Michael Chugani 褚简宁 - a gentleman to his fingertips｜又中又英
Michael Chugani 褚简宁
2022-05-26 00:00 HKT
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A media report I read last week saddened me. The report said Michael Sze Cho-cheung, a very senior government official during colonial times, had died of cancer. It saddened me because I knew him when I was a Hong Kong reporter covering political news. Sze Cho-cheung had worked very closely with Hong Kong’s last governor, Chris Patten, on electoral reforms leading up to the 1997 reunification. In a statement on Sze Cho-cheung’s death Patten said he was one of Hong Kong’s finest public servants who understood to his fingertips what once made the Hong Kong civil service one of the best in the world.
There are many idioms and expressions that use the word “fingertips”.If you say your best friend is a gentleman to his fingertips it means he is a gentleman in every way. When Patten said Sze Cho-cheung understood to his fingertips what once made the Hong Kong civil service one of the best in the world he meant Sze Cho-cheung fully understood why the civil service was one of the world’s best. If you always keep your mobile phone next to your bed when you sleep you can say you always have your mobile phone at your fingertips. This means you can easily reach it. The expression “at your fingertips” can also be used in other ways.
If you understand every part of your business you can say you have all the information about your business at your fingertips. The expression “by your fingertips” is very different from “at your fingertips”. If your business is losing money and you have just enough to keep it open you can say you are holding on by your fingertips. If a politician is very unpopular and may soon be ousted you can say he is holding on to power by his fingertips. If you have nearly fallen off a cliff and are holding on to the cliff’s edge with your fingers you can say you are hanging on by your fingertips.
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上星期我读到的一则新闻报道令我很悲伤。该报道指，殖民时期一位非常高级的政府官员施祖祥，不敌癌症而病逝。这个消息令我悲伤，因为我从前在香港做记者，跑政治新闻的时候，就已认识他。施祖祥曾与香港最后一任港督彭定康合作无间，推动政制改革迈向一九九七年香港回归。谈到施祖祥的离世，彭定康在悼词中道，施是香港最优秀的公仆之一，深切（to his fingertips）明了曾经是甚么令香港公务员成为全球数一数二的公务员团队。
有许多成语和习语都会用到fingertips一字。若你说你最好的朋友是a gentleman to his fingertips，意即他是个十足十的绅士。当彭定康说施祖祥understood to his fingertips what once made the Hong Kong civil service one of the best in the world，他的意思是，施祖祥完全了解，曾经是甚么促使香港公务员晋身全球最优秀的公务员团队之一。若你睡觉的时候总是将手机放在床边，你便可以说你总是have your mobile phone at your fingertips，意即将手机放在触手可及之处，可以轻易取得。习语“at your fingertips”亦有其他的用法。
若你精通自己那盘生意的每一个细节，你便可以说you have all the information about your business at your fingertips，你对你生意的一切资讯了如指掌。习语“by your fingertips”跟“at your fingertips”却有很大的差异。若你的生意在蚀钱，仅仅够维持营运，你便可以说你只是勉强撑着（by your fingertips）。如果一个政客很不受欢迎，很快就会下台，那你可以说他只在勉强握着（by his fingertips）权力不放。要是你几乎要堕下山崖，正紧紧抓着悬崖边，你便可以说you are hanging on by your fingertips。中译：七刻
Michael Chugani 褚简宁
There are many idioms and expressions that use the word “fingertips”.If you say your best friend is a gentleman to his fingertips it means he is a gentleman in every way. When Patten said Sze Cho-cheung understood to his fingertips what once made the Hong Kong civil service one of the best in the world he meant Sze Cho-cheung fully understood why the civil service was one of the world’s best. If you always keep your mobile phone next to your bed when you sleep you can say you always have your mobile phone at your fingertips. This means you can easily reach it. The expression “at your fingertips” can also be used in other ways.
If you understand every part of your business you can say you have all the information about your business at your fingertips. The expression “by your fingertips” is very different from “at your fingertips”. If your business is losing money and you have just enough to keep it open you can say you are holding on by your fingertips. If a politician is very unpopular and may soon be ousted you can say he is holding on to power by his fingertips. If you have nearly fallen off a cliff and are holding on to the cliff’s edge with your fingers you can say you are hanging on by your fingertips.
＊＊＊＊＊
上星期我读到的一则新闻报道令我很悲伤。该报道指，殖民时期一位非常高级的政府官员施祖祥，不敌癌症而病逝。这个消息令我悲伤，因为我从前在香港做记者，跑政治新闻的时候，就已认识他。施祖祥曾与香港最后一任港督彭定康合作无间，推动政制改革迈向一九九七年香港回归。谈到施祖祥的离世，彭定康在悼词中道，施是香港最优秀的公仆之一，深切（to his fingertips）明了曾经是甚么令香港公务员成为全球数一数二的公务员团队。
有许多成语和习语都会用到fingertips一字。若你说你最好的朋友是a gentleman to his fingertips，意即他是个十足十的绅士。当彭定康说施祖祥understood to his fingertips what once made the Hong Kong civil service one of the best in the world，他的意思是，施祖祥完全了解，曾经是甚么促使香港公务员晋身全球最优秀的公务员团队之一。若你睡觉的时候总是将手机放在床边，你便可以说你总是have your mobile phone at your fingertips，意即将手机放在触手可及之处，可以轻易取得。习语“at your fingertips”亦有其他的用法。
若你精通自己那盘生意的每一个细节，你便可以说you have all the information about your business at your fingertips，你对你生意的一切资讯了如指掌。习语“by your fingertips”跟“at your fingertips”却有很大的差异。若你的生意在蚀钱，仅仅够维持营运，你便可以说你只是勉强撑着（by your fingertips）。如果一个政客很不受欢迎，很快就会下台，那你可以说他只在勉强握着（by his fingertips）权力不放。要是你几乎要堕下山崖，正紧紧抓着悬崖边，你便可以说you are hanging on by your fingertips。中译：七刻
Michael Chugani 褚简宁
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