又中又英 | Cats or dogs? | 褚簡寧

　　Former US President Barack Obama was being interviewed on TV a few months ago when the host surprised him with a series of rapid-fire questions. Rapid-fire questions are short questions asked very quickly one after another. Guests must give short answers immediately. They cannot ponder and think. To ponder and think means to think for a long time before answering. The host asked Obama if he preferred apples or oranges. Obama immediately replied that he preferred apples. How would you respond during rapid fire questioning if asked if you prefer cats or dogs?

　　I know what my answer would be without pondering and thinking if someone asked me this question. I would immediately reply that I prefer neither dogs nor cats. Pets are not my thing. If something is not your thing, it means you are not interested in it. I often laugh quietly when I see dog owners taking their dogs for walks in baby prams. A pram is a four-wheeled carriage to take babies out. If you take a dog for a walk, you should let the dog walk. You should not treat it like a VIP in a baby pram, for goodness’ sake!

　　Pet owners have long preferred dogs to cats. But I read a recent Washington Post article that said the ground is shifting. If the ground is shifting, it means opinions are changing. The article said more US households now own kittens than puppies. Fewer puppies mean fewer dogs in the future. The article explains that cat ownership is not booming. Figures just show dog ownership is declining. The article said far more people still own dogs than cats but that is changing quickly.

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　　美國前總統奧巴馬幾個月前在電視上接受訪問，主持用一連串的rapid-fire questions突擊他。Rapid-fire questions就是快問快答，問的一方連環快速地問些短問題，嘉賓則要立即答出短答案，他們不能ponder and think。To ponder and think是指細細思量、長時間地思考。主持問奧巴馬偏好蘋果還是橙，奧巴馬便立即回答他偏好蘋果。你在快問快答（rapid fire questioning）環節中，若被問到你偏好貓還是狗，你又會怎樣回答？

　　若有人問我這道問題，我已經知道我會答甚麼，不用多作思考（pondering and thinking）。我會立刻回答，我不偏好狗也不偏好貓。寵物不是我喜歡的事物（not my thing）。若某事物is not your thing，意即你對它並不感興趣。當我見到有狗主用嬰兒車（prams）帶他們的狗隻出外散步時，我常暗暗地笑了。A pram就是四輪的嬰兒手推車。若你要遛狗，你好應該讓牠遛啊。你不應把牠放在嬰兒車內，將牠奉為貴賓啊，拜託！

　　寵物主人長久以來都偏好狗多於貓。但我最近讀到一則《華盛頓郵報》的報道，說the ground is shifting－－若the ground is shifting，意即立場正在轉變。報道指，美國現在養小貓的家庭比養小狗的為多。少些小狗意味將來會有少些狗隻。報道解釋道，不是養貓的人數暴升，數據顯示只是養狗的人數下降了。報道指，養狗的人仍然遠超養貓的人，但局勢正在迅速改變中。

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Michael Chugani褚簡寧
中譯：七刻