又中又英 | Travel Bug | 褚簡寧

　　Hong Kong people are always raring to travel. The travel bug bites them hard. I came to Hong Kong two weeks ago to see old friends and relatives. But the travel bug bit some of them. They used the long weekend during the May Day and Buddha’s Birthday holidays to travel. If you are raring to do something, it means you are very eager to do something. The slang word “bug” means an insect. The expression “travel bug” means having a strong desire to travel. Many Hong Kong people travel to the mainland on weekends, where they get more bang for their buck.

　　Japan is very popular with Hong Kong people. They also get more bang for their buck in Japan. The word “buck” used this way means one dollar in the US. If you get more bang for your buck, it means you can buy more things with your money. This is possible because the Hong Kong dollar is linked to the strong US dollar. But my friends told me many Hong Kong people are now avoiding Japan for fear of earthquakes. The Japanese government last month estimated the possibility of a megaquake (powerful earthquake) within the next 30 years.

　　The US Geological Survey agency makes clear it is impossible to accurately predict the timing, location, and magnitude of earthquakes. But fears of a Japanese megaquake spread through Hong Kong, mainland China, and other places after a manga (Japanese comic book) featured a dream that predicted a tsunami. The recent earthquake in Myanmar increased fears. The Japanese government has made clear its estimate of a possible megaquake in the next 30 years is not a prediction.

　　香港人總是渴望旅遊（raring to travel）。那隻「旅遊蟲」（travel bug）可咬得他們入肉了。我兩個星期前回港見老朋友和親戚，但他們一些人卻被旅遊蟲（travel bug）咬到。他們都借着勞動節和佛誕的長周末假期出外旅遊。若你是raring to do something，意即你熱切渴望去做某事。俚語bug是指昆蟲；習語“travel bug”是指迷上了旅遊，強烈地想去旅行。許多香港人在周末期間都到內地旅遊，在那裏他們覺得物超所值、很划算（more bang for their buck）。

　　日本非常受香港人歡迎，他們在日本也覺得價廉物美、物超所值（more bang for their buck）。Buck在這裏是指美國的一元，若你get more bang for your buck，意即你花同樣的錢卻買到更多的東西。這是可能的，因為港元跟強勁的美元掛鈎。但我的朋友們告訴我，許多香港人現在都避免去日本，因為害怕地震。日本政府上個月預估了未來30年內發生特大地震（megaquake）的可能性。

　　美國地質調查局已清楚說明，要準確預測地震的時間、地點與震級是不可能的。然而，當一本日本漫畫（manga）講述一個會發生海嘯的預言夢以後，對於日本會發生特大地震（megaquake）的恐慌就蔓延香港、中國內地和其他地方。最近發生在緬甸的地震亦加深了恐慌。日本政府已清楚表明，它對於未來30年內可能發生特大地震（megaquake）的估算並不是預言。

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Michael Chugani褚簡寧
中譯：七刻