又中又英——Over the moon

　　Last week, the world saw a momentous event. British billionaire Richard Branson became the first man to hurtle into space in his own rocket ship, bringing space tourism closer to reality. One news report described Branson as a swashbuckling billionaire. The adjective "momentous" means something of great importance that will influence or have an effect on future events. A similar word is epoch-making. The verb "hurtle" means to move very fast, especially in a dangerous way. The adjective "swashbuckling" is used to describe someone who behaves in a brave and exciting way. The noun "swashbuckler" means a person who enjoys and looks for dangerous and exciting experiences. In the old days, pirates were often called swashbucklers.
　　Branson is a modern-day swashbuckler because it is dangerous but exciting to fly to space for someone who is not a trained astronaut. I am not a swashbuckler but wish I could afford to be a space tourist！One news report described Branson as over the moon after his successful space flight. The expression "over the moon" means to be very happy about something. If you score very high marks in an important exam, you can say you are over the moon. The same news report said Branson now has bragging rights in his space rivalry with Amazon boss Jeff Bezos. As many of us know, Bezos wanted to be the first man in space with his own spaceship but Branson did it first.
　　The word "brag" means to boast or speak proudly about what you own or have achieved. If you own a house on the Peak you can brag about it. The expression "bragging rights" means you have a right to boast or brag about your achievements. Branson has bragging rights because he got to space before Bezos. I wish I had bragging rights but I am just a journalist. Only journalists who have won a Pulitzer Prize have bragging rights.
＊＊＊＊＊
　　上星期，世界见证了一场重大的（momentous）盛事。英国亿万富翁布兰森成为首位用自己的火箭冲上（hurtle）太空的人，令太空旅游更大可能实现。一个新闻报道形容布兰森为传奇历险的（swashbuckling）亿万富翁。形容词 "momentous" 是指某样非常重要的事情，足以影响将来的发展；另一个类近的字是epoch-making，即划时代的。动词hurtle是指急速移动，尤其是危险地猛冲、飞驰。形容词swashbuckling是用来形容某人表现勇猛、充满冒险精神；名词swashbuckler则指某人酷爱历险，常探索危险及刺激的经历。在旧时，海盗就常被称为swashbucklers。
　　布兰森就是现代的冒险家（swashbuckler），因为对一个并非受训太空员的人来说，要飞上太空实在既危险又刺激。我不是冒险家（swashbuckler），但也希望我付得起去成为一个太空游客！在布兰森成功完成他的太空旅程后，一个新闻报道形容他是over the moon——习语“over the moon”是指欣喜若狂、兴奋极了。若你在一次重要的考试中取得很高的分数，你便可以说你是over the moon。同一则新闻报道更说，布兰森现在于他跟亚马逊老板贝索斯的太空竞赛中，已能耀武扬威（bragging rights）。正如我们许多人也知道，贝索斯很想成为第一个乘坐自己太空船上太空的人，却给布兰森先拔头筹。
　　Brag是指自吹自擂，大声吹嘘自己所拥有或达成了的事。若你在山顶有间屋，你便可以加以炫耀（brag）。习语 "bragging rights" 是指你有资格去自夸或吹嘘（brag）自己的成就。布兰森有权去耀武扬威（bragging rights），因为他比贝索斯先上太空。我希望我有炫耀的本钱（bragging rights），但我不过是个新闻工作者。只有得到过普立兹奖的新闻工作者，才有资格去自夸（bragging rights）。中译：七刻
Michael Chugani 褚简宁