Chinglish by Michael Chugani

2012-12-11

have been suckered by the Transport Department. An assistant commissioner, Leung Tak-fai, duped me into believing his department gives equal importance to the smooth flow of pedestrians and vehicles. I wrote in my column last April that Hong Kong's traffic lights drove me up the wall. Pedestrians always have to wait a long time to cross busy roads because the green light for traffic lasts so long. But the green light for pedestrians lasts less than 30 seconds. This proves the Transport Department cares more about traffic flow than pedestrian flow.

        I said in my column that hundreds of people wait to cross Queen's Road Central at the bottom of D'Aguilar Street during rush hour. It is impossible for so many people to cross in less than 30 seconds before the pedestrian light turns red. The green light for traffic lasts over two minutes. Many impatient pedestrians risk their lives by jaywalking (crossing during a red light). Leung Tak-fai e-mailed me after my column to say he would increase the time of the pedestrian green light from 13 seconds to 23 seconds during the lunch rush hour. I was so gullible I believed him. The situation did improve slightly for a while but the pedestrian green light now again lasts far less than 30 seconds.

        The word gullible means being easily fooled into believing something. To be suckered means to be fooled or tricked. It is similar to the word duped. Gullible people are easily suckered or duped. The noun sucker is a person who is easily suckered. To drive someone up the wall means to make that person very angry. Last week I saw an elderly man with a walking stick crossing Queen's Road Central at the bottom of D'Aguilar Street during the evening rush hour. He was just halfway across when the pedestrian light turned red. How can the Transport Department expect elderly or disabled people to cross in a few seconds when hundreds of other pedestrians are also crossing? Leung Tak-fai should see the situation for himself instead of always sitting in his office.

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        我給運輸署欺騙（suckered）了。助理署長梁德輝騙（duped）我去相信，他的部門把行人和行車的流量看得同等重要。我曾在四月的時候寫過，香港的交通燈簡直讓我發瘋（drove me up the wall）了。行人要過繁忙的馬路，總要等上很久的時間，因為行車的綠燈是那麼久，但行人的綠燈卻只有三十秒。那就足以證明，運輸署關心汽車的流量多於行人的。

        我曾在專欄中寫過，在皇后大道中近德己立街交界，繁忙時間常常有上百人在等過馬路。在行人交通燈轉紅前，要在三十秒內讓這麼多人過馬路是不可能的。但行車的綠燈卻多於兩分鐘。許多不耐煩的行人會冒着生命危險衝紅燈（jaywalking）。專欄刊出後，梁德輝寄電郵給我，說他會把午飯繁忙時段的行人綠燈由十三秒增加至二十三秒。我是那麼輕信（gullible）了他！情況確是輕微改善了，但只維持了很短的時間，現在的綠燈又遠遠少於三十秒了。

        Gullible的意思是輕易受騙。To be suckered也是被騙或愚弄，與duped的意思類同。易受騙（gullible）的人很易被愚弄（suckered或duped）。名詞sucker就是易受騙（suckered）的笨蛋。To drive someone up the wall即是那人非常憤怒。上星期我目睹一名持着拐杖的老人，於傍晚的繁忙時間於德己立街那邊橫過皇后大道中。行人交通燈轉紅時，他才過了馬路的一半。運輸署又怎能期望一位老人家或殘疾人士可以在數以百計的行人之間，幾秒鐘便能過馬路？梁德輝該親身視察一下情況，而非常常坐在辦公室中。

        mickchug@gmail.com

        中譯:七刻

        Michael Chugani 褚簡寧