Cash Might Be King, but They Don’t Care
現金或許是老大 店家可不甩
By Andy Newman

The other day at Dig Inn, a just-opened lunch spot on Broadway and 38th Street in Midtown Manhattan, Shania Bryant committed a consumer faux pas. She placed her order for chicken and brown rice and yams, and when she got to the register, she held out a $50 bill.
幾天前，在紐約曼哈坦中城百老匯大道與第38街交口剛開幕的午餐餐廳Dig Inn內，仙妮亞．布萊恩犯了個消費者不太得體的錯。她點了雞肉、糙米飯和山藥，到櫃檯結帳時，掏出張50元美鈔。

“Sorry,” the cashier told her. “We don’t take cash.” Not, “We don’t take $50s.” No cash. Period.
收銀員對她說：「抱歉，我們不收現金。」不是「我們不收50美元的鈔票，」是不收現金，就是這樣。

“What?” Bryant asked.
布萊恩女士問道：「蛤？」

The cashier patiently explained. Credit and debit cards were fine, as was the easy-to-download Dig Inn phone app. But the almighty dollar was powerless.
收銀員耐心地解釋，信用卡和簽帳金融卡都可以使用，容易下載的Dig Inn手機應用程式也行，但萬能的美元則無能為力。

“I’ve never experienced that before,” said Bryant, 20, an assistant to a designer. “I guess we’re in new times.”
20歲的設計師助理布萊恩說：「我從未碰過這種事。我想我們正身處在新的時代。」

Indeed. Cashless businesses were once an isolated phenomenon, but now, similarly jarring experiences can be had across the street at Sweetgreen, or two blocks up at Two Forks, or next door to Two Forks at Dos Toros, or over on 41st Street at Bluestone Lane coffee. In Midtown and some other neighborhoods across New York City, cashless is fast on its way to becoming normal.
的確如此。店家的無現金交易曾經是孤立的特別現象，但如今在對街的沙拉店Sweetgreen，往前方兩個街區的Two Forks餐廳，Two Forks隔壁的墨西哥餐廳Dos Toros，甚或是第41街的Bluestone Lane咖啡店內，都可能會有類似的不愉快經驗。在紐約市中城和市內一些其他區域，無現金交易正快速普及，往成為常態之路邁進。

But it is not quite normal yet. So the cashier at Dig Inn cut Bryant a break.
然而由於還沒有完全成為常態，Dig Inn的收銀員給布萊恩行了個方便。

“Just this one time, we’ll give it to you on the house,” she said, handing over the bag. “But just so you know, in the future.”
她把袋子遞給她，說：「就這一次，我們免費奉送，為的是讓你知道，以後該怎麼樣。」

Ah, the future. In the future, when dollar bills are found only in museum display cases, we will look back on this moment of transition and confusion with the same head-shaking smile with which we regard customs on the Isle of Yap in Micronesia, where giant stone discs are still accepted as payment for particularly big-ticket items.
哦，未來。當我們將來只能在博物館陳列櫃中看到美鈔時，我們會帶著微笑回顧這個過渡與混亂的時刻，就好像我們看待密克羅尼西亞雅浦島的習俗一樣，因為在當地巨型石盤（石幣）仍被用作特別昂貴物品的支付工具。

Some people already live in this cashless future. They find nothing strange about paying for a pack of gum with a swipe of a card. If you are one of these people and you are still somehow reading this article, you may be thinking, “What on earth is the big deal?”
有些人已經生活在這種無現金的未來之中。他們覺得刷卡買包口香糖並無奇怪之處。如果你是這些人中的一員而且還在閱讀這篇報導，你可能會在想，「這有什麼大不了的？」

At Two Forks on 40th Street, where the lunch offerings have cheery names like Squash Goals, Kristin Junco, a 34-year-old auditor for the state Education Department, said she had not used cash for about a week and much prefers a cashless establishment to its opposite. “We travel a lot for work,” she said, gesturing to a colleague, “and if they don’t take credit cards that makes things difficult.”
在第40街的Two Forks餐廳，午餐提供的食物有著Squash Goals之類令人愉快的名字，34歲的州教育廳審計員克里斯汀．榮科表示，她大概有一周沒用現金了，而且更喜歡與現金制度相對的無現金環境。她指著一位同事說：「我們經常出差。如果他們不收信用卡會比較麻煩。」

On the other side are those who were raised to equate credit-card spending with taking on debt – something to be avoided whenever possible, and reserved in any case for major expenditures. Those people do things like grab a $5 bill from their purse and run down from their office to the place on the corner thinking that they can buy a snack with it. They will catch on eventually.
而與這些人相反的那群人，則把使用信用卡消費視同負債，認為應盡可能避免，就算要用也該保留給重大支出。這些人喜歡從他們錢包內拿出一張5美元鈔票，從他們的辦公室跑到街角某處，認為他們能用它買零食。他們遲早會趕上潮流。

原文參照：
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/12/25/nyregion/no-cash-money-cashless-credit-debit-card.html

2018-01-14．聯合報．D4．紐約時報賞析 陳韋廷

說文解字看新聞 陳韋廷

隨著網路、行動通訊技術之發展，電子支付近年成為一種新的交易型態且取代現金比率不斷升高， 翻轉「現金為王」局面，而除了一般商家外，現在就連政府部門、醫院甚至是夜市都搭上這波無現金交易的潮流。

