當(dāng)美國媳婦遇上英國茶

英國人愛喝茶舉世皆知。據(jù)稱，約有80%的英國人天天喝茶，而且不止一杯。他們不僅自己愛喝茶，還動不動也要給別人泡茶。無論是認(rèn)識新朋友還是工作遇到難處，都要從喝茶開始。這著實(shí)有點(diǎn)夸張，又有點(diǎn)讓人納悶：英國人為何如此愛喝茶？茶對他們究竟意味著什么？下面就來聽聽一個嫁到英國的美國媳婦兒怎么說吧！

When I started working in London four years ago， I repeatedly made a grave mistake： Whenever a colleague would offer me a cup of tea， Id politely decline. To me， a mug of hot tea with milk tasted okay， but it was more the kind of thing you use to accompany something actually delicious， like cake. Also， as an American， I just assumed the offer was made out of politeness， not sincerity.

But this awkward exchange kept happening. It happened at work upwards of1） four times a day. The offers from my English colleagues began to drive me a little bit crazy， and I could tell that my repeated refusal to partake2） was annoying them， as well. But what could I do？ I just didnt feel like a cup of tea. Fair enough， right？

Wrong. I might as well have said “I do not want to be part of your society” or “Your tea is gross and so are you.” Thats because in Britain， I soon learned， rejecting a cup of tea is like rejecting a gesture of friendship.

Id always considered tea a relatively simple beverage. The British， of course， could not disagree more. An individuals particular tea preference is a lifelong commitment. Sharp lines are drawn. “How do you take your tea？” is perhaps the most loaded3） question in the British language. Milk or no milk？ Sugar or no sugar？ How long to steep？ And unless youre ready for all-out4） war， dont even think about asking whether the milk should be added before or after the water because youll be dragged into a bitter dispute drawn along age-old5） lines of class and region， and as an American， your opinion wont count anyway.

Making a cup of tea for someone can be a way of saying， “I care about you. Have this hot bland6） liquid that I made for you just the way you like it.” If youve had an argument with a roommate， offer to make them a cup of tea—if they accept， everything is okay now. This is also a great way to apologize without directly addressing the issue， which is the most British thing you could be doing anyway.

The true importance of the tea ritual didnt fully hit home7） for me until one fateful8） visit to my husbands parents in the north of England.

My British in-laws are the most polite， kind， hospitable people in the entire world. They bend over backwards9） to make me feel welcome. I never heard them say a word against me.endprint

That was， until three years ago， on Christmas Day， when I first made them tea.

Let me first say that it is not an exaggeration to suggest that my father-in-law could not survive without tea. He drinks five cups a day and I have never seen him drink plain water. On most days， tea is his only source of hydration， which distresses me so much that whenever I visit， I leave out extra glasses of water within his reach， hoping to bait him into taking a sip.

Okay， back to Christmas. After being offered tea several times， I saw that it was time for the final cup of the day， which they have every evening after dinner. Being the dutiful daughter-in-law that I am， I took it upon myself to prepare this round. I boiled the kettle， stewed the tea bags， added the milk， and triumphantly placed two steaming cups in front of my in-laws.

They both glanced at their mugs and hesitated.

“Bit milky， huh？” my mother-in-law pronounced.

Her words went straight through my heart like a dagger. “Bit milky” is the American translation for “This is the worst thing Ive ever tasted.” I was mortified10）. Polite as she is， though， my mother-in-law sipped the tea anyway.

I didnt make tea again for a year， which basically labeled me a social pariah11）， because drinking tea is part of British society at every level. Everyone from the burly12） men on building sites to the queen herself in Buckingham Palace drinks tea. Upper-class， middle-class， and working-class people are united in their love of this national beverage. Its a way of life and a sacred tradition， and one that carries over13） into the workplace， as I so discovered.

No meeting in Britains green and pleasant land shall begin without someone “popping the kettle on.” Dont even think about attempting to work on something hellish， like any kind of spreadsheet， without making a brew14） first to help you through. A tough client call， a tedious data entry job， or a long presentation？ Tea first， always.

Then， at regular intervals throughout the day， “the tea run” occurs. The tea run transpires15） when one person， bored with working， stands up and says， “Right. Whos for a cuppa？” Inevitably， a dozen hands will go up and the selfless volunteer will spend the next 20 minutes wrangling everyones order. It is a punishment they have chosen to inflict upon themselves， either because they secretly want to be a tea martyr， or they just really， really dont want to get back to their spreadsheet.endprint

Tea is such an ingrained part of work life in the U.K. that some offices have actual tea trolleys16）. The most tea-conscientious kitchens have a roster17） on the wall where each employee has noted their personal tea preference， sometimes accompanied by an illustrated chart. This level of obsession fascinated me because—and I must say this in a whisper for fear of being shunned—tea is just okay.

