又中又英｜Wonders never cease

Even though I now spend most of my time in the US, I follow Hong Kong news daily. Last week I saw a video in the Hong Kong media that astonished me. It was a video of monkeys swimming in a pool at a private club in Tsuen Wan. The monkeys were swimming, playing, and sitting in deck chairs. It was bizarre. I didn’t know monkeys could swim. Wonders never cease! The monkeys reminded me of the Kam Shan country park which has troops of monkeys that roam freely. If something is bizarre it means it is very strange and unusual. The expression “wonders never cease” is used when something unusual or unexpected happens.
The word “troop” means a group of soldiers but used this way it is also a collective noun for a group of monkeys. The word “roam” used this way means to move about or travel without a purpose or plan. The Kam Shan monkeys roam freely without restrictions. Only two types of monkeys can swim. Macaques are one of them. The monkeys in the swimming pool and Kam Shan are macaques. They are from Asia. They eat plants, different types of fruit, insects, and fish. Visitors to the Kam Shan country park often give food to the macaques even though they should not.
The Kam Shan macaques have become used to food they don’t normally eat. I even saw one drinking Coke from a bottle! The private club in Tsuen Wan closed the swimming pool after the macaques swam and roamed freely there. I wonder if they will return to enjoy the pool!
＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊
雖然我現在大部分時間在美國，但我仍然有每天追看香港的新聞。上星期，我在香港媒體上見到一則影片，使我大為驚奇。那影片中有一群猴子在荃灣一個私人會所的泳池內暢泳。那群猴子在游泳、玩耍，還坐在沙灘躺椅上。那真是怪異（bizarre）。我從不知道猴子懂得游泳。真箇奇妙事不斷有（wonders never cease）！這群猴子令我想起了金山郊野公園，那裏有成群結隊（troops）的馬騮自由闖蕩（roam freely）。若某事物是bizarre，意即它很奇怪、異於尋常。習語“wonders never cease”是說一些非比尋常或出人意料的奇事發生。
Troop一字是解士兵的部隊，但在這裏它也是一個量詞，指一群猴子。Roam在這裏是指漫無目的或毫無計劃地四處走動或遊歷。金山的馬騮毫無規限，可自由地四處闖蕩（roam freely）。只有兩種猴子懂得游泳，獼猴（macaques）是其中一種。在泳池和金山的猴子就是獼猴（macaques），牠們來自亞洲。牠們會吃植物，不同種類的水果、昆蟲和魚。到金山郊野公園的遊人常會給那些獼猴（macaques）餵飼食物，雖然他們其實不應該餵飼。
金山的獼𤠣（macaques）已經習慣了那些牠們平常不會食的食物。我甚至見過一隻，從瓶裏喝可樂！荃灣的私人會所在獼𤠣（macaques）游泳和自由闖蕩（roamed freely）過後，已經關閉了泳池。我好奇牠們可還會回去，在泳池遊玩！

mickchug@gmail.com
Michael Chugani褚簡寧
中譯：七刻