Boisterous, Booming Beijing

欣欣向荣的北京（3）

我望着两旁那些闪闪发亮的高楼大厦，简直不能置信。
印象中的北京正深受“文化大革命”的摧残，风沙扑面，死气沉沉，落后闭塞。
如今北京已敞开大门，并且已迈开大步奔向21世纪。
我从他们的脸上看到乐观的情绪，从北京的外貌上，看到一个充满希望的城市。

By Paul Raffaele
保罗·拉菲尔

Pricey Medicine.
昂贵的中药

[12]A few days later, I plunge『直奔』into the old shopping quarter near Qianmen, or the Front Gate, looking for the landmarks I knew 25 years ago. But I'm lost.

[12]几天之后，我到前门附近的老购物区去寻找25年前我熟悉的一些古老建筑物，可是遍寻不获。

[13]In the centuries-old shops sit karaoke clubs, flea markets filled with fake antiques, and designer clothes, overruns『积压品』and seconds from factories geared to overseas markets. The alleyway is jammed『挤满；阻塞』with tanned『晒黑的；皮肤黝黑的』southerners, tall pale northerners and swarthy『晒黑的；皮肤黝黑的』tribal people from the western borderlands. A family of broad-faced Mongols- mother, father and a son- haggle『讨价还价』at a stall selling Calvin Klein shirts for a few dollars each, while a few steps away two youngsters from the far west buy a leather jacket on sale for $20.

[13]那些百年老店都已消失，取代的是卡拉OK夜总会或卖假古董、假名牌服装、积压、二手出口转内销服装的跳蚤市场。里面挤满了皮肤黝黑的南方人，皮肤较白，个子较高的北方人和来自西部边疆地区晒得黑黑的少数民族。一对宽脸庞的蒙古夫妇和他们的儿子在一处卖凯文·克莱恩衬衣的摊子前讨价还价，那种衬衣只卖几个美元；再过去几步，两个来自西部边远地区的青年在买一件标价相当于20美元的皮夹克。

【背景知识】Calvin Klein: 凯文·克莱恩。以服装设计师的名字命名的美国著名服装品牌。

[14]Even the music of Beijing has changed. Under Mao, Western music was suppressed『禁止；查禁』. Today I listen to a smooth-talking radio deejay as he plays a request from a factory worker, dedicating『献』an Elvis tune to his wife. Everything from punk to Puccini now blares『大声播放；大声发出』out from Beijing's private radio stations.

[14]连音乐也变了。在毛泽东时代，西方音乐列为违禁。但今天我听到广播电台口齿伶俐的音乐节目主持人应听众要求，播放猫王的歌曲。那是一个工厂工人点给他妻子听的。北京的电台现在从美国的朋克音乐到普契尼的歌剧，什么都播放。

【背景知识】Elvis:即绰号猫王（the King）的艾尔维斯·普莱斯利（Elvis Presley）。
punk:朋克乐。指二十世纪七十年代后期西方一种新摇滚乐。借颓废的歌词，强烈的音乐节奏和大胆独特的演出形式来发泄对社会的不满情绪。后来朋克这个词也用来表示奇特的发型、装束和生活方式。
Puccini:普契尼（1858-1924）。意大利著名歌剧作曲家。代表作有《蝴蝶夫人》、《绣花女》、《托斯卡》等。

[15]An upset stomach sends me to China's most famous traditional medicine store, the 300-year-old Tongrentangyaodian. White-coated clerks scurry『乱转；奔忙』about dispensing packets of pure pearl powder for dizziness『头晕；眩晕』, and brewed deer antlers and dried sea horses to invigorate『使精力充沛；使强健』worn-out males. A chunk of ginseng, its brown nub『端；根』resembling a headless human, weighs a mere 60 grams, but it carries a price bag of 880,000 renminbi-over $100,000.

[15]我的肚子不舒服，于是我去了中国最有名的中药铺、已有300年历史的同仁堂药店。店里穿白大褂的店员正在忙于配药，纯珍珠粉专治头晕，鹿茸、海马有恢复男性青春活力的功效。一根大约只有60克的人参标价达88万人民币，也就是10万美元以上。它的褐色根部形状像是一个谢顶的人。

[16]"It's more than 100 years old." Explains the ginseng specialist, 78-year-old Jia Gui Shen. Ginseng, he says, will cure most common maladies『病；疾病』. An average worker earns perhaps $120 a month. I ask how anyone could afford such an astonishing amount. "There are thousands of rich people in Beijing now, mostly businessmen," he replies.

[16]一位78岁名叫贾桂绅（译音）的人参专家给我解释：“这根人参有100多年了。”他说人参可治疗很多常见病。一个普通工人一个月的收入大约相当于120美金。我问老专家谁会花这么多钱买它？他说：“北京有钱的人多的是，全是做生意的。”

[17]I purchase several plastic packets, each containing eight dozen brown balls the size of frog's eyes. I have no idea what the pellets contain. But I know from experience that they will work.

[17]我买了几盒塑料包装的褐色药丸，每包有96粒，每粒都像青蛙眼睛那么大。我不知道那些药丸成分是什么，但从过去的经验，知道它们很有效。

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