2010高级口译阅读训练文章：法国小酒馆的命运

1、.2010高级口译阅读训练文章：法国小酒馆的命运Time running out for Frances faltering bistrosTimes are hard for Le Fontenoy, the only surviving cafe in this village in north-central France which once had three, as well as a butchers, a boulangerie, a grocers and a restaurant. Now, as changing habits and new laws alter the

2、 residents relationship with an erstwhile local fixture, its future is looking bleak. It is a bistro with no kitchen, a former tabac with no cigarettes, and Letouzeys coffers are as empty as his bottle of pastis.In a last-ditch attempt to save the cafe he deems the social link of the village, the de

3、termined patron has launched an online appeal for donations which he hopes will bring in enough money to keep the business afloat in the short term. If he does not get the 10,000 (9,000) he has asked for, he warns, well be dead. Itll be quick.The fundraising mission at Fontenay-Saint-Pre, about 35 m

4、iles north-west of Paris, has attracted considerable media attention. But its struggle is just the tip of the iceberg. Last year, in its le de France region alone, about 2,000 bistros and cafes went under. Across France as a whole, about are 35,000 still open. In the 1960s there were 200,000.Last we

5、ek Le Parisien, the capitals daily newspaper, issued a clarion call for the hard-hit bistro, warning on its front page that time was running out to save the fast disappearing bastion of jambon beurre baguettes, egg mayonnaise, jokes, chat and table football.But opinions are divided on how to go abou

6、t this. Many, including the government, feel that it is up to the industry to adapt according to the needs of society and that any business that cannot keep up with the pace of change does not deserve to survive.Bernard Quartier, president of an industry group representing cafes and brasseries, beli

7、eves the onus is on owners to provide their customers with new services, such as showing sporting events on television or offering coffees for the symbolically low price of one euro. (Parisian customers can often expect to pay almost three times as much for an espresso.)But while the need to adapt i

8、s widely acknowledged, others feel this approach is short-sighted. For them, the combined effect of a smoking ban, a drink-driving crackdown, the arrival of supermarkets and a widespread reliance on mobile phones and computers for human interaction has made the forces working against local establish

9、ments too great for individual patrons to withstand.Letouzey now plans to follow the words of Balzac and strengthen the bistros role as a parliament of the people by holding more concerts at the weekend, so-called cafe philo sessions for debate, and fairytale readings for children.Maybe it sounds a

10、bit utopian, the patron says, but close the cafe and neighbours wont meet each other any more. They go to work, they go home. Not every neighbour is going to make the effort to approach others.As soon as its nice outside everyone is on the terrace and the bar is deserted, he said. People are more in

11、dividualistic. There are still some people who come in to have a chat over a drink or a coffee but they are rare. Thats society changing People have less time for each other. In Paris, that is; in the provinces its different.For the hundred or so regulars of Le Fontenoy battling to save their bistro

12、 it is certainly different.Its a place where I come a lot, just to chat, meet friends, talk about our days, our personal stuff, said Tony Carrier. I remember when there were places like that all over the village, and now this is the only one. It would be a real shame if it closed.Pulling together to organise fundraising concerts and community events, the bistros patrons have made clear their loyalty to a building that has served for years as their local l