又中又英——Gut-wrenching

　　It was gut-wrenching to see the mass sackings at Cathay Pacific last week. Speculation had been rife (widespread) of a big restructuring at Cathay. But my jaw dropped when Cathay announced it would cut almost 6,000 local jobs and shut down Cathay Dragon, formerly known as Dragonair. Cathay officials said Dragonair, which started in 1985 and became a top local brand, will not be revived even when the airline industry recovers from the coronavirus pandemic. It is gut-wrenching because I have flown Dragonair many times and even more times when it became Cathay Dragon. The word "gut-wrenching" means extremely unpleasant or upsetting. The expression "mass sackings" means firing a lot of people. If your "jaw dropped", it means you were very surprised.
　　I feel very sad about the mass sackings. I always fly Cathay because I want to support Hong Kong's airline. The flight attendants are always friendly. Checking in at Cathay's airport counters is always a breeze, which, when used this way, means very easy and trouble-free. The bartenders at the Cathay lounges are professionals. Of course, I cannot afford to fly first-class but sometimes fly premium economy or business class on business trips. As a Marco Polo member, I can use the lounges. The coronavirus pandemic has ruined the global economy. Many people have been fired. I hope the sacked Cathay staff will find new jobs or be re-hired by Cathay when the global economy recovers.
　　As a freelance journalist, I also worry about being sacked if Hong Kong's economy worsens. That's why I hope there will be a vaccine soon so the world can return to normal and airlines such as Cathay can recover. Cathay's mass sackings shocked Hong Kong but the airline felt it had no choice. I hope Cathay's mass sackings will at least make it lean and mean so it can become successful again when the economy recovers. The expression "lean and mean" means doing whatever is necessary to become efficient and successful. Cathay is a Hong Kong icon. We need to preserve Hong Kong icons.
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　　上星期，国泰航空大裁员（mass sackings），实在看得人揪心（gut-wrenching）。有关国泰将有大型重组的推测早已盛传（rife），但当国泰公布会削减接近六千个本地职位，及关闭前名为港龙航空的国泰港龙航空时，我还是很吃惊（jaw dropped）。港龙创始于一九八五年并成为顶级本地品牌，国泰官方说，即使在航空业熬过全球新冠肺炎疫情而复苏后，它也不会重生了。这实在是刺心裂肝（gut-wrenching），因为我乘搭过港龙很多遍，在它成为国泰港龙后搭过更多遍。Gut-wrenching是指极之痛苦、悲伤的。习语“mass sackings”就是指大量裁员。若你的“jaw dropped”，意即你惊讶得瞠目结舌。
　　我对于大裁员（mass sackings）感到非常难过。我常常乘搭国泰，因为我想支持香港的航空公司，空服员总是很友善。在国泰的机场柜位办登机手续是always a breeze——在这里用的意思，即是轻而易举又不麻烦的。国泰贵宾室的调酒师都是专业的。当然，我付不起钱搭头等舱，但有时去公干也会搭特选经济或商务舱。身为马可孛罗会会员，我可以使用那贵宾室。新冠肺炎疫情摧毁全球经济，许多人都被炒了。我希望那些被解雇的（sacked）国泰员工可以找到新工，或者当全球经济复苏时可以再获国泰聘用。
　　身为自由身新闻工作者，若香港的经济恶化下去，我也会担心被炒（sacked）。因此我希望早日有疫苗面世，好让世界能重返正轨，航空公司如国泰亦得以复元。国泰的大裁员（mass sackings）震惊全港，但航空公司感到没有甚么选择的余地。我希望国泰的大裁员（mass sackings）至少可以令它lean and mean，以至它在经济复苏时可再度成功。习语“lean and mean”是指破釜沉舟，豁出去用尽一切办法去变得有效率和成功。国泰是香港的标志。我们需要保护香港的标志。中译：七刻
Michael Chugani 褚简宁