P eople who smoke cigarettes are called smokers. Many smokers now use e-cigarettes to help them to stop smoking real cigarettes. We all know cigarettes are harmful to health. Even cigarette smoke is harmful to those who breathe it. E-cigarettes do not contain tobacco and do not cause cigarette smoke. Instead, e-cigarettes produce vapor (vapour in British English) when smoked. Vapor is a kind of substance in the air. For example, the steam from very hot water is a kind of vapor. Fog in the air is also a kind of vapor. The word "vape" came from the word "vapor" because e-cigarettes produce a kind of mist or vapor that looks like smoke when used. People who vape believe it is not as harmful as smoking real cigarettes but this has not been fully confirmed by health experts.
Oxford Dictionaries chose "bae" as the second most popular new word of the year. The word "bae" comes from the word "babe" which comes from the word "baby". The word "babe" means baby when used as its original meaning. But as a slang word, "babe" also means a person you like a lot, such as your girlfriend, boyfriend, husband, or wife. Native English speakers often call their wives or husbands "babe". Hip hop singers in the US often shorten the word "babe" to "bae" when they refer to their girlfriends or boyfriends. That is why it has become a popular new word. I wonder if teachers in Hong Kong will teach these new words!
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你可曾在香港聽見人用過"vape"這個字？我就從沒聽過一個本地香港人使用，只聽過以英語為母語的人會用。當我第一次聽見"vape"這個字時，我不知道它的意思。它是一個新字，現在許多人也在用。上星期"vape"被牛津字典選為最新年度詞彙。它可作動詞或名詞用。To vape（動詞）就是吸電子煙（electronic cigarette，或簡稱e-cigarette）。 A vape（名詞）也可以解作一支電子煙（e-cigarette）。
吸煙的人會被稱為 smokers。許多吸煙者（smokers）現在會用電子煙（e-cigarettes）來幫助他們戒煙。我們都知道，香煙危害健康，就是二手煙也對吸入的人有害。電子煙（E-cigarettes）則不含煙草，不會有香煙的煙，但吸入時，電子煙（e-cigarettes）就可製造蒸氣（vapor，英式串法為vapour）。 Vapor就是蒸氣，例如滾水的水蒸氣。霧也是 vapor的一種。 Vape這個字源自 vapor，因為吸電子煙（e-cigarettes）時，會製造某種像煙的氣霧或蒸氣（vapor）。吸電子煙（vape）的人，相信它沒有像吸真正香煙般有害，但這還未完全得到保健專家的證實。
牛津字典又選了"bae"為第二最受歡迎年度新字。 Bae這個字來自 babe，而 babe則來自baby這個字。 當babe被解作嬰孩時，就與baby同義。但作俚語用時，則解作你很喜歡的人，例如你的女友、男友、丈夫或妻子。以英語作為母語的人，常常會稱呼太太或丈夫為 babe。美國嘻哈歌手提及自己的女友或男友時，常將 babe縮短為 bae，它因而成為受歡迎的新字。我很好奇，到底香港的老師會否教授這些新字呢？
mickchug@gmail.com
中譯:七刻
Michael Chugani 褚簡寧
Source: http://news.stheadline.com/dailynews/headline_news_detail_columnist.asp?id=310121§ion_name=wtt&kw=126