FT記者眼中的舊金山：說著“灣區(qū)方言”的創(chuàng)新之城

05 FT記者眼中的舊金山：說著“灣區(qū)方言”的創(chuàng)新之城

當(dāng)來到舊金山，地地道道的英國人、FT通訊記者Hannah Kuchler發(fā)現(xiàn)，那個(gè)曾經(jīng)她記憶里“任由保守地區(qū)來的流亡之徒放縱的避風(fēng)港”，已經(jīng)變成一座創(chuàng)新之城。除了不同的文化與生活方式，舊金山甚至還是一座有自己語言的城市。

London to San Francisco: learning the language in a start-up haven

本文原文作者系FT通訊記者Hannah Kuchler

I first fell for San Francisco as a teenager holed up in my north London bedroom, reading my mum's tattered copies of the Tales of the City series.

我初次傾心舊金山是在年少時(shí)候。那時(shí)我窩在倫敦北部家中臥室里，讀著媽媽破舊的系列小說《城市故事》（美國作家Armistead Maupin所著系列小說）。

我三年前抵達(dá)舊金山時(shí)，這里早已不像是書中所描繪的，是一個(gè)任由保守地區(qū)來的流亡之徒放縱的避風(fēng)港（a permissive haven for exiles from prim provinces）了。取而代之的是，舊金山成為了開發(fā)商們反復(fù)允諾（oft-repeated promise）的、將會(huì)用軟件改變世界的天堂。

Coming to cover technology for the Financial Times, I was 27 and tech-competent for London.But here l had to catch-up: ditching my BlackBerry for an iPhone, my Dell laptop for a MacBook and taxis for Uber.

初來這里為英國《金融時(shí)報(bào)》報(bào)道科技新聞的時(shí)候，我是一個(gè)27歲的倫敦“科技通”。但是來到舊金山，我發(fā)現(xiàn)我不得不奮起直追：把我的黑莓丟掉換成iPhone，戴爾筆記本要換成MacBook，打車也要用優(yōu)步。

舊金山金門大橋

那時(shí)候我還鬧了個(gè)笑話。

I made an early error with the ride-hailing app, not then popular in London, when I ordered what I thought was an SUV to take home new furniture.I cringed as a slick black limo arrived to drive my boxes to my new apartment.

早前我在用這款在倫敦并不流行的打車軟件（優(yōu)步）時(shí)，犯了個(gè)錯(cuò)誤：我以為約了一輛SUV來幫我往家里搬新家具。當(dāng)開來的是一輛锃亮的黑色加長轎車，把我的箱子搬到新公寓的時(shí)候，我著實(shí)畏縮了一下。

甚至連語言上，我都要重新學(xué)習(xí)一些新的英文用法：

I also had to learn a new lexicon.An early disagreement led a PR at a tech company to ask me for a drink to “debug this”, a term usually used when engineers remove flaws from software.

我還不得不學(xué)會(huì)一些新詞。早前，因?yàn)橐淮我庖姺制?，某科技公司的公關(guān)人員約我去喝點(diǎn)東西，來debug這個(gè)問題——debug通常是用來形容修復(fù)軟件漏洞的。

舊金山高新產(chǎn)業(yè)的爆發(fā)式增長，讓金錢好像都失去了它的意義。就在我剛開始工作僅僅四天之后，Twitter就宣布提交了IPO文件，估值在此前的幾周內(nèi)翻了三倍，或超過100億美元；在聽到Facebook花了220億美元買了僅有50個(gè)雇員的WhatsApp后，我驚得下巴半年都合不上（jaws dropped six months later）；優(yōu)步以680億美金的估值拿下了籌資，人們眼睛都不帶眨一下的。

A mere billion-dollar valuation, once seen as rare as a unicorn, no longer seems noteworthy.

曾經(jīng)極少的估值逾10億美元、被珍視為“獨(dú)角獸”公司的企業(yè)，如今都不足為奇了。

舊金山與時(shí)尚絕緣，取而代之的是印著各種初創(chuàng)公司Logo的T恤。

Frantic app-makers fill San Francisco's streets, wearing T-shirts with logos of their start-up.

舊金山的街道擠滿了狂熱的應(yīng)用開發(fā)者，穿著印有他們自己的初創(chuàng)公司logo的T恤。

本文作者、FT通訊記者Hannah Kuchler在Instagram上分享自己在舊金山的生活。

而這個(gè)城市更像是一個(gè)新app的試驗(yàn)場。

Hungry? Food is delivered by one of dozens of on-demand delivery apps, from Caviar to Sprig.Fancy a drink? Alcohol can be ordered from Saucey or DoorDash.Break up? You now have to speed learn the latest dating app — Bumble, Hinge, The League — before everyone moves on to the next Tinder copycat.

餓了？有一大把按需訂餐的應(yīng)用，比如Caviar或者Sprig。要喝一杯嗎？Saucey或者DoorDash上可以訂購酒水。分手了？你現(xiàn)在需要趕緊花時(shí)間學(xué)一下最新的約會(huì)軟件Bumble、Hinge或者The League了，這樣才能趕在人人都撲向下一山寨Tinder（一個(gè)速配約會(huì)類手機(jī)應(yīng)用）之前。

和1970年代不同，如今的舊金山給人的感覺更像是住在未來。

Driving around Silicon Valley, an hour to the south, it is not unusual to see Google's driverless cars in the lane next to you.Drinkers in bars regularly discuss “the singularity” — when humans and robots will become one — and everyone seems to know someone who knows someone strategising to defeat death, Ray Kurzweil-style.

