巴铁：看完就明白中国人为什么在这里受欢迎

　　ISLAMABAD， Pakistan-At breakfast at my hotel I was having trouble with the cornflake dispenser。 It was one of those tall cylindrical containers with a lever at the bottom that needed to be turned for the cornflakes to tumble out， only the lever was stuck。 I gave up in frustration and almost walked into a young woman who'd been observing my dismal efforts。

　　伊斯兰堡，巴基斯坦-酒店里的早餐时分，我在取玉米片的时候遇到了一些麻烦。装玉米片的是个底部带把手的圆柱体容器，按下把手玉米片才会流出来，而把手卡住了。我深感挫败，于是放弃了准备走开，但差点撞到一位年轻女人身上，她刚才应该看到了我的窘境。

　　"Dui Bu Qui，" (excuse me)， she said， addressing me in Mandarin， before simply opening the top of the container and ladling out her cornflakes。

　　“对不起。”她用普通话跟我讲到，然后直接打开了容器的盖子，用勺子盛出了玉米片。

　　he then returned to a table of what looked to me like Chinese businessmen。 She was by far the smartest-dressed at the table， the translator I assumed， while the men-ruddy faced， a bit rough around the edges， and looking a little uncomfortable in dark suits and ties-were fairly typical of the traders or small town entrepreneurs I'm more familiar with on trips to provincial China。

　　之后她回到了一张看起来坐着中国商人的桌边。她是桌上穿着最漂亮的，我猜也许是翻译。男人们脸色红润，细节处不够精致，看起来穿着黑色西装系着领带让他们感到有点不适。他们是非常典型的商人或者小镇企业家，我在中国旅行时对他们非常熟悉。

　　I looked further around the restaurant。 There were several more tables of what looked to me like Chinese businessmen， while at the back， more discretely seated， was a more polished group， Chinese diplomats or bankers perhaps， pouring over some documents。 (Possibly the latest photos of the American stealth helicopter downed in the Osama bin Laden raid， one colleague mischievously suggested。 The Chinese military is allegedly anxious to get a look at the plans for the sophisticated chopper that was capable of evading radar detection)。

　　我环顾了下酒店，还有好几桌看起来像是中国商人的桌子。而在后面，零星坐着一群更加优雅的人，也许是中国外交官或者银行家。他们在翻看着某些文件。（一位同事开玩笑地说，也许是最新的在围剿本拉登时坠毁的美国隐形直升机的照片。中国军方已经迫不及待地想要看看能躲过雷达侦测的先进直升机的设计图了。）

　　The reason I mention this is because this restaurant， in one of Islamabad's best and most secure hotels， has always been an anthropologists dream。

　　我提到这些的理由是因为，这是伊斯兰堡最好最安全的酒店之一，它一直以来都是人类学家的梦想之地。