又中又英｜Noisy city

In my previous column I said I would tell you about something very annoying that happened to me the morning after I returned to Hong Kong last month. Construction noise woke me up at 7 in the morning. I arrived in Hong Kong late the previous night and wanted a sleep-in the next morning. But hammering and drilling noise ruined my sleep-in. I went to the tiny balcony of my Wanchai serviced apartment and saw at least six construction sites in different locations. They included construction of new buildings, buildings being demolished, and apartments being renovated. My heart sank.

To have a sleep-in means to sleep longer in the morning than you usually do. Many people sleep in on weekends and holidays. If your heart sinks, it means you are very disappointed or dismayed. I can hear loud construction noise while writing this column. It\'s driving me up the wall, which means making me very annoyed or angry. Hong Kong\'s noise law was enacted in 1989, well before reunification. Construction noise is allowed from 7am to 7pm, even on Saturdays. Other noises, such as loud music, are allowed from 7am to 11pm. Except for minor changes, the law remains a toothless tiger.

I have complained many times about loud music when I lived near Lan Kwai Fong but bar owners either ignore the police or pay fines rather than turn down the music. Hong Kong is a very noisy city. The government needs to get off its butt and overhaul the law. To get off your butt means to stop being lazy and start doing something.

在上一篇文章中，我说我会告诉大家，上个月我回港后的第一个早上，有件非常恼人的事发生在我身上。建筑工程的噪音在早上七时就吵醒了我。我前一晚很夜才抵港，想在翌日早上多睡一会（sleep-in）。然而那些锤击声和电钻的噪音破坏了我睡懒觉（sleep-in）的计划。我走到我那湾仔服务式住宅的小露台，见到在不同的地点至少有六个建筑地盘，当中包括建新楼、拆楼，以及维修中的单位。我的心顿时沉了下去（My heart sank）。

To have a sleep-in是指在早上比你平时睡久一点。许多人会在周末和假期晚些起床，睡个懒觉（sleep in）。若你的 heart sinks，意即你心内一沉，感到非常失望或惊愕。我在写这一篇文章时，还能听到很大声的建筑工程的噪音。这真是 driving me up the wall，意即要把我逼疯了，令我非常烦恼或生气。香港的噪音管制条例于一九八九年实施，远远早于香港回归。条例容许建筑工程于早上七时至晚上七时发出噪音，即使在星期六亦如是。至于其他噪音，例如喧闹的音乐，则可于早上七时至晚上十一时发出。除了一些小修小改，条例多年来仍是一只无牙老虎。

我从前住在兰桂坊附近时，就曾多次投诉那些震耳欲聋的音乐声，但酒吧东主不是无视警方，就是付罚款，也不会将音乐声量校低一点。香港是个非常嘈吵的城市。政府应该 get off its butt，全面检订噪音条例。To get off your butt的意思是别再慵懒的坐着，开始着手做些事。