【翻譯練習】步調快速 衝！衝！衝？
The Great Rush Forward
作者：Anita Patil
來源：聯合報精選New York Times文章 2011.03.15
Nurturing takes time, as do a lot of things that are good for us: slow, sustainable food; a gradual detox; a laid-back, more reflective way of life.
培育需要時間，許多有益身心的事物也是仰賴時間的滋養醞釀，像是綠色飲食概念、排毒的過程、以及對人生的深沉反思。
Yet speed seems to govern modern life, and many of us feel there are no chances to slow things down. "As cities get bigger, everything starts accelerating," Geoffrey West, a theoretical physicist, told the Times magazine. "There is no equivalent for this in nature. It would be like finding an elephant that's proportionally faster than a mouse."
然而現代社會，似乎速度至上，許多人無法放慢步調。理論物理學家傑佛瑞‧韋斯特在時代雜誌的訪談中提道：「隨著城市拓展，一切也隨之加速。但這並不符合自然法則，就好比大象的體型比老鼠還大，難道也一定要跑得比老鼠快嗎？」
If it's quicker, it's better, and every second counts. Google assumed that when it introduced Google Instant, which predicts Internet search queries and shows results as soon as someone begins to type. Google calculated that the tool would cumulatively save people more than 3.5 billion seconds every day.
如果把持著一切都要愈快愈好的信念，那真的分秒必爭了。Google同意這說法，推出「隨打即搜」功能，當使用者開始輸入搜尋字串，「隨打即搜」會預測搜尋內容並顯示結果。Google統計出這項工具每天將為人們共省下35億秒的時間。
And what could you do with those few extra seconds? Certainly not relax with a cup of coffee. Most coffee shops in America used to be places where one could sit for hours - most likely with a laptop - and while away the day for the price of a macchiato. But a growing number of bars like Café Grumpy and Stumptown Coffee Roasters in New York are doing away with comfortable seats, large tables and electrical outlets, and becoming more like their counterparts in Italy, where an espresso is treated as a quick refueling stop.
不過，省下的時間可以用來做什麼呢？絕對不是用來輕鬆自在地享受一杯咖啡。從前大多數的美國咖啡館是消磨時光的去處，人們通常帶著筆電，悠閒品嘗瑪奇朵。但現在愈來愈多餐館，經營模式如同紐約Café Grumpy與Stumptown Coffee Roasters，不再設置舒適座椅、寬敞大桌、以及充電插頭，取而代之的是義大利餐館型態，人們短暫在此停留，喝杯espresso提個神就走。
"It's not such a precious event," Matthew Schnepf, who often stands at the bar at Stumptown, told The Times.
經常待在Stumptown餐館吧台的馬修‧舒涅夫說：「這算是哪門子的美好時光」。
And many of those people who were once hunched behind laptops are probably not blogging anymore, either. Blogs are losing their allure, especially for the younger generation, who prefer quick updates on Facebook and Twitter. New research showed that from 2006 to 2009, blogging among children ages 12 to 17 fell by half, and former bloggers said they were too busy to write lengthy posts.
而許多網友不再發表網誌了。尤其年輕世代偏愛可即時更新動態的臉書和推特，網誌更失去吸引力。一項研究顯示，2006到2009之間，有寫網誌的12到17歲青少年人數比之前少了一半，而原本的部落客說他們太忙，沒空寫長篇文章。
In Asia, traders are too busy to take a break. Fast-growing markets in the region are upgrading with high-speed machines that can complete trades in 90 microseconds, and are vying to be the hub for international investors. Hong Kong said it would extend its trading hours and shorten its lunch break; Singapore is eliminating its midday hiatus.
在亞洲，商人則是忙得沒時間休息。市場不斷擴展，高速交易機器也在升級，90微秒內即可完成交易，亞洲可望成為國際投資者熱門據點。香港表示將延長交易時間並縮短午休時間；而新加坡會減少休息時間。
"We're eating at our desk no matter what happens," Hani Shalabi, who oversees electronic stock trading for Credit Suisse clients in the Asia-Pacific region, told The Times.
