It was not surprising that Hong Kong’s taxi drivers pooh-poohed a government suggestion to learn Arabic. Commerce and Economic Development Secretary Algernon Yau Ying-wah urged taxi drivers to learn Arabic because the government wants to attract investments and tourists from the Middle East. But cabbies (taxi drivers) were dead set against it even after he clarified it was only a suggestion, not a requirement. To pooh-pooh an idea or suggestion means to reject it as being silly or impractical. To be dead set against something means to be completely opposed to it.

I wonder if the commerce secretary knows even spoken Arabic is one of the hardest languages to learn. It is completely different from Chinese. He said interested cabbies could learn a few Arabic welcome words as a start. Even that could be risky because greeting a Middle East visitor in Arabic could make the visitor think the cabbie knows Arabic. Cabbies speaking a few Arabic words will not increase the flow of Middle East tourists and investors. Such visitors will likely know English, the global language. Most Hong Kong cabbies can speak a few English words.

It is more practical to encourage cabbies to learn the English words of Hong Kong’s hotels and popular tourist spots. This will be useful for all tourists, not just those from the Middle East. The government should also instruct taxi drivers to be more polite. Its own figures show a sharp rise in complaints against cabbies. And the government should join other cities in legalizing Uber.

香港的士司機對政府建議他們要學學阿拉伯語嗤之以鼻（pooh-poohed），這並不令人意外。商務及經濟發展局局長丘應樺主張的士司機要學阿拉伯語，因為政府希望吸引來自中東的外資及遊客。但即使在他澄清那只是一個建議而非要求之後，的士司機（cabbies）仍是堅決反對（dead set against）。To pooh-pooh一個想法或建議，意思是認為它是很愚蠢、不切實際的，對其不屑一顧。To be dead set against something意即竭力反對某事。

我很好奇商經局局長是否知道，即使只是阿拉伯口語，也是其中一個最難學的語言。它跟中文完全不同。他說，有興趣的的士司機（cabbies），可以學幾個阿拉伯問候語作為開始。即使是這樣，亦相當冒險，因為用阿拉伯語問候一名中東遊客，可能令該遊客以為那位的士司機（cabbies）懂得阿拉伯語。的士司機（cabbie）說幾個阿拉伯語的字詞，並不會增加中東遊客與投資者的流量。這些遊客很可能已懂得英語此一國際語言。大部分香港的士司機（cabbies）也能說幾個英文字詞。

鼓勵的士司機（cabbies）學懂香港酒店和受歡迎的遊客景點的英文，那更實際吧。這對所有遊客來說都很有用，不單是來自中東的遊客。政府應指示的士司機更為以禮待人。政府自己的數據也顯示，針對的士司機（cabbies）的投訴急劇上升。而政府好應像其他城市一樣，讓Uber合法化。

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Michael Chugani褚簡寧
中譯：七刻