hold a grudge

2020/06/23 04:12:31 網誌分類: 生活

23 Jun

        　　Senior US government officials who hold a grudge against their bosses often write “tell all” books when they resign or are fired. A new “tell all” book by former national security adviser John Bolton is making waves in the US and around the world. To “hold a grudge” against a person is to have a strong feeling of anger or dislike for a person who has treated you badly. A “tell all” book is a book that reveals scandalous, damaging, or shocking information. To “make waves” is to do something that causes controversy or attracts a lot of attention. Bolton holds a grudge against his former boss, President Donald Trump, because Trump often ignored his advice. Trump said he fired Bolton but Bolton said he resigned.

        　　As Trump’s national security adviser for 17 months, Bolton was always in the room when Trump held private meetings with world leaders. That meant he knew the details of the private meetings. This information made it possible for him to take revenge against Trump by writing a “tell all” book. The secret information that is making waves the most is Bolton’s claim that when Trump met with China’s President Xi Jinping in Japan in 2019, he “begged” Xi Jinping to buy farm products from US states that supported Trump. He told Xi Jinping this would help him win re-election. Trump has angrily denied Bolton’s many claims in the “tell all” book.

        　　He called Bolton a “washed-up guy”. This is a big insult for Bolton because a “washed-up” person is someone who is no longer successful and has no chance of being successful in the future. For example, athletes become “washed-up” when they get older and become less successful at winning. They can never be successful again when they become old. But it is not an insult to call an old athlete “washed-up” because it is natural for athletes to be less successful when they get older. But it can be insulting to call politicians, movie stars, or writers “washed-up” because getting older doesn’t affect their skills.

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        　　那些對老闆懷恨在心（hold a grudge）的美國政府高級官員，在他們辭職又或被炒時往往會寫「爆料」（“tell all”）書。一本由美國前國家安全顧問約翰‧博爾頓撰寫的「爆料」（“tell all”）新書，就引起美國以至世界各地的軒然大波（making waves）。To “hold a grudge” against a person就是因某人待自己不好而對之有所不滿或積怨，因而懷恨在心、記仇。A “tell all” book就是揭發醜聞、具破壞性又或震驚消息的書籍。To “make waves”就是去興風作浪，引發爭議又或吸引大眾的注意。博爾頓對他的前老闆、總統特朗普懷恨在心（holds a grudge），因為特朗普常常忽視他的建議。特朗普說他炒掉了博爾頓，博爾頓則說是他自己辭職的。

        　　博爾頓擔任特朗普的國家安全顧問有十七個月，當特朗普跟世界各國領袖進行秘密會議時，博爾頓總是在場——這意味着他知道那些秘密會議的細節。這些資訊讓他能藉着寫「爆料」（“tell all”）書來報復特朗普。最轟動的（making waves）秘密資訊，就是博爾頓聲稱，當特朗普二○一九年於日本會晤中國國家主席習近平時，他「乞求」習近平從那些支持特朗普的美國州份購買農產品；他告訴習近平，這將有助他連任成功。特朗普已經憤怒地否認博爾頓在「爆料」（“tell all”）書中的許多指控。

        　　他叫博爾頓為“washed-up guy”，這對博爾頓來說是個巨大的羞辱，因為a “washed-up” person是一個人已江郎才盡、過氣，將來亦毫無指望會成功。譬如，運動員年紀愈大，可勝出賽事的機會就愈小，到老了的時候他們的職業生涯已「玩完」（“washed-up”）。然而，說一個年紀大的運動員為“washed-up”並不算是侮辱，因為運動員年紀大了而被淘汰，未能再勝出賽事，是自然不過的事。然而，叫政客、影星又或作家“washed-up”，就很侮辱性，因為年紀大了並不會影響他們的能力。

        mickchug@gmail.com

        中譯：七刻

        Michael Chugani 褚簡寧

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