Michael Chugani 褚简宁 - Wearing　thin｜又中又英

The conventional wisdom always was that China would keep its zero-Covid policy for the time being. But last week, out of the blue, China loosened its policy. It relaxed many of the zero-Covid restrictions. Mainland officials reassured the public that the Omicron variant spreading in the country is mild compared to earlier variants. China has now also ended an app that tracks travel within the country. The expression “conventional wisdom” means a generally accepted view about something. If something happens out of the blue, it means it happens unexpectedly. Hong Kong yesterday also ended the amber health code for arrivals. Residents will no longer need to use the Leave Home Safe app when entering premises.

This decision by the government was long overdue. The patience of many Hong Kong people was wearing thin. If your patience wears thin, it means you are becoming less patient about something or getting annoyed about something. The patience of restaurant and bar owners have been wearing thin for a long time because strict Covid rules have caused many to lose money. Despite the easing of rules, many experts believe Hong Kong’s economy will remain in dire straits unless all restrictions are lifted. If something is in dire straits it means it is in a difficult situation.

It’s time for Hong Kong to end all restrictions, including multiple tests for tourists. I would like to make a correction to a previous column where I said AD means after the death of Christ, a common mistake. A reader correctly noted it means in the year of the Lord.
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一直以来，普遍看法（conventional wisdom）皆认为中国目前还会维持它的清零政策；但上星期，出人意表地（out of the blue），中国放宽了它的政策，松绑了许多清零的防疫措施。内地官员向公众保证，在国内传播的Omicron变种比起早前的变种病毒株更为轻微。中国现在亦已终止使用应用程式去追踪市民在国内的出行活动。习语「conventional wisdom」是指对某事情的一般看法或共识。若某事happens out of the blue，意即它毫无预警地突然发生。香港昨天亦取消了入境人士的「黄码」。香港居民进入处所，毋须再扫描「安心出行」应用程式。

政府的这个决定，实在是姗姗来迟。许多香港人的耐性日渐wearing thin——若你的耐性wears thin，意即你对某事逐渐失去耐性，或感到厌烦。餐厅和酒吧东主已经有很长一段时间等得非常不耐烦（wearing thin），因为严苛的防疫措施令他们许多人损失惨重。尽管放宽了措施，许多专家认为香港经济仍然会停留在dire straits之中，除非取消所有防疫措施——若某事情是in dire straits，意即它处于水深火热、险峻的困境之中。

香港是时候终结所有防疫措施了，包括要求抵港旅客做多个检测。我在此想纠正之前在专栏中所说，公元后AD是指耶稣基督死后的年份，这是一个常见的错误。一位读者正确地指出，它的意思是「主的年份」。
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中译：七刻
Michael Chugani 褚简宁