往南約一個(gè)小時(shí)車程，行駛在硅谷，看見谷歌的無人駕駛汽車在你旁邊的車道上行駛，一點(diǎn)也不足為奇。酒吧里喝酒的人們都是討論著“the singularity”（奇點(diǎn)，是指人類和機(jī)器人合而為一的時(shí)間點(diǎn)），似乎每個(gè)人都有個(gè)“朋友的朋友”正規(guī)劃著如何戰(zhàn)勝死亡，就像雷蒙德·庫茨魏爾（谷歌工程總監(jiān)，作家、發(fā)明家和未來學(xué)家）一樣。

全新的環(huán)境，還改變了以往的生活習(xí)慣。

I have not yet tried defeating death but California has converted this Londoner, who used to prefer an after-work pint, to the joys of exercise.Fuelled by an avocado a day, I now spend my weekends hiking on trails around the bay.

我沒有想著要戰(zhàn)勝死亡，但是加利福尼亞卻將我一個(gè)地地道道的、習(xí)慣下班喝一杯的倫敦人，變得開始享受運(yùn)動(dòng)的愉快了?，F(xiàn)在的我每天都用牛油果來給自己加油，把周末時(shí)光都用在沿著海岸線的徒步上了。

《跑者世界》雜志將舊金山譽(yù)為“最適合慢跑的城市”。

舊金山也有它自己的矛盾與困擾。比如，與科技和經(jīng)濟(jì)一同爆發(fā)式增長的，還有房價(jià)。

科技公司的爆發(fā)式出現(xiàn)，還影響著那些非科技領(lǐng)域工作者們的生活。飛速的發(fā)展迫使租金在一年上升了20%，引起了舊金山本地居民和科技行業(yè)之間的摩擦。

High rents forced me to move in with roommates after a year of living alone.Last year, a tent on someone's back patio was rented for almost $1,000 a month in Mountain View, where Google is based, stipulating that the tenant would be allowed inside the house for one shower a day.The advert went viral because no one could tell if it was a stunt or a real offer.

高額的租金讓我不得不結(jié)束了一年的獨(dú)居生活，搬去與室友合住。去年，在山景城（谷歌總部所在地），一頂在別人家后院的帳篷租金要價(jià)1000美元/月，還規(guī)定只允許租客每天進(jìn)入屋里一次淋浴。這一條廣告迅速像病毒一樣傳播開來，沒人知道這是個(gè)噱頭還是真的。

Older San Franciscans, lured to the city as a place of free thought and free love, often resent the so-called “techies” for raising prices, even though some are homeowners who have made millions by selling to them.

曾經(jīng)被這座城市的自由思想和自由戀愛吸引而來的老舊金山人，常常因?yàn)轱j漲的物價(jià)，而怨恨那些所謂的“技術(shù)咖”——盡管有些房屋所有者已經(jīng)靠把房子賣給那些“工程師”，賺了上百萬。

Even within the tech industry, some decry newcomers who see Silicon Valley as a new Wall Street, a place to get rich rather than change the world.They see innovations as following in the freethinking traditions of the West Coast but view the new gold rush with distaste.

即便是在科技產(chǎn)業(yè)內(nèi)，也有人責(zé)難說那些新來的人將硅谷視為新華爾街，來這里為了發(fā)財(cái)而非改變世界。那些人認(rèn)為，創(chuàng)新是跟隨西海岸自由思想一脈相承下來的傳統(tǒng)，而厭惡新一輪趨之若鶩的“淘金熱”。

舊金山勝景：霧鎖金門

San Francisco is still a hub for new ideas, where young people use the distance from the rest of the world to experiment with living differently.

舊金山依舊是新思路匯集的中心。年輕人們利用著這里與世界其他地方之間的距離，體驗(yàn)嘗試著不同的方式生活。

詞匯總結(jié)

fall for: 迷戀，愛上

I first fell for San Francisco as a teenager holed up in my north London bedroom, reading my mum's tattered copies of the Tales of the City series.

我初次傾心舊金山是在年少時(shí)候。那時(shí)我窩在倫敦北部家中臥室里，讀著媽媽破舊的系列小說《城市故事》（美國作家Armistead Maupin所著系列小說）。

go viral 像病毒一樣傳播開來

The advert went viral because no one could tell if it was a stunt or a real offer.

這一條廣告迅速像病毒一樣傳播開來，沒人知道這是個(gè)噱頭還是真的。

ride-hailing app 打車軟件

I made an early error with the ride-hailing app, not then popular in London.

早前我在用這款在倫敦并不流行的打車軟件（優(yōu)步）時(shí)，犯了個(gè)錯(cuò)誤。

Unicorn ['ju?n?k??n]

n.獨(dú)角獸

A mere billion-dollar valuation, once seen as rare as a unicorn, no longer seems noteworthy.

曾經(jīng)極少的估值逾10億美元、被珍視為“獨(dú)角獸”公司的企業(yè)，如今都不足為奇了。

lure [l(j)??]

n.誘惑；餌；誘惑物

vt.誘惑；引誘

Older San Franciscans, lured to the city as a place of free thought and free love, often resent the so-called “techies” for raising prices, even though some are homeowners who have made millions by selling to them.

曾經(jīng)被這座城市的自由思想和自由戀愛吸引而來的老舊金山人，常常因?yàn)轱j漲的物價(jià)，而怨恨那些所謂的“技術(shù)咖”——盡管有些房屋所有者已經(jīng)靠把房子賣給那些“工程師”，賺了上百萬。