又中又英｜Keep alive

Most people cherish their childhood memories. They try to keep alive these memories for as long as they can. But childhood memories can become a blur as people get older. Some of my early childhood memories have become a blur. If you cherish someone it means you love or care for that person. To cherish memories or ideas means to keep them alive in your mind because they are important to you. To keep something alive used this way means to not forget about it. If something is a blur, it means you cannot see it clearly. Everything can become just a blur for people with bad eyesight.

If something becomes a blur, it can also mean you cannot remember it clearly, such as something that happened long ago. I cherish my childhood memories growing up in Hong Kong, especially memories of the Lunar New Year. We lived in a big apartment where my parents had a local helper who was originally from Guangdong. She taught me, my elder sister, elder brother, and younger brothers Cantonese. Every Lunar New Year she cooked a traditional new year vegetarian dish for us with mushrooms, tofu puffs, red dates, vegetables, and other things. We all loved it. She also gave us laisee packets.

Even now, I keep alive my memory of her. She was like a second mother to us. Every Lunar New Year I think of her, the vegetarian dish, and her laisee packets. She passed away many years ago when my elder sister, who lives in the US, was in Hong Kong. We both went to the funeral home to pay our respects.

大多数人都珍视（cherish）自己的童年回忆，他们尝试让这些回忆历久弥新（keep alive），能保存多久就有多久。然而，年纪渐长，童年回忆或会变得模糊（become a blur），我自己一些早年的童年回忆已经记不清楚（become a blur）了。若你 cherish someone意即你珍爱、爱护某人；to cherish一些回忆或想法，意即在脑海中常忆记（keep them alive），因为它们对你很重要。To keep something alive在这里是指不去遗忘了它。若某事物是 a blur，意即你难以把它看清；视力不佳的人看所有事物都可以是模糊不清（blur）。

若something becomes a blur，也可以解作你未能清楚记得某事物，例如一件发生在很久以前的事。我珍视（cherish）我在香港长大的童年回忆，尤其是农历新年的记忆。我们住在一个偌大的单位中，我父母有一个本地人做帮手，她原是从广东来的。是她教了我、我姊、哥哥和弟弟们学懂广东话的。每逢农历新年，她都会煮一餐传统的新年斋菜给我们，当中有冬菇、豆卜、红枣、蔬菜以及其他食材，我们全都十分喜爱这个菜。她还会给我们利是呢。

即使到了现在，我对她仍然记忆犹新（keep alive my memory）。她就像我们的第二个母亲。每到农历新年我都会想起她、那碟斋菜，以及她的利是。她在许多年前已经过身，当时我姊还在香港，现在我姊已移居美国了。我们二人都有到殡仪馆致哀。

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Michael Chugani褚简宁
中译：七刻