Michael Chugani 褚简宁 - Straight from the horse’s mouth.｜又中又英
Michael Chugani 褚简宁
2022-09-22 00:00 HKT
字體大小
Washington DC is like a second home to me. I lived there for almost seven years during the 1990s. DC, which stands for District of Columbia, is the capital of the US. I left DC many years ago to return to Hong Kong for the 1997 reunification. I then went to live in Seattle, which is also like a second home to me. I am now back in DC after travelling for one year to numerous US cities. Hong Kong, where I was born, is my first home even though I left a year ago. Many parts of DC and the two states that surround it, Virginia and Maryland, have been gentrified.
To gentrify an area means to change it from being a poor area to a richer one, with a higher social class of people moving in. I couldn’t believe it when my DC friends told me how much home prices and rents have gone up but what they said was straight from the horse’s mouth. If you hear something straight from the horse’s mouth, it means you hear it from a person who has direct knowledge of it. Washington DC, like New York and other US cities, has put the coronavirus pandemic behind it. To put something behind you means to try to forget or ignore something unpleasant.
Restaurants in DC are so full but short-staffed that service leaves a lot to be desired, which means it’s not good at all. Twice in the past week I went with friends for dinner and had to wait a long time for the food. At both dinners I ordered a second glass of wine which never came. I had to tell the waiter the wine never came and to cancel it. Both restaurants apologized and said it’s hard to find staff.
＊ ＊ ＊ ＊ ＊ ＊ ＊ ＊ ＊
华盛顿哥伦比亚特区就像我的第二个家。我于一九九零年代在那儿住了差不多七年。DC即哥伦比亚特区District of Columbia的简称，是美国的首都。许多年前，我为了一九九七回归而离开哥伦比亚特区回港，然后去了西雅图居住，它也像我的第二个家。如今我用了一年时间游历过美国许多城市过后，又回到了哥伦比亚特区。香港，我出生的地方，是我的第一个家，即使我在一年前离开了。哥伦比亚特区的许多地方，以及围绕它的两个州分：维珍尼亚州与马里兰州，都已士绅化（gentrified）了。
To gentrify an area的意思是指一个地区随着一些中产或较高社会阶层的涌入，由一个贫穷的地区转变为一个较为富裕的地区。当哥伦比亚特区的朋友告诉我那边的楼价和租金大幅上升时，我实在不能相信，但他们所言是千真万确、straight from the horse’s mouth——若你 straight from the horse’s mouth听到某件事，意即你是从一个有直接参与、有第一手资讯与消息的人那里听来的，并非道听涂说。一如纽约和其他美国城市，华盛顿哥伦比亚特区已经将新冠肺炎疫情抛诸脑后（put the coronavirus pandemic behind it）。To put something behind you意即尝试忘记或忽略某件令你不快的事情，将其抛诸脑后。
哥伦比亚特区的餐厅座无虚席但又不够人手，令服务 leaves a lot to be desired，即大有改进空间、很不济、不足。上星期我两度与朋友上餐馆吃晚饭，等食物上枱等了好久。两次晚餐我都点了第二杯葡萄酒，但一直没有送来，我需要跟侍应说那杯酒从没到来而需要取消。两间餐厅都向我道歉，说现在聘请员工实在很难。
[email protected]
中译：七刻
Michael Chugani 褚简宁
To gentrify an area means to change it from being a poor area to a richer one, with a higher social class of people moving in. I couldn’t believe it when my DC friends told me how much home prices and rents have gone up but what they said was straight from the horse’s mouth. If you hear something straight from the horse’s mouth, it means you hear it from a person who has direct knowledge of it. Washington DC, like New York and other US cities, has put the coronavirus pandemic behind it. To put something behind you means to try to forget or ignore something unpleasant.
Restaurants in DC are so full but short-staffed that service leaves a lot to be desired, which means it’s not good at all. Twice in the past week I went with friends for dinner and had to wait a long time for the food. At both dinners I ordered a second glass of wine which never came. I had to tell the waiter the wine never came and to cancel it. Both restaurants apologized and said it’s hard to find staff.
＊ ＊ ＊ ＊ ＊ ＊ ＊ ＊ ＊
华盛顿哥伦比亚特区就像我的第二个家。我于一九九零年代在那儿住了差不多七年。DC即哥伦比亚特区District of Columbia的简称，是美国的首都。许多年前，我为了一九九七回归而离开哥伦比亚特区回港，然后去了西雅图居住，它也像我的第二个家。如今我用了一年时间游历过美国许多城市过后，又回到了哥伦比亚特区。香港，我出生的地方，是我的第一个家，即使我在一年前离开了。哥伦比亚特区的许多地方，以及围绕它的两个州分：维珍尼亚州与马里兰州，都已士绅化（gentrified）了。
To gentrify an area的意思是指一个地区随着一些中产或较高社会阶层的涌入，由一个贫穷的地区转变为一个较为富裕的地区。当哥伦比亚特区的朋友告诉我那边的楼价和租金大幅上升时，我实在不能相信，但他们所言是千真万确、straight from the horse’s mouth——若你 straight from the horse’s mouth听到某件事，意即你是从一个有直接参与、有第一手资讯与消息的人那里听来的，并非道听涂说。一如纽约和其他美国城市，华盛顿哥伦比亚特区已经将新冠肺炎疫情抛诸脑后（put the coronavirus pandemic behind it）。To put something behind you意即尝试忘记或忽略某件令你不快的事情，将其抛诸脑后。
哥伦比亚特区的餐厅座无虚席但又不够人手，令服务 leaves a lot to be desired，即大有改进空间、很不济、不足。上星期我两度与朋友上餐馆吃晚饭，等食物上枱等了好久。两次晚餐我都点了第二杯葡萄酒，但一直没有送来，我需要跟侍应说那杯酒从没到来而需要取消。两间餐厅都向我道歉，说现在聘请员工实在很难。
[email protected]
中译：七刻
Michael Chugani 褚简宁
更多文章
