又中又英——a pain in the neck
Michael Chugani 褚简宁
2021-09-21 04:17 HKT
字體大小
Wearing a facemask is a pain in the neck. When I was living in Hong Kong I wore a facemask every time I went out. It was the rule. I always followed the rule because Hong Kong is a very crowded city. It is far easier to catch the coronavirus in crowded places. Now I am in the US traveling from one state to another visiting relatives. Facemasks are not required outdoors. Many states require facemasks indoors like supermarkets, shopping malls, and restaurants. That is sensible because the coronavirus can spread much easier indoors. Hong Kong University expert Benjamin Cowling told me the virus doesn't spread outdoors easily unless you are very close to an infected person who sneezes or coughs.
In the US it is no longer a pain in the neck to wear a facemask because people have a choice. The expression “a pain in the neck” is used to describe someone or something that is irritating or annoying. Many people consider wearing a facemask to be irritating. Most Americans choose not to wear a facemask outdoors because the US is not a crowded country. It is about the same size as China but has a population of 333 million compared to China’s population of 1.4 billion. This means most Americans don’t live very close to each other except in crowded cities such as New York.
If you live in the suburbs, like most people do, the houses are far apart and you are not close to anyone. The word “suburb” means a less populated area outside a city where most people live. Wearing a facemask in the suburbs when no one is near you outdoors makes a mockery of wearing facemasks. To “make a mockery of” something means to make it seem foolish or absurd. It is foolish to wear a facemask when no one is near you. All my relatives live in the suburbs. I often go for morning walks in nearby parks without a facemask because the parks are almost empty.
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戴口罩这回事真是令人讨厌（a pain in the neck）。我还在香港居住时，每次外出必定会戴口罩，那是法例规定的。我总是会依从规定，因为香港是个非常挤逼的城市。在人口密集的地方，感染新冠病毒就容易得多。现在我身处美国，穿州过省的探访亲戚。在户外地方，并无规定要戴口罩。许多州份都规定要在室内戴口罩，例如超市、商场和餐厅。这是合理的，因为新冠病毒更易在室内环境传播。香港大学专家高本恩曾跟我说，病毒在户外不那么容易传播，除非一名受感染的患者打喷嚏或咳嗽之际，你跟那人非常靠近。
在美国，戴口罩不再那么烦人（a pain in the neck），因为人们可以有戴不戴的选择。习语“a pain in the neck”是用来形容某人或某事很惹人恼怒或生厌。许多人认为戴口罩是令人烦躁的。大部份美国人在户外也决定不戴口罩，因为美国并不是一个挤逼的国家，它的面积跟中国差不多一样大，但相对于中国十四亿人口，它却只有三亿三千三百万人口。这即是说，除了一些拥挤的城市如纽约，大部份美国人彼此之间并不是住得那么近。
若你如大部份的美国人一样住在郊区（suburbs），房屋相距很远，你跟其他人不是那么接近。Suburb是解人口密度低的市郊，许多人都住在这些地区。在市郊（suburbs），当你附近一个人也没有，却还在戴口罩的话，就令戴口罩显得十分荒谬（makes a mockery of）。To “make a mockery of” something即是令某事物显得愚笨或荒唐可笑。当你附近完全没有人，而你还在戴口罩，就是相当愚蠢的事。我的所有亲戚都住在市郊（suburbs），我常常早上到附近的公园散步，也不戴口罩，因为那些公园几乎都是空无一人。中译：七刻
Michael Chugani 褚简宁
In the US it is no longer a pain in the neck to wear a facemask because people have a choice. The expression “a pain in the neck” is used to describe someone or something that is irritating or annoying. Many people consider wearing a facemask to be irritating. Most Americans choose not to wear a facemask outdoors because the US is not a crowded country. It is about the same size as China but has a population of 333 million compared to China’s population of 1.4 billion. This means most Americans don’t live very close to each other except in crowded cities such as New York.
If you live in the suburbs, like most people do, the houses are far apart and you are not close to anyone. The word “suburb” means a less populated area outside a city where most people live. Wearing a facemask in the suburbs when no one is near you outdoors makes a mockery of wearing facemasks. To “make a mockery of” something means to make it seem foolish or absurd. It is foolish to wear a facemask when no one is near you. All my relatives live in the suburbs. I often go for morning walks in nearby parks without a facemask because the parks are almost empty.
＊＊＊＊＊
戴口罩这回事真是令人讨厌（a pain in the neck）。我还在香港居住时，每次外出必定会戴口罩，那是法例规定的。我总是会依从规定，因为香港是个非常挤逼的城市。在人口密集的地方，感染新冠病毒就容易得多。现在我身处美国，穿州过省的探访亲戚。在户外地方，并无规定要戴口罩。许多州份都规定要在室内戴口罩，例如超市、商场和餐厅。这是合理的，因为新冠病毒更易在室内环境传播。香港大学专家高本恩曾跟我说，病毒在户外不那么容易传播，除非一名受感染的患者打喷嚏或咳嗽之际，你跟那人非常靠近。
在美国，戴口罩不再那么烦人（a pain in the neck），因为人们可以有戴不戴的选择。习语“a pain in the neck”是用来形容某人或某事很惹人恼怒或生厌。许多人认为戴口罩是令人烦躁的。大部份美国人在户外也决定不戴口罩，因为美国并不是一个挤逼的国家，它的面积跟中国差不多一样大，但相对于中国十四亿人口，它却只有三亿三千三百万人口。这即是说，除了一些拥挤的城市如纽约，大部份美国人彼此之间并不是住得那么近。
若你如大部份的美国人一样住在郊区（suburbs），房屋相距很远，你跟其他人不是那么接近。Suburb是解人口密度低的市郊，许多人都住在这些地区。在市郊（suburbs），当你附近一个人也没有，却还在戴口罩的话，就令戴口罩显得十分荒谬（makes a mockery of）。To “make a mockery of” something即是令某事物显得愚笨或荒唐可笑。当你附近完全没有人，而你还在戴口罩，就是相当愚蠢的事。我的所有亲戚都住在市郊（suburbs），我常常早上到附近的公园散步，也不戴口罩，因为那些公园几乎都是空无一人。中译：七刻
Michael Chugani 褚简宁
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