又中又英——topsy-turvy
Michael Chugani 褚简宁
2020-03-24 04:16 HKT
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No one could have imagined just a few weeks ago that the whole world would suddenly go topsy-turvy. It is like a nightmare come true. The coronavirus, which started in Wuhan, has now spread its tentacles to the whole world. People are dying. There is global panic. Stock markets around the world are in a freefall (falling very quickly).
Countries have closed their borders to each other. Businesses, especially airlines and hotels, are going bust. It is as if World War III has arrived. But this is not a world war with countries fighting each other. This is a war with the whole world fighting an invisible enemy that doesn't use bombs or warplanes to fight against us. It uses our coughs, sneezes, and dirty hands to invade our noses, eyes, and mouths.
It is like a science fiction movie but it is very real. Even though the world has gone topsy-turvy, I urge everyone to stay calm and fight the enemy together. United we stand, divided we fall. The expression "topsy-turvy" means upside-down. It is used to describe confusion or disorder. A tentacle is a long, thin arm of a sea creature such as an octopus. The expression "spread its tentacles" means to extend those arms everywhere to control things. If a company "goes bust" it means it is losing so much money it has to close down. The expression "united we stand, divided we fall" means if we all join and fight together, we will succeed, but if we fight against each other we will fail.
Well-known Hong Kong disease expert Yuen Kwok-yung has warned many times that people on the mainland should stop eating wild animals such as civet cats and bats to avoid new diseases. He repeated that warning again last week in a newspaper column but was criticized by the pro-Beijing camp for being a traitor and a US supporter. Yuen Kwok-yung was pressured into withdrawing his article. Those who pressured him should remember the expression "united we stand, divided we fall".
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仅仅几个星期前，没有人会想像得到，全世界会突然天翻地覆（topsy-turvy），就像一个噩梦成真一般。这个起源于武汉的新冠病毒，现已将它的触须伸延至（spread its tentacles）全世界，不断有人死亡，全球陷入恐慌。世界各地的股票市场正像自由落体般急泻（freefall）。各国都已互相封闭边境。商业尤其是航空及酒店业，都要完蛋（going bust）了。这就像第三次世界大战来临一样。然而，这不是各国互相攻打的世界大战，而是全世界在抗战一个隐形的敌人，它不用炮弹又或战机去攻击我们，而是用我们的咳嗽、喷嚏以及脏手去侵略我们的鼻、眼和口。
这活像科幻电影，可这一切都是真实的。虽然全世界变得乱七八糟（topsy-turvy），我仍力劝各位保持冷静，一同抵御敌人。团结则存，分裂则亡（united we stand, divided we fall）。习语“topsy-turvy”意即颠倒了，是用来形容混乱或无序的状态。A tentacle是海洋生物的幼长触角；习语“spread its tentacles”意即伸手至各处去掌控事情。若一家公司“goes bust”，意即它亏蚀了许多钱，要破产而倒闭了。习语“united we stand, divided we fall”就是说，若我们团结一起，我们就会成功；反则若我们互相攻击，那我们就会失败。
知名的香港传染病专家袁国勇已多次警告，内地人应当停止进食野生动物，例如果子貍和蝙蝠，以避免新型疾病出现。他上周在一报章专栏中重复这个警告，却被亲北京阵营批评为「汉奸」和亲美人士。袁国勇受压而撤回了文章。那些对他施加压力的人，好应记住这个习语：「团结则存，分裂则亡」（united we stand, divided we fall）。
中译：七刻
Michael Chugani 褚简宁
Countries have closed their borders to each other. Businesses, especially airlines and hotels, are going bust. It is as if World War III has arrived. But this is not a world war with countries fighting each other. This is a war with the whole world fighting an invisible enemy that doesn't use bombs or warplanes to fight against us. It uses our coughs, sneezes, and dirty hands to invade our noses, eyes, and mouths.
It is like a science fiction movie but it is very real. Even though the world has gone topsy-turvy, I urge everyone to stay calm and fight the enemy together. United we stand, divided we fall. The expression "topsy-turvy" means upside-down. It is used to describe confusion or disorder. A tentacle is a long, thin arm of a sea creature such as an octopus. The expression "spread its tentacles" means to extend those arms everywhere to control things. If a company "goes bust" it means it is losing so much money it has to close down. The expression "united we stand, divided we fall" means if we all join and fight together, we will succeed, but if we fight against each other we will fail.
Well-known Hong Kong disease expert Yuen Kwok-yung has warned many times that people on the mainland should stop eating wild animals such as civet cats and bats to avoid new diseases. He repeated that warning again last week in a newspaper column but was criticized by the pro-Beijing camp for being a traitor and a US supporter. Yuen Kwok-yung was pressured into withdrawing his article. Those who pressured him should remember the expression "united we stand, divided we fall".
＊＊＊＊＊
仅仅几个星期前，没有人会想像得到，全世界会突然天翻地覆（topsy-turvy），就像一个噩梦成真一般。这个起源于武汉的新冠病毒，现已将它的触须伸延至（spread its tentacles）全世界，不断有人死亡，全球陷入恐慌。世界各地的股票市场正像自由落体般急泻（freefall）。各国都已互相封闭边境。商业尤其是航空及酒店业，都要完蛋（going bust）了。这就像第三次世界大战来临一样。然而，这不是各国互相攻打的世界大战，而是全世界在抗战一个隐形的敌人，它不用炮弹又或战机去攻击我们，而是用我们的咳嗽、喷嚏以及脏手去侵略我们的鼻、眼和口。
这活像科幻电影，可这一切都是真实的。虽然全世界变得乱七八糟（topsy-turvy），我仍力劝各位保持冷静，一同抵御敌人。团结则存，分裂则亡（united we stand, divided we fall）。习语“topsy-turvy”意即颠倒了，是用来形容混乱或无序的状态。A tentacle是海洋生物的幼长触角；习语“spread its tentacles”意即伸手至各处去掌控事情。若一家公司“goes bust”，意即它亏蚀了许多钱，要破产而倒闭了。习语“united we stand, divided we fall”就是说，若我们团结一起，我们就会成功；反则若我们互相攻击，那我们就会失败。
知名的香港传染病专家袁国勇已多次警告，内地人应当停止进食野生动物，例如果子貍和蝙蝠，以避免新型疾病出现。他上周在一报章专栏中重复这个警告，却被亲北京阵营批评为「汉奸」和亲美人士。袁国勇受压而撤回了文章。那些对他施加压力的人，好应记住这个习语：「团结则存，分裂则亡」（united we stand, divided we fall）。
中译：七刻
Michael Chugani 褚简宁
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