又中又英 | Jaywalkers | 褚簡寧

　　Friends alerted me during my recent Hong Kong visit to watch out for the police at pedestrian crossings. They said the police were on the prowl to catch jaywalkers. To be on the prowl means to move in a quiet way looking for something or someone to catch. A jaywalker, as I have explained before, is a pedestrian who violates traffic laws by crossing a street illegally. The police last month began a citywide action to catch jaywalkers and motorists who break traffic rules. A policeman lurking at a pedestrian crossing penalized me for jaywalking on Des Voeux Road many years ago.

　　To lurk means to wait secretly. I had crossed part of Des Voeux Road on a red light to catch a tram before it left the tram stop. I felt it was safe to cross during a red light because no vehicles were coming my way. I have avoided jaywalking ever since because once bitten, twice shy. This expression means to avoid doing something a second time because you had a bad experience doing it the first time. The police and traffic wardens were not lurking or on the prowl during last month's action.

　　Pedestrians could clearly see them. I agree with last month’s action to catch jaywalkers and motorists because 96 people died in traffic accidents last year. During my HK visit, I saw many vehicles blocking pedestrian crossings, making it difficult for people to cross during a green light. But the police seem more eager to penalize jaywalkers than motorists who break the law. I have seen the police penalize jaywalkers but have never seen the police penalize motorists who block pedestrian crossings.

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  最近回港，朋友們提醒我留神在行人過路處旁會有警察。他們說警方是 on the prowl去抓jaywalkers。To be on the prowl是指靜悄悄地徘徊，尋找捕捉某物或某人。A jaywalker，正如我以前解釋過的，就是違反交通規則亂過馬路的行人。上月警方開始一個全港的行動，捉拿亂過馬路的行人（jaywalkers）和違反交通規則的駕駛者。許多年前，在德輔道有一位潛伏（lurking）在行人過路處的警員，因為我亂過馬路（jaywalking）而給我罰款告票。

　　To lurk是指潛伏靜待。我為了在電車駛離電車站前趕上車，衝紅燈橫過了德輔道的一段。當時我認為衝那個紅燈是安全的，因為沒有車輛向我的方向駛過來。自此以後，我便不再亂過馬路（jaywalking），因為 once bitten, twice shy——所謂「一朝被蛇咬，十年怕草繩」，這個習語意思是你有過一次不好的經驗，就會避免再做一次。在上個月的行動中，警察和交通督導員卻並非潛伏（lurking）或悄悄徘徊（on the prowl）。

　　行人都可以清楚地看見他們。我認同上月嚴打亂過馬路的行人（jaywalkers）和駕駛者的行動，因為上年有96人死於交通意外。我在香港逗留期間，見有許多車輛阻塞行人過路處，以至行人在綠燈過馬路時相當困難。然而，警方似乎更熱衷處罰亂過馬路的行人（jaywalkers），多於違反交通規則的駕駛者。我曾見過警察處罰亂過馬路的行人（jaywalkers），卻從未見過警方處罰阻塞斑馬線的駕駛者。

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Michael Chugani褚簡寧
中譯：七刻