中英雙語美文：咖啡館服務員的一天

在咖啡館做服務員似乎是一份既輕鬆又浪漫的工作，在充滿文藝氣息的環境中工作，每天被咖啡的香氣所包圍，用雙手爲顧客製作一杯杯充滿誠意的咖啡，想想都令人羨慕不已……那麼，做咖啡館服務員究竟是一種怎樣的感覺?他們的每一天都是如何度過的呢?一位咖啡館服務員在下文中現身說法，爲你揭祕。

Many people think that being a Barista1) is an effortless job. These must be the people that don't see us pacing frantically2) to and from the drive-through3) window trying to get customers started with their day.

Those who work at a coffee shop typically start their day about an hour and a half to two hours before the typical 9~5 worker. Think about it, they have to have coffee brewed4)and bakery items frosted5) by the time everyone else is on their way to work. Customers can start rolling in6) around 6:30 or 7:00 in the morning and they expect their morning cup to be just the way they like it, fresh with a little bit of cream and sugar, or black—you get the point.

很多人都覺得做咖啡館服務員是一份輕鬆的工作。這些人一定沒有看到我們手忙腳亂地往返於“免下車訂餐”服務窗口，努力幫顧客開啓新一天的樣子。

那些在咖啡館工作的人通常要比朝九晚五的典型上班族早1.5~2個小時開始一天的工作。想想看，等到其他人踏上上班路時，他們就得把咖啡煮好並給烘烤食品撒上糖霜。顧客有時會在早上6:30或7:00左右就開始不斷涌入，他們期待早上所喝的咖啡正是按自己想要的那種方式做的：現磨的並且加了一點點奶油和糖，抑或是什麼都不加，你懂的。

1. barista [bəˈriːstə] n. 咖啡館服務員;咖啡師

2. frantically [ˈfræntɪkli] adv. 緊張忙亂地;手忙腳亂地

3. drive-through [ˈdraɪv θruː] n. 不必下車即可得到服務的餐館(或銀行等)

4. brew [bruː] vt. 煮咖啡

5. frost [frɒst] vt. 在(糕餅上)撒糖霜

6. roll in: 大量涌來;紛至沓來

After arriving at the coffee shop, you unlock the door and turn on the lights. The first thing you do after putting your things down is grab7) the brew pot and beans which you measured out the night before. Oh, and start preheating the oven. The beans which were roasted just a few days ago (if you work at a coffee shop that serves good coffee) go into the grinder8) and then into the basket9). It is essential to start your first pot right away because customers will be wanting their morning coffee before you know it. While that is brewing start your scones10) which have been frozen and sat out overnight to ensure easy baking.

到達咖啡館以後，你首先要開門、開燈。放下東西后，要做的第一件事情就是趕緊拿出煮咖啡的壺以及頭天晚上按量配好的咖啡豆。對了，還要開始預熱烤箱。把幾天前才烘焙好的咖啡豆(如果你工作的咖啡館咖啡不錯的話)放入研磨機研磨，然後再倒入濾網裏。第一壺咖啡要趕快煮上，這一點極爲重要，因爲顧客很快就會想要喝他們的晨間咖啡了。煮第一壺咖啡時，你就要開始準備司康了，爲了確保它們好烤，它們已冷藏、靜置了一晚。

7. grab [ɡrab] vt. (尤指匆忙地)取，拿

8. grinder [ˈɡraɪndə(r)] n. (咖啡研磨機等)研磨器械

9. basket: 這裏指filter basket，即濾網。

10. scone [skɒn] n. (圓形)烤餅，司康(用大麥或燕麥麪粉加蘇打、糖、鹽等烤制而成的西式茶點，源自英國)

Ok, you've got the essentials started, and now you can put money into the cash register11) and begin turning on the rest of the lights that you missed in your rush to start working. But hurry, your first pot is done and it's time to start the next one! It is important to brew your coffee in the correct order. This varies based on customer favorites. While the second pot is brewing you might do some clean up that was missed from the night before. There is always some dusting and a window that needs to be cleaned. Ding! The scones are done and it is time to frost them. Of course, wash your hands first. By the time you are done, your second pot will be finished. Stock the bakery case, and look out to see a customer waiting for you to open the gate. It is typical for customers to be out there at least 15 minutes before you open. Being a caring Barista, you open up early just for them. Now that the gate is open, you must finish brewing coffee and continue to wait on customers at the same time, which will be a continuous task until about 9:30 or 10:00 when they have arrived at work. In most cases you will be by yourself until about 8:00, so good luck with that!

好了，基本工作你已啓動了，現在你可以把錢放入收銀機，開始把一早匆忙開工還沒來得及開的其他燈都打開。但動作要快，因爲第一壺咖啡已經煮好，是時候開始煮下一壺了!用正確的順序煮咖啡很重要，這隨顧客的喜好而有所變化。煮第二壺咖啡時，你可能需要打掃一下頭天晚上那些漏掉打掃的地方。總會有一些浮灰需要打掃，總會有一塊窗戶需要擦。叮!司康烤好了，該往上面撒糖霜了。當然了，要先洗手。等你撒完糖霜後，第二壺咖啡也快煮好了。把糕點櫃擺滿糕點，留意一下有沒有顧客在等你開門。有顧客在還有起碼15分鐘纔開門的時候就已等在店外是常有的事兒。作爲一位體貼的咖啡館服務員，你早點兒開門就是爲了他們。既然已經開了門，你就必須把咖啡煮好，同時繼續等候顧客，這個工作會一直持續到9:30或10:00左右，屆時顧客已經到辦公室了。在大多數情況下，你都將一個人撐到8:00左右，所以，祝你好運吧!

