半個地球都在過夏天。在一年中最熱的日子裡，辦公室職員們蜷縮窩在毯子下。推特的熱門貼文抱怨像是：「辦公室冷到快可以當太平間了。」時尚部落客提供洋蔥式穿法的建議，讓大家適應室內外溫差。

圖片來源／Ben Salter(CC BY-SA 2.0)

Why are America and so many other places so over air-conditioned? It seems absurd when you consider the money and energy wasted. Architects, engineers and energy experts sigh with exasperation when asked for an explanation. They tick off a number of reasons – probably the most vexing is cultural.

為何美國和這麼多其他地方如此把冷氣用過了頭？顧及浪費掉的金錢和能源，這似乎很荒唐。被問到這個問題時，建築師、工程師和能源專家的嘆息帶有惱怒。他們列舉很多原因，或許最惱人的就是文化。

“Being able to make people feel cold in the summer is a sign of power and prestige,” said Richard de Dear, director of the Indoor Environmental Quality Laboratory at University of Sydney, Australia, where excessive air-conditioning is as prevalent as it is in the United States. He said the problem is even worse in parts of the Middle East and Asia.

「能讓人在夏天覺得涼快是權力與特權的象徵，」澳洲雪梨大學室內環境品質實驗室主任李察．迪．迪爾說，澳洲過度使用空調像美國一樣普遍，中東與亞洲部分地區更嚴重。

Commercial real estate brokers and building managers say tenants specify so-called chilling capacity in their lease agreements so they are guaranteed cold cachet. Luxury stores are kept colder than more down-market ones.

商用不動產仲介商和大廈管理人員說，房客會在租約中明列冷卻能力條款，確保冷氣夠冷。精品業者會把冷氣開得比平價商場更冷。

There’s also the misconception that colder temperatures make workers more productive when, in fact, research shows the opposite. Studies have shown people work less and make more mistakes when the air temperature is 20 to 22 degrees Celsius versus 23 to 24 degrees. Some research indicates feeling cold can take a psychological toll, making people untrusting.

還有一種誤解，認為較低溫度能讓員工更具生產力，其實研究顯示恰好相反，氣溫低到攝氏20至22度時，比在23至24度時工作效率更低，更易犯錯。有些研究顯示寒冷會增加心理負擔，讓人缺乏信任感。

The problem is compounded by building managers who, surveys indicate, typically don’t adjust the temperature higher in summertime when people wear lighter clothes.

研究還顯示，夏天人們穿著較輕薄，大廈管理員通常不會調高溫度，這讓問題變得更複雜。

Air-conditioning systems are also usually designed for worst-case scenarios – full occupancy on the hottest day of the year. As part of that calculation, designers might have factored in older computers and less energy-efficient lighting that radiate much more warmth than the machines and bulbs used today. And, engineers say, they might add a 20 percent upward correction, just to be on the safe side.

空調系統通常針對最惡劣情況設計：一年最熱的一天，住房全滿。設計師在計算時或許得考慮較舊型電腦、效能沒那麼高的燈具，發熱比現在的機器和燈泡高。工程師說，為安全起見設計時會增加20%校正值。

“It’s analogous to a high-tune car where you have to keep your foot on gas to keep it from stalling out,” said Edward Arens, a professor of architecture at the University of California, Berkeley.

柏克萊加州大學建築系教授愛德華．艾倫斯說：「有點像調校到高馬力輸出的車子，得把腳放在油門上才不會熄火。」

Paradoxically, another reason for aggressive air-conditioning is energy-efficient building construction. Better sealing and insulation keeps air-conditioning from entering. So cool air is often kept blasting to meet mandated air quality standards for levels of carbon dioxide that build up in the absence of outside air. The cool air also controls humidity, which can lead to mold.

弔詭的是，節能建築也是空調開很凶的原因。節能建築密閉和隔熱性較佳，阻擋了新鮮空氣入內。少了外來空氣，為達到二氧化碳濃度的室內空氣品質標準，冷氣常得開得很強。冷空氣還能控制會導致發霉的濕度。

While architects like Mr. Arens point the finger at engineers for designing air-conditioning systems with too much capacity, engineers point the finger back at architects who often have an aesthetic aversion to thermostats.

艾倫斯等建築師指責工程師把空調性能設計得太強，工程師則反批建築師通常從美學角度出發，討厭恆溫器。

“Architects try to convince mechanical engineers to hide sensors so they don’t mess up their beautiful design,” said Jon Seller, general manager of Optegy, an energy management consulting firm based in Hong Kong that specializes in air-conditioning systems. As a result, he said, sensors wind up in out-of-the-way places like air inlets on the ceiling, where, because heat rises, they provide less than accurate readings.

專長空調系統的香港能源管理顧問公司Optegy總經理瓊．謝勒說，「建築師試圖說服機械工程師把恆溫器藏起來，以免破壞他們的美麗設計，」如此一來，恆溫器都裝在邊邊角角，如天花板上的通氣口，這些位置溫度較高，提供的讀數往往不準。

Computer scientists have developed a smartphone app that making people the thermostats. Users can tell the app, called Comfy, whether they are hot, cold or just right. It learns trends and tells the system when and where to throttle up or throttle back the cooling. The developers claim Comfy-equipped buildings realize savings of up to 25 percent in cooling costs.

電腦科學家開發出一款智慧型手機應用程式，把人們自己變成恆溫器。用戶可以告訴這個Comfy程式自己覺得太熱、太冷還是剛好。程式記住整體趨勢後，通知空調系統何時何處提高或減弱冷氣。開發者表示配備Comfy的建築最多能省25%冷氣費。

“We have a lot of data that people are most comfortable if they have some measure of control,” said Gwelen Paliaga, head of a committee that develops standards for thermal comfort for the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air Conditioning Engineers.

