[13]那些百年老店都已消失，取代的是卡拉OK夜总会或卖假古董、假名牌服装、积压、二手出口转内销服装的跳蚤市场。里面挤满了皮肤黝黑的南方人，皮肤较白，个子较高的北方人和来自西部边疆地区晒得黑黑的少数民族。一对宽脸庞的蒙古夫妇和他们的儿子在一处卖凯文·克莱恩衬衣的摊子前讨价还价，那种衬衣只卖几个美元；再过去几步，两个来自西部边远地区的青年在买一件标价相当于20美元的皮夹克。
【背景知识】Calvin Klein: 凯文·克莱恩。以服装设计师的名字命名的美国著名服装品牌。
[14]Even the music of Beijing has changed. Under Mao, Western music was suppressed『禁止；查禁』. Today I listen to a smooth-talking radio deejay as he plays a request from a factory worker, dedicating『献』an Elvis tune to his wife. Everything from punk to Puccini now blares『大声播放；大声发出』out from Beijing's private radio stations.
[14]连音乐也变了。在毛泽东时代，西方音乐列为违禁。但今天我听到广播电台口齿伶俐的音乐节目主持人应听众要求，播放猫王的歌曲。那是一个工厂工人点给他妻子听的。北京的电台现在从美国的朋克音乐到普契尼的歌剧，什么都播放。
【背景知识】Elvis:即绰号猫王（the King）的艾尔维斯·普莱斯利（Elvis Presley）。
punk:朋克乐。指二十世纪七十年代后期西方一种新摇滚乐。借颓废的歌词，强烈的音乐节奏和大胆独特的演出形式来发泄对社会的不满情绪。后来朋克这个词也用来表示奇特的发型、装束和生活方式。
Puccini:普契尼（1858-1924）。意大利著名歌剧作曲家。代表作有《蝴蝶夫人》、《绣花女》、《托斯卡》等。
[15]An upset stomach sends me to China's most famous traditional medicine store, the 300-year-old Tongrentangyaodian. White-coated clerks scurry『乱转；奔忙』about dispensing packets of pure pearl powder for dizziness『头晕；眩晕』, and brewed deer antlers and dried sea horses to invigorate『使精力充沛；使强健』worn-out males. A chunk of ginseng, its brown nub『端；根』resembling a headless human, weighs a mere 60 grams, but it carries a price bag of 880,000 renminbi-over $100,000.
[15]我的肚子不舒服，于是我去了中国最有名的中药铺、已有300年历史的同仁堂药店。店里穿白大褂的店员正在忙于配药，纯珍珠粉专治头晕，鹿茸、海马有恢复男性青春活力的功效。一根大约只有60克的人参标价达88万人民币，也就是10万美元以上。它的褐色根部形状像是一个谢顶的人。
[16]"It's more than 100 years old." Explains the ginseng specialist, 78-year-old Jia Gui Shen. Ginseng, he says, will cure most common maladies『病；疾病』. An average worker earns perhaps $120 a month. I ask how anyone could afford such an astonishing amount. "There are thousands of rich people in Beijing now, mostly businessmen," he replies.
[16]一位78岁名叫贾桂绅（译音）的人参专家给我解释：“这根人参有100多年了。”他说人参可治疗很多常见病。一个普通工人一个月的收入大约相当于120美金。我问老专家谁会花这么多钱买它？他说：“北京有钱的人多的是，全是做生意的。”
[17]I purchase several plastic packets, each containing eight dozen brown balls the size of frog's eyes. I have no idea what the pellets contain. But I know from experience that they will work.
[17]我买了几盒塑料包装的褐色药丸，每包有96粒，每粒都像青蛙眼睛那么大。我不知道那些药丸成分是什么，但从过去的经验，知道它们很有效。
A fading Past.
消亡的过去
[18]Over the following days I visit long-time favorites-the Summer Palace, the Temple of the Sun, the Marco Polo Bridge, the Ancient Observatory and the 15th-century Temple of Heaven where the emperor prayed each year for bountiful harvests『丰收』.
[18]其后几天，我重游了我一直心爱的地方，例如颐和园、日坛、卢沟桥、古观象台、建于15世纪的天坛－明清两代的皇帝每年都在此祈求五谷丰登。
[19]Beijing itself was settled 1,000 years before Christ, and through the centuries gave rise to great art and architecture『建筑』. The city has survived the Mongols and Manchus , even the constant dust storms blown in from the Gobi Desert.
[19]北京在公元前1000年就已有人定居。许多世纪以来，此地产生了许多伟大的艺术和宏伟的建筑。这个城市先后遭蒙古人和满洲人入侵，也常年受到从戈壁大沙漠吹来的风沙袭击，却至今仍雄伟瑰丽。
[20]Sadly, rapid modernization is threatening some of the city's most important links with the past. Among the most endangered are Beijing's hutongs, or alleyways, that once spread over the entire city, thousands of narrow passageways snaking『蜿蜒曲折；延伸』between high walls, dating back hundreds of years. Those that have survived still bear their ancient names: Donkey's Hoof Lane, Chicken Claw Land, Hat Lane. I often pedalled through the hutongs, marvelling『惊叹于；对…不可思异』at how their design mirrored『反映』Chinese nature.
[20]令人扼腕的是，迅速现代化正威胁着北京一些非常重要的传统特色。危机最大的是“胡同”。过去北京有成千上万条的胡同在高墙间延伸，有些已存在了好几百年。如今残存的胡同仍沿用古老名称，例如驴蹄胡同、鸡爪胡同、帽儿胡同等。我过去常常骑车穿行于胡同间，对它们所反映出来的中国文化韵味惊叹不已。
[21]Knocking on a door at random『任意地；随意地』, I summon『唤来；招来』a wizened『干瘦的；干瘪的』old woman. Her eyes narrow at seeing a foreigner, yet she ushers『招呼；迎接』me in. Around a courtyard are three ramshackle『摇摇欲坠的；要塌的』wooden rooms. Traditionally, family is paramount『最重要的』here, and the more generations that live together, the stronger the face they show to the world.
[21]我随便敲了一家居民的门，开门的是位干瘦的老太太。她见我是一个外国人，大为吃惊，双眼眯了起来，但还是把我让进了院子。院子三面是木结构的房子，不很牢固。中国人的家庭观念极重，一家几代人能住在一起，就表明人丁兴旺，家业牢固。
[22]The old woman motions『示意』me to sit on a cane chair, waddles『摇摆地走；蹒跚』into the middle house and brings back her ten-year-old granddaughter. The child's black button eyes shine with curiosity『好奇』as she asks haltingly『不流利的；不连贯的』in English where I am from. "Aiyyaaaa!" she exclaims『惊喊；惊叫』at the news that I'm from far-off Australia. "Kangarloo!" she chirps『尖声说』.
[22]老太太示意我坐在一张藤椅上，然后自己颤巍巍地走进中间那间屋子，把她10岁的小孙女叫了过来。小女孩眨着那双好奇的黑扣子般的眼睛，用不流利的英语问我是哪国人。当我告诉她我来自遥远的澳大利亚后，她“啊呀！”一声，叫了出来。“袋鼠！”她尖声说道。
[23]Later, a friend scoffs『嘲笑；嗤之以鼻』at nostalgia『怀旧；留恋』for the hutongs. He lives with his mother in a skyscraper, paying a monthly rent of 100 renminbi, about $12, roughly ten percent of his salary, for a two-bedroom apartment. "The hutongs are too cold in winter and have no privacy『隐私』," he complains. "In the apartments we even have central heating during the cold months."
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