又中又英｜Hot and cold

In my previous column I wrote about having to take a 3-hour train ride from San Diego to Los Angeles for my flight to Hong Kong last week. Something happened during the ride that made me grow hot and cold. The expression “hot and cold” has different meanings but used this way it means to feel extremely nervous or worried. Whenever I travel, I wear a jacket with pockets that have zippers. I keep my wallet in one lower pocket. I put a small pouch containing my passport, money, identity card, and credit and ATM cards in another lower pocket.

I zip up the pockets to keep them safe. Whenever I arrive at a destination, I always touch both pockets to make sure the wallet and pouch are there. As my train approached Los Angeles, I touched both pockets but could not feel the pouch! I panicked, which made me feel hot and cold. My heart was in my mouth. If your heart is in your mouth, it means you are very scared and nervous. How could I return to Hong Kong with no passport and identity card? What will I do in Los Angeles with no money or ATM card?

My Hong Kong credit card was in the pouch but luckily my US credit card and driver’s licence were in my wallet. I searched under my seat but could not find my pouch. The train conductor made an announcement, but no passenger saw my pouch. I searched the pockets again out of desperation. I felt the pouch in an upper pocket which I never use! Whew! I must have stupidly put it there by mistake.

在上一篇文章中我写到，我上星期得搭三小时的火车，从圣地牙哥前往洛杉矶，才能搭飞机返香港。旅途上发生了一件事，令我grow hot and cold——习语“hot and cold”有不同的意思，但在这里是指感到极度紧张或焦虑。每当我旅游时，我都会穿一件衫袋有拉链的外套。我会将银包放在一个下方的衫袋中，而另一个下方的衫袋，则放着用小袋袋着的护照、现金、身份证，以及信用卡和提款卡。

我会拉好拉链，以策安全。每当我到达一个目的地，我都会触碰两个口袋，确保我的银包和小袋子还在那儿。当我的火车到达洛杉矶时，我摸一摸两个口袋，却摸不到那个小袋子！我很是惶恐，令我感到十分焦急（hot and cold）。我的心都提到嗓子眼了（my heart was in my mouth）。要是your heart is in your mouth，那即是你甚为惊恐、紧张。我没有护照和身份证，又怎样返港？没有现金或提款卡，在洛杉矶能怎么办？

我的香港信用卡都放在小袋内，还好我的美国信用卡和驾驶护照都在银包中。我在座位下找过，同样找不到那小袋。列车车长替我作出广播，但也没有乘客见到我的小袋。绝望之中，我只能再搜寻那些衫袋。最终在我从不曾用过的上方衫袋中，摸到了那个小袋子！呼！我一定是傻呼呼地错放在那里了。

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Michael Chugani褚简宁
中译：七刻