11. cash register: 現金出納機，收銀機

After the morning rush, wash your dishes because you will need them again, and very soon! It is now time to prep for lunch. More than likely you have already started the soup during the coffee rush because the local artists will be in promptly at 11:00 and they will expect their favorite soup. Cut your vegetables and make sure the meats are ready. Pull your bread out of the freezer. Once lunch starts, there is no turning back and no room for error. It can really put a twist12) in your day if you don't have enough chickenthawed13), or greens cut for salads.

There is always at least one customer who asks for something that isn't really an option, but you do it anyway because you want them to come back and enjoy themselves. Many times you make old items that used to be on the menu because they are still a favorite for your "usuals".

早高峯過去之後，就該洗餐具了，因爲還要再用，而且很快就要再用!現在該準備午餐了。你很有可能在咖啡供應高峯時段就已經開始準備湯了，因爲附近的藝術家11:00準時就會光臨，他們會期待喝到自己最愛喝的湯。把蔬菜切好，並確保肉已備好，並從冰箱裏取出麪包。一旦午餐開始，就不能回頭，絕對不能出差錯。如果解凍的雞肉或是爲做沙拉所切的蔬菜不夠，那麼你這一天可真要出現波折了。

總會有至少一位顧客想要菜單上並沒有的餐食，但無論如何你還是滿足了他們的要求，因爲你想讓他們成爲回頭客，想讓他們用餐愉快。你經常會做菜單上以前有過的一些老菜品，因爲它們仍是你的一些“常客”的最愛。

12. twist [twɪst] n. (形勢、故事等的)意想不到的轉折

13. thaw [θɔː] vt. 解凍(冷凍食品)

After what seems like an infinite amount of lunches, it's time to clean again! Things are a little slower because it will be the casual shopper or Wi-Fi customer drifting in and out. Also depending on where you work, you might be closing in a couple of hours because it will be 4:00 and people aren't in the mood for coffee anymore. Needless to say, after a full day of work, it's time for a break. Did I say break? I meant, you feel like it is time for a break! Now that you are cleaning up and getting ready to close, a steady rush of people will come in right about ... NOW! It never fails, just when you think you can rest, you are right back up on your feet.

在做了似乎無窮無盡份的午餐過後，又該打掃衛生了!這時工作節奏慢了一點，因爲只有隨便溜達進來的顧客或是來蹭Wi-Fi的顧客進進出出。另外，你所在的咖啡館可能再過幾個小時就要打烊了(打烊時間視你的工作地點而定)，因爲快到4:00了，人們就沒有心情再喝咖啡了。不用說，工作了一整天，該休息了。我有說休息嗎?我的意思是，你覺得該休息了!你都在打掃衛生準備打烊了，就在這時又有一波顧客持續涌進店來……都什麼時候了!正當你覺得可以休息時，你又站起身來，這種情況總會發生。

This may seem like a stressful job, because it can be, but here are some of theperks14): Even while you are rushing to serve customers, you see your friends all day long. You've served your regulars15) from the time you opened to the time you closed. You know what they get16) before they ask for it. You know what time they come in and who they will be meeting. Sometimes you have their order ready before they get there. They have told you about their day and what new and exciting things are going on in their lives. These people who used to just be customers have become your friends. By now, it isn't just the coffee that puts a smile on their face, it is also seeing their favorite Barista! That is probably one of the most rewarding things of the job. The fact that you can make someone's day better is worth it. The free coffee is worth it too!

做咖啡館服務員可能看似是一份壓力很大的工作，因爲有時壓力會很大，不過也有福利，以下便是其中的一些。即便當你匆忙地在爲顧客服務時，你這一天下來也見到了你的朋友們。你從開始營業到打烊一直都在爲常客們服務。他們還沒開口你就知道他們要點什麼。你知道他們什麼時候來，將要見什麼人。有時，他們還沒到，你就已經準備好了他們的訂單。他們向你講述自己的一天，講述自己生活中發生了什麼新鮮事和激動人心的事情。這些曾經只是顧客的人已經成了你的朋友。現在，讓他們臉上露出微笑的不僅僅是咖啡，還有見到他們最喜歡的服務員!這大概是這份工作最有意義的方面之一。你能讓某個人的一天變得更加美好，這一點很值。你還能喝到免費的咖啡，這也很值!

14. perk [pɜːk] n. (工資以外的)補貼，津貼，額外待遇

15. regular [ˈreɡjələ(r)] n. 常客;老主顧

16. get [ɡet] vt. (定期)買，購買

Here is one disadvantage of being a Barista: You will forever be the biggest critic of any coffee or espresso17) drink you taste! But most likely you won't drink many coffees from other coffee shops because you won't have time to! This is the price the modern day Barista superhero has to pay ... but it is so worth it!

做咖啡館服務員一個不好的地方是，對於你品嚐的任何一種咖啡或意式濃縮咖啡，你永遠都會對其最吹毛求疵!不過，你很可能喝不了多少其他咖啡館做的咖啡，因爲你不會有時間去喝!這就是咖啡館當代服務員“超級英雄”不得不付出的代價……不過這真的很值!

17. espresso [eˈspresəʊ] n. (用蒸汽加壓煮出的)濃縮咖啡;意式咖啡

譯 / 趙青奇 新東方英語