经济学人:店内无童 孩子禁入

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　　店内无童

　　Nippers not wanted

　　孩子禁入

　　The rights and wrongs of banning babies

　　禁止孩子入内的是与非

　　IT IS a familiar sound. You are enjoying a quiet beer in your local watering-hole when someone starts crying. Unlike (most) adults, babies cannot seem to order a refreshing¹ bottle without howling.

　　这个场景似曾相识:你在当地的酒吧里安静的喝着啤酒，突然有人开始大哭。与（多数的）成年人不同，好像孩子们不使劲儿哭就点不到酒一样。

　　Those who visit bars to seek refuge from rugrats are fighting back. Last month Hot Bird, a craft-beer bar in Brooklyn, barred children. Its owner was fed up with parents who thought their brats² were entitled to VIP service despite drinking only milk. One pair of parents asked for the music to be turned down because their five-month-old was trying to sleep. Unattended sprogs have fallen after climbing on bar-stools. A dog bit one little girl after she petted it. The dog-owner and the dog fled. The parents blamed the bartender.

　　那些为了躲避孩子而光顾酒吧的人开始回击。上个月，位于布鲁克林的一家名为热鸟的工艺酒吧禁止孩子进入。热鸟酒吧的老板受够了那些父母，他们的孩子在酒吧只喝牛奶却认为孩子有权力享受VIP的服务。一对父母曾因为他们五个月大的孩子要睡觉，而要求酒吧把音乐声音调小。无人看管的孩子爬上吧椅后跌落下来。一个小女孩摸了摸狗之后被狗咬伤，而狗主人带着狗逃跑了，父母则责备酒保。

　　Hot Bird is not alone. Other pubs plagued by prams³ have taken to excluding children. Double Windsor bans tots after 5pm. Union Hall, a hipster hot-spot, put a “No Strollers, Please” sign on its door in 2008 (though it does allow kiddies in a few afternoons a week). Greenwood Park, which has a lovely beer garden and pitches itself as “family friendly”, closes its doors on kids under 21 after 7pm.

　　热鸟并不是个例。其他受孩子困扰的酒吧也已经禁止孩子进入。双温莎在17点后禁止孩子进入。一家名为公会大厅的时尚人气酒吧，2008年再他们门口挂了一张写着“禁止手推车，谢谢合作”的牌子（尽管他们在一周中的某几天下午也是允许孩子进入的）。绿木公园拥有啤酒花园和场地，并标榜自己是“关注家庭”型酒吧，他们也在19点后禁止21岁以下的孩子进入。

　　Bratophobia is not confined to New York. In January Grant Achatz, a Michelin-rated chef, complained about a crying baby in his Chicago restaurant. He could hear it crying even in the noisy kitchen. Via Twitter, he wondered if he should ban children. Last year a Virginia sushi bar banned all diners under 18. Olde Salty, a restaurant in North Carolina, allows kiddies, but has a no-tolerance policy for screamers.

　　孩子恐惧症并不只在纽约。一月，一名为Grant Achatz的米其林星级厨师，抱怨一个孩子在他芝加哥的饭店里大哭。他在嘈杂的厨房里都能听到哭声。他在推特上发声，说他是否可以禁止孩子进入。去年，弗吉尼亚州的寿司店禁止18岁以下客人进入。一家位于北卡罗来纳名为Olde Salty的饭店允许孩子进入，但是不允许孩子哭闹。

　　Businesses that shut out children argue that parents have plenty of other places to go. In New York Parkslopeparents.com lists lots of kid-friendly bars and restaurants. Cinemas are usually accommodating. The “cry baby matinee” at the East 86th Street Cinema, for instance, shows grown-up movies but welcomes babies. The lights are dimmed just a little bit and the volume is not very loud. There is even a nappy-changing table near the back.

　　将孩子拒之门外的商家认为，父母们有很多地方可以去。在New York Parkslopeparents.com的网站上列出了很多允许孩子进入的酒吧和餐馆。电影院通常也都是可以的。例如，在东86街电影院的“哭泣的宝贝专场”上播放给大人们看的电影，但也欢迎宝贝们去看。

　　Balancing the interests of parents and non-parents is hard. Families like to travel, but others on long-haul flights want to sleep in peace. The Economist⁴ once published a wry⁵ leader advocating child-free zones on planes and trains. Malaysian Airlines has taken our advice: it bans infants from its first-class cabins and offers child-free zones in economy in some planes. No American airline has followed suit.

　　为人父母和非父母之间的利益很难平衡。家庭喜欢出行，但其他长途航班上的旅客想要安静的睡眠。《经济学人》曾刊登过一位提出在飞机和火车上设立无孩子区的激进的领导者。马来西亚航空已经接受了本刊的建议：头等舱禁止孩子进入，并且在某些航班的经济舱设立无孩子区。但美国没有航空公司效仿。

　　Parents, by and large, think non-parents should grin and bear it when a wailing⁶ infant briefly⁷ disturbs their tranquil⁸, responsibility-free existence. It is not as if non-parents had to get up and feed the little horror four times last night. A cramped⁹ Brooklyn outlet¹⁰ of Barnes & Noble, a book chain, requires strollers to be left in a designated parking space on the second floor. Many mums are furious. Have you ever tried to hold a baby, sip¹¹ a latte and read “The Gruffalo”, all at once? It's not easy.

　　总体而言，父母们认为非父母应当在孩子的哭闹扰乱他们安宁的时候逆来顺受，认为自己不应当承担责任。这又不是让没孩子的人晚上爬起来四次，给小坏蛋喂奶。一家位于布鲁克林狭窄道路上名为Barnes & Noble的连锁书店要求手推车需要放在二楼指定的停放区域内。许多母亲为此大发雷霆到：你们有没有试过同时抱着孩子，喝口拿铁，还要读《咕噜牛》？这太难了。

　　1.fight back 反击

　　例句:When deflated¹² due to one who will fight back, they become scared rabbits and run off and hide.

　　但当它们由于被你反击而缩小的时候，它们就会变成吓坏了的兔子而很快跑掉并藏起来。

　　2.fed up with 受够

　　例句:I get fed up with other people's greed.

　　我对别人的贪婪厌烦透了。

　　3.turn down 拒绝;减少，关小

　　例句:Then, when their performance attracts the attention of the interviewers, they turn down any offers which come their way.

　　而当他们的表现吸引了场上面试官的注意时，他们就会拒绝提供给他们的聘用机会。

　　4.confine to 限制

　　例句:He did not confine himself to the one language.

　　他没把自己局限于这一门语言。

 

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