双语：中国白领合租生活难像《老友记》

　　It's business as usual at Central Perk. On the plush,brightlycolored couches, fashionable 20-somethings lounge around ontheir lunchbreaks, sipping lattes and chatting with friends. Behind thecounter,Gunther cleans the gaudy, oversize mugs and puts them away。

　　It's a scene comfortably familiar to any fan of the '90s TVshowFriends. But this is not '90s Manhattan; this is Beijing, 2010. Andthecouches are peopled not by hip New Yorkers but by upwardlymobileChinese young professionals who come in search of the easygoingFriendslifestyle that is increasingly hard to find in Beijing'sstressedhousing market。

　　China's Central Perk, a painstakingly detailed reconstruction oftheTV original, is tucked away in a corner of a downtown Beijingofficetower. It is the brainchild of Chinese businessman Du Xin, whogavehimself the English name Gunther in honor of the show'slong-sufferingbarista. "Friends is very popular among Chinese youngpeople because itfulfills a need they have for friendship," says Du."Beijing is such abig city, it's very easy for you to feel lonely. Ithink there shouldbe a place where you feel safe and comfortable and canhang out."

　　For many of the young professionals, China's property boomistranslating into a decidedly untelegenic lifestyle. Asgovernmentstimulus funds and eager investors flock to the real estatesector,rents across the nation are soaring. In Beijing, where theaveragemonthly salary is roughly 3,700 yuan ($545)， the monthly rent foratypical one-bedroom apartment was about 2,900 yuan ($427) as ofJune.That leaves many with no choice but to find people to share theirhomewith. More and more, flatmates are sharing small, crampedapartmentswith several other people - a lifestyle less reminiscent ofFriendsthan of another TV favorite of Chinese youth, Prison Break。

　　The shortage of affordable housing is not exclusively aBeijingproblem. An official crackdown on real estate speculation thatwasstarted early this year, coupled with new regulations to promotetheconstruction of more affordable housing, should lower prices andbringsome relief to Beijing's beleaguered house hunters. There aresignsthat the measures are already having some effect, but what changesdocome will inevitably come slowly. House prices in Beijing felljust0.4% in June, month on month。

　　For now, many of Beijing's young professionals will have to putupwith cramped accommodations and a shortage of personal space.WangXiyuan, a 27-year-old Beijing office worker sitting on Du'sCentralPerk's orange couch, was unable to afford her own place untilrecently.Before, she and a friend were sharing a two-room flat in whichthe onlycommunal space was a tiny kitchen. "What attracted me mostaboutFriends was the friendship between the roommates," Wang says. "Butit'snot easy to live with a friend. Chinese people are sometimes too shytotell you what they really think. They just get madder and madderatyou, but don't tell you."

　　《时代周刊》8月5日文章：在北京，3个乃至8个室友都可能不是一伙

　　又是Central Perk的例行公事。几个时尚的二十来岁年轻人坐在舒适鲜艳的沙发上享受午餐休闲时光，喝喝咖啡，聊聊天。吧台后面，冈瑟擦着华丽的大马克杯并把它们摆放好。

　　这是一个让上世纪90年代电视剧《老友记》的粉丝感到颇为熟悉的场景。但事实上，这一切并没有发生在90年代的曼哈顿，而是2010年的北京。坐在沙发上的这群人也不是时髦的纽约人，而是向上奋斗的中国职场年轻人在寻找如《老友记》般轻松的生活方式。面对北京压力重重的房产市场，要过上这样的生活越来越不容易。

　　中国CentralPerk这个让人煞费苦心的电视剧复制品坐落于北京市中心一座写字楼的角落，店主人是位叫杜鑫(音)的中国商人。他给自己起了个英文名叫“冈瑟”，以表示对《老友记》中任劳任怨的吧台招待的敬意。“《老友记》在中国年轻人中很受欢迎，因为它满足了大家对友谊的需要，”杜说。“北京是个大城市，人们很容易感到孤独。我想应该有这样一个地方让他们感到安全和舒适，还可以聚会。”

　　对于许多年轻白领，中国的高房价让他们的生活方式绝不可能像电视上一样。由于政府的刺激性资金和饥渴的投资者大量涌向房地产市场，全国的房租都在飙升。在北京，白领的收入平均约为3700元，而截至六月份，一间典型的一居室的月租就为2900元。这让很多人毫无选择只能找人合租。久而久之，便是好几个人合租一间狭小拥挤的公寓——这种生活已经不太像《老友记》了，倒是更像中国人喜欢的另外一部电视剧：《越狱》。

　　经济使用房短缺的问题并不只在北京有。日前一位官员否认今年年初流传的房价传言，加大适用性住房建设的新规定出台，这一切让房价有所降低，也让买房者们松了口气。这些标志着政府政策产生了一些效果，但不可避免的，变化很慢。北京房价月环比只下降了0.4%。

　　如今，许多北京年轻白领还得忍受狭小的居所和有限的个人空间。王熙媛(音)今年27岁，也是个白领，她正坐在杜的CentralPerk的橘色沙发上。她不久前还付不起房租。那段时间，她和朋友合租一间两居室，而唯一共享的空间就是厨房。“《老友记》吸引我的是室友间的友谊，”王说。”但是和一个室友合租并不容易。中国人有时候过于害羞，不告诉你他们内心的想法。结果他们对你越来越不满意，但就是不跟你说。”