文字难度：★★★☆
"There is a hair in my pasta.” I said this calmly, with as much dignity as I could muster. Across the table from me, Karen paused in mid-chew and put down her knife and fork. Her eyes quickly scanned the surrounding diners for any 1)undue attention. We were in 2)Grenoble, and people understood English very well. She carefully moved the silver pot of flowering lavender out of the way, leaned over the white-3)draped table and inspected the black, curly hair, sitting on a freshly made goat cheese and 4)spinach 5)ravioli like an innocent bit of extra 6)garnish.
“我的意大利面里有根头发。”我尽可能保持体面从容,平静地说出了这句话。坐在餐桌对面的凯伦这会儿嚼食物正嚼到一半,她停下来,放下手中的刀叉,快速地环顾四周的食客,看看刚才的话是否引起了旁人“过分的”注意。我们此刻身处法国格勒诺布尔,那里的人都听得懂英语。她小心地把那个挡住视线的装着薰衣草花茶的银壶移开,往那铺着白桌布的餐桌的另一头靠过去看,那根黑色卷发丝躺在那盘新鲜出炉的羊奶酪菠菜小方饺上,犹如相安无事的额外装饰品。
Karen is English and will suffer almost any humiliation quietly rather than 7)make a fuss. Raising a hand to get the waiter’s attention, I said, “I’m not going to eat it.”
凯伦是英国人,面对任何羞辱,她几乎都能忍气吞声,而不会大惊小怪。我举起手示意侍者过来,我说道:“我是不会吃这东西的。”
“You could just put it to one side,” Karen suggested. The fingers of her right hand smoothed her napkin, and 8)ironed it against the table. “I mean, what are you hoping to achieve?” English or not, in this instance she wasn’t merely adhering to a genetic and cultural 9)disposition for confrontation avoidance. Having lived in Grenoble for years, she had reason to question what greater good complaining would serve. In England or the United States, apologies would have been forthcoming, as would a fresh portion or a different dish at no charge. But this was France and we both knew better.
“你可以把它弄到一边去,”凯伦建议道。她用右手的手指抚平她那块餐巾,再把它放到桌上用手压平。“不然你还期望能怎样?”是英国人也好,不是也好,在这种情况下,她之所以这么做,不仅仅是出于生性使然及遵照文化传统而避开与侍者当面对质。在格勒诺布尔住了这么多年,她有理由质疑,投诉能有什么好结果吗?在英国或是美国,出现这种情况,接下来听到的肯定是道歉,还会免费换一份同样或是不同的新鲜菜式。但这里是法国,我们两个人再清楚不过了。
Only three days earlier, on a cobblestone square in Aix-en-Provence, I had been served a salad with 10)Lollo Rosso lettuce, 11)artichoke hearts, pine nuts, and dirt. Not a modest little dusting of dirt, crunching between my teeth, revealing a somewhat superficial 12)rinsing, but a 13)hearty clump of good, French soil. I could have grown 14)cress in it. I showed the waitress, a 15)wiry, 16)thirtyish woman, expecting a 17)modicum of 18)remorse and a new salad. Instead I got an 19)overbearing smile and “C’est un peu de terre...” It’s a bit of dirt. What’s all the 20)commotion about? I insisted that the dirt should not be in my salad, so, with a look suggesting that to her I was the human equivalent of a 21)Chihuahua having a 22)yapping 23)fit, she tore off the 24)ruffled lettuce leaf where the clump resided and threw it on the ground in front of my sandaled feet. “25)Voila!” Then she walked off to serve less demanding customers.
仅仅在三天前,在法国普罗旺斯地区艾克斯的一个鹅卵石广场上,侍者给我端来了一碟红边莴苣、洋蓟心、松仁伴着泥土的沙拉。还不是一丁点的泥土,那泥土在我的齿间嘎扎嘎扎响,显然,有人洗菜只是随便冲洗了一下,没洗干净,那可是一大块“肥沃的”泥土——法国的泥土。我都能在那泥土里种水田芥了。我把它拿给一个三十岁上下高瘦结实的女侍者看,期望以此换来她的一点点懊悔以及一盘新的沙拉。可结果换来的却是一个傲慢的笑容,以及一句:“C’est un peu de terre...”——不过是一点泥土罢了。这番激烈争辩是为什么呀?我强调这泥土不该出现在我的沙拉里。于是,带着某种透露出对她来说我的争辩犹如疯狗乱叫那神情,她扯下那片有褶皱且沾有泥土的莴苣叶,把它扔在地上,就扔在我的凉鞋前面。“瞧!”接着,她走开,去服侍那些没那么多要求的顾客。
At 26)eating establishments I generally prefer my salads without 27)compost, and any type of hair in my food will dramatically reduce the chances of repeat business from me. But I appreciate the lack of humility displayed by the average French service provider. Though occasionally 28)counterproductive in the business sense of the word, it is at the very least honest. It is what France is all about: a sense of equality and personal pride, a refusal to 29)ingratiate. Compare this with the American 30)till operator squeezing out a “Thank you for shopping at Wal-Mart,” when really, he just wants you to pick up your change and exit his personal planet.
