In late February, a mainland tourist caused a disturbance on a Hong Kong subway. The reason? Eating in public.

今年二月底，一位大陆游客在香港地铁里引发一场风波。事发原因便是在公共场所进食。


In Hong Kong it is illegal to eat on the subway, and when the tourist was scolded by a Hong Kong local, the situation escalated into a verbal slinging match.

在香港地铁上进食是明令禁止的。当这位游客遭到一位香港市民训斥后，状况升级为一场激烈骂战。

In New York City, eating on the subway is also controversial. No law bans the practice, but a Democratic state senator introduced one last week.

在纽约，在地铁内进食也是颇受争议的。尽管还没有明令禁止这一行为，但就在上周，一位民主党州参议员已经提出了相关法案。

The proposed law would ban eating on the subway system and fine first time violators $250 (1,579 yuan), according to The New York Times.

据《纽约时报》报道称，这一提案将禁止人们在地铁内进食，初犯者将被处以250美元（约合1579元人民币）的罚金。

Proponents of the bill argue that eating on the subway attracts rats. Others say the broader target should be litterbugs, rather than those who discreetly sip their coffee and eat their bagels on the way to work.

该提案的支持者认为在地铁上进食会招来老鼠。另一些人则主张该提案应将监督目标扩大到那些乱扔垃圾者身上，而不是那些小心地抿着咖啡嚼着百吉饼的上班族。

They also argue that “street food” is an important part of New York’s culture and history. Banning its consumption in public areas such as the subway would have negative effects.

此外，他们还表示“街头食品”是纽约文化和历史的重要组成部分。在地铁等公共场所对这些食品说“不”将带来负面影响。

Street food, and eating in public places is an entrenched cultural practice in cities as diverse as New York, Beijing and Paris.

在诸如纽约、北京、巴黎这样的城市中，街头食品与公共场所进食都是一种根深蒂固的文化惯例。

But while common, it has been traditionally thought of as the domain of the lower classes. Eating in public was (and in some places, still is) associated with uncivilized, poorer people.

但话又说回来，尽管十分普遍，这类行为却一直被看做是下层阶级的行为。人们曾经将在公共场所进食这一行为与野蛮，贫穷联系起来。一些地方现在依然如此。

In the 19th century, eating in public was seen as a threat to morality and public health. Putnam’s (a popular magazine at the time) stated: “Eating in public may beget a certain freedom of manner and nonchalance in little ladies and gentlemen.”

19世纪，在公共场合进食被看做是对道德和公共卫生的一种威胁。当时的一本名为《Putnam’s》的流行杂志曾写道：“在公共场合进食，可能会导致一定程度上对礼仪的放纵，而且是对有教养的孩童的无视（给他们树立了糟糕的礼仪形象）。”

It was something people in the Victorian era did not want to encourage.

在维多利亚时代，人们不提倡这么做。

A recent New York Times article drew a link between this moral panic about street food and concern over the growing populations of Irish, German, Italian and Jewish immigrants who ran food carts in the 1800s.

《纽约时报》的一篇文章将这次街头食品引发的道德争论与19世纪初爱尔兰、德国、意大利和犹太移民不断增多所引发的担忧联系在一起，当时这些移民就以经营食品推车为生。

“To Victorian society, immigrant street peddlers were “hucksters,” a name that retains a whiff of moral judgment to this day.”

“对于维多利亚社会而言，这些身为街头小贩的外来人口被看做是“叫卖小贩”，直到现在，这一词汇还是带有一点道德评判的意味。

In Australia, street food is not something you see every day. Carts selling tasty morsels only come out for festivals or market days.

而在澳大利亚，街头小吃并不常见。只有在节日或是集市上才能见到那些贩卖美味的食品推车。

However, eating in public places such as parks is encouraged. Outdoor barbeques at the beach or picnics in the countryside are common.

而在公园这类的公共场所吃东西却是得到提倡的。沙滩上的露天烧烤或乡间野餐也都十分普遍。

While eating on public transport is discouraged, it would unlikely lead to any sort of conflict in Australia.

尽管人们不赞成在公共交通系统上进食，但在澳大利亚这样做并不会引来争议。

From an Australian perspective, street food is an exciting new dining opportunity, and not one I would associate with being uncivilized. It’s also very tasty.

而从澳大利亚人的角度来看，街头小吃是一次令人喜出望外的全新用餐体验，我不会把其中任何一个与不文明联系起来。再说，它们的确很好吃。

China’s street food scene is similar to that of New York City’s: it is a culturally entrenched practice and one that adds a lot of color and flavor to the streetscape.

在中国，街头小吃遍地的景象和纽约十分相似：这是一种根深蒂固的文化行为，街头小吃也使中国的街景变得更加活色生香。

But whether you love eating street food, or have to eat your breakfast on the run, it’s best to be considerate when enjoying a bite in public.

但无论你是否喜爱吃街头小吃，或者是否不得已要在奔波中吃早餐，还是在公共场所享用美食的同时，也能体谅一下身边的人。

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