20160524-Michael Chugani 褚簡寧：又中又英——apron or tarmac
Michael Chugani 褚簡寧：又中又英——apron or tarmac
6:37 24/5/2016
On which part of the airport was state leader Zhang Dejiang standing last Tuesday when he alighted from his plane and said he had come to Hong Kong to listen, see, and speak? Civic Party leader Alan Leong Kah-kit used the word “apron” when the media asked him about Zhang Dejiang’s statement that he had come to listen. Many people get confused over what to call different parts of the airport. Strictly speaking, an airport apron is the area where planes park, turn around, load and unload passengers and goods, and refuel. This area is also called the ramp in American English but apron is the word used internationally. You can see the aprons at Hong Kong Airport if you look out the windows near the boarding gates.
I wasn’t at the airport when Zhang Dejiang arrived but I watched live TV coverage of his short speech when he alighted from his plane. To alight from a plane means to get off it. To board a plane means to get on it. From what I could see on TV, it didn’t seem like Zhang Dejiang was standing on an airport apron when he said he had come to listen. It seemed to me he was standing further away from the apron and nearer the runway. An airport runway is the long, straight, and smooth part where planes take off and land. In American English, a runway is also where fashion models walk up and down to show their clothes but other English-speakers usually use the word “catwalk” instead.
Many people use the word “tarmac” to describe the area where Zhang Dejiang stood after he alighted from his plane. The word “tarmac” actually means the material that is used for the surfaces of roads, runways, and the smooth surfaces of airports. But nowadays, it is often used instead of “apron” although this is not entirely correct. The word “tarmac” is also used to describe the paved and smooth areas near an airport runway. The word “apron” has several other meanings. It also means the cloth that people use to cover the front of their bodies when they cook.
到底張德江上星期二落機（alighted from his plane）時，是在機場哪一處發表講話，說他來港是要看、聽、講？當傳媒問到公民黨黨魁梁家傑，關於張德江表示來港要多聽時，他就用到“apron”這個字。許多人也會混淆了機場不同區域的叫法。嚴格來說， an airport apron 就是停機坪，讓飛機停泊、轉身、上落乘客及貨物，以及加油。在美式英語中，這個區域還可叫作ramp，但 apron 是國際用語。你在香港機場登機門附近的窗戶看出去，便可看到停機坪（aprons）。
當張德江抵達香港時，我不在機場，但他下機（alighted from his plane）發表的簡短講話，我有在電視看直播。To alight from a plane 就是落機，to board a plane 即是上機。從電視片段中所見，張德江說要來多聆聽時，不像是站在機場的停機坪（apron）。在我看來他所站的地方似乎距離機坪（apron）遠一點，比較接近跑道（runway）。An airport runway 就是飛機起飛及降落的跑道。在美式英語裡，runway 也指時裝模特兒展示服飾時所行走T字天橋，但其他說英語的人多用catwalk 這個字。
許多人會將張德江落機（alighted from his plane）時所站的位置稱為 tarmac。 Tarmac 本身是指用來鋪在路上、跑道（runways）、和機場平地上的柏油。但時至今日，它常被用作替代apron 一字，即使這不全然準確。Tarmac 也被用以形容機場跑道旁邊那些鋪好的平地。另外，apron 也有好幾個其他意思，例如人們煮食時繫在身上的圍裙。
mickchug@gmail.com
中譯:七刻
Michael Chugani 褚簡寧
6:37 24/5/2016
On which part of the airport was state leader Zhang Dejiang standing last Tuesday when he alighted from his plane and said he had come to Hong Kong to listen, see, and speak? Civic Party leader Alan Leong Kah-kit used the word “apron” when the media asked him about Zhang Dejiang’s statement that he had come to listen. Many people get confused over what to call different parts of the airport. Strictly speaking, an airport apron is the area where planes park, turn around, load and unload passengers and goods, and refuel. This area is also called the ramp in American English but apron is the word used internationally. You can see the aprons at Hong Kong Airport if you look out the windows near the boarding gates.
I wasn’t at the airport when Zhang Dejiang arrived but I watched live TV coverage of his short speech when he alighted from his plane. To alight from a plane means to get off it. To board a plane means to get on it. From what I could see on TV, it didn’t seem like Zhang Dejiang was standing on an airport apron when he said he had come to listen. It seemed to me he was standing further away from the apron and nearer the runway. An airport runway is the long, straight, and smooth part where planes take off and land. In American English, a runway is also where fashion models walk up and down to show their clothes but other English-speakers usually use the word “catwalk” instead.
Many people use the word “tarmac” to describe the area where Zhang Dejiang stood after he alighted from his plane. The word “tarmac” actually means the material that is used for the surfaces of roads, runways, and the smooth surfaces of airports. But nowadays, it is often used instead of “apron” although this is not entirely correct. The word “tarmac” is also used to describe the paved and smooth areas near an airport runway. The word “apron” has several other meanings. It also means the cloth that people use to cover the front of their bodies when they cook.
到底張德江上星期二落機（alighted from his plane）時，是在機場哪一處發表講話，說他來港是要看、聽、講？當傳媒問到公民黨黨魁梁家傑，關於張德江表示來港要多聽時，他就用到“apron”這個字。許多人也會混淆了機場不同區域的叫法。嚴格來說， an airport apron 就是停機坪，讓飛機停泊、轉身、上落乘客及貨物，以及加油。在美式英語中，這個區域還可叫作ramp，但 apron 是國際用語。你在香港機場登機門附近的窗戶看出去，便可看到停機坪（aprons）。
當張德江抵達香港時，我不在機場，但他下機（alighted from his plane）發表的簡短講話，我有在電視看直播。To alight from a plane 就是落機，to board a plane 即是上機。從電視片段中所見，張德江說要來多聆聽時，不像是站在機場的停機坪（apron）。在我看來他所站的地方似乎距離機坪（apron）遠一點，比較接近跑道（runway）。An airport runway 就是飛機起飛及降落的跑道。在美式英語裡，runway 也指時裝模特兒展示服飾時所行走T字天橋，但其他說英語的人多用catwalk 這個字。
許多人會將張德江落機（alighted from his plane）時所站的位置稱為 tarmac。 Tarmac 本身是指用來鋪在路上、跑道（runways）、和機場平地上的柏油。但時至今日，它常被用作替代apron 一字，即使這不全然準確。Tarmac 也被用以形容機場跑道旁邊那些鋪好的平地。另外，apron 也有好幾個其他意思，例如人們煮食時繫在身上的圍裙。
mickchug@gmail.com
中譯:七刻
Michael Chugani 褚簡寧
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