Please read to the end. (This article is from a Malaysian.) It is in English and Chinese.
~~~~~德 國的一張罰單~~~~~值 得馬來西亞人沈思
德 國是個工業化程度很高的國家,說到賓士,BMW, 西門子……沒 有人不知道,世界上用於核子反 應爐中最好的核心泵就是在德國 的一個小鎮上產生的。
在 這樣一個發達國家,人們的生活一定是紙醉金迷燈紅酒綠吧。
去德國考察前,我們在描繪著、揣摩著這個國度。
Germany is a highly industrialised country. It produces top brands like Benz, BMW, Simons etc. The nuclear reactor pump is made in a small town in this country. In such a country, many will think its people lead a luxurious life. At least that was my impression before my study trip.
到 達港口城市漢堡之時,我們習慣先去餐館,已在駐地的同事免不 了要為我們接風洗塵。
走 進餐館,我們一行穿過桌多人少的中餐館大廳,心裡犯疑惑:這 樣冷清清的場面,飯店能開下去 嗎?更可笑的是一對用餐? 侶 的桌子上,只擺有一個碟子,裡面只放著兩種菜,兩罐啤酒,如此簡單,是否影響他們的甜蜜聚 會?如果是男士買單,是否太小 氣,他不怕女友跑掉?
When I arrived at Hamburg , my colleagues who work in Hamburg arranged a welcome party for me in a restaurant. As we walked into the restaurant, we noticed that a lot of tables were empty. There was a table where a young couple was having their meal. There were only two dishes and two cans of beer on the table. I wondered if such simple meal could be romantic, and whether the girl will leave this stingy guy.
另外一桌是幾位白人老太太在悠閒地用餐,每道菜上桌後,服務生很快的幫她們分配好,然後就被她們吃光光了。
There were a few old ladies on another table. When a dish is served, the waiter would distribute the food for them, and they would finish every bit of the food on their plates.
我們不再過多的注意她們,而是盼著自己的大餐快點上來。駐地的同事看到大家飢餓的樣子,就多點了些菜,大家也不推讓,大有「宰」駐地同事的意思。
We did not pay much attention to them, as we were looking forward to the dishes we ordered. As we were hungry, our local colleague ordered more food for us.
餐 館客人不多,上菜很快,我們的桌子很快被碟碗堆滿,看來,今 天我們是這裡的大富豪了。狼吞虎嚥之後,想到面還有活動,就 不再戀酒菜,這一餐很快就結束了。結果還有三分之一沒有吃 掉,剩在桌面上。
As the restaurant was quiet, the food came quite fast. Since there were other activities arranged for us, we did not spend much time dining. When we left, there were still about one third of unconsumed food on the table.
結 完賬,個個剔著牙,歪歪扭扭地出了餐館大門。出門沒走幾步,餐館裡有人在叫我們。不知是怎麼回事:是否誰的東西忘 記了?我們都好奇,回頭去看看。原來是那幾個白人老太太,在和飯店老闆嘰哩呱 啦說著什麼,好像是針對我們的。看到我們都圍來了,老太太改說英文,我們就都能聽懂了,她在說我們剩的菜太多,太浪費了。我們覺得好笑,這老太太多管閒事!
When we were leaving the restaurant, we heard someone calling us. We noticed the old ladies in the restaurant were talking about us to the restaurant owner. When they spoke to us in English, we understood that they were unhappy about us wasting so much food. We immediately felt that they were really being too busybody.
「我們花錢吃飯買單,剩多少,關妳老太太什麼事?」 同事阿桂當時站出來,想和老太太練練口語。
"We paid for our food, it is none of your business how much food we left behind," my colleague Gui told the old ladies.
聽 到阿桂這樣一說,老太太更生氣了,為首的老太太立馬掏出手機,撥打著什麼電話。一兒,一個穿制服的人開車來了,稱是社會保障機構的工作人 員。問完情況後,這位工作人員居然拿 出罰單,開出50馬克的罰款! 。
The old ladies were furious. One of them immediately took her handphone out and made a call to someone. After a while, a man in uniform claimed to be an officer from the Social Security organisation arrived. Upon knowing what the dispute was, he issued us a 50 Mark fine.
這 下我們都不吭氣了,阿桂的臉不知道扭到哪裡去了,也不敢再練 口語了。駐 地的同事只好拿出50馬 克,並一再說: 「對不起!」
We all kept quiet. The local colleague took out a 50 Mark note and repeatedly apologized to the officer.
這位工作人員收下馬克,鄭重地對我們說:「需要吃多少,就點多少!錢是你的,但資源是全社會的,世界上有則人還缺少資源,你們不能夠也沒有理由浪費!」
The officer told us in a stern voice, "ORDER WHAT YOU CAN CONSUME, MONEY IS YOURS BUT RESOURCES BELONG TO THE SOCIETY. THERE ARE MANY OTHERS IN THE WORLD WHO ARE FACING SHORTAGE OF RESOURCES. YOU HAVE NO REASON TO WASTE RESOURCES."
我 們臉都紅了。但我們在心裡卻都認同這句話。這個富有的國家裡,人們還有這種意識。我們得好好反思:我們是個資源不是很豐富的國家,而且人口眾多,平時請客吃飯,剩下的總是很多,主人怕客人吃 不好丟面子,擔心被客人看成小氣鬼,就點很多的菜,反正都有剩,你不會怪我不大方吧。
Our face turned red. We all agreed with him in our hearts. The mindset of people of this rich country put all of us to shame. WE REALLY NEED TO REFLECT ON THIS. We are from country which is not very rich in resources.
To save face, we order large quanitity and also waste food when we give others a treat. THIS LESSON TAUGHT US A LESSON TO THINK SERIOUSLY ABOUT CHANGING OUR BAD HABITS.
事實上,我們真的需要改變我們的一些習慣了,並且還要樹立「大社會」的意識,再也不能「窮大方」了。
那天,駐地的同事把罰單複印後,給每人一張做紀念,我們都願意接受並決心保存著。阿桂說,回去後,他會再複印一些送給別人,自己的一張就貼在家裡的牆壁上,以便時常提醒自己。
My colleague photostated the fine ticket and gave a copy to each of us as a souvenir. All of us kept it and pasted on our wall to remind us that we shall never be wasteful.