It is rubbing salt into the wound.

2015/03/05 10:43:30 網誌分類: 生活

05 Mar

         Were you startled by what Financial Secretary John Tsang Chun-wah said last week about buying a flat? Many people were startled by his insensitive remark. The financial secretary told aspiring home buyers that if they can't afford to buy a flat, they should not buy it. That is good advice but in Hong Kong's case it is rubbing salt into the wound. Most Hong Kong people aspire to buy a home but prices are so high that most of them cannot afford it. The government has killed their dream by failing to make flats affordable. It is, therefore, insensitive for the financial secretary to tell people not to buy a home if they cannot afford it.

         To be startled means to be suddenly shocked or surprised. If you are insensitive, it means you do not care about or do not show any understanding of the feelings of others. To aspire for something means to hope for or dream about getting something. Young Hong Kong people aspire to find a good job so they can afford to buy a flat but that is a pipe dream for many of them. A pipe dream is an impossible dream or hope. It is a pipe dream for young Hong Kong people to find a good job because there are very few jobs with good salaries nowadays. Many university graduates only earn around HK$12,000 a month. For them, buying a home is a pipe dream. The expression "rub salt into the wound" means to make a bad situation even worse for someone. It is rubbing salt into the wound for the financial secretary to tell people not to buy homes when the government has failed to make homes affordable.

         Our highly-paid government officials should think before they speak. Tsang Chun-wah's advice that only people who can afford to buy homes should do so is logical but before giving such advice he should think about whether it is sensitive to give such advice. It is OK to give such advice when ordinary people can afford to buy homes. It is insensitive to give such advice when the government has failed to make flats affordable.

        ***

         財政司司長曾俊華上星期談及買樓，你可有被他的話嚇倒（startled）？許多人對他那冷酷無情（insensitive）的意見大吃一驚（startled）。財政司司長跟那些渴求（aspiring）買樓的人說，若他們負擔不起就不應該買樓。它本身是個好建議，但以香港的狀況來說，就是在傷口上撒鹽（rubbing salt into the wound）。許多香港人渴望（aspire）買個安樂窩，但樓價太高，大部分人都負擔不來。政府未能令樓宇降至負擔得起的價格，已經扼殺了他們的夢想。因此，財政司司長說，買不起樓的人就不要買，是毫無同情心的（insensitive）。

         To be startled意思是突然受驚嚇或感到驚訝。若你insensitive，即是說你不關心或顧及他人感受。To aspire for something即對某事夢寐以求。香港的年輕人渴求（aspire）找到一份好工，好能買得起樓，可惜那只是空想（pipe dream）罷了。Pipe dream就是幻想或白日夢。對香港的年輕人來說，要找到一份好工是個空想（pipe dream），因為現在都沒幾份薪金可觀的工作。許多大學畢業生月入只有約一萬二千元。對他們來說，買樓只是個白日夢（pipe dream）。習語rub salt into the wound是指在別人的傷口上撒鹽。政府未能使樓宇降至負擔得起的價格，財政司司長卻叫人不要買樓，根本就是在人的傷口上撒鹽（rubbing salt into the wound）。

         我們這些高薪厚祿的政府官員，好應在說話前三思。曾俊華建議只有負擔得起的人才買樓，是合理的，但提議之前他好應想想，這個建議是否夠體貼。當普通人都能買得起樓時，這句忠告是可以的；但當政府未能壓抑樓市，再說出這個忠告，就未免太涼薄（insensitive）了。mickchug@gmail.com

        中譯:七刻

        Michael Chugani 褚簡寧

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It is rubbing salt into the wound.

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