評論
打印
If cellphone calling comes to airplanes, it is likely to be the last call for manners.
倘若飛機上能用手機打電話，這可能會宣告機艙彬彬有禮氛圍的終結。
The prospect is still down the road a bit, and a good percentage of the population can be counted on to be polite. But etiquette experts who already are fuming over the proliferation of digital rudeness aren't optimistic.
這一愿景尚需時日才能成真，而且預計多數人都是能夠遵守禮節的。不過，已經被四處泛濫的與數碼產品相關的粗魯行為惹惱的禮儀專家對此卻并不樂觀。
Jodi R.R. Smith, owner of Mannersmith Etiquette Consulting in Massachusetts, says the biggest problem is forced proximity. It is hard to be discreet when just inches separate passengers. And it isn't possible to escape.
馬薩諸塞州禮儀咨詢公司Mannersmith Etiquette Consulting的老板約迪・R.R.史密斯(Jodi R.R. Smith)稱，最大的問題是飛機上大家不得不緊挨著坐。如果乘客之間的間隔只有幾英寸，那就很難做到言行周全，而且其他人還無法逃離。
'If I'm on an airplane, and my seatmate starts making a phone call, there's not a lot of places I can go,' she says.
她說：“假如我坐在飛機上，我的同座開始打電話，我能夠躲的地方可不多。”
Should the Federal Communications Commission allow cellphone calls on airplanes above 10,000 feet, and if the airlines get on board, one solution would be to create yakking and non-yakking sections of aircraft, or designate flights for either the chatty or the taciturn, as airlines used to do for smoking.
如果美國聯邦通訊委員會(Federal Communications Commission，簡稱“FCC”)準許乘客在飛機飛行到10,000英尺（約合3,050米）以上的高度時打電話，而且航空公司也予以實施，應對方案之一就是在飛機上設立聊天區和非聊天區，或者為喜好聊天和沉默寡言之人安排不同的航班，就如航空公司過去對吸煙采取的做法一樣。
Barring such plans, there are four things you should consider before placing a phone call on an airplane, Ms. Smith says:
史密斯說，撇開這些舉措不談，有四件事情是你在飛機上打電話之前應該考慮的：
-- Will you disturb those around you?
──你會打擾到身邊的人嗎？
-- Will you be ignoring companions you should be paying attention to?
──你會忽視你應該關注的同伴嗎？
-- Will you be discussing confidential topics?
──你談論的是機密話題嗎？
-- Is it an emergency?
──電話是否緊急？
The answer to the last question needs to be 'Yes,' she says, and even then, make the call brief.
史密斯指出，最后一個問題的答案必須是“是”，而且即使緊急，通話也要簡短。
'I find that the vast majority of people will get it,' she says. 'It's just the few that don't who will make life uncomfortable for the rest of us.'
她說：“我發現絕大多數人都明白這一點，只有少數不明白的人才會讓其他人感覺不舒服。”
FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler said last week that there is no technical reason to maintain what has been a long-standing ban.
FCC主席湯姆・惠勒(Tom Wheeler)不久前表示，維持這樣一個長期禁令不是出于技術方面的原因。
Airlines are approaching the issue cautiously because many customers have expressed strong feelings against cellphone use.
航空公司在處理這個問題時非常謹慎，因為許多乘客都強烈反對在飛機上使用手機。
'I believe fistfights at 39,000 feet would become common place,' says Alan Smith, a frequent flier from El Dorado Hills, Calif. 'I would be terrified that some very large fellow, after a few drinks, would beat up a passenger annoying him by using the phone.'
家住加州埃爾多拉多山(El Dorado Hills)的艾倫・史密斯(Alan Smith)經常乘飛機出行。他說：“我覺得在39,000英尺高空的打斗會變成常見之事，比如有個大個子，喝了幾杯之后就痛揍那個用手機打電話把他惹惱的乘客，這會讓我很害怕。”
Minneapolis etiquette consultant Gretchen Ditto says cellphone use likely will become commonplace on planes since our expectations have changed about when people should be reachable.
明尼阿波利斯禮儀顧問格雷琴・迪托(Gretchen Ditto)稱，在飛機上使用手機可能會成為常事，因為我們對何時能聯系到他人的期許已經發生了改變。
Passengers will feel obliged to answer calls, she says. 'It's going to become more prevalent for returning phone calls, and it's going to be more annoying to everybody.'
迪托說，乘客會覺得有必要接聽電話，“回電話變得更普遍，這讓每個人感覺更煩”。
Electronic devices are taking over our lives, says Arden Clise, an etiquette expert in Seattle. We text during romantic dinners, answer email during meetings and shop online during Thanksgiving. Making a call on a plane is only marginally more rude.
