Michael Chugani 褚簡寧 - Make a beeline for|又中又英

New York City’s Times Square has a man nicknamed the Naked Cowboy who wears only underpants, cowboy boots, and a cowboy hat. He and others dressed as Batman and Spiderman take pictures with tourists for money. Tourists pay top dollar to see Broadway shows such as The Lion King. Thousands make a beeline for downtown Manhattan daily to take pictures with a famous sculpture of a bull near Wall Street where the New York Stock Exchange is located. Tourists make a beeline for ferry tours of the Statue of Liberty in New York Harbour. In Paris, tourists who don’t book in advance must queue for hours to go up the Eiffel Tower or visit the Louvre.

In London, which is also famous for stage shows, tourists jockey for position to take pictures of Buckingham Palace. Hong Kong has re-opened but what will tourists make a beeline for? To make a beeline for something means to head directly and quickly to a place. To pay top dollar means to pay a lot of money. To jockey for position used this way means to get the best position for something, such as taking a picture. Some people liked the government’s Hello Hong Kong promotion, but others were not impressed. That’s understandable. I love Hong Kong’s Harbour and the Peak, but some people feel the city needs newer attractions.

The Washington Post described the 30-second ad as spiffy, which means smart in appearance but was still critical. Could the promotion ad have been better if it used globally recognized gold medalist swimmer Siobhan Haughey or Michelle Yeoh? Should it have used promotion experts like Lan Kwai Fong founder Allan Zeman or Chow Yun-fat?
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紐約市時代廣場有一個只穿着內褲、牛仔靴和牛仔帽,綽號叫赤裸牛仔的男人。他和其他打扮成蝙蝠俠和蜘蛛俠的人,會跟遊客合照以賺取金錢。遊客會花高價(pay top dollar)去看百老滙的節目,例如《獅子王》。每天,數以千計的人會直奔(make a beeline for)曼哈頓下城,只為與華爾街附近的銅牛雕塑合照,而華爾街正正是紐約證券交易所的所在地。遊客們亦會對乘船遊覽紐約港的自由神像趨之若鶩(make a beeline for)。在巴黎,遊客要登上艾菲爾鐵塔,又或參觀羅浮宮,若沒有預先訂票,就必須花上數小時排隊。

倫敦的舞台節目亦聞名遐邇,而遊客亦會佔據有利位置(jockey for position),去在白金漢宮留影。香港已經重開,但又有甚麼物事,可令遊客趨之若鶩的(make a beeline for)? To make a beeline for something是指直奔某處。To pay top dollar是指大灑金錢、所費不菲。To jockey for position在這裏是指去霸佔最佳位置,例如拍照打卡的有利位置。有些人喜歡政府推出的「你好,香港!」宣傳活動,另一些人則沒甚麼好印象,這也是可以理解的。我喜愛香港的海港與山頂,但有些人認為,這個城市需要一些新的旅遊勝地。

《華盛頓郵報》將這三十秒的廣告形容為 spiffy,意即顯眼耀目的,但仍可挑剔。這個宣傳廣告要是能起用國際熟悉的金牌游泳選手何詩蓓又或楊紫瓊,會不會更好?又或者,是否應起用熟知公關宣傳的能手,例如蘭桂坊的創辦人盛智文,又或周潤發?
中譯:七刻
Michael Chugani 褚簡寧
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