美国国家公共电台 NPR Video: Animal Cafes Are Cool, But Does A Raccoon Cafe Go Too Far?

 

RACHEL MARTIN, HOST:

The cafe industry can be cutthroat at times. You got to have the thing - right? - a gimmick¹ to distinguish yourself, maybe an avocado latte or a cafe where you can nap. NPR's Elise Hu checked out a cafe in South Korea where you can sip² a cup of coffee and cuddle a creature.

ELISE HU, BYLINE³: So the way an animal cafe works in general is that you pay for entrance. And with entrance, you get a drink.

We started out in a South Korea cat cafe. Some folks brought laptops. But it's clear that for most customers, it's all about time with the animals.

MOLLY CARMER: You get to pet cats.

HU: That's Molly Carmer, who was visiting from Colorado.

CARMER: If we can relax at home with each other or if we can relax here with a bunch of cats, then (laughter) it's an easy choice.

HU: Cat cafes have become a thing now across the globe. But it's here in East Asia where you can go to a sheep cafe, an owl⁴ cafe or a raccoon cafe, which my friend Patrick Terpstra I found on one of Seoul's side streets.

So I'm most concerned about, please say no when raccoon's biting on you. Do raccoons know no means no?

Interpreter Haeryun Kang reads a warning sign in Korean.

HAERYUN KANG: When it's dangerous is when they get into, like, attack mode and start growling⁵.

PATRICK TERPSTRA: OK. That sounds terrifying.

HU: We tried to get up close and personal anyway. Immediately, a raccoon went for my iced tea and then me.

TERPSTRA: OK.

HU: Oh, my God. Oh, my God.

TERPSTRA: (Laughter).

HU: OK. Do I get it off me?

(SOUNDBITE OF RACCOON GROWL)

TERPSTRA: Oh, no. Oh, no.

HU: (Unintelligible).

TERPSTRA: Watch it. Don't get scratched. Don't get scratched.

HU: (Unintelligible).

UNIDENTIFIED PERSON: (Laughter).

HU: Oh, God. What the hell?

That's what the raccoon snatched our audio recorder, which pretty much sums up how things went down.

If you want a more tame animal cafe experience, stick with a cat cafe or a dog cafe.

TERPSTRA: (Laughter) I don't think a raccoon cafe is a good idea at all.

HU: It was worth a shot. Elise Hu, NPR News...

TERPSTRA: (Laughter).

HU: Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa.

...Seoul.

TERPSTRA: All right, let's get out of here.

(SOUNDBITE OF OK IKUMI'S "SLEEP 2")

MARTIN: Oh, man. There's video of that encounter on our Facebook page and at npr.org/elisetries.

1 gimmick   

n.(为引人注意而搞的)小革新，小发明

参考例句：

• He dismissed the event as just a publicity gimmick.他不理会这件事，只当它是一种宣传手法。
• It is just a public relations gimmick.这只不过是一种公关伎俩。

2 sip   

v.小口地喝，抿，呷；n.一小口的量

参考例句：

• She took a sip of the cocktail.她啜饮一口鸡尾酒。
• Elizabeth took a sip of the hot coffee.伊丽莎白呷了一口热咖啡。

3 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

4 owl   

n.猫头鹰，枭

参考例句：

• Her new glasses make her look like an owl.她的新眼镜让她看上去像只猫头鹰。
• I'm a night owl and seldom go to bed until after midnight.我睡得很晚，经常半夜后才睡觉。

5 growling   

n.吠声, 咆哮声 v.怒吠, 咆哮, 吼

参考例句：

• We heard thunder growling in the distance. 我们听见远处有隆隆雷声。
• The lay about the deck growling together in talk. 他们在甲板上到处游荡，聚集在一起发牢骚。