西雅圖禮儀專家阿登・克萊斯(Arden Clise)稱，電子設備逐漸主宰了我們的生活。我們在浪漫晚餐上發短信，在開會時回電子郵件，感恩節期間在網上購物，與這些相比，在飛機上打電話只是略微粗魯了一些。
'Are we saying that our tools are more important than the people in front of us?' she asks. Even if you don't know your in-flight neighbor, ask yourself, 'Do I want to be that annoying person,' Ms. Clise says.
她問道：“這么做是表示我們的工具比我們眼前的人更重要嗎？”即使你不認識飛機上的鄰座，你也要自問：“我想成為一個讓人討厭的家伙嗎？”
If airlines decide to allow calls, punching someone's lights out clearly wouldn't be the best way to get some peace, says New Jersey etiquette consultant Mary Harris. But tensions often run high during flights, and fights could happen.
新澤西禮儀顧問瑪麗・哈里斯(Mary Harris)說，如果航空公司決定允許乘客打電話，暴打別人一頓顯然不是獲得清靜的最佳方法。然而，飛行期間機艙氣氛往往會變得高度緊張，所以打斗是有可能會發生的。
If someone is bothering you with a phone call, Ms. Harris advises asking politely for the person to end the conversation. If that doesn't work, you're stuck.
哈里斯建議，如果別人打電話打擾到了你，你可以禮貌地要求他結束通話。如果此舉不起作用，那你就難辦了。
In-flight cellphone calls have been possible in Europe for several years. But U.K. etiquette expert William Hanson says they haven't caught on.
在歐洲，早在好幾年前就可以在飛機上打電話了，但英國禮儀專家威廉・漢森(William Hanson)稱這并沒有普及。
If you need to make a call, he advises leaving your seat for the area near the lavatory or door. If it is night and the lights are dimmed, 'you should not make a call at your seat,' he says.
漢森建議，如果你需要打電話，可離開座位走到洗手間或門口附近的區域。他說，如果當時是晚上且燈光昏暗，“那你就不應該在座位上打電話了”。
Calls used to be possible on U.S. flights using Airfone units installed on the planes, but the technology never became popular. When people made calls, they were usually brief, in part because they cost $2 a minute, says Tony Lent, a telecommunication consultant in Detroit who worked on Airfone products in the 1980s.
過去旅客搭乘美國航班時可使用飛機上安裝的Airfone通話，但這項技術從未流行開來。曾在上世紀80年代參與開發Airfone的底特律電信顧問托尼・倫特(Tony Lent)說，旅客用它打電話時，時間通常都很簡短，部分原因是電話費要兩美元一分鐘。
The situation might be different today. 'People were much more prudent about using their mobile phones,' Mr. Lent says. 'Nowadays, those social mores are gone.'
現在的情況或許有所不同。倫特說：“過去大家在使用手機時要謹慎得多，現如今這些社會道德觀念都消失了。”
Several years ago, when the government considered lifting its cellphone ban, U.S. Rep. Tom Petri co-sponsored the Halting Airplane Noise to Give Us Peace Act of 2008. The bill would have allowed texting and other data applications but banned voice calls. He was motivated by 'a sense of courtesy,' he says. The bill was never brought to a vote.
幾年前，當美國政府考慮解除對使用手機的禁令時，眾議員湯姆・彼得里(Tom Petri)在2008年聯合他人提出了《停止機上噪音還我們清靜法案》(Halting Airplane Noise to Give Us Peace Act)。該法案允許在飛機上發短信和進行其他數據應用操作，但禁止語音通話。彼得里稱，他提出該法案是出于“禮節意識”。該法案從未提交投票表決。
Mr. Petri says he will try again if the FCC allows calls this time around. What if his bill doesn't pass? 'I suppose you can get earplugs,' he says.
他說，如果這一次FCC允許機上通話，他會再次嘗試提交法案。萬一該法案未獲通過？他的回答是：“我想你可以用耳塞。”
A rude cellphone call wouldn't be as bad as the in-flight faux pas witnessed by Ms. Smith, the etiquette consultant, a couple of years ago on a flight from Boston to Los Angeles. Her seatmate was 'watching a pornographic film,' she says.
不過，與禮儀顧問史密斯幾年前在波士頓至洛杉磯的一趟航班上所目睹的機上失禮行為相比，粗魯的電話通話還不算那么糟糕。她說，當時她的同座“在看一部色情電影”。
