雙語(yǔ)閱讀：說(shuō)說(shuō)浪漫的西雅圖

　　摘要：一提起美國(guó)的城市，很少有中國(guó)人會(huì)首先想到西雅圖。其實(shí)，很多中國(guó)人可能根本分不清華盛頓州和華盛頓特區(qū)的區(qū)別。

　　Seattleis rarely the first US city that comes to Chinese minds. Infact, few people could probably tell Washington state fromWashington DC.

　　Two romantic comedy films have irrevocably shaped the imageof Xiyatu, as the city is known in Mandarin, among the Chinesepublic, and as a result it would not be a stretch to say Seattle is seen as the American capital ofromance, somewhat akin to how the world perceives Paris.

　　一提起美國(guó)的城市，很少有中國(guó)人會(huì)首先想到西雅圖。其實(shí)，很多中國(guó)人可能根本分不清華盛頓州和華盛頓特區(qū)的區(qū)別。

說(shuō)說(shuō)浪漫的西雅圖

　　兩部浪漫喜劇無(wú)疑塑造了西雅圖在中國(guó)公眾心里的形象。因此，可以毫不夸張地說(shuō)，西雅圖被國(guó)人視為美國(guó)浪漫之都，有幾分類(lèi)似世界對(duì)巴黎的看法。

　　In Sleepless in Seattle, Nora Ephron's 1993 runaway hit, Tom Hanks' character, Sam, moves withhis young son from Chicago to Seattle for a fresh start after the death of his wife. The movieportrays the largest city in the Pacific Northwest not as a canyon of high-rises, but as a bohemianenclave of artists and designers, which possibly did not impress Chinese at the time.

　　在諾拉•艾芙倫1993年執(zhí)導(dǎo)的熱門(mén)電影《西雅圖夜未眠》中，山姆(湯姆•漢克斯飾)在妻子離世后帶著年幼的兒子從芝加哥搬到西雅圖，尋求一個(gè)新生活的開(kāi)始。影片將這座美國(guó)太平洋西北地區(qū)最大的城市塑造成了一個(gè)放蕩不羈的藝術(shù)家和設(shè)計(jì)師的聚居之處，而非高樓林立之都。當(dāng)時(shí)或許并未給中國(guó)觀眾留下什么印象。

　　This image may have been altered recently by the screen adaptation of Fifty Shades of Grey, whichis largely set in the Seattle area and includes frequent aerial shots and the less-than-tastefulflaunting of wealth and kinky sex.

　　最近上映的小說(shuō)改編影片《____》可能改變了人們對(duì)西雅圖的認(rèn)識(shí)。這部影片取景地大部分在西雅圖，包含很多航拍、低俗的炫富和性虐的元素。

　　The narrative setup in Sleepless is almost Chinese to the core: Sam and Annie, played by MegRyan, fall in love before actually meeting each other in the flesh. Imagine all those Chinese couplesin arranged marriages who were denied the right to face-to-face encounters before their weddingnight. This story could have been their silver lining and inspiration.

　　《西雅圖夜未眠》敘事設(shè)定很中式：山姆和安妮(梅格•瑞恩飾)在素未謀面的情況下就相愛(ài)了。試想那些接受包辦婚姻的中國(guó)夫婦，在新婚之夜前都沒(méi)有見(jiàn)面的權(quán)利。這部影片有可能給他們帶來(lái)了一線希望和鼓舞。

　　By contrast, the Chinese movie Finding Mr. Right- the title in Mandarin translates as Beijing MeetsSeattle - is very Hollywood in its dramatic arc. The 2013 sleeper hit employs the opposites-attractstrategy: Boy meets girl and nothing works out, but we know they'll end up together becausewe've been conditioned by the genre.

　　相較之下，中國(guó)影片《北京遇上西雅圖》(Finding Mr. Right)則極具好萊塢戲劇的風(fēng)格。這部2013年的票房黑馬采用了異性相吸的故事策略：男主與女主相遇卻沒(méi)有走到一起，但是我們知道他們最終一定會(huì)在一起，因?yàn)槲覀冊(cè)缫蚜?xí)慣了這種題材。

　　Like with Sleepless, the boy and girl in this story are no youngsters in puppy love. Frank, playedby Wu Xiubo, is similar to Sam in that he has a child from a previous marriage, but Tang Wei'sJiajia has nothing in common with Annie. She is a gold digger who is in Seattle to give birth to achild by her wealthy, married boyfriend. The father, who remains unseen, is a symbol of thenouveau riche, whose opulent residence stands in sharp contrast to middle-class living in theEmerald City.

　　與《西雅圖夜未眠》一樣，這部影片中的男女主角并非初涉愛(ài)情的年輕人。吳秀波扮演的弗蘭克(Frank)同山姆一樣，帶著一個(gè)跟前妻生的孩子;不過(guò)湯唯飾演的佳佳和安妮的經(jīng)歷完全不同。她是個(gè)拜金女，來(lái)到西雅圖是為了給已婚的富豪男友生子。孩子的父親是暴發(fā)戶的象征，并未在影片中露面。他豪華的住宅與西雅圖中產(chǎn)階級(jí)的住所形成鮮明的對(duì)比。

　　For financial reasons, the movie was actually shot in Vancouver, while the generic English titledoes not even hint at the promotional power of a movie that made 500 million yuan ( million)at the box office in China.

　　由于預(yù)算原因，影片實(shí)際上是在溫哥華拍攝的。而這部在中國(guó)的票房收入達(dá)到5億元人民幣(合7800萬(wàn)美元)的影片的通用英文標(biāo)題也完全沒(méi)有顯示出這部影片會(huì)有何等的廣告效應(yīng)。

　　The movie Finding Mr. Right is predominantly set in Seattle and even references Ephron's classicwhen the female protagonist is questioned by a US immigration officer who waves her in asanother Sleepless pilgrim.

　　《北京遇上西雅圖》的故事背景主要設(shè)定在西雅圖，美國(guó)入境處官員向女主角揮手、準(zhǔn)許她入境的情節(jié)借鑒了艾芙倫執(zhí)導(dǎo)的影片的經(jīng)典橋段，也是對(duì)《西雅圖不眠夜》的又一處致敬。

　　The movie, also written and directed by a woman, is neither a remake nor a sequel to the 1993classic, but it pays almost slavish homage by setting the final scene in New York's Empire StateBuilding. If I were the mayor of Seattle, I would have persuaded director Xue Xiaolu to change thelocation to the Space Needle, which would have cemented the city's reputation as a magnet fortrue love.

　　這部影片的編劇兼導(dǎo)演薛曉路也是一名女性。但該片并非那部1993年經(jīng)典電影的重制或續(xù)集，但是影片將最后一幕場(chǎng)景設(shè)在紐約的帝國(guó)大廈，幾乎是對(duì)經(jīng)典最原汁原味的致敬。如果我是西雅圖的市長(zhǎng)，我一定會(huì)說(shuō)服薛曉路將最后的拍攝場(chǎng)地改到太空針?biāo)?，那么這座城市的真愛(ài)磁鐵之名就會(huì)更加鞏固了。

　　It may not have been necessary anyway. There was reportedly a spike in the number of Chinesetourists in Seattle after the movie was released, and that enthusiasm is unlikely to abate anytimesoon, with a sequel on the way next year.

　　也許大可不必這樣做。據(jù)報(bào)道，影片上映后前往西雅圖的中國(guó)游客數(shù)量激增。而明年《北京遇上西雅圖2》即將上映，這股熱情近期不太可能減退。