又中又英——Annus Mirabilis
Michael Chugani 褚简宁
2020-01-02 04:17 HKT
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In my previous column I said 2019 was an annus horribilis, which means a horrible year full of very bad events. Will 2020 be an annus mirabilis, which means a very auspicious year? No one can say for sure. Every Lunar New Year I invite feng shui expert Michael Chiang Hong-man to my TV show. This year, the first day of the Lunar New Year will be on January 25, which is earlier than normal. I hope Chiang Hong-man will come to my TV show again so I can ask him if 2020 will be an annus horribilis or an annus mirabilis. His predictions are usually spot on. When he came to my show last year, he said 2019 would be a bad year. He was spot on.
If you are spot on, it means you are exactly right or totally correct. For many people, it takes a leap of faith to believe in feng shui or astrology. The word "astrology" means the study of the movements and positions of the moon, sun, stars, and planets in the belief they affect the lives of people. Feng shui experts also study such movements to make their predictions. The expression "leap of faith" means an act of believing in something that is not easily believable or believing in something that cannot be proven. For example, if a feng shui expert had told you at the start of 2019 that young people and police would fight each other with petrol bombs and teargas on the streets and in universities, it would have taken a leap of faith to believe him.
I am not a feng shui expert but I think it would take a leap of faith to believe the anti-government protests would fizzle out. The expression "fizzle out" means to gradually end in a weak way because people are no longer interested. The 2014 Umbrella Movement fizzled out after 79 days. But the anti-extradition bill protests, which became an anti-government movement, have not fizzled out after seven months of protests. I cannot see the protests fizzling out anytime soon.
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在上一篇专栏中，我说二○一九年是个annus horribilis，意即多灾多难的可怕之年。二○二○又会否是个annus mirabilis，意即大吉之年？没有人能说得准。每年农历新年，我都会邀请风水大师蒋匡文上我的电视节目。今年，农历新年大年初一是一月二十五日，较往常为早。我希望蒋匡文会再来我的节目，好让我请教他究竟二○二○年是可怕的一年（annus horribilis）还是大吉之年（annus mirabilis）。他的预测通常都很精准（spot on）。当他去年上来我的节目时，他说二○一九年是很差的一年，他又算准（spot on）了。
若你是spot on，即是说你是确切的、说的一点也没错。对许多人来说，要相信风水又或占星术（astrology），是需要「信心之跃」（leap of faith）。Astrology是占星学，研究月亮、太阳、星宿与行星等天体的运行与相对位置，相信这些都会影响到人的命运。堪舆师亦会钻研天体的运行，以作出预测。习语leap of faith是指对于一些不太可信，又或不能印证之物事，选择跨出一步去相信。譬如，若果一位风水师在二○一九年之始就告诉你，年轻人与警方会在街上和大学里以汽油弹和催泪弹互斗，那就真的需要信心之跃（leap of faith）去相信他。
我不是风水师，但我认为如果要相信反政府示威会fizzle out，也需要信心之跃（leap of faith）。习语fizzle out是指逐渐式微而告终，因为人们不再对之感兴趣了。二○一四年雨伞运动在七十九天之后就逐渐衰微而结束（fizzled out）了；但反修例示威，后来演变成反政府运动，经过了七个月的抗议行动仍未衰败（fizzled out）。我还未见到抗议行动在短期内减退或消散（fizzling out）的迹象。
[email protected]
Michael Chugani 褚简宁
If you are spot on, it means you are exactly right or totally correct. For many people, it takes a leap of faith to believe in feng shui or astrology. The word "astrology" means the study of the movements and positions of the moon, sun, stars, and planets in the belief they affect the lives of people. Feng shui experts also study such movements to make their predictions. The expression "leap of faith" means an act of believing in something that is not easily believable or believing in something that cannot be proven. For example, if a feng shui expert had told you at the start of 2019 that young people and police would fight each other with petrol bombs and teargas on the streets and in universities, it would have taken a leap of faith to believe him.
I am not a feng shui expert but I think it would take a leap of faith to believe the anti-government protests would fizzle out. The expression "fizzle out" means to gradually end in a weak way because people are no longer interested. The 2014 Umbrella Movement fizzled out after 79 days. But the anti-extradition bill protests, which became an anti-government movement, have not fizzled out after seven months of protests. I cannot see the protests fizzling out anytime soon.
＊＊＊＊＊
在上一篇专栏中，我说二○一九年是个annus horribilis，意即多灾多难的可怕之年。二○二○又会否是个annus mirabilis，意即大吉之年？没有人能说得准。每年农历新年，我都会邀请风水大师蒋匡文上我的电视节目。今年，农历新年大年初一是一月二十五日，较往常为早。我希望蒋匡文会再来我的节目，好让我请教他究竟二○二○年是可怕的一年（annus horribilis）还是大吉之年（annus mirabilis）。他的预测通常都很精准（spot on）。当他去年上来我的节目时，他说二○一九年是很差的一年，他又算准（spot on）了。
若你是spot on，即是说你是确切的、说的一点也没错。对许多人来说，要相信风水又或占星术（astrology），是需要「信心之跃」（leap of faith）。Astrology是占星学，研究月亮、太阳、星宿与行星等天体的运行与相对位置，相信这些都会影响到人的命运。堪舆师亦会钻研天体的运行，以作出预测。习语leap of faith是指对于一些不太可信，又或不能印证之物事，选择跨出一步去相信。譬如，若果一位风水师在二○一九年之始就告诉你，年轻人与警方会在街上和大学里以汽油弹和催泪弹互斗，那就真的需要信心之跃（leap of faith）去相信他。
我不是风水师，但我认为如果要相信反政府示威会fizzle out，也需要信心之跃（leap of faith）。习语fizzle out是指逐渐式微而告终，因为人们不再对之感兴趣了。二○一四年雨伞运动在七十九天之后就逐渐衰微而结束（fizzled out）了；但反修例示威，后来演变成反政府运动，经过了七个月的抗议行动仍未衰败（fizzled out）。我还未见到抗议行动在短期内减退或消散（fizzling out）的迹象。
[email protected]
Michael Chugani 褚简宁
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