A nightcap in the Shanghai Bund

2018/11/22 04:12:33 網誌分類: 生活

22 Nov

        　　Ancient cities and historical buildings fascinate me. That’s why Rome still fascinated me when I went there last month even though I have been there several times before. Shanghai also fascinates me but in a different way from the ancient structures in Rome, such as the Colosseum. I walked along the Shanghai Bund for the first time last week even though I have been to Shanghai several times before. My walk along the Bund on a crisp (cool and fresh) evening exhilarated (thrilled, excited) me. I saw several historical buildings but the one that caught my eye was a red brick building built in 1906. It used to belong to the British company Butterfield and Swire, now renamed the Swire Group, which is well-known in Hong Kong.

        　　Although Swire no longer owns the historical building, it has many modern hotels and shopping malls in mainland China. Swire is now building a shopping mall in Qiantan, a new business district in Shanghai’s Pudong area. I was in Shanghai with a group of journalists. We went to the historical Swire building for a nightcap. If something fascinates you, it means it interests you a lot. If something catches your eye, it means it attracts your attention. A nightcap used this way means an alcoholic drink taken before you go to sleep. During my Shanghai trip I stayed at a Swire-owned hotel called the Middle House, which has artistically-designed rooms. The hotel has a cozy (cheerful, comfortable) Italian restaurant called Frasca, which serves authentic Italian (genuine, real) food.

        　　Our media group went to an ancient town on the outskirts (outer parts) of Shanghai called Zhujiajiao. This town, established about 1,700 years ago, knocked me off my feet. If something knocks you off your feet, it means it amazes you or impresses you very much. When I next visit Shanghai I will stay at the Middle House and visit Zhujiajiao again.

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        　　古城市和歷史建築真的使我迷倒（fascinate）。正因如此，當我上個月到羅馬的時候，它還是使我神魂顛倒（fascinated），即使我已經去過那裏好幾遍。上海也使我着迷（fascinates），但不同於羅馬古建築，如競技場。即使我已到過上海好幾次，但我上星期才首次沿著上海外灘漫步。我在一個清爽怡人（crisp）的黃昏走在外灘上，那實在使我相當興奮（exhilarated）。在我見到的好幾座歷史建築中，有一棟建於一九○六年的紅磚建築特別吸引我的目光（caught my eye）。它從前屬於英國公司太古洋行——即香港非常有名的太古集團的前身。

        　　雖然太古已不再擁有這棟歷史建築，但它在內地仍擁有許多現代酒店和購物商場。太古現正於上海浦東區的新商業區前灘上，興建一座購物商場。我跟一群記者到了上海，也進了那太古歷史建築中喝上一杯（nightcap）。若某事 fascinates you，即是指它使你迷住了。若某事 catches your eye，即是它吸引到你的注意。A nightcap在這裏是指在睡前喝杯酒。在我的上海之旅，我住在太古旗下的酒店名鏞舍，房間都是藝術式的設計。酒店有個舒適（cozy）的意大利餐廳名 Frasca，奉上的是地道的（authentic）意大利菜式。

        　　我們的傳媒訪問團去了上海市郊（outskirts）一個名為朱家角鎮古城。小鎮於大概一千七百年前建成，這使我詫異不已（knocked me off my feet）。若某事 knocks you off your feet，即是指它使你很驚奇或讓你留下了深刻的印象。若我下次再到上海，我定會再住進鏞舍，並重遊朱家角鎮。

        中譯:七刻

        Michael Chugani 褚簡寧

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A nightcap in the Shanghai Bund

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