又中又英|sweeping views
2022/01/11 04:13:37 網誌分類: 生活
The word “quaint” can be used in several ways. Used this way it means attractive because it’s unusual and sometimes old-fashioned. Yachats is a sleepy little town because it has a population of less than 1,000 people. The word “sleepy” means tired and wanting to sleep. But it can also mean a quiet place without much activity or excitement. The expression “million-dollar view” means a very attractive or magnificent view. The word “sweeping” has many meanings but the expression “sweeping view” is similar to “million-dollar view”. It means a very wide view of something, such as an ocean. The pronunciation of Yachats, a Native American word, is interesting. You can hear my pronunciation in Popnews.
My relative took me to another quaint town overlooking the Pacific Ocean when I went to San Diego, California, for Christmas. This town is San Clemente, about an hour’s drive from San Diego. This is also a town beyond description but it is not sleepy like Yachats. Its population is 65,000 but it is a laid-back town, which means it is relaxed and easy-going. I had a huge lunch with wine at a restaurant with a sweeping view of the Pacific Ocean. I will talk about why I had wine at lunch in my next column even though I don’t normally drink alcohol at lunch.
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美國西岸有許多古雅別致的(quaint)小鎮,擁有千金難買的太平洋景觀(million-dollar views of the Pacific Ocean)。其中一個我最愛的寂靜(sleepy)小鎮,是俄勒岡海岸的亞查茨。我以前住西雅圖時,就去過亞查茨許多遍。從華盛頓州的西雅圖駕車到俄勒岡州的亞查茨,要八小時的車程。這段車程沿路亦有許多千金難買的(million-dollar views)海洋景觀。亞查茨有一間古雅而特別的(quaint)兩層高汽車旅館名Fireside Motel,那裏有露台,遠眺海洋的風景一覽無遺(sweeping views)。我在那兒也住過不少次。坐在露台,邊喝酒邊觀賞日落大海,實在是beyond description——即美得無法形容。
Quaint一字可以有多種用法,這裏解作因為致或古樸而顯得迷人的。亞查茨是一個sleepy小鎮,因為它的人口少於一千人。Sleepy是指疲倦而睏,但它也可解作靜悄悄的,並無甚麼活動或刺激的事。習語 “million-dollar view”即醉人或壯觀的景致。Sweeping一字亦有多重意思,但習語“sweeping view”跟“million-dollar view”的意思相近,即開揚遼闊的景觀,例如可飽覽廣闊的海洋。亞查茨的英文Yachats發音也很有趣,它是一個美洲原住民的字,你可以到Popnews聽聽我的讀音。
我到加州聖地牙哥度聖誕時,一個親戚帶了我到訪另一個古樸別致的(quaint)小鎮,能眺望太平洋。這個小鎮是聖克萊門特,由聖地牙哥駕車過去約一小時車程。它也是美得難以言喻(beyond description),但它並不如亞查茨般寂靜(sleepy)。它的人口有六萬五千,但亦是一個laid-back的小城,意即它很悠閒寫意。我在那兒一間能一覽無遺地遠眺(sweeping view)太平洋的餐廳,吃了一個大大的午餐,還伴着酒吃。我一般不會在吃午飯時喝酒,在下一篇文章中再說說,我怎麼會在午膳時喝起酒來。
mickchug@gmail.com 中譯:七刻
Michael Chugani 褚簡寧
又中又英|sweeping views
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