Nick Steven

∷王丁玎 选 李香兰 译注

The café culture in France goes back centuries; cafes have always been a gathering place for intellectuals to meet and debate philosophical issues; for the Avant Garde set to display their works; for artists to compare and exchange ideas and for writers to drown their sorrows over their artistic anguish or melancholy.1. Avant Garde:（艺术界）先锋/前卫派；drown: 淹没，把……淹死；anguish: 痛苦，苦恼；melancholy: 忧郁，悲哀。Even the freedom fighters of the French Revolution and later the French Resistance would meet in cafes to plot their course.2. plot: 密谋，策划；course: 道路，路线。In Paris you can find cafes like Café de Flore or Les Deux Magots with name plates indicating where famous cultural figures have sat like Hemingway, Sartre and Picasso.3. Café de Flore: 花神咖啡馆，位于巴黎第六区圣日耳曼大道和圣伯努瓦街转角，长期以来一直以其知识分子精英主顾著称；Les Deux Magots: 双叟咖啡馆，位于左岸的圣日耳曼德佩区。The Café Society, as it was called, developed in the 19th century as a group of “beautiful people”.

Today you can still find cafes in Paris on every street.They come in many forms but the locals and tourists alike flock to them to soak up the unique atmosphere and sip on a small cup of coffee.4. alike: 以同样的方式，类似于；flock: 聚集，成群而行；soak: 吸收，渗透；sip: 抿，小口喝。In Paris you can find the highest concentration of chic and trendy cafes, both big and small in the Latin Quarter on the Left Bank and in Saint Germaine.5. chic: 别致的，时髦的；Latin Quarter: 拉丁区，位于法国巴黎塞纳河南岸的大学区；Left Bank:左岸地区，位于巴黎塞纳河左岸，是作家、学者和艺术家的汇集之所；Saint Germaine: 巴黎圣日耳曼大道。

The quintessential French cafe has seating indoors and out with small (usually round tables) and plenty of wooden paneling and red and black decor.6. quintessential: 典型的，精髓的；paneling: 镶板；décor: 装饰，装潢。However today’s modern Parisian cafés come in all shapes and sizes: some decorated in chrome and stainless steel but most of them still stick to the traditional intimate interior and outdoor sidewalk seating.7. chrome: 铬合金；sidewalk: 路侧人行道。

You can usually find a few cakes or sandwiches on any French café menu and many now offer a full restaurant service. The drinks however are more important than the food in the French café culture.60% of French café goers have a preference for “café” or espresso8. espresso: 意大利浓缩咖啡。served in a small cup. Among the most popular drinks are café au lait (coffee made with steamed milk) which is the drink of choice in the morning, petite or grande café crème or Café Noisette( a single or double espresso with a little cream), Café Leger is weak espresso as it has double the water and Café Americain is what we call filter coffee. The café culture includes wine and liquor but they are always drunk with moderation and style not guzzled down as in a bar.9. moderation: 适度，节制；guzzle: 豪饮。

The classic French waiter, the “garcon” that Jean Paul Sartre modeled his character on in his book Existentialism is an intricate part of the Paris café culture although café etiquette requires that you call him Monsieur.10. garcon:（法）侍者；intricate: 错综复杂的；etiquette: 礼节，礼仪；Monsieur: （法）先生。Paris waiters are aloof11. aloof: 冷淡的，冷漠的。and superior and few admit to knowing English. You should also remember that in the French café culture the customer is not always right! I’m speaking very generally of course but you will find that the Paris café waiters have a distinct character which is all part of the café culture experience. Perhaps the source of the French café waiter’s attitude is that they are not dependant on tips for their salary and so there is not that incentive to pander to the customer’s needs.12. incentive: 激励的；pander to: 迎合，取悦。You’ll find that many of the café patrons also exude a certain aloof formal air.13. patron: 老顾客；exude: 流露，显露。

The other aspects of the French café culture experience are the cigarettes, up until not so long ago smoking was allowed indoors and a thin cloud of smoke would be consistent with most café vibes14. vibe: 气氛，氛围。.Now that smoking in public places is illegal the Parisian smokers have moved outdoors and can be seen sucking on thin cigarettes and cigars on the café patios15. patio: 露台。or sidewalks. Another idiosyncrasy16. idiosyncrasy: 特质。of the French café culture is that there are normally no menus offered automatically as the choices are quite standard, you will also get your bill with your coffee but you can wait until you are ready to go before you pay.

The French café culture is for people who like to be seen and to people watching, there is room in any French café for quiet book readers, romantic couples, business meetings and animated groups of friends sharing a bottle of wine.

莱杰咖啡以及美式咖啡（即过滤式咖啡）。咖啡馆也提供酒，但是来咖啡馆的顾客一般都喝得适量，而不是像在酒吧那样豪饮的风格。

萨特在其著作《存在主义》中刻画的典型的法国服务生体现了巴黎咖啡文化复杂的一面，虽然出于礼貌我们要称呼其“先生”。巴黎服务生态度有点孤傲，很少有人承认自己会说英语。记住：在法国的咖啡文化中，顾客不一定总是对的！当然，这并不是绝对的，但是你会发现巴黎咖啡馆的服务生拥有独特的性格特征，从而构成了法国咖啡文化的一部分。或许，服务生态度冷淡的原因在于他们并不指望着小费作为糊口的钱，因此对于迎合顾客的需求也没有很强烈的意愿。你会发现很多咖啡馆的常客也流露出某种冷淡、严肃的神情。

香烟则是法国咖啡文化的另一方面。不久之前人们才能在室内吸烟，一缕薄烟似乎也更贴近大多数咖啡馆的氛围。既然公共场合禁止吸烟，巴黎的烟民则转向室外，因此可以在露天咖啡馆看到他们的身影。法国咖啡文化的另一显著特征是咖啡馆一般不会主动提供菜单，因为可供选择的饮品和食品都是标准的配置。咖啡端上桌时会附上小票，但是你可以等到离开之前再买单。

法国的咖啡文化适用于那些喜欢出入公共场合的人们，咖啡馆聚集着各种各样的人：有安静读书的人，也有浪漫的情侣；有商务会谈的人，也有共享一瓶美酒的友人。