頭條日報 頭條網 - Umpteen times by Michael Chugani

2013-04-02

Source: http://news.hkheadline.com/dailynews/headline_news_detail_columnist.asp?id=232335§ion_name=wtt&kw=126

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Have you ever been bumped into by people who don't look where they are going while walking in Hong Kong's overcrowded streets? It has happened to me umpteen times. Every time people bump into me I tell them: "Please look where you are going." This expression simply means to pay attention when you walk. The word bump can be used in several ways. If you bumped into a friend, it means you ran into, or saw, a friend you weren't expecting to see. But if someone bumps into you, it means his body accidently touches or hits your body. Umpteen times is a slang expression that means many times or countless times.

        T he reason why so many Hong Kong people don't look where they are going is because they are looking at their mobile phones instead while they walk. It is inconsiderate (selfish, not caring about others) to walk blindly in Hong Kong's crowded streets. To walk blindly means to walk without noticing what is around you. If you walk blindly you will, of course, bump into other pedestrians. The worst thing about people who blindly bump into others while they look at their mobile phones is that they never even bother to say sorry.

        Soon there will be even more people blindly bumping into others. This is because people can start buying the new Google Glass by the end of this year or early next year. The Google Glass is internet-connected and works like a smart-phone, but you wear it over your eyes like glasses. Instead of using your fingers to touch the screen of a mobile phone, the Google Glass works by voice command, which means you tell it what to do. If people in Central all wear a Google Glass, they will all be bumping into each other because they will be looking at their Google Glass internet instead of looking where they are going. Everyone will be walking like zombies. A zombie is the body of a dead person that can still walk and do certain things, like you sometimes see in movies. There are, of course, no real zombies.

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        當你走在香港擠逼的路上時，有沒有試過被「行路唔帶眼」（don't look where they are going）的人碰撞（bumped）？我就試過無數遍（umpteen times）。每一次有人撞（bump）我時，我都會說："Please look where you are going." 這個習語簡單來說就是小心走路，像廣東話叫人「睇路」一樣。Bump這個字可以有幾個用法，若你bumped into a friend，即解作你無意中遇到或見到一位朋友。但要是某人bumps into you，即解作他意外地碰撞到你。Umpteen times是俚語，即很多遍或無數遍。

        香港人「行路不帶眼」（don't look where they are going）是因為他們走路時往往只顧盯着手機。在香港繁忙的街道上不留心走路（walk blindly）是相當輕率（inconsiderate）。To walk blindly即是你走路不留神，你盲目走路（walk blindly）當然就會撞到（bump）其他途人。最劣品的是，因為看手機而盲目地撞到（blindly bumping）他人的人，永遠懶得跟你道歉。

        很快就會有更多人盲目地撞到（blindly bumping）他人，因為人們於年底或明年年頭便會開始使用最新的Google Glass。Google Glass像智能手機一樣可以上網，但會像眼鏡一樣戴在眼上。Google Glass只須聲控（voice command），不必再用人手觸碰手機熒幕。要是中環的人個個戴上Google Glass，他們就會互相碰撞（bumping），因為他們看的是Google Glass網絡而非前面要走的路（looking where they are going）。人人都會像喪屍（zombie）般行走。Zombie是行屍走肉，像電影裏的喪屍。當然，現實中並沒有真正的喪屍（zombie）。mickchug@gmail.com

        中譯:七刻

        Michael Chugani 褚簡寧