又中又英｜Pet lovers get in a huff - Michael Chugani 褚简宁

Pet lovers are something else. They get in a huff when they think people mistreat or dislike their pets. When I lived in Hong Kong I often saw pet lovers pamper their dogs by wheeling them in baby carriages. Americans love dogs but I have never seen them wheel their dogs in baby carriages. Hong Kong pet lovers and pet shop owners are in a huff because the government has ordered the culling of over 2,000 hamsters and a temporary ban on imports of small animals. The expression“something else”is used to describe a person or thing that is unusual or extraordinary. If you are in a huff it means you are very angry and upset.

To pamper pets or people means to spoil them by treating them in a special way. Some people pamper or spoil their pets or children by giving them the best of everything. The word “cull” means to select a certain number of something, such as animals, to kill them. Farmers sometimes cull sick animals to prevent the spread of disease. Pet lovers are in a huff because of the government’s decision to cull over 2,000 hamsters after investigations showed some could have infected humans with the coronavirus. The decision to cull the hamsters has made world news. Many people in other countries feel the decision to cull so many hamsters is an overkill.

The word “overkill” has nothing to do with killing people or animals. It means to do far more than what is required or suitable. The Washington Post’s headline described the culling as “Hong Kong hamster massacre”. The word “massacre” means the indiscriminate and brutal killing of a lot of people, such as the Nanjing Massacre in 1937. During this massacre Japanese soldiers killed many Chinese in Nanjing. The word “massacre” is not usually used to describe the killing of animals. I think the Washington Post either wanted to attract attention with the headline by making it humorous or to express opposition to the culling.
* *
*
*
*

宠物爱好者都是非比寻常的（something else），要是他们认为有人虐待又或不喜欢他们的宠物，他们便会变得怒气冲冲（in a huff）。我还住在香港的时候，便常见宠物爱好者娇养（pamper）他们的狗只，用婴儿车载着牠们外出。美国人也爱狗，但我就从未见过他们会推着婴儿车载狗只。香港的宠物爱好者和宠物店东主发怒（in a huff），因为政府下令扑杀（culling）逾二千只仓鼠，以及暂停小动物进口。习语“something else”是用来形容一个人或事物非同一般，或相当出众。若你是 in a huff，意即你很愤怒、生气。

To pamper pets or people 意即以娇惯、溺爱宠物或人；有些人在一切事情上，都要安排最好的给宠物或子女，其实就是宠坏、娇养（pamper）了他们。Cull是指挑出某物如动物的特定数量而加以扑杀。农场主人有时也会扑杀（cull）患病的动物，以防疾病传播。宠物爱好者发怒（in a huff），是因政府在有研究显示有些仓鼠或会将新冠病毒传给人类后，便决定扑杀（cull）超过二千只仓鼠。这个扑杀（cull）仓鼠的决定成了国际新闻，许多其他国家的人都认为扑杀（cull）这么多的仓鼠是an overkill。

Overkill一字跟杀人或杀动物毫无关系，它的意思是矫枉过正，所做的远远超出了需要或合理的程度，是过份的行为。《华盛顿邮报》的新闻标题形容这次扑杀行动（culling）为「香港仓鼠大屠杀（massacre）」——massacre是指无差别及残酷地屠杀许多人，例如一九三七年的南京大屠杀（Massacre），在这场大屠杀（massacre）中，日本士兵杀害了南京许多中国人。Massacre一字不多用来形容捕杀动物，我认为《华盛顿邮报》用这个标题，要么就是想令它听起来幽默诙谐，以吸引读者的注意，要么就是对扑杀行动（culling）表达反对的意见。
中译：七刻
Michael Chugani 褚简宁