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High above Beijing’s financial district, on the sixth floor of a futuristic commercial complex, is a little slice of New York City.
北京金融区里，在一个未来风格的商业大楼六层，有一小片纽约市。
Playing off a Chinese obsession with the sitcom “Friends,” it is a cafe called Central Perk, just like the fictitious place where Chandler, Joey, Ross, Rachel, Monica and Phoebe hung out.
借着中国观众对情景喜剧《老友记》的痴迷，这家小店叫作中央公园咖啡馆，和电视剧里钱德勒、乔伊、罗斯、瑞秋、莫妮卡和菲比常常泡在里面的那个虚构的咖啡馆一模一样。
The Beijing version is constructed much like a set, with low brick-patterned walls erected over smooth concrete. Glass cases display obscure references to specific episodes: a Lionel Richie record (“The One With the Giant Poking Device”), a copy of “What to Expect When You’re Expecting” (“The One With the Rumor”), a replica of the mirror from Monica’s apartment.
北京版的中央公园咖啡馆很像一个拍摄现场，光滑的混凝土外面砌起低矮的、砖头图案的墙壁。玻璃柜里放着各类道具，隐晦地指向某些具体的桥段：一张莱昂纳尔•里奇(Lionel Richie)的唱片（《丑陋裸男死了？》一集）、一本《怀孕期间注意事项》（《谣言》一集）、莫妮卡公寓镜子的复制品。
It’s run by Du Xin, a Beijing native who opened the place in 2010 hoping to recreate the show’s ethos of camaraderie. With his shaved head and light complexion, Du Xin shares a passing resemblance to Gunther, the hapless deadpan waiter. Oh, and the cafe’s Wi-Fi password? iloverachel.
咖啡馆的老板是北京人杜鑫（音），他在2010年开了这家店，希望重现剧中的友爱氛围。杜鑫剃着板寸，皮肤白皙，一眼看过去还有点像甘瑟(Gunther)，也就是剧中那个老是面无表情的倒霉服务员。对了，这家咖啡馆的Wi-Fi密码？iloverachel（意为我爱瑞秋——译注）。
There’s a vague sense of role-playing; customers order desserts named after the characters who ordered them on the show, sit at tables named after each character and fend off Smelly Cat, the cafe pet. The next room is done up like Joey and Chandler’s place, complete with darts and foosball.
这里隐隐有种角色扮演的感觉；客人点的甜品是按在剧中点过相应甜品的角色命名的；桌子也分别对应着角色的名字；客人们像剧中人物一样，阻止咖啡店的宠物臭臭猫靠近自己。隔壁房间装修成了乔伊和钱德勒的家，配有飞镖和桌上足球。
People lounge on the giant orange couch for hours watching reruns of the show, which are always playing. A thick silence, punctuated only by the raucous laugh track, permeates the cafe; everyone is glued to the television screen.
人们窝在巨大的橙色沙发上，几小时几小时地看《老友记》重播。这里总是很安静，穿插着剧中喧闹的背景笑声，每个人都紧盯着电视屏幕。
“ ‘Friends’ is a fantasy,” said Yang Gao, an assistant professor of sociology at Singapore Management University who has studied the show’s significance among Chinese millennials. “The show provides a window into a set of lives that appear less controlled, less structured and burdened by test-taking, rankings, family commitments and government oversight.”
“《老友记》是一种幻想，”新加坡管理大学的助理教授高洋（音）说。她曾研究这一剧集对于中国千禧一代的意义。“这部剧提供了一个窗口，进入一种不那么被控制的生活，没有那么多考试、排名、家庭承诺和政府监管的负担。”
At Central Perk, for the price of a cup of coffee, one can escape, if only for a few episodes.
在中央公园咖啡馆，用一杯咖啡的价格，你可以逃离现实，哪怕只是几集电视剧的时间。