In an effort to really understand how much tea is being consumed on this island， I polled various Brits on how many cups they drink daily. The most common answer was four. Even in summer. One friend admits she drinks six to seven cups a day. But why？

Yes， tea can be a gesture of kindness， but for many people， its mostly a ritual of comfort. My friend who drinks seven cups a day said tea reminds her of her mum. For many Brits， it seems tea wraps them in the memories of childhood and home.

In that case， maybe we should all embrace this tradition. The next time youre feeling blue， whether after reading the news or suffering through a painful argument， make like the British： Boil the kettle and prep tea for yourself， and maybe your colleagues. After a few years here， Ive even discovered my own tea preference， which youre welcome to borrow： Stew for one minute， add a dollop18） of milk， and drink with a generous slice of cake while you escape the world for five minutes.

四年前，我剛開始在倫敦工作時，老犯一個嚴(yán)重的錯誤：每每有同事要請我喝茶，我都禮貌地回絕。一杯加奶的熱茶味道不錯，但于我而言，它更像搭配真正的美食（比如蛋糕）下肚的飲品。更何況作為一個美國人，我只是覺得這種邀請是出于禮貌，而非發(fā)自肺腑。

但這種尷尬的互動總在發(fā)生，每天上班時間內(nèi)都超過四次。英國同事的邀請開始讓我有點(diǎn)抓狂，我也能看出來，我多次拒絕一起喝茶也讓他們惱火。但我又能怎么辦呢？我就是不想喝茶。理由夠充分吧？

實(shí)則不然。我拒絕喝茶就相當(dāng)于在說：“我不想融入你們的社交圈”或“你們和你們的茶一樣惡心”。因?yàn)楹芸煳冶阏J(rèn)識到，在英國，拒絕一杯茶就是在拒絕別人表達(dá)的一份友誼。

我一直將茶視為一種相對簡單的飲品。當(dāng)然，英國人對此肯定堅(jiān)決不同意。一個人特別的飲茶偏好就是終身承諾。這些偏好可謂涇渭分明。“你想喝什么樣的茶？”這恐怕是英語中最富含用意的一個問題了。加不加奶？放不放糖？茶泡多久？千萬不要問是先加奶還是先加水，除非你準(zhǔn)備好展開全面論戰(zhàn)，否則你將陷入一場由來已久的有關(guān)階層和地區(qū)差異的激烈爭論中。而且，作為一個美國人，你的意見反正也無足輕重。

給人泡茶實(shí)際上是想表達(dá)：“我在意你，喝下這杯熱乎乎的清淡液體吧，這是我專門按你喜歡的方式泡的?！蹦闳绻褪矣阳[了點(diǎn)小矛盾，就問他/她要不要喝一杯茶——對方如果接受了，矛盾就自然而然化解了。這也是不直接處理矛盾的情況下表達(dá)歉意的絕佳方式，至少是你能實(shí)踐的最典型的英式做法。

直到一次拜訪住在英格蘭北部的公婆，我才真正認(rèn)識到飲茶習(xí)慣是多么重要。那次拜訪簡直是災(zāi)難性的。

我的英國公婆是全世界最有禮貌、最和藹、最好客的人。他們盡己所能地招待我，讓我感到頗受歡迎，我從未聽他們說過半句抱怨我的話。

直到三年前的圣誕節(jié)，我第一次給他們泡茶。

首先聲明，說我公公離了茶就活不下去，絕對不是夸張。他一天要喝五杯茶，我從來沒見他喝過白水。大多時候，茶是他補(bǔ)充水分的唯一來源。這令我感到十分苦惱，所以每次去拜訪時，我都會在他手邊再放一杯水，指望著能引誘他喝一小口。

言歸正傳，回到圣誕節(jié)那天。喝了幾輪別人泡的茶后，我發(fā)現(xiàn)到了當(dāng)天喝最后一輪茶的時間，每天晚飯后他們都會喝。為了做一個稱職的兒媳婦，我打算勇挑重?fù)?dān)為大家泡這最后一輪茶。我燒了壺水，泡了茶包，加了牛奶，得意洋洋地將兩杯熱氣騰騰的茶端到公婆面前。

