又中又英 | Buckle up | 褚簡寧
Seat belts save lives. Numerous studies have shown that. It is estimated that over one million lives have been saved globally since vehicle manufacturers began installing seat belts in 1959. Studies also show seat belts reduce the risk of death by about 50 percent. Seat belts have saved about 330000 lives in the US between 1960 and 2012. They save about 15000 lives in the US every year. I firmly believe in seat belts. That’s why I always buckle up. To buckle up means to fasten your seat belt.
Buckling up is a strict requirement when airplanes take off and land. But I keep my seat belt on all the time in case of turbulence. The word “turbulence” has several different meanings but used this way it means the irregular movement of air that causes a plane to shake while flying. A new Hong Kong law that requires bus passengers to buckle up has caused a stir. To cause a stir means to cause controversy or trouble in a group of people. Many Hong Kong people said the requirement to buckle up on buses was too troublesome.
They had many complaints, including faulty and unhygienic seat belts. It also turned out that the law did not make clear which buses would require passengers to buckle up. The government has suspended the buckling up requirement until it amends the law to make it clearer. I support buckling up in buses. I urge Hong Kong people to buckle up and not to oppose buckling up in buses when the government amends the law.
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安全帶能救人一命，無數的研究均已證實。自從汽車生產商於1959年開始安裝安全帶以來，估算挽救了全球超過100萬人的生命。研究也顯示，安全帶可以減低死亡風險約50%。在美國，於1960至2012年間，安全帶就挽救了約33萬人的生命，每年也救了1.5萬人的生命。我堅定地相信安全帶，因此我總是會buckle up－－to buckle up的意思是扣好安全帶。
飛機起飛與降落時，扣上安全帶（buckling up）是嚴格的規定。然而，我會全程佩戴安全帶，慎防遇上turbulence。Turbulence有好幾個不同的意思，但在這裏是指空中的氣流，會導致飛機飛行時搖晃不定。香港一條強制巴士乘客佩戴安全帶（buckle up）的新法例，近日caused a stir－－to cause a stir意思是備受爭議，或在一群人中引起了轟動。許多香港人說在巴士上強制扣安全帶（buckle up）的規定是過於麻煩。
他們也有許多投訴，包括有缺陷和不衞生的安全帶。及後發現原來法律條文並未清晰要求哪一些巴士需要乘客佩戴安全帶（buckle up）。政府已經暫緩強制佩戴安全帶（buckling up）的規定，直至法律條文修改清晰。我支持在巴士上扣安全帶（buckling up）。我呼籲香港人搭巴士時扣好安全帶（buckle up），而當政府修例後，亦不去反對在巴士上要扣上安全帶（buckling up）。
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Michael Chugani褚簡寧
中譯：七刻
