群当中,在这次以“中国”为主题的酒吧“轻松时段”里满怀希望地与人握手,交换名片,迫不及待地操练自己的普通话,因为他明年就要到上海去了。他说:“我正在学习基本的普通话,这样我到了那里就不至于找不着北了。”
这次聚会是由一家名为“黄金联谊”的活动筹划公司组织的。该公司一直通过在曼哈顿举办商务宴会和工余联谊聚会来开发利用纽约城内多元的种族市场。这类活动自去年开始,由一位当时失业的秘鲁籍银行高管发起,目标直指华人、智利人、巴西人、墨西哥人及那些故乡曾为前苏联的一部分的人。
在纽约的经济环境不佳之际,“黄金联谊”正想方设法利用世界一些新兴经济体所带来的机会,以及人们对此日益增长的兴趣。一方面,许多移民在利用自己在故土的人际关系的优势, 而另一方面,美国人则埋头于他们在高中时不屑的外语课程,希望能借此在北京、圣保罗或者莫斯科等城市淘到金,或者说至少也能赚到走势比美元好的货币。
“There’s no future in New York,” Mr. Chow said, scanning the bar crowd. “There’s more for me in China. There is economic growth and stability. I want to be a part of that.”
Before rushing over to introduce himself to a pair of Chinese men who were discussing the stock market in heavily accented English, he added, “Any job, really, I’ll do it.”
He may have some competition. Brian Mihelic, 29, who was laid off from his job at an investment bank in July was also planning to relocate to China. “I’m definitely going to go, it’s just a matter of time,” he said. “Hopefully people here can point me in the right direction.”
The economic shift 17)bodes well for Edgar Perez, 35, who started Golden Networking last year after losing his job as a vice president at 18)Citibank. Since then, Mr. Perez has built a database of 25,000 people in New York, 19)gleaned from business schools, cultural groups and industry associations.
Golden Networking has sponsored two dozen events, including happy hours, career nights and investment seminars, mostly with a focus on developing economies. Success has convinced Mr. Perez to expand to Boston and Washington.
“I don’t hear a lot of people telling me they want to do business in Germany,” he said as he 20)huddled with a group of importers from Hong Kong. “I see a lot more interest in China and Dubai, where, despite the financial crisis, people are still investing in 21)infrastructure.”
Jonathan Model, 28, a high school tutor who lives in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, was there hoping the fluent Mandarin he learned during five years living in China would help him land a job.
A few weeks earlier, at a networking event focusing on Russia that was held in a fashionable Manhattan bar, the English was spoken with a 22)Slavic 23)lilt. Over cocktails, many in the crowd revealed in the fact that their shared heritage was now something to highlight on a résumé.
“International business is leading the economic recovery here, so it helps to be connected to your roots,” said Katerina Vorotova, 24, a consultant at Thomson Reuters who immigrated from Russia 11 years ago but goes back often in search of business opportunities.
“在纽约没前途可言了,”周先生扫视着酒吧里的人群说道,“对我来说,希望更多是在中国。那里的经济发展快速而稳定。我想从中分一杯羹。”
“真的,不管是什么样的工作,我都不介意。” 他补充道。说完,他就疾步走向两位用口音很重的英语在讨论股市的中国人并作自我介绍。
他很可能遭遇竞争对手。29岁的布莱恩·米赫尼克,去年七月被一家投资银行解雇,而他也同样计划前往中国。他说:“我肯定会去的,只不过是早晚的事。我希望这里有人能给我指一条明路。”
这种经济势力的转移对现年35岁的埃德加·佩雷斯来说是个好兆头。去年,身为花旗银行副总裁的他失业后,便创办了“黄金联谊”。从那时起,佩雷斯先生从各所商学院、文化团体和行业协会那里收集资料,现已建立起一个包括2.5万身在纽约的人的数据库。
迄今为止,“黄金联谊”已经组织举办了二十四场活动,包括“轻松时段”、“职场之夜”和投资讲座等,这些活动大多聚焦于发展中的经济体。这些成果促使佩雷斯先生把业务扩展到了波士顿和华盛顿。
“我很少听到有人告诉我说他们要到德国去做生意,”他一边与一群从香港来的进口商交流,一边说道,“我看到人们对中国和迪拜的兴趣很浓,尽管金融危机肆虐,可那里的人们依然投资于基础设施。”
家住布鲁克林区威廉斯堡的高中家庭教师乔纳森·莫德尔现年28岁。他也来了,他曾在中国生活了五年,能说一口流利的普通话,他希望他的语言技能可以帮自己找到一份工作。
几周前,一次以俄罗斯为焦点的联谊活动在曼哈顿一家时尚的酒吧举行,参加的人都操着一口带斯拉夫口音的英语。喝鸡尾酒之余,他们中的许多人透露,他们在自己的履历里强调的是他们和俄罗斯人共有的民族背景。
“国际商务正引领着经济复苏,所以与自己的‘根’重建联系是很有用的,”卡特林娜·沃龙妥娃说道。她今年24岁,是汤森路透公司的一名顾问,11年前从俄罗斯移民至此,不过现在,她常常回到俄罗斯寻找商机。
Christine Loomis, a senior consultant at Coleman & Company, an executive search firm that 24)places Western-trained Russian speakers at global companies based in Moscow, has found the networking events to be an ideal hunting ground. Ms. Loomis, 59, recently addressed Columbia University students interested in careers in Russia, thanks to a connection made at the happy hour, and will be presenting several of the résumés she picked up there to Russian clients in Moscow this month. “Many connections have been made,” she said. “Undoubtedly, a handful will bear fruit in a meaningful way.”
科尔曼公司专为在莫斯科的跨国公司寻找受过西方教育且会说俄语的人。克里斯汀·卢米斯是这家公司的资深顾问,她觉得这些联谊活动是寻找潜在人选再合适不过的场合。多亏了在“轻松时段”联谊会上建立的人际关系,59岁的卢米斯女士最近在哥伦比亚大学对有兴趣前往俄罗斯工作的学生发表演讲,她还会向自己在莫斯科的俄罗斯客户呈上几份这个月在酒吧收到的简历。她说:“我们建立了很多人脉关系。毫无疑问,为数不少的人会从中有所收获。”
