又中又英——A nutjob

　　For several days last week my upper arm was sore (painful) and slightly swollen. I also felt lethargic. If you feel lethargic it means you feel tired and have no energy. It made me happy to have a sore and swollen arm and to feel lethargic. You may think I am a nutjob for being happy about feeling unwell with no energy. A nutjob is an American slang to describe someone who is crazy or silly. I can assure you I am not a nutjob. There is a simple reason why I felt happy about feeling unwell and lethargic.
　　Last week I took my Pfizer-Biontech booster shot for the coronavirus. If you have already been vaccinated twice and get vaccinated again six months later it is called a booster shot. The word "booster" means something that improves or increases something. A rocket booster is an engine that gives extra power for the first part of a spacecraft's flight. In medical terms it means an injection that increases or renews the effects of an earlier one. The word "shot" used this way means an injection. The word "jab" is more commonly used in Hong Kong for "shot". The booster shot made me unwell and lethargic for two days.
　　I was happy because it meant the booster shot made my body believe a virus had entered and fought against it, causing a sore arm. I felt the same after my first two shots in Hong Kong, which meant they worked. The pandemic has wreaked havoc across the world. To "wreak" means to cause much damage or harm. The word "havoc" means widespread damage, disorder, or destruction. To "wreak havoc" means to cause much harm or damage. No one knows for sure when the pandemic (noun) will become an endemic (adjective) disease. An endemic disease is a disease that is still present but not rapidly spreading because vaccines or antibodies of recovered patients are protecting them.
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　　上星期有几天，我的上臂疼痛（sore），也有些肿胀。我又感到lethargic——若你感到lethargic，意即你委靡不振、没精打采的。我却高兴自己的手臂疼痛（sore）和肿胀，以及感到倦怠（lethargic）。身体感到不适又没有精力，倒还觉高兴，你一定以为我是个nutjob了。A nutjob是美式俚语，形容一个人疯了或神经错乱。但我可向你保证，我并非疯子（nutjob），我喜见自己不适和倦怠（lethargic），有一个很简单的原因。
　　上星期，我打了辉瑞复必泰加强针（booster shot），以对抗新冠肺炎病毒。若你已经接种了两剂疫苗，过六个月再接种第三剂疫苗，那支加强针就叫 a booster shot。Booster意指该物有助推进或强化某事物。A rocket booster就是火箭推进器，在太空船起飞时提供附加推力。而作为医学名词使用时，它则解作强化注射剂，加强或补充较早时注射剂量的效果。Shot在这里解作注射的针，在香港，比shot更常用的字是jab。加强针（booster shot）令我不适和倦怠（lethargic）了两天。
　　我很高兴，因为那意味着加强针（booster shot）令我的身体相信有病毒入侵并奋力对抗，以致我手臂疼痛（sore）。我在香港打首两针（shots）时，感觉也一样，意即它们起了作用。疫情已经肆虐（wreaked havoc）全球。To "wreak" 意即造成破坏或危害；havoc则指大规模的破坏、混乱或浩劫；to "wreak havoc" 即指造成严重破坏、蹂躏或摧残。没有人确实知道，到底这场疫情（pandemic，名词）何时会变成一个风土（endemic，形容词）病。 An endemic disease就是风土病，即某疾病仍然存在但不会快速传播，因为疫苗或康复病人的抗体能保障他们不受感染。
中译：七刻
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Michael Chugani 褚简宁