又中又英——To nod off

　　Speeches can be boring or interesting, depending on who the speaker is. As a longtime journalist, I have listened to many boring speeches. Speeches in the Legislative Council were so boring during colonial rule when all the members were appointed by the government that many people nodded off. I was a young reporter at the time and must admit I sometimes nodded off too. Speeches became more interesting when Legco members were directly and indirectly elected. Many pro-democracy members used their speeches to berate（scold, criticize） senior government officials and even throw things at them. But annual policy and budget speeches by the chief executive and the financial secretary still make many people nod off.
　　To "nod off" means to briefly fall asleep unintentionally. Some people nod off while watching TV. Speeches by some world leaders at the yearly United Nations General Assembly meeting can make listeners nod off too. A reporter covering the recent UN General Assembly meeting said long and scripted speeches can turn into a snoozefest. The reporter said some long speeches take the cake. The slang word "snoozefest" means an extremely boring event. The word "snooze" means a short, light sleep during the day. The word "fest" comes from the word "festival", which can mean a celebration or an organized set of events such as musical performances. The word "snoozefest" is a humorous way to describe people snoozing during a boring event.
　　The expression "take the cake" means the worst of its kind. If someone continues to lie even though everyone knows he is lying, you can say he really takes the cake, which means he is the worst person of his kind. The reporter asked readers to guess which General Assembly speech was the longest ever and who gave it. I guessed wrong. The longest speech was 7 hours and 48 minutes in 1957 by India's ambassador to the United Nations. After five hours he collapsed and was rushed to hospital but returned to speak for another two hours and 48 minutes.
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　　演说可以是沉闷的，也可以是有趣的，视乎演讲的是谁。我长年当新闻工作者，听过许多沉闷的演说。英殖时期的立法局，所有议员都是政府委任的，演说都沉闷得令许多人打瞌睡（nodded off）。我那时候还是个年轻的记者，不得不承认我有时也会打盹（nodded off）。后来当立法局与立法会议员是直接和间接选出之后，演说就变得较为有趣了。许多民主派议员会用演讲去斥责（berate）政府高官，甚至向他们扔掷物件。但当特首和财政司司长发表《施政报告》和财政预算案时，仍然令许多人打瞌睡（nod off）。
　　To "nod off" 意即打盹、无心之下小睡片刻。有些人在看电视的时候会打瞌睡（nod off）。每年的联合国大会上一些世界领袖的演说，也会令听众打盹（nod off）。最近一位报道联合国大会的记者说，冗长而有讲稿的演说，可以演变为「小睡盛会」（snoozefest）。那名记者说，一些冗长的演说真是闷得超乎想像（take the cake）。俚语「snoozefest」意即闷得令人发慌的场合。Snooze是指白天短暂的小睡；fest则来自「festival」一字，意即节庆，或一连串节目的安排，例如音乐节。「Snoozefest」是个幽默的说法，形容人们在一个沉闷无聊的场合中打盹儿（snoozing）。
　　习语「take the cake」意即最坏、最糟的。若某人不停说谎，即使人人都知道他在撒谎，你便可以说he really takes the cake，意即他真是糟透的人。那位记者叫读者猜猜哪一次的联合国大会演说时间最长，又是谁说的？我猜错了。最长的演讲足足有七小时四十八分钟，是一九五七年由印度驻联合国大使所发表的。说了五小时后他不支晕倒，急送医院，但过后他又回去，续说了两小时又四十八分钟。[email protected]
中译：七刻
Michael Chugani 褚简宁