2013-05-07
Source: http://news.hkheadline.com/dailynews/headline_news_detail_columnist.asp?id=236852§ion_name=wtt&kw=126
I was breathing fire last week after I read about the mainland tourist from Liaoning who blackmailed a travel agency into giving him and his family money and a free night in a hotel. His despicable (shameful, disgraceful) behaviour made me so angry that I wanted to sock him in the face. But, of course, I would never really do that！ The travel agency should have told him to shove it. But it allowed itself to be blackmailed instead. That will encourage other greedy mainland tourists to blackmail Hong Kong travel agencies whenever something goes wrong.
T
he expression "breathing fire" used this way means very angry. To blackmail a person means to demand money by threatening to say bad things about that person. You wear socks on your feet but to sock someone in the face is a slang expression that means to punch him in the face. The slang expression "shove it" is similar to the expression "go to hell". You use it to angrily tell someone to go away or to "beat it". The Liaoning tourist pretended to cry while complaining to the media that the tourist bus for his tour group had arrived about one hour late. We all know those were false tears. The bus had broken down, so it's no big deal that it arrived a bit late.
The tour group members called the police and demanded $3,000 each and three free nights in a hotel as compensation from the travel agency. I breathed fire when I read that. The travel agency refused but finally agreed to pay the Liaoning man who cried and his family $500 each and a free night in a hotel. During the Lunar New Year a travel agency treated some mainland tourists badly. They had to sleep in a tour bus instead of in a hotel. I felt sorry for the mainland tourists, as did many other Hong Kong people. But this time, the despicable behaviour of the Liaoning tourist has given mainland tourists a bad name. I have a message for him: Don't come back to Hong Kong. You are not welcome.
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上星期我讀到那單新聞，有個從遼寧來的內地遊客，勒索（blackmailed）旅行社賠錢和酒店住宿給他和家人，我登時無名火起（breathing fire）。他那卑劣（despicable）的行為令我惱得多想給他迎頭痛擊（sock him in the face），但當然，我不會真的這樣做！旅行社好該叫他滾開（shove it），他們卻情願被勒索（blackmailed）。這就變相鼓勵其他貪婪的內地遊客，一遇到甚麼事情不對勁，就立即敲詐（blackmail）香港旅行社。
這裏用到的習語 breathing fire解作非常憤怒，blackmail即是勒索或敲詐。Socks是你穿在腳上的襪子，但sock someone in the face則是俗語，指拳打對方面部。俗語shove it類近習語go to hell，當你憤怒地叫某人去死（beat it）時就會用上。遼寧遊客邊裝着哭邊向傳媒投訴旅遊巴遲到一小時，誰都看得出那些眼淚假得可以。旅遊巴故障，遲了一點到達，根本就是小事一椿。
旅行團團員報警，要求旅行社賠償每人三千大元，另加三晚免費酒店住宿。我讀到這裏不禁怒火中燒（breathed fire）。旅行社拒絕他們的要求，但最終屈服，向那扮哭的遼寧男人和他的家人賠償每人五百元，以及一晚酒店住宿。農曆新年時，有間旅行社惡待內地遊客，要他們睡旅遊巴而非酒店。我對這些內地遊客深表同情，許多香港人亦必有同感。但這一回，遼寧遊客的可鄙（despicable）行為，實在敗壞了內地遊客的名聲。我對他有一句贈言：別再來港，你不受歡迎。
mickchug@gmail.com
中譯:七刻
Michael Chugani 褚簡寧