Michael Chugani 褚簡寧 - to rise to the occasion.｜又中又英
Michael Chugani 褚簡寧
2022-07-19 00:00
字體大小
US President Joe Biden’s approval rating is tanking. The word “tank” has several meanings. It can mean a large and enclosed military combat vehicle or a container that holds liquid such as water or fuel. But when used as a verb it is a slang word for something that is failing or declining rapidly. If you buy a stock and its value declines rapidly you can say the value of your new stock has tanked. Biden’s popularity is declining or tanking quickly. Most Democrats do not want him to seek re-election in 2024 when he completes his first four-year term as president. Many Americans, not just Democrats, feel he is not doing enough to control inflation, high gas (petrol in British English) prices, and gun violence.
Some Democrats have urged Biden to “meet the moment”. To meet the moment means to do what is needed during a particular situation so problems can be solved. If everyone in a society wears a facemask and gets vaccinated during a severe coronavirus pandemic, you can say they are all meeting the moment. A similar expression is “rise to the occasion”. To rise to the occasion means to make a special effort to successfully deal with a difficult situation or to show that you can deal with a difficult situation successfully. Critics of Joe Biden say he is not rising to the occasion or meeting the moment.
Even his supporters say he is not meeting the moment. A US government report last week showed consumer prices in June rose 9.1 percent compared to June of last year. Gas and food prices are now so high that many low-income families are finding it much harder to afford these necessities. There will be elections in November for the Congress, state governors, and local officials. Democrats fear they will lose control of the Congress if Biden doesn’t meet the moment by doing more to control inflation and high gas prices.
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美國總統拜登的支持率正在tanking。Tank一字有幾個意思，它可以指坦克，即巨型的封閉式軍事戰車，又或指用作儲存水或燃油等液體的容器；但作動詞用時，它則是俚語，意指某事物遭受重創或急速衰退。若你買了一隻股票，其價格急速下跌，你便可以說你那張新股票的價值has tanked。拜登的民望正在急速下跌（tanking）。大部份民主黨人都不想他在二〇二四年完成第一個四年總統任期時競逐連任。不止是民主黨人，許多美國人也認為他在控制通脹、汽油（gas，英式英語是petrol）價格高企以及槍械暴力方面做得不夠。
一些民主黨黨員力促拜登去“meet the moment”——to meet the moment是指順勢而為，在特定情況下去做需要做的事，以解決問題。若在新冠疫情嚴峻時期，人人都戴上口罩和注射疫苗，你便可以說they are all meeting the moment。相似的習語是“rise to the occasion”——to rise to the occasion是指主動站出來，付出加倍的努力而成功應對了一個困難的局面，又或顯示出你有隨機應變的能力，對於危機能應付自如。批評拜登的人說，他並未應對好困難的局面（rising to the occasion），沒有順勢而為去解決問題（meeting the moment）。
就連他的支持者也說，他沒有順勢而為，做該做的事（meeting the moment）。美國上星期一個政府報告顯示，六月的消費者物價指數，相比上年六月升了百分之九點一。現時汽油（gas）和食物價格高昂得很，許多低收入家庭要負擔這些生活必需品時，都感到愈來愈吃力。十一月將會舉行國會、州長以及地區官員的選舉。民主黨人擔心，要是拜登還不meet the moment，好好把握時機努力控制通脹和高油（gas）價，他們將會失去國會的控制權。
中譯：七刻
Michael Chugani 褚簡寧
Some Democrats have urged Biden to “meet the moment”. To meet the moment means to do what is needed during a particular situation so problems can be solved. If everyone in a society wears a facemask and gets vaccinated during a severe coronavirus pandemic, you can say they are all meeting the moment. A similar expression is “rise to the occasion”. To rise to the occasion means to make a special effort to successfully deal with a difficult situation or to show that you can deal with a difficult situation successfully. Critics of Joe Biden say he is not rising to the occasion or meeting the moment.
Even his supporters say he is not meeting the moment. A US government report last week showed consumer prices in June rose 9.1 percent compared to June of last year. Gas and food prices are now so high that many low-income families are finding it much harder to afford these necessities. There will be elections in November for the Congress, state governors, and local officials. Democrats fear they will lose control of the Congress if Biden doesn’t meet the moment by doing more to control inflation and high gas prices.
＊＊＊＊＊
美國總統拜登的支持率正在tanking。Tank一字有幾個意思，它可以指坦克，即巨型的封閉式軍事戰車，又或指用作儲存水或燃油等液體的容器；但作動詞用時，它則是俚語，意指某事物遭受重創或急速衰退。若你買了一隻股票，其價格急速下跌，你便可以說你那張新股票的價值has tanked。拜登的民望正在急速下跌（tanking）。大部份民主黨人都不想他在二〇二四年完成第一個四年總統任期時競逐連任。不止是民主黨人，許多美國人也認為他在控制通脹、汽油（gas，英式英語是petrol）價格高企以及槍械暴力方面做得不夠。
一些民主黨黨員力促拜登去“meet the moment”——to meet the moment是指順勢而為，在特定情況下去做需要做的事，以解決問題。若在新冠疫情嚴峻時期，人人都戴上口罩和注射疫苗，你便可以說they are all meeting the moment。相似的習語是“rise to the occasion”——to rise to the occasion是指主動站出來，付出加倍的努力而成功應對了一個困難的局面，又或顯示出你有隨機應變的能力，對於危機能應付自如。批評拜登的人說，他並未應對好困難的局面（rising to the occasion），沒有順勢而為去解決問題（meeting the moment）。
就連他的支持者也說，他沒有順勢而為，做該做的事（meeting the moment）。美國上星期一個政府報告顯示，六月的消費者物價指數，相比上年六月升了百分之九點一。現時汽油（gas）和食物價格高昂得很，許多低收入家庭要負擔這些生活必需品時，都感到愈來愈吃力。十一月將會舉行國會、州長以及地區官員的選舉。民主黨人擔心，要是拜登還不meet the moment，好好把握時機努力控制通脹和高油（gas）價，他們將會失去國會的控制權。
中譯：七刻
Michael Chugani 褚簡寧
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