Michael Chugani 褚簡寧 - To taunt someone｜又中又英

When the coronavirus first reached the US in January of 2020, it quickly became a pandemic that spread like wildfire. Estimates showed the virus infected more than 20 million Americans and caused 346,000 deaths in 2020 alone. I was in Hong Kong at the time and as an American I was lost for words. Some of my friends taunted me by saying how useless the US was in controlling the virus even though it is the world’s most developed country. I didn’t tell them to back off. I just stayed silent. If a disease spreads like wildfire it means it affects many people very quickly.

The expression“lost for words”used this way means to be so shocked you don’t know what to say. To taunt someone means to intentionally say unkind things to that person or to laugh unkindly at that person. The expression “back off” used this way means to tell someone to stop criticizing or interfering. The pandemic in the US has subsided, which means it has become less severe. I am in the US now and am lost for words whenever I read media reports about the Omicron virus spreading like wildfire in Hong Kong. The daily infection rate in Hong Kong is now about the same as the US even though Hong Kong has a much smaller population.

I won’t taunt the Hong Kong friends who taunted me when the coronavirus was spreading like wildfire in the US. I will also not feel schadenfreude. This is a German word that means a feeling of pleasure when something bad happens to someone else. I remember when the coronavirus was spreading like wildfire in the US a businessman friend of mine had schadenfreude in the way he laughed at the US. Instead of schadenfreude, I am saddened by the high number of infections and deaths in Hong Kong where I was born. I am confident the latest wave of the virus in Hong Kong will subside just like it subsided in the US.
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當新冠肺炎病毒於二○二○年一月首度入侵美國時，它瞬間如星火燎原般迅速蔓延（spread like wildfire），成為了全球大流行疫症。有估計顯示，單單在二○二○年，便有二千萬美國人感染病毒，引致三十四萬六千人死亡。當時我在香港，身為美國人我已不知可以說甚麼（lost for words）。有一些朋友奚落（taunted）我，說美國即使是世上最發達先進的國家，在控制疫情方面仍是那麼無能。我沒有叫他們住口（back off），我只保持沉默。若一個疾病spreads like wildfire意即它非常迅速地擴散，有許多人受到感染。
  日習語“lost for words”在這裏是指你震驚得說不出話來。To taunt someone即故意去說些難聽的話去奚落某人，又或不客氣地嘲諷那個人。習語“back off”在這裏是指叫某人退開，停止批評或干預。美國的疫情已經subsided，意即它已減弱、回落。我現在人在美國，每當我讀到傳媒報道Omicron病毒如何在香港如星火燎原般擴散（spreading like wildfire），我同樣啞口無言（lost for words）。香港現在每天的感染人數跟美國相若，但香港人口要少得多。

對於當天那些香港朋友在美國新冠肺炎疫情迅速蔓延（spreading like wildfire）時奚落（taunted）我，我現在不會反過來奚落（taunt）他們。我也不會感到schadenfreude—這是個德文字，意即幸災樂禍。我記得當疫情在美國迅速蔓延（spreading like wildfire）之時，我一位做生意的朋友幸災樂禍（schadenfreude）地嘲諷美國。我沒有幸災樂禍（schadenfreude），相反對於香港這個自己出生的地方，有這麼高的感染率和死亡數字，感到很悲傷。我有信心，香港最新一波疫情將會回落（subside），如同美國的疫情消退（subsided）一樣。
中譯：七刻
Michael Chugani 褚簡寧