又中又英 | A crapshoot | 褚简宁
What goes on inside the head of US President Donald Trump? No one knows for sure. He likes to keep everyone guessing, sometimes even his closest advisers, about his policy decisions until the last minute. Trying to guess what he will do is like a crapshoot. The word “crapshoot” means something that the result of which is unpredictable. Trump had threatened for a long time to invade Venezuela. Not everyone believed him, including Venezuela’s president Nicolás Maduro who thought Trump was bluffing (pretending). But Trump ordered the invasion of Venezuela in a lightning raid that captured Maduro.
A lightning raid is a very fast, sudden, and surprise attack. Trump is now threatening to attack Iran and acquire Greenland. Is he bluffing? Guessing what he will do is again like a crapshoot. He has also threatened to put boots on the ground. The expression “boots on the ground”, as I have explained before, means soldiers on the ground in a war zone sent there by a particular country. The expression only applies to soldiers, not the navy or air force. The expression nowadays can also be used when police or other people are physically present in a place doing their work.
Will Trump put boots on the ground in Iran and Greenland? The US already has a space force base in Greenland. Denmark and Greenland, which is an autonomous territory of Denmark, have both said they welcome American boots on the ground but don’t want Greenland to be a part of the US. I don’t think Trump will put boots on the ground in Iran although he may order air strikes like he did recently.
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美国总统特朗普的葫芦里到底是卖甚么药？没有人确切知道。他喜欢要所有人－－有时甚至包括他的心腹顾问－－到最后一刻都在猜度他的政策决定。尝试估计他下一步会做甚么，就像a crapshoot－－crapshoot是指某事结果像掷骰子一般难以预料。特朗普威胁要进攻委内瑞拉已很久了，并非人人都相信他，包括委内瑞拉总统马杜罗，他之前也认为特朗普只是虚张声势（bluffing）。然而，特朗普却下令以lightning raid的方式进攻委内瑞拉，捉拿了马杜罗。
A lightning raid是非常快速、突然、闪电式的突袭。现在，特朗普又威胁要攻打伊朗和取得格陵兰。他又只是虚张声势，吓唬吓唬一下（bluffing）吗？要猜中他之后会做甚么，又是难以预料的（crapshoot）。他亦威胁要put boots on the ground。正如我从前解释过的，习语boots on the ground是指某一国派遣到战地的地面步兵。这个习语仅适用于陆军，而不适用于海军或空军。今天这个习语也可以用来说警察或其他人到现场前线实地工作。
特朗普可会派遣地面部队（boots on the ground）到伊朗和格陵兰？美国在格陵兰已经有一个太空军基地。丹麦以至丹麦的自治国格陵兰，同样说他们欢迎美国地面部队（boots on the ground），但不想格陵兰变成美国的一部分。我不认为特朗普会派步兵（boots on the ground）到伊朗，但他或者会下令空袭，一如他最近做过的。
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Michael Chugani褚简宁
中译：七刻
