L ast week I took the East Rail to Lo Wu. A woman was talking so loudly in Putonghua on her mobile that it drove me up the wall. She talked non-stop from the Kowloon Tong station to Lo Wu. It was a one-way conversation. This means the person she was talking to just listened most of the time without saying much. It was her loud phone conversation on the train that gave me the idea of having a pair of earplugs whenever I go out. People will not be able to drive me up the wall with their loud phone conversations if I use earplugs while travelling on the MTR. The expression "drive someone up the wall" means to make that person very irritated or angry.
The expression "do the trick" means to achieve the result you want. For example, many women who want to look younger believe that expensive facials and creams will do the trick. This is, of course, not entirely true. Expensive creams and facials can sometimes help to slow aging （ageing in British English）, but nothing can stop people from aging （getting old）. But will people think I am nuts （slang word for crazy） if I put on earplugs when people are talking too loudly on their mobile phones while riding the MTR？ Actually, I don't care if people think I am nuts. I think people who talk too loudly while riding the MTR are jerks （slang word for rude or not likeable people）.
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香港真的很嘈吵，我認真考慮出街要戴耳塞。噪音實在令我抓狂（driving me up the wall）。我從美國帶來許多不錯的耳塞（earplugs），應能奏效（do the trick）。Earplugs就是耳塞，通常以軟橡膠或蠟製成，用來隔音或游水時讓耳朵不會入水。當住所附近有嘈吵的地盤嘈音時，我有時也會用上；甚至附近酒吧音樂過大，我有時也會戴着來睡覺。
上星期我搭東鐵線往羅湖。有個女人大聲用普通話講電話，也把我迫瘋（drove me up the wall）了。她從九龍塘站一直講到羅湖，而且是one-way conversation，即是對方大部份時間聽她說話而不作聲。也就是這個女人大聲講電話，令我不禁想到，以後出街也要帶一對耳塞（earplugs）。要是我乘港鐵是用耳塞（earplugs），那再沒有人能以大聲講電話來惹怒我（drive me up the wall）。習語drive someone up the wall解作令某人非常憤怒。
習語do the trick即是事情奏效，例如許多希望變年輕的女人，深信昂貴的美容和護膚乳霜會奏效（do the trick），這當然不完全正確，貴價乳霜跟美容有時可以延緩衰老（aging，英式英語為ageing），但沒有任何事物可以阻止人衰老（aging）。可是，若我戴上耳塞（earplugs），人們會否以為我是瘋的（nuts）﹖事實上，我不介意人們以為我是瘋的（nuts），只有那些搭港鐵時大聲談話的人，才是混蛋（jerks，俚語）。
mickchug@gmail.com
中譯:七刻
Michael Chugani 褚簡寧
Source: http://news.stheadline.com/dailynews/headline_news_detail_columnist.asp?id=291047§ion_name=wtt&kw=126