Michael Chugani 褚简宁 - red-eye flight｜又中又英

Last week I took a red-eye flight from San Diego back to Manhattan in New York City. As I explained before, the American slang word “red-eye” means a flight that takes off late at night. My five-hour flight to New York City took off at about 11.30 at night. I was in business class and had hoped to catch a few winks before arriving in New York City very early in the morning. The expression “catch a few winks” means to have a short nap (sleep). It is normally used for having a quick nap during the day but can also be used for situations such as a red-eye flight when most people are unable to sleep.
When I got to my aisle seat there was already a female passenger sitting in the window seat. She had a small unzipped bag on the floor underneath the seat in front of her. In the bag was a small dog! I quietly said “just my luck” to myself. The expression “just my luck” is used when something bad happens to you. I thought the dog would bark during the five-hour flight, making it impossible for me to catch a few winks. I have never had a dog as a pet before because I don’t like dogs. I was worried the dog would lick my hands or bother me in other ways. But this dog was as good as gold.

The expression “as good as gold” means very obedient and well-behaved. It is usually used to describe well-behaved children but can sometimes be used to describe pets. The dog did not bark even once during the flight. It just went to sleep inside the bag. When we were about to land early in the morning the owner put the bag on her lap. The dog raised its head and yawned! I never knew dogs could yawn! It then looked out the window. Many airlines and countries allow small dogs in the passenger cabin but Hong Kong does not allow it.
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上星期我乘搭「红眼」航班（red-eye flight），由圣地牙哥飞回纽约市的曼哈顿。正如我之前解释过的，美式俚语“red-eye”是指深夜起飞的航班。我飞往纽约市的那班机需时五小时，于晚上十一时半起飞。我坐的是商务舱，希望在清晨时分抵达纽约市之前可以catch a few winks——习语“catch a few winks”是指打盹、小睡（nap）片刻。这通常是用于在日间来个短促的小睡（nap），但也可以用来形容另一些情况如红眼航班（red-eye flight），因人们在这种环境下大多难以入眠。

当我到了我那靠通道的座位时，已经有一位女乘客坐在靠窗的座位上。她有一个细小没有拉上拉链的袋子，放在她前面座位下的地上，而袋里装的是一只小狗！我悄悄对自己说“just my luck”——习语“just my luck”即「真倒楣」，慨叹自己运气不好。我以为在那五小时的机程里那只狗会吠叫，令我不可能小睡片刻（catch a few winks）。我从不曾养狗当宠物，因为我不喜欢狗，担心狗只会舔我的手又或有其他烦扰我的行为。不过，这只狗是as good as gold。

习语“as good as gold”是指非常乖巧听话、循规蹈矩；它通常用来形容听话规矩的小孩，但有时也可以用来形容宠物。在那程机上，那只狗没有吠叫一声，牠只是在袋里睡觉。到了清晨时份我们差不多要着陆时，那名狗主将狗袋放在她的大腿上，那只狗便抬起头来打呵欠！我从不知道狗只会打呵欠！之后牠便望出了窗外。许多航空公司和国家都会容许细小的狗只上客舱，但香港是不容许的。
Michael Chugani 褚简宁