又中又英——“up and down the ticket”
Michael Chugani 褚简宁
2020-08-25 04:16 HKT
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America’s Democratic Party held its convention last week to formally select Joe Biden as its candidate for the November elections. It also made history by formally selecting Kamala Harris as its candidate for vice president. Harris is the first non-white woman to be selected as a vice-president candidate. Her father is black and her late mother was an immigrant from India. It was a virtual convention because of the coronavirus. Many leading Democrats gave speeches online. One of them was former president Barack Obama, who is an excellent speaker. He gave a stirring speech urging Americans to vote out Donald Trump. The word "stirring" used this way means very inspiring and emotional. A stirring speech is a speech that inspires people.
Obama urged his online audience to “nail down the votes”. The expression “nail down” has different meanings but used this way it means to get enough votes to make victory happen. He also urged voters to vote for candidates “up and down the ticket”. This is an American expression that is used for elections. A US president serves four years and can only be president twice. Members of the House of Representatives can serve indefinitely but their term is for two years. They must run for re-election every two years. Senators serve six years. About a third take turns running for re-election every two years.
When Obama urged voters to vote for candidates “up and down the ticket” he meant people should vote for a Democratic Party president, who is at the top, all the way down to Democratic Party senators, House of Representatives members, state governors, and local officials. During the virtual convention, Kamala Harris used the expression “Stand with our allies, stand up to our adversaries”. To “stand with” someone means to support or be loyal to that person. During last year’s anti-extradition protests, some famous people used Twitter to say they would “stand with” Hong Kong. The expression “stand up to” means to defend yourself or not allow yourself to be treated badly by powerful people, countries, or organizations.
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美国民主党上周举行了大会，正式提名拜登成为十一月总统大选中代表其党的候选人。大会正式提名贺锦丽为其副总统的候选人，亦创造了历史。贺锦丽是第一位非白人女性获选为副总统候选人。她的父亲是黑人，已故的母亲则是来自印度的移民。因着新冠肺炎疫情，大会以视像形式举行。许多民主党的领袖亦在网上致辞，其中一位就是前总统奥巴马，他是位出色的演说家。他发表了一场激动人心的演说（stirring speech），促请美国人以投票否决特朗普。Stirring在这里是指富启发性的、令人激动的。A stirring speech就是鼓舞人心的演说。
奥巴马力劝正在看网上直播的观众“nail down the votes”。习语“nail down”有不同的意思，但在这里是指取得足够的选票去胜出大选。他也力促选民投票时要兼顾「上上下下」（“up and down the ticket”）的候选人。“Up and down the ticket”是选举时所用的美式习语。一位美国总统的任期是四年，只能做两任；众议院并无连任限制，但众议员的任期是两年，每两年必须竞选才能连任；参议员的任期则是六年，每隔两年改选约三分之一的席位。
当奥巴马竭力主张选民要选candidates“up and down the ticket”，他的意思是人们投票时，上至总统，下至参议员、众议员、州长、地方官员，都要选出民主党党员。在视像大会举行期间，贺锦丽用了一个习语「与我们的盟友站在一起，勇于面对敌人」（Stand with our allies, stand up to our adversaries）。 To “stand with” someone意即支持某人或对某人忠心。在上年的反修例示威中，一些知名人士便在推特说他们会“stand with” Hong Kong。习语“stand up to”是指保护自己，不让有权势的人、国家又或组织去恶待自己。
中译：七刻
Michael Chugani 褚简宁
Obama urged his online audience to “nail down the votes”. The expression “nail down” has different meanings but used this way it means to get enough votes to make victory happen. He also urged voters to vote for candidates “up and down the ticket”. This is an American expression that is used for elections. A US president serves four years and can only be president twice. Members of the House of Representatives can serve indefinitely but their term is for two years. They must run for re-election every two years. Senators serve six years. About a third take turns running for re-election every two years.
When Obama urged voters to vote for candidates “up and down the ticket” he meant people should vote for a Democratic Party president, who is at the top, all the way down to Democratic Party senators, House of Representatives members, state governors, and local officials. During the virtual convention, Kamala Harris used the expression “Stand with our allies, stand up to our adversaries”. To “stand with” someone means to support or be loyal to that person. During last year’s anti-extradition protests, some famous people used Twitter to say they would “stand with” Hong Kong. The expression “stand up to” means to defend yourself or not allow yourself to be treated badly by powerful people, countries, or organizations.
*****
美国民主党上周举行了大会，正式提名拜登成为十一月总统大选中代表其党的候选人。大会正式提名贺锦丽为其副总统的候选人，亦创造了历史。贺锦丽是第一位非白人女性获选为副总统候选人。她的父亲是黑人，已故的母亲则是来自印度的移民。因着新冠肺炎疫情，大会以视像形式举行。许多民主党的领袖亦在网上致辞，其中一位就是前总统奥巴马，他是位出色的演说家。他发表了一场激动人心的演说（stirring speech），促请美国人以投票否决特朗普。Stirring在这里是指富启发性的、令人激动的。A stirring speech就是鼓舞人心的演说。
奥巴马力劝正在看网上直播的观众“nail down the votes”。习语“nail down”有不同的意思，但在这里是指取得足够的选票去胜出大选。他也力促选民投票时要兼顾「上上下下」（“up and down the ticket”）的候选人。“Up and down the ticket”是选举时所用的美式习语。一位美国总统的任期是四年，只能做两任；众议院并无连任限制，但众议员的任期是两年，每两年必须竞选才能连任；参议员的任期则是六年，每隔两年改选约三分之一的席位。
当奥巴马竭力主张选民要选candidates“up and down the ticket”，他的意思是人们投票时，上至总统，下至参议员、众议员、州长、地方官员，都要选出民主党党员。在视像大会举行期间，贺锦丽用了一个习语「与我们的盟友站在一起，勇于面对敌人」（Stand with our allies, stand up to our adversaries）。 To “stand with” someone意即支持某人或对某人忠心。在上年的反修例示威中，一些知名人士便在推特说他们会“stand with” Hong Kong。习语“stand up to”是指保护自己，不让有权势的人、国家又或组织去恶待自己。
中译：七刻
Michael Chugani 褚简宁
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