他們不約而同地瞥了一眼茶杯，稍顯猶豫。

然后婆婆評價道：“奶加得有點(diǎn)多了吧？”endprint

這話像刀子一樣直接扎在了我的心上。換作美國人的說法，“奶加得有點(diǎn)多了吧？”就相當(dāng)于“這是我嘗過最差勁的東西！”當(dāng)時我感到無地自容。不過我婆婆頗有涵養(yǎng)，她還是小口小口地抿了幾下。

自此，我一年沒再泡過茶。這也基本給我貼上了被社會遺棄的標(biāo)簽，因?yàn)轱嫴枋怯鐣鱾€階層必不可少的一部分。上至白金漢宮的英國女王，下到建筑工地的壯漢，每個人都喝茶。上層階級、中產(chǎn)階級以及工人階級對于這種國飲的熱愛倒是十分一致。正如我發(fā)現(xiàn)的那樣，飲茶是一種生活方式，也是延伸到工作場所的神圣傳統(tǒng)。

在英國這片綠色宜人的土地上，任何一場會議的開場必先是“把水壺?zé)稀薄Ｒ梢患钍茏锏墓ぷ?，比如整理電子表格，開始之前卻不泡茶，簡直不可想象。不管是給難纏的客戶通電話、乏味的數(shù)據(jù)錄入工作還是一次長時間的演示，總是先泡茶再開工。

其次是每天只要間隔一段時間，就會有“喝茶時間”。每當(dāng)有人工作煩了，起身說：“嘿！有想喝茶的嗎？”這就是喝茶的時間到了。此時，一定會有十幾只手舉起來。而接下來的20分鐘里，這位無私的志愿者就忙活著這些“訂單”了。這種懲罰完全是他們自找的，原因無非有二：要么他們想要悄悄地為茶殉道，要么他們確實(shí)不愿意回去完成電子表格的工作。

茶已經(jīng)成為英國人工作中不可或缺的一部分，一些辦公室甚至配有茶具車。在最為用心的茶水間里，墻上的登記冊上詳細(xì)記載著每位員工的個人飲茶偏好，有時還附有圖表說明。他們對茶的癡迷程度非常吸引我，因?yàn)椤谖叶?，茶并無任何特別之處。當(dāng)然，這話我只能悄悄說，不然他們就該疏遠(yuǎn)我了。

為了弄清楚英國人飲茶的量，我調(diào)查了各式各樣的英國人，詢問他們每天喝幾杯茶。大多數(shù)人的回答是四杯，即使夏天也不例外。我的一個朋友說她每天要飲六到七杯茶。但是為什么呢？

沒錯，茶是一種示好的姿態(tài)。但對許多人來說，茶主要是一種舒適生活的儀式。我那位每天飲七杯茶的朋友說，喝茶總讓她想起她的母親。對許多英國人而言，茶似乎可以將他們包裹在童年和家庭的回憶中。

這樣看來，或許我們都應(yīng)該欣然接受這個傳統(tǒng)。往后心情郁悶時，不管是讀到壞消息也好，跟人大吵了一架也罷，不妨學(xué)學(xué)英國人：燒壺開水，給自己或者同事泡杯茶。來英國的這幾年，我甚至發(fā)現(xiàn)了自己的飲茶偏好，供大家參考：茶包泡一分鐘，加少許牛奶，然后配著一大塊兒蛋糕，享受這遁世的五分鐘。

1. upwards of：……以上，多于……

2. partake [pɑ?（r）?te?k] vi. 分享；分食

3. loaded [?l??d?d] adj. （詞語、說話或問題等）別有深意的，含蓄的

4. all-out：（指攻擊行動）全力的，大舉的；全面的，徹底的

5. age-old：由來已久的

6. bland [bl?nd] adj. （食物）淡而無味的

7. hit home：擊中要害；說到點(diǎn)子上

8. fateful [?fe?tf（?）l] adj. （對未來事件）有重大影響的；災(zāi)難性的

9. bend over backwards：竭盡全力

10. mortified [?m??（r）t?fa?d] adj. 感到窘迫不安的

11. pariah [p??ra??] n. 為社會所摒棄者

12. burly [?b??（r）li] adj. 魁梧的；強(qiáng)壯結(jié)實(shí)的

13. carry over：繼續(xù)存在；轉(zhuǎn)移到別處

14. brew [bru?] n. （沖泡好的）茶

15. transpire [tr?n?spa??（r）] vi. 發(fā)生

16. tea trolley：茶具車

17. roster [?r?st?（r）] n. 值勤表；登記表

18. dollop [?d?l?p] n. 少許endprint