文中首段單字faux pas是個法文外來語，英語直譯是「false step」，意指「失禮、不得體」之意，常用來指社交禮儀中舉止不當或失禮行為，而要注意的是，此字為可數名詞，單複數皆寫作faux pas，而當我們形容某人穿著打扮不得體也會用到此法文外來語，亦即fashion faux pas。此外，文中倒數第二段的cashless establishment則譯為「無現金環境」，其中establishment代表的是「體制」的意思。

至於on the house為一美式俚語，一般用於餐廳場合，代表「由店家請客、免費招待」之意，而big-ticket item則意指昂貴商品。

The Latest in Apartment Technology: Fridge Cams and Robotic Valets
最新公寓科技：冰箱攝影機、機器佣人
By C. J. Hughes

The latest in technology for apartments encourages residents not to lift a finger, except maybe to touch their phones.
最新的公寓科技鼓勵住戶連根手指都不必舉起，除了可能得用它來按一下手機。

Developers are certain that buyers want gadgets that could, say, help shuffle boxes of books to storage areas, or allow a peek inside the refrigerator when they’re at the grocery store and can’t remember if they need milk.
開發商十分肯定買家肯定會想要這樣的工具，譬如說，可以幫忙將幾箱書移到儲藏區，或人在雜貨店，想不起來是否需要購買牛奶時，能幫助你看見冰箱內容物的這些裝置。

These digital amenities, which are controlled by voice commands and smartphone apps and use robots, are turning up across the New York area in condos, co-ops and rentals, even if users may have to contend with a few glitches. Users may also have to pay a premium.
這類透過語音命令、智慧手機應用程式加以控制，利用機器人建構的數位環境，正開始出現於紐約地區的集合式公寓、合作式公寓和出租公寓，儘管用戶可能還不得不面對一些小故障。此外，用戶還可能得多付些錢。

Yet, to not plug in, developers say, would be to lose out.
不過，開發商說，不跟上這潮流，可就輸定了。

“It’s not about the future,” said Elena Ashkinazy, a manager at Time Equities, the developer listing a two-bedroom co-op on the Upper East Side called the “smart apart” for its futuristic features. This apartment includes a fridge that has three cameras inside that are accessible remotely. “The time is here,” Ashkinazy said, “and we have to be up-to-date.”
「時代地產公司」經理艾琳娜．艾許辛基納齊說：「這跟未來無關。時間就是現在。我們必須及時更新。」「時代地產」在紐約上東城推出一個雙臥室的合作式公寓，因為具備未來概念功能，因此稱它是「智慧公寓」。這個公寓包括一台冰箱，內有3台攝影機，可遠程遙控。

This latest crop of cutting-edge features includes an all-in-one furniture system designed to save space by expanding or contracting at the flick of a switch. It is available in rental projects in New Jersey and Manhattan, including at the Riverbend District, a mixed-use complex under construction in Harrison, New Jersey, from DeBartolo Development and Advance Realty. Renters in the first 286-unit phase of the project, called Steel Works, are about to be given the option of leasing a telescoping bed-and-dresser system designed by Ori Systems, a startup.
這些最新的尖端特徵包括一個一體化的家具系統，它是為節省空間而設計，只要輕按一個開關，家具系統就能張開或縮回。消費者可在新澤西州和曼哈坦，包括曼哈坦河曲區的出租公寓找到這種公寓，「迪巴托洛發展與先進地產」在新澤西州哈里森建造中的一棟混合用途綜合大樓，也有這種功能。新大樓名為「鋼鐵廠」，第一期共有286間房，它的承租人很快就可以選擇是否租用一個由新創公司「歐里系統」設計的伸縮式床鋪和化妝台系統。

At night, renters can slide out a hidden bed, by manually pressing a switch; tapping their phones; or through voice-assistant software, which in Steel Works’ case means via Echo Dot. This puck-size Amazon.com device comes with all units.
夜晚時，租戶可以手動按下開關滑出隱藏的床；或是輕按他們的手機；或是透過語音助理軟體。在「鋼鐵廠」內，它是透過「迴聲點」來滑床。每套公寓都有這個冰球大小，由亞馬遜達康提供的裝置。

In the morning, the bed can retract inside the Ori unit, which is plugged into a wall and mounted on a track, allowing the entire unit to be moved to create a larger living space for entertaining. The unit, lined with hanging rods and drawers, is made of poplar plywood and also has a surface that can be extended for a desk.
清晨時，床鋪可收回到歐里床組中，床組嵌入牆壁，且安裝在軌道上，因此整個床組都能移動，創造出可供娛樂用的更大起居空間。床組是以白楊木三合板製成，附有吊桿和抽屜，而且有一平面可擴展成一張桌子。

原文參照：
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/12/15/realestate/apartment-technology-fridge-cams-robotic-valets.html

Slideshow：New Gadgets for High-Tech Apartments
https://www.nytimes.com/slideshow/2017/12/15/realestate/new-gadgets-for-high-tech-apartments.html

2018-01-14．聯合報．D4．紐約時報賞析 王麗娟