又中又英｜Don't give two hoots

Last year was our planet’s warmest year on record. It scared me because it was the clearest proof so far of climate change. But even though 2023 was the warmest year on record, it did not scare most people except for environmentalists and some world leaders. Most people just shrugged their shoulders. To shrug your shoulders means to raise your shoulders to show you don’t care about something. But people who don’t give two hoots about climate change need to understand it affects not only them and their family but also their family’s future generations.
If you don’t give two hoots about something, it means you don’t care about it. It is similar to the expression “shrug your shoulders”. People who don’t give two hoots about climate change need to wake up to the fact that many island nations in the Pacific Ocean will disappear underwater if we don’t reverse climate change. To wake up to something means to start understanding a problem exists. Melting ice due to global warming, which is part of climate change, will make these islands disappear underwater. Global warming is melting Arctic ice at record speed, threatening polar bears which need ice to hunt, feed, travel, and reproduce.
Many Hong Kong people have complained about the government’s poor job in explaining its new waste disposal plan, which requires everyone to buy pay-as-you-throw garbage bags. People had a good reason to complain but also need to know they can do their part in fighting climate change by reducing waste. The government also needs to promote the waste disposal plan as part of fighting climate change.

上年是我們地球有紀錄以來最暖的一年。這使我感到害怕，因為這是到目前為止氣候變化最清晰的明證。然而，即使二零二三年是有紀錄以來最暖的一年，那仍然未能阻嚇到大多數人，除了環境專家和某些世界領袖。大部分人都只是 shrugged their shoulders——to shrug your shoulders是指聳聳肩，表示你對某事毫不在乎。但那些對氣候變化毫不在乎（don’t give two hoots）的人，需要明白那件事影響的，不止是他們和他們的家人，更延續至其家族將來的世代。
若你 don’t give two hoots about something，那即代表你不關心、不在乎某件事，它的意思跟習語“shrug your shoulders”相似。那些對氣候變化毫不在乎（don’t give two hoots）的人，需要開始意識到（wake up to the fact），要是我們不去逆轉氣候變化，太平洋的許多島國將沒入海中。To wake up to the fact是指開始意識到一個問題的存在。全球暖化導致冰川融化，會令這些島嶼消失於水底，正是氣候變化的其中一方面。全球暖化以有紀錄以來最快的速度融化北極冰川，威脅到北極熊的生存，牠們需要冰塊去狩獵、餵飼、移動與繁殖。
新的垃圾棄置徵費計劃要求市民購買垃圾按量收費的垃圾袋，許多香港人會投訴政府在解釋計劃時表現差劣。人們有很好的理由去投訴，但同時也需要知道，他們也可以減少垃圾，在對抗氣候變化上出他們的一分力。政府好應宣傳垃圾棄置計劃為對抗氣候變化的一部分。

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