又中又英—Call It Quits

作者：Alice的学习笔记

原文

Some of you may know I have called it quits. To "call it quits" means to stop doing something or to stop working. I have decided to stop all my TV shows and political columns except my column in Headline Daily. When reporters asked me why I have decided to call it quits, I told them I was burnt-out (also burned-out). The expression used this way means very tired or exhausted from work. When reporters asked if I have called it quits for political reasons, I just said Hong Kong has changed and people must also change to avoid new red lines.

My main reason for calling it quits is because I am truly burnt-out from so many columns and TV shows every week. I want a long rest before deciding on my next move. After I told my TV and newspaper bosses I have decided to call it quits, I spent an exhilarating (very happy, excited) Saturday hiking in the Aberdeen country park. I used to go there often many years ago but have stopped because of too much work. During my walk, I even saw two wild pigs! Last week, I hiked up Duckling Hill, which is near my Tseung Kwan O home. I used to get up at 6.30 in the morning daily. Now I have turned off my alarm.

In the evenings I experiment with cooking and watch Netflix. I am now watching Designated Survivor, a political thriller, which means a book or movie with an exciting storyline. It is about a low-level White House cabinet member who became president after the president and all other politicians were killed by a terrorist bomb. The word "booyah" was used several times in one episode I watched. This is an American slang word which is used to show you are very happy about something, such as a victory or an achievement. White House officials in Designated Survivor used "booyah" to celebrate a good speech by the unelected president.

单词、短语

• call it quits
  在本文中表示to stop doing sth，停止做某事
      After twenty-five years as a teacher, he's decided to call it quits.
      他当了 25 年的老师以后，决定不干了。
  拓展一下：call it quits还可表示彼此两清、（同意）结束争论。
      Just give me $20 and we'll call it quits.
      给我 20 美元，我们就两清了。
      I paid for last week's shopping and you paid for this week's, so let's call it quits.
      上周买东西我付的钱，这周是你付的，这样我们就互不相欠了。

• burnt-out
  精疲力竭的，疲乏的
      But everyone I know who kept it up at that intensity is burnt out.
      我所认识的每个一直保持那种强度的人都劳累过度。

• next move
  下一步行动
      It's time we stopped to think about our next move.
      我们该停下来想一想下一步的行动了。

• thriller
  惊险小说(或电影、戏剧)，英文解释为：
  A thriller is a book, film, or play that tells an exciting fictional story about something such as criminal activities or spying.

翻译

你们有些人或许知悉，我已经called it quits。To“call it quits”意思是停止做某事、不干了、就此打住。我决定停止我所有的电视节目主持工作，以及政治专栏的写作，除了我在《头条日报》的这个专栏。当记者们问我为何决定不干（call it quits）时，我跟他们说，我实在burnt-out（也可写成burned-out），这个习语在这里是指因为工作繁重而精疲力竭。记者们问我，可是因为政治原因而不再做下去（call it quits）？我只是说，HK已经变了，人也应该改变。

我停止工作（call it quits）的主要原因，是我每个星期做这么多的专栏和电视节目，真的累坏了（burnt-out）。在决定下一步之前，我需要一个长时间的休息。在我告知我的电视和报章老板我决定离职，不再工作（call it quits）以后，我去了香港仔郊野公园行山，度过了一个很振奋（exhilarating）的周六。许多年前我经常到那儿，但后来因为工作繁忙而没有去了。远足期间，我还看到两只野猪！上星期我走上鸭仔山，那小山很近我将军澳的家。我过去习惯每早六时半便起床，现在我已关掉了闹钟。

在傍晚，我学着煮食，尝试烹调各样的菜式，还有看Netflix。我现正收看《指定幸存者》，一套政治thriller剧集——thriller的意思就是有着惊险故事情节的惊悚小说或电影。这套剧集是关于一个低层的白宫内阁阁员，在总统和所有其他政客被恐怖份子放置的炸弹炸死后，继任为总统。在我看的其中一集里，反复用到“booyah”这个字。它是一个美式俚语，是当你因某些事情，例如获胜或做出了成就，而感到非常兴奋时，就会喊这个惊叹词以表达喜悦之情。在《指定幸存者》里，当那位非经竞选而就任的总统，发表了一篇非常好的演说时，白宫官员就喊出了“booyah”去庆贺。

原文作者：Michael Chugani 褚簡寧
中文翻译：七刻

以上就是今天的内容，如果你对该专栏内容感兴趣，欢迎来“Alice的学习笔记”找我，该系列文章将持续更新。