「我們有很多數據顯示，人們如果對溫度能有一定程度的控制，會覺得最舒服，」桂倫．帕里亞加表示。他主持的委員會替「美國暖氣、冷藏與空調工程師協會」制定人體舒適溫度的標準。

Of course, for fresh air and comfort, engineers and architects tend to agree the most effective control is being able to open and close the windows. No app required.

當然，為了呼吸新鮮空氣和舒適考量，工程師和建築師大概都同意，最有效的控制辦法還是開關窗戶。無需應用程式。

一部講述受過哈佛教育、400歲的外星人愛上傲慢女演員的南韓電視劇，去年在中國引發狂熱，瘋狂到當地網路串流業者開始競標其他南韓電視節目的播映權，價格幾乎翻了十倍。

圖擷自SBS

Then China’s entertainment regulators stepped in, imposing greater limits on foreign television content as part of a broader campaign to rein in China’s fast-growing market for online video, which has become a popular alternative to Chinese broadcast television. (According to official statistics, there were 433 million viewers of online video – TV shows included – in China by the end of 2014, making it the largest streaming market in the world.)

中國娛樂監管機構隨後出手，加強對外國電視內容的限制。這是約束中國快速成長的線上視頻市場計畫的一部分，該市場已成為替代中國電視台節目的一個廣受歡迎的選擇。（中國官方統計，2014年底包括電視節目在內的線上視頻共有4.33億觀眾，中國已是全球最大串流市場）。

Popular streaming websites like Sohu, iQiyi and Youku are trying to develop their own Korean-inspired content to sate the country’s appetite for the programming, part of a broader fascination with Korean popular culture. That has meant trying to tap into the magic formula that has turned South Korean into a pop-culture juggernaut that churns out viral exports like the singer and rapper Psy, the singer Rain and television hits like “My Love From Another Star.”

搜狐、愛奇藝和優酷等人氣串流網站想推出自製韓國風內容，滿足國人對這類節目的愛好，這種愛好反映出對南韓流行文化的迷戀。此舉意味嘗試探索南韓成為流行文化大國的神奇配方：大量打造出在國外廣受歡迎的藝人和節目，如饒舌歌手Psy、歌手Rain，以及《來自星星的你》之類熱門韓劇。

“We share the same culture and cherish similar social values,” said Sophie Yu of iQiyi.

愛奇藝的國際傳訊總監余小飛說：「我們有共同的文化，抱有類似的社會價值觀。」

For Chinese companies, part of the strategy includes making Chinese versions of popular South Korean fare, particularly variety and reality shows. Some of the hottest Chinese programs, like Hunan Television’s reality show “Where Are We Going, Dad?,” were based on South Korean formats. Nearly all of China’s top online video websites have signed agreements with South Korean television stations and production companies to co-produce television shows tailored for Chinese audiences.

中國企業的策略包括製作人氣韓國節目的中國版本，尤其是綜藝節目和實境秀。中國當前最紅的一些電視節目，如湖南電視台的真人秀節目《爸爸去哪兒》，便是以南韓節目的格式製作。中國頂尖線上視頻網站幾乎全都已經與南韓電視台及製作公司簽約，合製專為中國觀眾打造的電視節目。

Millions of viewers in China last year tuned in to watch the 21-episode “My Love From Another Star,” which originally aired on the Seoul Broadcasting System, a leading South Korean network.

去年，數以百萬計的中國觀眾收看了21集的韓劇《來自星星的你》，該劇最初是在南韓主要電視台SBS播出。

The show ignited a frenzy. Fans were hospitalized for binge-eating fried chicken and beer (the star actress’s favorite food on the show), and even the first lady of China, Peng Liyuan, became swept up in the fever. She was quoted as commenting on the physical resemblance between the lead actor, an extraterrestrial heartthrob with a mop of jet-black hair, and her husband, President Xi Jinping, in his younger years.

該劇引爆狂熱。有粉絲因為大吃大喝炸雞和啤酒（該劇女主角最喜歡的食物）搞到住院，甚至第一夫人彭麗媛也未能免俗。該劇男主角是個來自外星的萬人迷，頭髮烏黑濃密。報導引述彭麗媛的話說，她丈夫習近平年輕時與這名男主角外形有幾分相似。

The audience for dramas like “Star,” as is it known, consists mostly of women in their teens to early 40s who prefer to watch shows known as naocanju, or “brain-dead dramas,” instead of American series like “Game of Thrones” and “House of Cards.”

《來自星星的你》這類電視劇的觀眾以十幾歲到四十歲出頭的女性為主。和《權力遊戲》和《紙牌屋》等美國影集相比，她們更愛看這種稱為「腦殘劇」的節目。

For years, entertainment industry observers in China have sought to explain Korean television’s foothold in China. They say it comes down to packaging.

多年來，中國的娛樂圈觀察家試圖解釋南韓電視節目在中國市場插旗成功的原因。他們說，歸根究柢在包裝。

“The Koreans continue to do well because of the details,” said Fan Xiaojing, a Chinese journalist and long-term analyst of the Korean entertainment industry. “China just can’t capture the romance.”

「韓國人一直能做的很好，是因為注重細節，」長期觀察分析南韓娛樂業的中國記者范曉靜說：「中國就是抓不住那種浪漫的感覺。」

At a session of the National People’s Congress last year, some members spent a full morning panel discussion bemoaning that China could not have made “Star.”

去年中國人大開會期間，有些代表花了一上午的小組討論時間，感嘆中國拍不出《來自星星的你》。

One high ranking Chinese politician, Wang Qishan, was quoted as saying, “After watching I finally understood – Korean dramas are ahead of us.”

中國高層政治人士王岐山被報導說：「看了半天我發現我明白了，韓劇走在咱們前頭。」