万花筒 2008-06-20&-06-21 世界第一，全自动化餐馆

-Hello, can I have a table for one please.

-Sure, no problem.

-Thank you very much.

 

That was Sonia, and she's pretty much the last staff member I will be seeing at the Baggers restaurant in Nuremberg. Inside, its pots, cups and bottles on a roller-coaster ride. The owners say they've designed what they believe is the world's first fully¹ automated² food ordering and delivery system. Here's how it works.

 

Let's just see what we will have today, why not a steak? And we are ready to go. And that sets these guys in motion. A little sauce, some salad, then they put it into this specially-designed, well, let's just call it a food sled. And it's off to the races, straight to my table.

 

"This out of here, ready to eat." Easy enough, most customers tell us they came for the entertainment value.

 

I've never seen anything like this before, this woman says, I think it's really funny.

 

It makes eating an adventure, he says, certainly something totally different.

 

But the restaurant's creator says what looks like a cute gimmick³ makes pretty good business sense as well.

 

In a fast food restaurant, imagine customers don't have to go to the counter, Michael Mack says, you don't need an employee to take orders or for the payment process, and then the food just slides to the table. It all becomes much more efficient with less staff. Efficiency is what it's all about. No waiters, and of course, no tip.

 

Fred Pleitgen CNN, Nuremberg, Germany.

 

1 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。

2 automated   

a.自动化的

参考例句：

• The entire manufacturing process has been automated. 整个生产过程已自动化。
• Automated Highway System (AHS) is recently regarded as one subsystem of Intelligent Transport System (ITS). 近年来自动公路系统(Automated Highway System,AHS)，作为智能运输系统的子系统之一越来越受到重视。

3 gimmick   

n.(为引人注意而搞的)小革新，小发明

参考例句：

• He dismissed the event as just a publicity gimmick.他不理会这件事，只当它是一种宣传手法。
• It is just a public relations gimmick.这只不过是一种公关伎俩。