Michael Chugani 褚简宁 - To taunt someone｜又中又英

When the coronavirus first reached the US in January of 2020, it quickly became a pandemic that spread like wildfire. Estimates showed the virus infected more than 20 million Americans and caused 346,000 deaths in 2020 alone. I was in Hong Kong at the time and as an American I was lost for words. Some of my friends taunted me by saying how useless the US was in controlling the virus even though it is the world’s most developed country. I didn’t tell them to back off. I just stayed silent. If a disease spreads like wildfire it means it affects many people very quickly.

The expression“lost for words”used this way means to be so shocked you don’t know what to say. To taunt someone means to intentionally say unkind things to that person or to laugh unkindly at that person. The expression “back off” used this way means to tell someone to stop criticizing or interfering. The pandemic in the US has subsided, which means it has become less severe. I am in the US now and am lost for words whenever I read media reports about the Omicron virus spreading like wildfire in Hong Kong. The daily infection rate in Hong Kong is now about the same as the US even though Hong Kong has a much smaller population.

I won’t taunt the Hong Kong friends who taunted me when the coronavirus was spreading like wildfire in the US. I will also not feel schadenfreude. This is a German word that means a feeling of pleasure when something bad happens to someone else. I remember when the coronavirus was spreading like wildfire in the US a businessman friend of mine had schadenfreude in the way he laughed at the US. Instead of schadenfreude, I am saddened by the high number of infections and deaths in Hong Kong where I was born. I am confident the latest wave of the virus in Hong Kong will subside just like it subsided in the US.
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当新冠肺炎病毒于二○二○年一月首度入侵美国时，它瞬间如星火燎原般迅速蔓延（spread like wildfire），成为了全球大流行疫症。有估计显示，单单在二○二○年，便有二千万美国人感染病毒，引致三十四万六千人死亡。当时我在香港，身为美国人我已不知可以说甚么（lost for words）。有一些朋友奚落（taunted）我，说美国即使是世上最发达先进的国家，在控制疫情方面仍是那么无能。我没有叫他们住口（back off），我只保持沉默。若一个疾病spreads like wildfire意即它非常迅速地扩散，有许多人受到感染。
  日习语“lost for words”在这里是指你震惊得说不出话来。To taunt someone即故意去说些难听的话去奚落某人，又或不客气地嘲讽那个人。习语“back off”在这里是指叫某人退开，停止批评或干预。美国的疫情已经subsided，意即它已减弱、回落。我现在人在美国，每当我读到传媒报道Omicron病毒如何在香港如星火燎原般扩散（spreading like wildfire），我同样哑口无言（lost for words）。香港现在每天的感染人数跟美国相若，但香港人口要少得多。

对于当天那些香港朋友在美国新冠肺炎疫情迅速蔓延（spreading like wildfire）时奚落（taunted）我，我现在不会反过来奚落（taunt）他们。我也不会感到schadenfreude—这是个德文字，意即幸灾乐祸。我记得当疫情在美国迅速蔓延（spreading like wildfire）之时，我一位做生意的朋友幸灾乐祸（schadenfreude）地嘲讽美国。我没有幸灾乐祸（schadenfreude），相反对于香港这个自己出生的地方，有这么高的感染率和死亡数字，感到很悲伤。我有信心，香港最新一波疫情将会回落（subside），如同美国的疫情消退（subsided）一样。
中译：七刻
Michael Chugani 褚简宁