Plane truth means enjoying every flight 商务舱真的够商务么？

One of the drawbacks of being a journalist is that you generally sit in the back of the aircraft whereas the people you interview usually get to sit in the front. 身为记者，有一点不好的地方就是你通常挤在飞机的后部，而你要采访的人却坐在飞机的前部。 When you have your notebook and recorder at the ready you might for a brief moment have the upper hand but all social order is restored when the people who view the world from 35,000 feet recline into their seats and avail themselves of a glass of champagne and, hopefully, a complimentary copy of China Daily. 当你把笔记本、录音设备准备妥当，有那么片刻时间，你会觉得自己处于上风，但是当身处三万五千英尺高位的受访者舒服地躺在座椅上，慢慢地开始品尝香槟，一切社会秩序都恢复原样了，当然希望他会阅读机上赠阅的《中国日报》。 Being a member of a number of frequent-flyer programs, I have to admit, however, to being occasionally upgraded myself. 作为一大堆飞行常旅客计划的会员，我不得不承认，自己偶尔还是享受到了些许服务提升的。 In a rare moment of indulgence I even splashed out earlier this month on a discounted business return fair from Beijing to Bangkok with Cathay Pacific, which actually lived up to expectations. 本月早些时候迎来了一个难得的放纵时刻，我甚至花钱订了国泰航空（Cathay Pacific）从北京飞往曼谷的商务机票，虽然是打折的，但确实物有所值。 Some experiences of premium travel can leave a lot to be desired, however. 然而，还有一些高端旅行的经历仍然留有不少遗憾。 A well-known Western China politics expert of my acquaintance traveling on a Chinese airline, which will remain nameless, from Sydney complained about the onboard service to one of the aircrew. She just replied nonchalantly with a polite smile that everybody said that to her. 我认识一位西方著名的中国政治专家，有一次他从悉尼乘坐一家中国航空公司的航班，公司的名字暂且不提。这位专家向一位乘务员抱怨飞机上的服务不够好。而那位乘务员仅仅只是漠不关心地报以礼貌的微笑，并说他不是第一个这样讲的。 In another more gruesome incident, a friend traveling business class with a famous Middle Eastern airline pulled out his tray to find it covered in a thin veneer of what looked and smelt like a previous passenger’s vomit. 在另一个更可怕的事件中，我的一位朋友乘坐的是中东一家著名航空公司航班的商务舱。当他拿出自己位置的托盘时，发现上面覆盖着一层薄薄的东西，这些东西看起来、闻起来都像是之前乘客的呕吐物。 I sometimes feel there is actually something oxymoronic about the term business class. 有时我觉得“商务舱”这个词是有一点自相矛盾的。 If I have any serious reading, have an article to write, note making to do or just want to work on my Chinese, I find it much easier to do it in economy where the temptations are far fewer. 如果我要认真阅读，写写文章，做做笔记或是仅仅想要学习中文，那么在经济舱这个诱惑少得多的地方会容易很多。 When traveling business class after the champagne on boarding, my usual aperitif of vodka (Stolichnaya, if they have it) and tonic and the carefully selected wines over a three-course lunch or dinner, I really can’t focus on anything other than a light movie. 在乘坐商务舱的时候，喝过刚登机时的香槟，开胃酒伏特加（最好是苏联红牌，如果他们有的话），汤利水，吃过三道菜的午餐或晚餐以及精心挑选的餐后酒之后，我除了再看一部轻松的电影之外实在是没心思干别的事情了。 That tome on modern Asian politics that I have to review will just have to wait. 那本关于现代亚洲政治的书看来是不得不推迟了。 Of course, many that travel business class regularly don’t actually indulge in any the indulgences on offer. 当然，很多需要定期坐商务舱出差的人实际上并不会对飞机上提供享用的服务多看一眼。 A contact of mine traveled from London to deliver a lecture in Washington before giving another one in Munich the night after. 我的一位朋友要从伦敦坐飞机到华盛顿进行一场讲座，到了第二天晚上还要在慕尼黑开始第二场。 He abstained of any food or drink (apart from one light breakfast and coffee) and just took advantage of the ability to sleep on the reclined beds so he could remain functioning with such a schedule. 他没有吃任何事物（除了一份清淡的早餐以及咖啡），仅仅凭借能够在简易床上入睡的能力就足以在排得如此满的计划下持续工作。 That did not seem the modus operandi for most at the business lounge at Suvarnabhumi Airport in Bangkok I was in last week. 不过这对上周我所处的曼谷机场（Suvarnabhumi Airport）商务休息室中的大多数人来说似乎并不是惯例。 I was reminded of the English playwright Alan Bennett who recently complained about the “dispiriting greed” of people when it came to hotel breakfast buffets. 我想起了英国剧作家阿兰·本奈特（Alan Bennett）。他最近批评了人们享用酒店自助餐时表现出来的“令人沮丧的贪婪”。 I was more amused than appalled that quite a few were piling up their plates and downing bottles of beer, despite it being early morning and that meals awaited them after boarding. 当看到不少人早餐的时候就在桌子上堆满食物，大口喝啤酒，哪怕登机之后还有食物等着他们时，我更多的是觉得好笑，而非吃惊。 They certainly didn’t appear to be on any form of business but who am I to tell? 他们肯定没有进行任何形式的商务活动，但我又有什么资格说呢？ The late great British journalist Alan Whicker, famous for globetrotting, said that he coped with flying by drinking all the champagne on offer and eating everything put in front of him. 因满世界跑新闻而闻名于世，已故的伟大英国记者艾兰·维克（Alan Whicker）说过，面对无休止的飞行，他都是靠着喝光飞机提供的香槟以及吃光摆在他面前的食物来应付。 With having to deal with all the security and other hassle at airports these days, perhaps we should all actually follow his example whichever class category we happen to be in. 为了应对现在机场的安保工作以及其他麻烦事，无论我们买的是哪种舱的票，或许都应该像他那样做。