20180315-Michael Chugani 褚簡寧：cool your heels
Michael Chugani 褚簡寧：cool your heels
2018-03-15
Have you ever been hit by an MTR train breakdown? I have been hit by several MTR breakdowns. The worst was two years ago when I took the Guangzhou through train to attend a friend’s New Year’s Eve party. The train was delayed for over an hour. All the passengers had to cool their heels at the Hung Hom station. After cooling our heels for more than an hour at the overcrowded station we were allowed to board but the train moved at a snail’s pace. The whole journey was delayed by over two hours. My friend’s other guests did not want to cool their heels for me so they started the party without me.
The expression “hit by” can be used in many ways but used this way it means badly affected by something. The slang expression “cool your heels” means to be kept waiting for a very long time. A snail is a mollusk (mollusc in British English). A mollusk is a type of small animal with a soft body and shell. Snails move very slowly. The expression “at a snail’s pace” therefore means moving very slowly. MTR breakdowns are now so common that many passengers have been hit by them. The MTR Corporation makes big bucks (a lot of money) every year but its service is going downhill (worsening). Trains are always full and passengers often have to wait for several trains during rush hour.
Last week the MTRC announced a $16.8 billion profit for last year, an increase of 64 percent. This is a huge profit yet the MTRC still intends to raise fares later this year. Even though it made a $16.8 billion profit it will only allocate $222 million for a three percent fare discount for six months. This is a big joke because $222 million is a paltry (small) amount compared to its $16.8 billion profit. The MTRC is the world’s most profitable railway but it is the greediest. It sucks the blood out of the people. The government should no longer allow fare increases.
＊＊＊
你有否曾經因為港鐵列車故障而大受影響（hit by）？我就有幾次因港鐵故障而大受影響（hit by）。最嚴重的一次是兩年前，我搭廣九直通車去出席一個朋友的除夕派對。列車延誤了超過一小時，所有乘客都只能在紅磡車站空等（cool their heels）。在極之擠迫的車站久等（cool their heels）了超過一個小時後，我們終於能上車，列車卻又以龜速（at a snail’s pace）行駛。整個旅程總共延誤了超過兩小時。我朋友的其他賓客可不想坐冷板櫈（cool their heels）等我，就先自開始派對了。
習語“hit by”可以有多種用法，但在這裏是解作因某事而大受影響或大受打擊。俚語“cool your heels”即等了很久。蝸牛（snail）是一種mollusk（英式英語是mollusc），即是軟體動物。蝸牛（snails）爬行得非常慢，因此習語“at a snail’s pace”就解作移動得非常緩慢。現在港鐵故障很常見，許多乘客都大受影響（hit by）。港鐵公司每年賺很多的錢（big bucks），服務卻每況愈下（going downhill）。列車總是人滿為患，乘客在繁忙時間總要等上幾班列車。
上星期港鐵公司公佈，上年盈利為一百六十八億元，上升了六成四。這是龐大的利潤，港鐵公司卻仍想在今年遲些時候加價。即使它賺了一百六十八億元的利潤，它仍只會分配二億二千二百萬元作為六個月的車費回贈。這是個天大的笑話，因為相對於一百六十八億元的利潤，二億二千二百萬簡直是微不足道（paltry）的金額。港鐵公司是全球最賺錢的鐵路公司，它卻也是最貪婪的，搜刮民脂，吸盡人們的血。政府不應再批准車費加價了。
中譯:七刻
Michael Chugani 褚簡寧
2018-03-15
Have you ever been hit by an MTR train breakdown? I have been hit by several MTR breakdowns. The worst was two years ago when I took the Guangzhou through train to attend a friend’s New Year’s Eve party. The train was delayed for over an hour. All the passengers had to cool their heels at the Hung Hom station. After cooling our heels for more than an hour at the overcrowded station we were allowed to board but the train moved at a snail’s pace. The whole journey was delayed by over two hours. My friend’s other guests did not want to cool their heels for me so they started the party without me.
The expression “hit by” can be used in many ways but used this way it means badly affected by something. The slang expression “cool your heels” means to be kept waiting for a very long time. A snail is a mollusk (mollusc in British English). A mollusk is a type of small animal with a soft body and shell. Snails move very slowly. The expression “at a snail’s pace” therefore means moving very slowly. MTR breakdowns are now so common that many passengers have been hit by them. The MTR Corporation makes big bucks (a lot of money) every year but its service is going downhill (worsening). Trains are always full and passengers often have to wait for several trains during rush hour.
Last week the MTRC announced a $16.8 billion profit for last year, an increase of 64 percent. This is a huge profit yet the MTRC still intends to raise fares later this year. Even though it made a $16.8 billion profit it will only allocate $222 million for a three percent fare discount for six months. This is a big joke because $222 million is a paltry (small) amount compared to its $16.8 billion profit. The MTRC is the world’s most profitable railway but it is the greediest. It sucks the blood out of the people. The government should no longer allow fare increases.
＊＊＊
你有否曾經因為港鐵列車故障而大受影響（hit by）？我就有幾次因港鐵故障而大受影響（hit by）。最嚴重的一次是兩年前，我搭廣九直通車去出席一個朋友的除夕派對。列車延誤了超過一小時，所有乘客都只能在紅磡車站空等（cool their heels）。在極之擠迫的車站久等（cool their heels）了超過一個小時後，我們終於能上車，列車卻又以龜速（at a snail’s pace）行駛。整個旅程總共延誤了超過兩小時。我朋友的其他賓客可不想坐冷板櫈（cool their heels）等我，就先自開始派對了。
習語“hit by”可以有多種用法，但在這裏是解作因某事而大受影響或大受打擊。俚語“cool your heels”即等了很久。蝸牛（snail）是一種mollusk（英式英語是mollusc），即是軟體動物。蝸牛（snails）爬行得非常慢，因此習語“at a snail’s pace”就解作移動得非常緩慢。現在港鐵故障很常見，許多乘客都大受影響（hit by）。港鐵公司每年賺很多的錢（big bucks），服務卻每況愈下（going downhill）。列車總是人滿為患，乘客在繁忙時間總要等上幾班列車。
上星期港鐵公司公佈，上年盈利為一百六十八億元，上升了六成四。這是龐大的利潤，港鐵公司卻仍想在今年遲些時候加價。即使它賺了一百六十八億元的利潤，它仍只會分配二億二千二百萬元作為六個月的車費回贈。這是個天大的笑話，因為相對於一百六十八億元的利潤，二億二千二百萬簡直是微不足道（paltry）的金額。港鐵公司是全球最賺錢的鐵路公司，它卻也是最貪婪的，搜刮民脂，吸盡人們的血。政府不應再批准車費加價了。
中譯:七刻
Michael Chugani 褚簡寧
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