《中英對照讀新聞》Italy says arrivederci to cafe culture 義大利向咖啡文化說再見

◎俞智敏

Like pizza and ice cream parlours, the coffee bar is sacred in Italy. But the tradition of going for a cappuccino or an espresso is under threat from a new menace - the coffee machine. Thanks to aggressive marketing by manufacturers, who are practically giving them away free in offices, factories, universities and even train stations, self-service coffee is invading Italy and putting in peril the livelihood of many baristas.

就像披薩和冰淇淋店一樣，咖啡吧在義大利具有神聖不可侵犯的地位。但義大利人到咖啡吧喝杯卡布奇諾或濃縮咖啡的傳統現在受到新對手的威脅 - 咖啡機。在咖啡機製造商祭出強勢促銷手段，在辦公室、工廠、大學、甚至火車站裡幾乎免費奉送咖啡之後，自助式咖啡正大舉入侵義大利，許多咖啡師傅的生計也岌岌可危。

New figures show half a million automatic coffee machines have been installed in the past year in public places, serving an estimated two million 'portions' of coffee.

根據最新統計數字，過去一年間義大利的公共場所內已裝設了五十萬台自動咖啡機，估計可提供兩百萬份咖啡。

One of the reasons for the change is that Italians are struggling to deal with a faster pace of life, under pressure to do more, earn more and not waste time.

造成這項改變的原因之一，是義大利人正努力適應更快的生活步調，應付必須做更多事、賺更多錢、不要浪費時間的壓力。

The depersonalisation of the coffee rite is sneaking into Italian homes as well. Sales of automatic machines were recently declared in a brides' magazine to be the most sought-after gift of young couples.

這種去除人性色彩的喝咖啡儀式也正偷偷潛入義大利的家庭中。一本新娘雜誌最近就宣稱，自動咖啡機是年輕新人最想要的結婚禮物。

新聞辭典

arrivederci：義語，再見。

menace ：名詞，威脅、恐嚇，如He spoke with a hint of menace.（他說話時帶著一絲威脅意味），或Drunk drivers are a menace to everyone.（酒醉駕車的駕駛對所有人都構成了威脅）。亦可作動詞，如The robber menaced him with a revolver.（搶匪用左輪手槍威嚇他）。

peril：危險、危難，如You are in great peril.（你的處境極其危險），或Icy roads are a peril to motorists.（結冰的道路對駕駛人十分危險）。

sought-after：極受歡迎的、搶手的。sought為seek的過去式及過去分詞，指追尋、尋求。