在餐厅食肆进餐,我一般不喜欢我的沙拉里含有混合肥料,我的食物里出现的任何类型的头发都会极大地降低我光顾同一间餐馆的可能性。但我欣赏法国每个普通侍者表现出其缺乏谦卑品格。尽管从商业角度来看,这偶尔会妨碍营业获利,但至少他们诚恳。这就是法国人的特点:具有一种平等观念和个人自豪感,拒绝迎合任何人。相比之下,美国的收银员则会假惺惺地从口中挤出一句“谢谢您光临沃尔玛超市购物,”而实际上,他只想你赶快拿好找回的零钱,从他的私人领地上消失。
American service is second to none when it comes to free water 31)expediently delivered at the table, Disney smiles, and verbal 32)smoothies, but the pleasantness is often so forced and artificial that it leaves you feeling more resented than by the 33)irreverent French. Service is considered an unnecessary extra in France—a luxury reserved for the 34)staggeringly rich and powerful. Ordinary people should not expect to be 35)pampered; life is not for the 36)cosseted or the easily 37)deterred. Casual disdain is part of the experience; an enthusiastically served meal belongs in Greece or Italy, not France. The 38)liquid mix of charm and superiority that characterizes the hotel receptionist, the boutique owner, the 39)greengrocer, is a language of its own: of sighs, 40)pregnant pauses, slow 41)feline gestures, and shamelessly 42)verbose eyebrows.
论及餐桌上免费给你送上白开水的殷勤态度、迪斯尼世界工作人员的微笑及从油嘴滑舌的人口中吐出的讨人开心的话语这些方面,美国式的服务绝对是一流的。但他们脸上的愉悦往往显得那么勉强虚伪,让你感觉他们比那些无礼的法国侍者更讨厌。服务在法国被视作一种不必要的额外消费品——是极为富裕和极有权势的人才配享用的奢侈品。普通人不该期望获得称心的服务;生活容不得你“娇生惯养”,遇上啥事都大惊小怪的。随便看几个臭脸也是种体验。服务热情周到的用餐只存在于希腊或意大利,不存在于法国。旅馆接待员、流行服装店老板、菜贩身上明显透出的魅力和优越感是种独特的语言:叹息、意味深长的止步、缓慢轻柔的姿势、不知羞耻地扬眉叽里咕噜一通。
Familiar with this language, I was not expecting heartfelt apologies or cheeks burning with 43)chagrin at my presentation of the hair, even in this relatively expensive restaurant where Karen and I were dining. Setting myself what I considered a realistic goal, I was aiming for a replacement portion, 44)sans hairs. After many unsuccessful attempts at making eye contact, I managed to attract the attention of our 45)whiskered head waiter who floated over and asked with a half-smile what he could do for me. I pointed out the curled-up evidence. He sighed and looked at me like he would love to help and was saddened by the fact that he could not, as if I had just asked him to donate a 46)kidney. He shook his 47)slick, dark head slowly and said, “It is not mine...”
因为熟悉这种语言,所以当给法国侍者看那根头发时,我并不指望获得他诚恳的道歉或是看到他脸红懊悔,即使我和凯伦进餐的这间餐馆收费还比较贵。我给自己定了一个实际点的目标——换一份餐食,没有头发的。在多次尝试眼神接触失败后,我成功地吸引到我们那位留着胡须的侍应主管的注意,他走过来,半微笑着问有什么可以帮上忙的。我指着那根卷发证据。他叹了口气,看着我,仿佛想帮忙却又因无法帮上忙而感到难过似的,就好像我刚才求他捐肾似的。他缓缓摇着他那黑亮的头,说道:“那可不是我的头发……”