負責監督瑞信銀行亞太區客戶電子股票交易的Hani Shalabi說，無論發生任何大小事，他們總是在辦公桌吃飯。
Speed is what wins and not just for traders. South Korea claims the world's fastest Internet connections, but the government wants them to be even faster. By the end of next year, South Korea plans to connect every home in the country to the Internet at one gigabit per second. That would be a tenfold increase from the national standard, The Times reported.
將「速度至上」奉為圭臬的，不是只有商人。南韓自稱其擁有全世界最快的網路，但政府還要網路更快。時代雜誌報導，明年底之前，南韓政府預計達成家家戶戶網路每秒1G的目標，是目前的10倍速。
"The name of the game is how fast you can get the content," Kiyung Nam, a spokesman for Samsung Electronics, told The Times. "People want to download and enjoy their content on the go."
三星電子發言人Kiyung Nam說：「這場競賽，重點在於你能多快取得資訊。人們希望可以隨時隨地下載並服用資訊。」
Will we eventually hit a wall? Perhaps. But we'll adapt, and quickly. Mr. West knows that nothing can trend up forever. He says human history is defined by a constant tension between relentless growth and limited resources, which are exhausted more quickly as time wears on. What will save us? As Mr. West told the Times magazine, the only hope is constant - and more rapid - innovation: "It's like being on a treadmill that keeps on getting faster."
如此無止盡的追求快上加快，最終是否會碰得一鼻子灰呢？或許是的，但人們終究還是能夠適應的，而且很快就能適應。韋斯特認為，沒有永遠的流行，人類歷史在無窮成長及有限資源之間不斷拉扯，而隨著時間流逝，資源消耗更快。誰能拯救我們呢？韋斯特說，唯一的希望，就是持續且快速的變革，「就像踩在愈行愈快的跑步機上頭」。
作者：Anita Patil
來源：聯合報精選New York Times文章 2011.03.15
Nurturing takes time, as do a lot of things that are good for us: slow, sustainable food; a gradual detox; a laid-back, more reflective way of life.
培育需要時間，許多有益身心的事物也是仰賴時間的滋養醞釀，像是綠色飲食概念、排毒的過程、以及對人生的深沉反思。
Yet speed seems to govern modern life, and many of us feel there are no chances to slow things down. "As cities get bigger, everything starts accelerating," Geoffrey West, a theoretical physicist, told the Times magazine. "There is no equivalent for this in nature. It would be like finding an elephant that's proportionally faster than a mouse."
然而現代社會，似乎速度至上，許多人無法放慢步調。理論物理學家傑佛瑞‧韋斯特在時代雜誌的訪談中提道：「隨著城市拓展，一切也隨之加速。但這並不符合自然法則，就好比大象的體型比老鼠還大，難道也一定要跑得比老鼠快嗎？」
If it's quicker, it's better, and every second counts. Google assumed that when it introduced Google Instant, which predicts Internet search queries and shows results as soon as someone begins to type. Google calculated that the tool would cumulatively save people more than 3.5 billion seconds every day.
如果把持著一切都要愈快愈好的信念，那真的分秒必爭了。Google同意這說法，推出「隨打即搜」功能，當使用者開始輸入搜尋字串，「隨打即搜」會預測搜尋內容並顯示結果。Google統計出這項工具每天將為人們共省下35億秒的時間。
And what could you do with those few extra seconds? Certainly not relax with a cup of coffee. Most coffee shops in America used to be places where one could sit for hours - most likely with a laptop - and while away the day for the price of a macchiato. But a growing number of bars like Café Grumpy and Stumptown Coffee Roasters in New York are doing away with comfortable seats, large tables and electrical outlets, and becoming more like their counterparts in Italy, where an espresso is treated as a quick refueling stop.
