又中又英｜Fallen from grace

Fallen from grace

It didn’t come as a surprise to me that Singapore’s Changi Airport was again named the world’s best. It’s the 12th time Skytrax, which does an annual survey, has named Changi the best airport. It didn’t surprise me the Skytrax survey showed a free fall in Hong Kong International Airport’s rankings. The expression “free fall” used this way means a sudden and sharp fall from a higher position. Hong Kong’s airport was ranked 33, a huge drop from last year’s ranking of 20. Hong Kong has won the best airport crown nine times. The last time was in 2011.

It’s been in a free fall since 2018, dropping every year. The airport was opened with great fanfare on July 2, 1998 by Jiang Zemin, China’s president at the time. Hours later Bill Clinton, the US president at the time, graced the new airport by landing there, becoming the first foreigner to land at the airport. The expression “great fanfare” means a lot of excitement and attention to celebrate something. Air Force One is the plane US presidents use. To grace something means to bring honour and dignity to it. Hong Kong’s airport has now fallen from grace. To fall from grace means to lose respect or prestige.

To me, Hong Kong’s airport is still special. It is efficient, has good restaurants, and a hotel. It has fallen from grace because other airports have upped their game. To up your game means to try hard to improve your quality. Hong Kong must up its game a lot to compete with Changi, which has forest-like gardens, an indoor waterfall, a shopping mall, and a hotel.

新加坡樟宜機場再一次獲選為全球最佳機場，我一點也不感到意外。Skytrax每年一次舉行調查，而這已經是第12次將樟宜定為最佳機場了。Skytrax的調查又顯示，香港國際機場的排名free fall，我同樣不感到意外。習語“free fall”在這裏是指由高處驟降、急速下墮。香港的機場自上年排名20，大幅下跌至排名33。香港曾九度贏得最佳機場的桂冠，最後一次是2011年。

自2018年起，機場排名就按年下跌，一落千丈（free fall）。機場於1998年7月2日隆重（great fanfare）開幕，由當時的中國國家主席江澤民主持開幕典禮。數小時後，時任美國總統比爾‧克林頓的專機於機場降落，成為首位抵達的外國人，為新機場帶來榮耀（graced the new airport）。習語“great fanfare”是指隆重其事、大張旗鼓地慶祝某事。 Air Force One就是美國總統乘搭的空軍一號。To grace something是指去給某事帶來榮耀，為其增色。香港機場現在已經 fallen from grace——to fallen from grace即失寵了，失去了眾人的敬重與聲望。

對我來說，香港的機場仍然很特別，它富有效率，有好的餐廳，還有酒店。它失去恩寵（fallen from grace），是因為其他機場都已 upped their game——to up your game即努力改進，提高你的水平。香港必須大大提升它的水平（up its game），才能跟那有着像森林的花園、室內瀑布、購物商場以及酒店的樟宜機場比拼。

[email protected]
Michael Chugani褚簡寧
中譯：七刻