《美食祈禱和戀愛》Chapter 33 (70):羅馬用詞大綱
"What's Rome's word?" I asked.
“羅馬的用詞是什麼？”我問。"SEX," he announced.
“性。”他聲稱。"But isn't that a stereotype about Rome?"
“但這不是大家對羅馬的成見嗎？”
"No."
“不是 。”"But surely there are some people in Rome thinking about other things than sex?"
“羅馬肯定有些人在想‘性’以外的其他事吧？”Giulio insisted: "No. All of them, all day, all they are thinking about is SEX."
朱利歐堅稱：“不。每一個人，每一天，他們只想着‘性’。”"Even over at the Vatican?"
“甚至梵蒂岡？ ”"That's different. The Vatican isn't part of Rome. They have a different word over there. Their word is POWER."
“那不一樣。梵蒂岡不屬於羅馬。那裏有不同的用詞。他們的用詞是‘權力 ’。”"You'd think it would be FAITH."
“我以爲你會說‘信仰 ’。”"It's POWER," he repeated. "Trust me. But the word in Rome—it's SEX."
“是‘權力’，”他又說一次，“相信我。但羅馬的用詞是——性。”Now if you are to believe Giulio, that little word—SEX—cobbles the streets beneath your feet in Rome, runs through the fountains here, fills the air like traffic noise. Thinking about it, dressing for it, seeking it, considering it, refusing it, making a sport and game out of it—that's all anybody is doing. Which would make a bit of sense as to why, for all its gorgeousness, Rome doesn't quite feel like my hometown. Not at this moment in my life. Because SEX isn't my word right now. It has been at other times of my life, but it isn't right now. Therefore, Rome's word, as it spins through the streets, just bumps up against me and tumbles off, leaving no impact. I'm not participating in the word, so I'm not fully living here. It's a kooky theory, impossible to prove, but I sort of like it.
你若相信朱利歐的話，這小小的字——性——就砌成你踩在腳下的羅馬街道，流過噴泉，充塞在空氣中，有如車輛的噪音。思考它，爲它而打扮，尋求它，思索它，拒絕它，當做一種運動和遊戲——這正是每個人做的事情。這或許說明，羅馬雖迷人，卻未給我家鄉的感覺。在我的此生此刻。因爲“性”並不是我現在的用詞。從前它曾是我的用詞，此刻卻不是。因此，羅馬的用詞在穿行於街頭巷尾時撞上我後踉蹌地走開，未留下任何影響。我未參與這用詞，因此無法充分過這裏的生活。這是個古怪的理論，無從證明，可是我還算喜歡。Giulio asked, "What's the word in New York City?"
朱利歐問：“紐約的用詞是什麼？”I thought about this for a moment, then decided. "It's a verb, of course. I think it's ACHIEVE."
我想了一下，而後決定：“當然是動詞。我想是‘實現’吧。”(Which is subtly but significantly different from the word in Los Angeles, I believe, which is also a verb: SUCCEED. Later, I will share this whole theory with my Swedish friend Sofie, and she will offer her opinion that the word on the streets of Stockholm is CONFORM, which depresses both of us.)
（我相信這和洛杉磯的用詞有着細微卻顯著的不同，洛杉磯的用詞也是動詞：“成功”。後來我和我的瑞典朋友蘇菲分享這整套理論，她提供的想法是，瑞典的街頭用詞是“循規蹈矩”，令我們倆沮喪的用詞。）I asked Giulio, "What's the word in Naples?" He knows the south of Italy well.
我問朱利歐：“那不勒斯的用詞是什麼？”他對意大利南部十分了解。"FIGHT," he decides. "What was the word in your family when you were growing up?"
“打鬧。”他判斷，“在你成長期間，你家的用詞是什麼？”That one was difficult. I was trying to think of a single word that somehow combines both FRUGAL and IRREVERENT. But Giulio was already on to the next and most obvious question: "What's your word?"
這問題不易回答。我嘗試找個結合“節儉”和“不虔誠”的用詞。但朱利歐已進行到下一個最明顯的問題：“你的用詞是什麼？”Now that, I definitely could not answer.
這一題，我肯定答不出來。
