又中又英 | Badass | 褚簡寧
Many English words have several meanings, but some can easily confuse people whose first language is not English. Imagine how confusing it is if a word means something but also the opposite of it. An American political social media commentator recently used the word "badass" to describe a Russian couple who climbed to the top of New York's Empire State Building spire where the man got on his knees to propose marriage to his girlfriend. The couple then unfolded a large flag that said: "When the power of love beats the love of power the world knows peace."
Police arrested the couple, but the political commentator said the couple's daring climb to the top of the 1,454ft building was a badass moment. The slang word "badass" can be used to describe someone who is tough, confident, or courageous who you admire. But it can also be used to describe someone who is bad, mean-tempered, or even violent. That is the opposite of a courageous person you would admire! The BBC described the couple as daredevil climbers. A daredevil is a person who does dangerous things and takes risks.
The couple's daredevil climb reminded me of Alain Robert, a French daredevil climber nicknamed the French Spider-Man. He climbed several Hong Kong buildings including the Cheung Kong Center and the Four Seasons Hotel. He came to my TV show after one of his climbs during my days as a TV talk-show host. He gave me an autographed book about his many climbs to the top of buildings all over the world. He still climbs buildings even though he is 62 years old.
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許多英文字詞都有好幾個意思，但有些字詞很容易令母語非英語的人混淆。試想像，若一個字同時有着相反的意思，是有多令人困惑。一個美國社交平台的政治評論員最近就用到「badass」一字，去形容那對爬上紐約帝國大廈頂尖的俄羅斯情侶，那男的還在那裏向女友單膝跪地求婚。那對情侶繼而揚開一面大大的旗幟寫着：「當愛的力量戰勝對權力的愛，世界便會迎來和平。」
警方拘捕了那對情侶，但政治評論員說，情侶大膽攀爬到那1,454呎高的大廈頂端，是個badass時刻。俚語badass可以用來形容強悍、自信又或勇敢，令你心生敬佩的人。但它同時也可以用來形容糟透、脾氣暴躁甚或暴力的人。那就會是你所欣賞，勇敢的人的相反！英國廣播公司形容那對情侶為daredevil climbers。A daredevil就是鋌而走險、做危險事情的人。
那對情侶玩命大膽的攀爬（daredevil climb），令我想起了一個法國玩命攀爬手（daredevil climber）亞倫．羅伯特，他有「法國蜘蛛俠」之稱。他爬過香港好幾棟大廈，包括長江集團中心以及四季酒店。當我還是電視節目主持的時候，他在其中一次攀爬過後上來我的電視節目受訪。他給了我他親筆簽名的書，內容是他多次攀上世界各地大樓的經歷。雖然他已62歲，他也還有攀爬高樓大廈。
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Michael Chugani褚簡寧
中譯：七刻
