"What's Rome's word?" I asked. “罗马的用词是什么？”我问。

"SEX," he announced. “性。”他声称。

"But isn't that a stereotype about Rome?" “但这不是大家对罗马的成见吗？”

"No." “不是 。”

"But surely there are some people in Rome thinking about other things than sex?" “罗马肯定有些人在想‘性’以外的其他事吧？”

Giulio insisted: "No. All of them, all day, all they are thinking about is SEX." 朱利欧坚称：“不。每一个人，每一天，他们只想着‘性’。”

"Even over at the Vatican?" “甚至梵蒂冈？ ”

"That's different. The Vatican isn't part of Rome. They have a different word over there. Their word is POWER." “那不一样。梵蒂冈不属于罗马。那里有不同的用词。他们的用词是‘权力 ’。”

"You'd think it would be FAITH." “我以为你会说‘信仰 ’。”

"It's POWER," he repeated. "Trust me. But the word in Rome—it's SEX." “是‘权力’，”他又说一次，“相信我。但罗马的用词是——性。”

Now if you are to believe Giulio, that little word—SEX—cobbles the streets beneath your feet in Rome, runs through the fountains here, fills the air like traffic noise. Thinking about it, dressing for it, seeking it, considering it, refusing it, making a sport and game out of it—that's all anybody is doing. Which would make a bit of sense as to why, for all its gorgeousness, Rome doesn't quite feel like my hometown. Not at this moment in my life. Because SEX isn't my word right now. It has been at other times of my life, but it isn't right now. Therefore, Rome's word, as it spins through the streets, just bumps up against me and tumbles off, leaving no impact. I'm not participating in the word, so I'm not fully living here. It's a kooky theory, impossible to prove, but I sort of like it. 你若相信朱利欧的话，这小小的字——性——就砌成你踩在脚下的罗马街道，流过喷泉，充塞在空气中，有如车辆的噪音。思考它，为它而打扮，寻求它，思索它，拒绝它，当做一种运动和游戏——这正是每个人做的事情。这或许说明，罗马虽迷人，却未给我家乡的感觉。在我的此生此刻。因为“性”并不是我现在的用词。从前它曾是我的用词，此刻却不是。因此，罗马的用词在穿行于街头巷尾时撞上我后踉跄地走开，未留下任何影响。我未参与这用词，因此无法充分过这里的生活。这是个古怪的理论，无从证明，可是我还算喜欢。

Giulio asked, "What's the word in New York City?" 朱利欧问：“纽约的用词是什么？”

I thought about this for a moment, then decided. "It's a verb, of course. I think it's ACHIEVE." 我想了一下，而后决定：“当然是动词。我想是‘实现’吧。”

(Which is subtly but significantly different from the word in Los Angeles, I believe, which is also a verb: SUCCEED. Later, I will share this whole theory with my Swedish friend Sofie, and she will offer her opinion that the word on the streets of Stockholm is CONFORM, which depresses both of us.) （我相信这和洛杉矶的用词有着细微却显著的不同，洛杉矶的用词也是动词：“成功”。后来我和我的瑞典朋友苏菲分享这整套理论，她提供的想法是，瑞典的街头用词是“循规蹈矩”，令我们俩沮丧的用词。）

I asked Giulio, "What's the word in Naples?" He knows the south of Italy well. 我问朱利欧：“那不勒斯的用词是什么？”他对意大利南部十分了解。

"FIGHT," he decides. "What was the word in your family when you were growing up?" “打闹。”他判断，“在你成长期间，你家的用词是什么？”

That one was difficult. I was trying to think of a single word that somehow combines both FRUGAL and IRREVERENT. But Giulio was already on to the next and most obvious question: "What's your word?" 这问题不易回答。我尝试找个结合“节俭”和“不虔诚”的用词。但朱利欧已进行到下一个最明显的问题：“你的用词是什么？”

Now that, I definitely could not answer. 这一题，我肯定答不出来。