Do you know what kind of people give drugs to their children? Do you still know where in the world people take drugs before going to work? The answers are simple—ordinary people, just about everywhere. And the drug in question is caffeine. Scientists estimate1 that over 90 percent of the world's population takes caffeine daily. Adults drink it in tea and coffee. Children drink it in Coca Cola and similar2 soft drinks. It is also found in chocolate. As a result, most people in most places across the world at any time are under the influence3 of the drug.
Not surprisingly, there have been many scientific investigations4 into the exact effects of caffeine. Most agree that it stimulates5 the nervous system and helps the body make efficient6 use of food energy. This is why many people across Asia drink tea with food and why Westerners often eat their meals with a cup of coffee. The general result of caffeine is to make people more alert and focused7. Unlike alcohol8, caffeine does not change your behaviour9. But it does increase your ability to do things.
Because the effect of caffeine is so mild10, there have been few attempts to stop people using it. The Mormon Church, a US religious11 group which forbids the use of caffeine, is generally regarded as eccentric12. But because nearly everybody takes it, the total effect of caffeine on the way the world has evolved13 is huge. Caffeine is the drug that changes the world.
That is the argument14 of the “World of Caffeine”, a history of the drug by scientists Bennett Weinberg and Bonnie Bealer. Both tea and coffee were introduced to the West around 300 years ago. The effect of these new drinks was felt immediately. In London, coffee houses were filled with people making plans, talking business and doing deals. The coffee houses themselves later developed into London's financial centre15. And the deals done in the coffee houses were partly responsible16 for a rapid increase in British trade. History was moving in that direction anyway. But the arrival of coffee speeded everything up.
Weinberg and Bealer back up their claims17 with scientific research which shows that frequent use of caffeine causes people to grow new brain cells. They also point to research which shows that people with caffeine in their system perform a range of tasks better than those without it. Without caffeine, would the human race come so far and so fast?
The Japanese tea ceremony19 might be an example of what anthropologists20 call “ceremonial chemistry”. This is a practice amongst ancient and primitive peoples of taking mind altering drugs as part of religious festivities21.
Tea has around 50%less caffeine in it than coffee, and there are real differences between tea and coffee drinking cultures. In Britain, the only European tea drinking culture, workers have been known to go on strike to demand a ten-minute tea break in the working day. Tea gives people enough caffeine to help put up with a boring job or help them recover after a hard day. It is something to share with friends. You build relationships over a cup of tea.
But you get results with coffee. Coffee gives you that extra dose22 of caffeine. It is associated with23 staying up all night to finish a business plan or study for exams. When Starbucks opened their first coffee shops in China they got a lot of publicity24. Much of this was because another fashionable25 foreign business had come to China. But maybe it was also a symbol that coffee culture had arrived. From now on, everything was going to get faster. It is worth thinking about. But don't think too long. There is much work to be done. Drink up and get busy.
你知道什么人让自己的孩子吃药吗？你还知道人们上班前究竟在哪儿吃药吗？答案很简单——是那些普通人，他们遍布世界各地。但这里所说的“药”是指咖啡因，科学家估计全球超过90%的人每天都在摄取咖啡因，成年人喝的茶和咖啡里有，孩子们喝的可口可乐和类似的软饮料里有，在巧克力里也发现了咖啡因。所以，世界上大部分地方的大多数人随时都受到这种药物的影响。
对咖啡因的确切后果人们进行了大量科学调查，这不足为奇。大多数的调查都认为它刺激神经系统，有助于身体有效地利用食物能量。这就是许多亚洲人边吃饭边喝茶的缘故，这也是为什么西方人餐后经常喝一杯咖啡的缘故。咖啡因的基本作用是使人行动更加机敏、注意力更集中。和酒精不同，咖啡因不会改变人的行为举止，但它的确提高办事的能力。
因为咖啡因的影响轻微，所以几乎没有人对它下禁令。美国的一个宗教组织摩门教禁止人们用咖啡因，这就让人觉得很古怪。因为几乎所有的人都服用咖啡因，在世界发展的过程中咖啡因影响巨大，因此咖啡因改变了世界。
这就是由科学家本纳特·温伯格和波尼·比勒所撰写的关于咖啡因的历史——《咖啡因世界》一书中的观点。大约三百年前茶和咖啡同时传到西方，西方人立即感受到了这些新饮料的功效。在伦敦，咖啡屋里坐满了定计划、谈生意和进行交易的人，后来这些咖啡屋自身就演变成伦敦的金融中心，在咖啡屋里进行的交易或多或少都促进了英国贸易的飞速发展。无论如何，历史都要朝着这一方向前进。但咖啡的到来使一切进程加快了。
温伯格和比勒用科学研究来支持他们的看法。研究显示，经常服用咖啡因能使人长出新的脑细胞。他们还指出，研究显示神经系统内有咖啡因的人要比没有的人能更好地完成一系列的任务。没有咖啡因，人类能发展得这么快这么远吗？
日本的茶道可能就是人类学家所谓“礼仪化学”的一个例子。“礼仪化学”指这样一种做法：古人和土著人服用改变情绪的药物，并视之为宗教庆典的一部分。
茶所含咖啡因要比咖啡少50%，但茶文化和咖啡文化的确是有区别的。英国是惟一奉行茶文化的欧洲国家。众所周知，为在工作日里争取到十分钟的喝茶休息时间，英国工人曾举行过罢工。茶提供给人足够的咖啡因，有助于人们忍受乏味的工作，或者帮他们在疲劳的一天后恢复过来。茶可以和朋友共享，你也可以通过一杯茶建立友情。
但喝咖啡令人富有成效，咖啡提供给你更多剂量的咖啡因，因而当你熬夜撰写商业计划或者学习备考时，就用得着它了。当斯达巴克斯公司在中国开设第一批咖啡店时，引起了极大的轰动，主要是因为又一个时尚的外资企业登陆中国——但这也许是咖啡文化已经到来的象征。从此后一切的一切都会加快运作的步伐了。这种现象值得思考，但别想得太多。还有许多工作要做，赶紧喝完去干正事吧！
1． estimate vi．估计
2． similar adj．相似的
3． influence n．影响
4． investigation n．调查，研究
5． stimulate v．刺激
6． efficient adj．有效的
7． alert and focused 机敏而又注意力集中
8． alcohol n．含酒精的饮料，酒
9． behaviour n．行为，举止
10．mild [maild] adj．温和的，清淡的
11．religious adj．宗教的
12．eccentric adj．古怪的
13．evolve v．发展，进展
14．argument n．争论，辩论
15．financial center 金融中心
16．responsible adj．可靠的
17．claim n．主张，声明
18．leap n．跳跃，飞跃
19．ceremony n．典礼，仪式
20．anthropologist n．人类学家
21．festivity n．庆典，庆祝活动
22．dose n．剂量，剂
23．be associated with 与……有关
24．publicity n．注目，闻名
25．fashionable adj．流行的，时髦