在北京的老友記咖啡館逃離現實
High above Beijing’s financial district, on the sixth floor of a futuristic commercial complex, is a little slice of New York City.
北京金融區裏，在一個未來風格的商業大樓六層，有一小片紐約市。
Playing off a Chinese obsession with the sitcom “Friends,” it is a cafe called Central Perk, just like the fictitious place where Chandler, Joey, Ross, Rachel, Monica and Phoebe hung out.
藉着中國觀衆對情景喜劇《老友記》的癡迷，這家小店叫作中央公園咖啡館，和電視劇裏錢德勒、喬伊、羅斯、瑞秋、莫妮卡和菲比常常泡在裏面的那個虛構的咖啡館一模一樣。
The Beijing version is constructed much like a set, with low brick-patterned walls erected over smooth concrete. Glass cases display obscure references to specific episodes: a Lionel Richie record (“The One With the Giant Poking Device”), a copy of “What to Expect When You’re Expecting” (“The One With the Rumor”), a replica of the mirror from Monica’s apartment.
北京版的中央公園咖啡館很像一個拍攝現場，光滑的混凝土外面砌起低矮的、磚頭圖案的牆壁。玻璃櫃裏放着各類道具，隱晦地指向某些具體的橋段：一張萊昂納爾•裏奇(Lionel Richie)的唱片（《醜陋裸男死了？》一集）、一本《懷孕期間注意事項》（《謠言》一集）、莫妮卡公寓鏡子的複製品。
It’s run by Du Xin, a Beijing native who opened the place in 2010 hoping to recreate the show’s ethos of camaraderie. With his shaved head and light complexion, Du Xin shares a passing resemblance to Gunther, the hapless deadpan waiter. Oh, and the cafe’s Wi-Fi password? iloverachel.
咖啡館的老闆是北京人杜鑫（音），他在2010年開了這家店，希望重現劇中的友愛氛圍。杜鑫剃着板寸，皮膚白皙，一眼看過去還有點像甘瑟(Gunther)，也就是劇中那個老是面無表情的倒黴服務員。對了，這家咖啡館的Wi-Fi密碼？iloverachel（意爲我愛瑞秋——譯註）。
There’s a vague sense of role-playing; customers order desserts named after the characters who ordered them on the show, sit at tables named after each character and fend off Smelly Cat, the cafe pet. The next room is done up like Joey and Chandler’s place, complete with darts and foosball.
這裏隱隱有種角色扮演的感覺；客人點的甜品是按在劇中點過相應甜品的角色命名的；桌子也分別對應着角色的名字；客人們像劇中人物一樣，阻止咖啡店的寵物臭臭貓靠近自己。隔壁房間裝修成了喬伊和錢德勒的家，配有飛鏢和桌上足球。
People lounge on the giant orange couch for hours watching reruns of the show, which are always playing. A thick silence, punctuated only by the raucous laugh track, permeates the cafe; everyone is glued to the television screen.
人們窩在巨大的橙色沙發上，幾小時幾小時地看《老友記》重播。這裏總是很安靜，穿插着劇中喧鬧的背景笑聲，每個人都緊盯着電視屏幕。
“ ‘Friends’ is a fantasy,” said Yang Gao, an assistant professor of sociology at Singapore Management University who has studied the show’s significance among Chinese millennials. “The show provides a window into a set of lives that appear less controlled, less structured and burdened by test-taking, rankings, family commitments and government oversight.”
“《老友記》是一種幻想，”新加坡管理大學的助理教授高洋（音）說。她曾研究這一劇集對於中國千禧一代的意義。“這部劇提供了一個窗口，進入一種不那麼被控制的生活，沒有那麼多考試、排名、家庭承諾和政府監管的負擔。”
At Central Perk, for the price of a cup of coffee, one can escape, if only for a few episodes.
在中央公園咖啡館，用一杯咖啡的價格，你可以逃離現實，哪怕只是幾集電視劇的時間。
