Michael Chugani 褚简宁 - “chew someone out”｜又中又英

Health experts say people should chew their food at least 30 times before swallowing. Foods that are harder to chew, such as steaks or nuts, require up to 40 chews but soft foods such as watermelons or bananas require about 15 chews. To chew, as most of you know, is to use your teeth to break food into smaller, softer pieces before swallowing it. Chewing 30 or 40 times before swallowing seems like a lot but health experts say chewing food and mixing it with saliva makes it easier to digest the food. Chewing also allows your body to take the most nutrients from your food.

The word“chew”is a simple one that most of you know but did you also know the word has a completely different meaning when used as an American slang word？My boss chewed me out many times when I was a young reporter. The expression“chew someone out”means to tell a person angrily that he or she has done something wrong. My editor chewed me out whenever I had my facts wrong in a news article. Many years ago, when I was the editor of a newspaper, I trusted one of the reporters who insisted the facts in his news article were correct.

After the article was published the person named in it denied the corruption allegations in the article and sued the newspaper. The reporter was unable to verify the allegations in the article. The newspaper had to apologize and pay the person several million dollars. The newspaper owners were so angry they scolded me or chewed me out for a long time. Another American expression that uses the word“chew”is“chew you up and spit you out”. This means to totally defeat someone or to treat that person very harshly. If you are very good at tennis and can easily defeat your friend, you can say you will chew him up and spit him out.
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  健康专家说，人在吞咽食物前，应至少咀嚼（chew）食物三十次。一些难于咀嚼（chew）的食物，例如牛扒或果仁，更需要达四十次咀嚼（chews），但软的食物如西瓜或香蕉，则只需要约十五次咀嚼（chews）。你们大多知道，to chew，即在吞咽前用牙齿咬碎及磨细食物。吞咽前咀嚼（chewing）三十或四十次，听起来好像很多，但健康专家指，咀嚼（chewing）食物及以口水混和，令食物更易消化。咀嚼（chewing）也能让你的身体从食物中摄取最多营养。

Chew是个简单的字，你们都知道它的意思，但你又可知道这个字作为美式俚语用时，有着截然不同的意思？当我还是年轻的记者时，我的老板就曾chewed me out无数次。习语“chew someone out”意即严厉训斥某人做错事。每当我在哪则新闻报道上弄错了甚么事实，我的编辑就会狠狠地「𡁻」我，责骂我一番（chewed me out）。许多年前，当我担任某报编辑时，我信任其中一位记者坚持他在新闻报道中的资料属实。但在那篇文章见报后，该名被点名的人否认文章中的贪污指控，而要控告报馆。那名记者未能证实文中的指控，最终报馆需要道歉，向那人赔偿数百万元。报社老板大发雷霆，很长一段时间都在训斥我（chewed me out）。另一个用到“chew”的美式习语是“chew you up and spit you out”，它的意思是狠狠地打败某人，或是严厉地对待某人。若你精于打网球，轻易就能在网球场上击败你朋友，你便可以说你将会chew him up and spit him out。
中译：七刻
Michael Chugani褚简宁