又中又英 | A creature of habit | 褚简宁
Many people are creatures of habit. I am also a creature of habit in many ways. A creature of habit is someone who always does the same thing in the same way. My daily morning routine is to wash my face after getting out of bed and then sit on my balcony with a mug of hot water. I then drink a mug of hot English tea with a little milk, followed by a small portion of fruit and unsalted walnuts. After breakfast and showering, I boot my laptop. As a creature of habit I always worry if my laptop will go on the fritz when I boot it.
Users were often worried their desktops would suddenly go on the fritz when computers first came out. But desktops and laptops have advanced so much nowadays that they seldom go on the fritz. If something, such as a car or fridge, is on the fritz it means it is not working properly or broken. As I have noted before, English is the main language in America, the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand. They are called Anglosphere countries. Although they share the English language their slang expressions and words are not always the same.
The slang expression "on the fritz" is used mainly in the US. A similar slang expression in British English is "on the blink". If your smartphone is not working properly, you can say it is on the blink. Both "on the fritz" and "on the blink" are used mainly to describe machines, such as cars or TV sets, that are not working properly or broken.
许多人都是creatures of habit，我也是creature of habit。A creature of habit就是墨守成规、生活极为规律的人。我每天早上的例行公事就是起床后洗脸，然后坐在露台上，喝一杯热水。其后我会再喝一杯加一点点奶的热英国茶，接着吃一小份水果和无盐核桃。吃过早餐和淋浴后，我就会打开我的手提电脑。作为一个习惯性动物（creature of habit），当我开电脑的时候，我总是担心它会不会出甚么故障（on the fritz）。
当电脑首度面世之时，用家不时担心他们的桌上电脑会不会突然坏掉（on the fritz）。但今天的桌上电脑和手提电脑已经改良了许多，它们很少会故障（on the fritz）。若某物例如一架车或是一个雪柜is on the fritz，意即它无法正常运作，或者是坏掉了。正如我以前说过的，英语是美国、英国、加拿大、澳洲和纽西兰的主要语言，他们被称为英语圈国家（Anglosphere）。虽然他们共同使用英语，但他们的俚语和用词并不总是一样的。
俚语on the fritz就主要在美国使用，近似的英式用语是on the blink。若你的智能电话不能正常操作，你可以说它是on the blink。On the fritz和on the blink主要都是用来形容机器，例如汽车或电视机，不能正常运作或是坏掉了。
[email protected]
Michael Chugani褚简宁
中译：七刻
