又中又英 | Beggars belief | 褚简宁

　　News reports about a dog killing a 33-year-old woman who was feeding the dog at a Ta Kwu Ling animal shelter horrified me. Equally horrifying were news reports about a large dog killing two small dogs in Yuen Long. The large dog's owner had let it out unleashed and unmuzzled. The reports said the dog had attacked smaller ones before. It beggars belief that the government has allowed the owner to keep such an unruly dog. The expression “beggar belief” means something that is hard to believe. An unruly dog is a dog that is hard to control.

　　Officials have arrested the dog owner and finally took away the dog. The government should throw the book at the dog owner. To throw the book at someone means to punish that person as severely as the law allows. Other owners have now said their small dogs had also been attacked by large dogs in the past. I have said before that many Hongkongers don't properly train their dogs. The Yuen Long dog attacks reminded me of the government’s new policy to allow dogs in restaurants which apply for a permit.

　　There have already been reports of some dogs jumping onto tables and owners using restaurant utensils to feed their dogs. What if a large dog attacks a person or a small dog in a restaurant? The government’s policy is unclear about dogs that defecate (shit) in restaurants. Restaurants can charge a fee to clean and disinfect the area or require dog owners to clean up. But restaurants must still disinfect the area. It would be impossible for me to continue eating if a dog defecates near me!

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　　根据新闻报道，一名33岁女子在打鼓岭动物收容所喂狗时，那只狗咬死了她，令我甚为惊恐。同样震惊我的，是新闻报道元朗一只大狗咬死了两只细狗。大狗的狗主容许牠没系狗绳又不戴口罩。报道指，那只大狗之前已有攻击过细狗。政府容许该狗主养这样一只难以控制的狗（unruly dog），实在匪夷所思（beggars belief）。习语beggar belief是指某事荒谬得令人难以置信。An unruly dog就是难以管束的狗。

　　官员已拘捕狗主，最终带走了狗只。政府应该向狗主throw the book－－to throw the book at someone是指以法律狠狠判罚某人，将其从重治罪。现在有其他狗主说，他们的小狗过往亦曾被一些大狗袭击。我以前便已说过，许多香港人并未正确训练他们的狗只。元朗狗袭击事件令我想起了政府的新政策，就是容许狗只进入申请了准许的食肆。

　　已经有报道指，一些狗只跳上餐厅的枱面，狗主又用餐厅的餐具喂狗。如果一只大狗在一间餐厅内袭击一个人或一只小狗那怎么办？政府的政策并未清晰讲解，狗只在餐厅内大便（defecate）时又如何。餐厅可以向狗主收取清洁和消毒场地之费用，又或要求狗主自行清理，但餐厅仍必须消毒场地。如果有一只狗在我附近大便（defecates），我不可能还吃得下饭！

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Michael Chugani褚简宁
中译：七刻