又中又英｜Pet lovers get in a huff - Michael Chugani 褚簡寧

Pet lovers are something else. They get in a huff when they think people mistreat or dislike their pets. When I lived in Hong Kong I often saw pet lovers pamper their dogs by wheeling them in baby carriages. Americans love dogs but I have never seen them wheel their dogs in baby carriages. Hong Kong pet lovers and pet shop owners are in a huff because the government has ordered the culling of over 2,000 hamsters and a temporary ban on imports of small animals. The expression“something else”is used to describe a person or thing that is unusual or extraordinary. If you are in a huff it means you are very angry and upset.

To pamper pets or people means to spoil them by treating them in a special way. Some people pamper or spoil their pets or children by giving them the best of everything. The word “cull” means to select a certain number of something, such as animals, to kill them. Farmers sometimes cull sick animals to prevent the spread of disease. Pet lovers are in a huff because of the government’s decision to cull over 2,000 hamsters after investigations showed some could have infected humans with the coronavirus. The decision to cull the hamsters has made world news. Many people in other countries feel the decision to cull so many hamsters is an overkill.

The word “overkill” has nothing to do with killing people or animals. It means to do far more than what is required or suitable. The Washington Post’s headline described the culling as “Hong Kong hamster massacre”. The word “massacre” means the indiscriminate and brutal killing of a lot of people, such as the Nanjing Massacre in 1937. During this massacre Japanese soldiers killed many Chinese in Nanjing. The word “massacre” is not usually used to describe the killing of animals. I think the Washington Post either wanted to attract attention with the headline by making it humorous or to express opposition to the culling.
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寵物愛好者都是非比尋常的（something else），要是他們認為有人虐待又或不喜歡他們的寵物，他們便會變得怒氣沖沖（in a huff）。我還住在香港的時候，便常見寵物愛好者嬌養（pamper）他們的狗隻，用嬰兒車載着牠們外出。美國人也愛狗，但我就從未見過他們會推着嬰兒車載狗隻。香港的寵物愛好者和寵物店東主發怒（in a huff），因為政府下令撲殺（culling）逾二千隻倉鼠，以及暫停小動物進口。習語“something else”是用來形容一個人或事物非同一般，或相當出眾。若你是 in a huff，意即你很憤怒、生氣。

To pamper pets or people 意即以嬌慣、溺愛寵物或人；有些人在一切事情上，都要安排最好的給寵物或子女，其實就是寵壞、嬌養（pamper）了他們。Cull是指挑出某物如動物的特定數量而加以撲殺。農場主人有時也會撲殺（cull）患病的動物，以防疾病傳播。寵物愛好者發怒（in a huff），是因政府在有研究顯示有些倉鼠或會將新冠病毒傳給人類後，便決定撲殺（cull）超過二千隻倉鼠。這個撲殺（cull）倉鼠的決定成了國際新聞，許多其他國家的人都認為撲殺（cull）這麼多的倉鼠是an overkill。

Overkill一字跟殺人或殺動物毫無關係，它的意思是矯枉過正，所做的遠遠超出了需要或合理的程度，是過份的行為。《華盛頓郵報》的新聞標題形容這次撲殺行動（culling）為「香港倉鼠大屠殺（massacre）」——massacre是指無差別及殘酷地屠殺許多人，例如一九三七年的南京大屠殺（Massacre），在這場大屠殺（massacre）中，日本士兵殺害了南京許多中國人。Massacre一字不多用來形容捕殺動物，我認為《華盛頓郵報》用這個標題，要麼就是想令它聽起來幽默詼諧，以吸引讀者的注意，要麼就是對撲殺行動（culling）表達反對的意見。
中譯：七刻
Michael Chugani 褚簡寧