不過，省下的時間可以用來做什麼呢？絕對不是用來輕鬆自在地享受一杯咖啡。從前大多數的美國咖啡館是消磨時光的去處，人們通常帶著筆電，悠閒品嘗瑪奇朵。但現在愈來愈多餐館，經營模式如同紐約Café Grumpy與Stumptown Coffee Roasters，不再設置舒適座椅、寬敞大桌、以及充電插頭，取而代之的是義大利餐館型態，人們短暫在此停留，喝杯espresso提個神就走。
"It's not such a precious event," Matthew Schnepf, who often stands at the bar at Stumptown, told The Times.
經常待在Stumptown餐館吧台的馬修‧舒涅夫說：「這算是哪門子的美好時光」。
And many of those people who were once hunched behind laptops are probably not blogging anymore, either. Blogs are losing their allure, especially for the younger generation, who prefer quick updates on Facebook and Twitter. New research showed that from 2006 to 2009, blogging among children ages 12 to 17 fell by half, and former bloggers said they were too busy to write lengthy posts.
而許多網友不再發表網誌了。尤其年輕世代偏愛可即時更新動態的臉書和推特，網誌更失去吸引力。一項研究顯示，2006到2009之間，有寫網誌的12到17歲青少年人數比之前少了一半，而原本的部落客說他們太忙，沒空寫長篇文章。
In Asia, traders are too busy to take a break. Fast-growing markets in the region are upgrading with high-speed machines that can complete trades in 90 microseconds, and are vying to be the hub for international investors. Hong Kong said it would extend its trading hours and shorten its lunch break; Singapore is eliminating its midday hiatus.
在亞洲，商人則是忙得沒時間休息。市場不斷擴展，高速交易機器也在升級，90微秒內即可完成交易，亞洲可望成為國際投資者熱門據點。香港表示將延長交易時間並縮短午休時間；而新加坡會減少休息時間。
"We're eating at our desk no matter what happens," Hani Shalabi, who oversees electronic stock trading for Credit Suisse clients in the Asia-Pacific region, told The Times.
負責監督瑞信銀行亞太區客戶電子股票交易的Hani Shalabi說，無論發生任何大小事，他們總是在辦公桌吃飯。
Speed is what wins and not just for traders. South Korea claims the world's fastest Internet connections, but the government wants them to be even faster. By the end of next year, South Korea plans to connect every home in the country to the Internet at one gigabit per second. That would be a tenfold increase from the national standard, The Times reported.
將「速度至上」奉為圭臬的，不是只有商人。南韓自稱其擁有全世界最快的網路，但政府還要網路更快。時代雜誌報導，明年底之前，南韓政府預計達成家家戶戶網路每秒1G的目標，是目前的10倍速。
"The name of the game is how fast you can get the content," Kiyung Nam, a spokesman for Samsung Electronics, told The Times. "People want to download and enjoy their content on the go."
三星電子發言人Kiyung Nam說：「這場競賽，重點在於你能多快取得資訊。人們希望可以隨時隨地下載並服用資訊。」
Will we eventually hit a wall? Perhaps. But we'll adapt, and quickly. Mr. West knows that nothing can trend up forever. He says human history is defined by a constant tension between relentless growth and limited resources, which are exhausted more quickly as time wears on. What will save us? As Mr. West told the Times magazine, the only hope is constant - and more rapid - innovation: "It's like being on a treadmill that keeps on getting faster."
如此無止盡的追求快上加快，最終是否會碰得一鼻子灰呢？或許是的，但人們終究還是能夠適應的，而且很快就能適應。韋斯特認為，沒有永遠的流行，人類歷史在無窮成長及有限資源之間不斷拉扯，而隨著時間流逝，資源消耗更快。誰能拯救我們呢？韋斯特說，唯一的希望，就是持續且快速的變革，「就像踩在愈行愈快的跑步機上頭」。