又中又英｜sweeping views

America’s West Coast has many quaint little towns with million-dollar views of the Pacific Ocean. One of my favourite sleepy little towns is Yachats on the Oregon coast. I went to Yachats many times when I lived in Seattle. It’s an eight-hour drive from Seattle in Washington State to Yachats in Oregon State. The drive has many million-dollar views of the ocean. Yachats has a quaint two-level hotel called the Fireside Motel with balconies with sweeping views of the ocean. I have stayed there many times. Watching the sunset over the ocean from the balcony with a glass of wine is beyond description, which means it is too beautiful to describe.

The word “quaint” can be used in several ways. Used this way it means attractive because it’s unusual and sometimes old-fashioned. Yachats is a sleepy little town because it has a population of less than 1,000 people. The word “sleepy” means tired and wanting to sleep. But it can also mean a quiet place without much activity or excitement. The expression “million-dollar view” means a very attractive or magnificent view. The word “sweeping” has many meanings but the expression “sweeping view” is similar to “million-dollar view”. It means a very wide view of something, such as an ocean. The pronunciation of Yachats, a Native American word, is interesting. You can hear my pronunciation in Popnews.

My relative took me to another quaint town overlooking the Pacific Ocean when I went to San Diego, California, for Christmas. This town is San Clemente, about an hour’s drive from San Diego. This is also a town beyond description but it is not sleepy like Yachats. Its population is 65,000 but it is a laid-back town, which means it is relaxed and easy-going. I had a huge lunch with wine at a restaurant with a sweeping view of the Pacific Ocean. I will talk about why I had wine at lunch in my next column even though I don’t normally drink alcohol at lunch.
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美国西岸有许多古雅别致的（quaint）小镇，拥有千金难买的太平洋景观（million-dollar views of the Pacific Ocean）。其中一个我最爱的寂静（sleepy）小镇，是俄勒冈海岸的亚查茨。我以前住西雅图时，就去过亚查茨许多遍。从华盛顿州的西雅图驾车到俄勒冈州的亚查茨，要八小时的车程。这段车程沿路亦有许多千金难买的（million-dollar views）海洋景观。亚查茨有一间古雅而特别的（quaint）两层高汽车旅馆名Fireside Motel，那里有露台，远眺海洋的风景一览无遗（sweeping views）。我在那儿也住过不少次。坐在露台，边喝酒边观赏日落大海，实在是beyond description——即美得无法形容。

Quaint一字可以有多种用法，这里解作因为致或古朴而显得迷人的。亚查茨是一个sleepy小镇，因为它的人口少于一千人。Sleepy是指疲倦而困，但它也可解作静悄悄的，并无甚么活动或刺激的事。习语 “million-dollar view”即醉人或壮观的景致。Sweeping一字亦有多重意思，但习语“sweeping view”跟“million-dollar view”的意思相近，即开扬辽阔的景观，例如可饱览广阔的海洋。亚查茨的英文Yachats发音也很有趣，它是一个美洲原住民的字，你可以到Popnews听听我的读音。

我到加州圣地牙哥度圣诞时，一个亲戚带了我到访另一个古朴别致的（quaint）小镇，能眺望太平洋。这个小镇是圣克莱门特，由圣地牙哥驾车过去约一小时车程。它也是美得难以言喻（beyond description），但它并不如亚查茨般寂静（sleepy）。它的人口有六万五千，但亦是一个laid-back的小城，意即它很悠闲写意。我在那儿一间能一览无遗地远眺（sweeping view）太平洋的餐厅，吃了一个大大的午餐，还伴着酒吃。我一般不会在吃午饭时喝酒，在下一篇文章中再说说，我怎么会在午膳时喝起酒来。
[email protected] 中译:七刻
Michael Chugani 褚简宁